Ranakdevi's Temple is a 9th- or 10th-century

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

dedicated to Ranakdevi located in

Wadhwan Wadhwan, also spelled Vadhwan, is a city and a municipality in Surendranagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located on the banks of the Bhogavo River, around 3 km from Surendranagar and 111 km from Ahmedabad, Wadhwan is a ...

Surendranagar district Surendranagar is an administrative district in Saurashtra region of Gujarat state in India. It has a population of approximately 1.7 million people. Surendranagar, along with the twin city of Wadhwan, has a total of 400,000 inhabitants, an ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India. It is built in post-

Maitraka The Maitraka dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Valabhi in western India from approximately 475 to 776 from their capital at Vallabhi. With the sole exception of Dharapaṭṭa (the fifth king in the dynasty), who is associated with sun-worship, the ...

and early Nagara phase of

Māru-Gurjara architecture Māru-Gurjara architecture or Solaṅkī style, is the style of West Indian temple architecture that originated in Gujarat and Rajasthan from the 11th to 13th centuries, under the Chaulukya dynasty (also called Solaṅkī dynasty). Although or ...

style.

Legend

According to legend,

Chaulukya The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended ...

king

Jayasimha Siddharaja Jayasiṃha, who assumed the title Siddharāja, ruled the Kingdom of Gujarat between 1092 and 1142. He was a member of the Chaulukya (also called Solanki) dynasty. Jayasimha's capital was located at Anahilapataka (modern Patan) in present-day ...

killed

Chudasama Chudasama may refer to: * Chudasama dynasty, a dynasty of Gujarat, India * Chudasama (Mer clan), clan of Mer community * Chudasama (Rajput clan), clan of Rajput community * Chudasama (surname), Gujarati surname See also * Chuda (disambiguation ...

king Khengara and abducted his queen Ranakdevi. On the way to Patan, Ranakdevi committed sati on the banks of Bhogavo river at Wadhwan. So Siddharaja built a temple dedicated to her.

History

Ranakdevi's ''

paliya The Paliya or Khambhi is a type of a memorial found in the western regions of the India subcontinent, especially Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat and also in Sindh region of Pakistan. They mostly commemorate the death of a person. These s ...

'' (memorial stone) and a shrine still stand on the southern banks of the Bhogavo river in Wadhwan. Currently a Shiva temple near the fort of Wadhwan is identified as Ranakdevi's Temple by local people. The is no information about the time and construction of the temple. Based on the style of construction, the temple seems to have been built in 10th century as the design of

shikhara ''Shikhara'' (IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' chamber ...

belongs to post-

period. It is unclear how the temple was associated with 12th century king Khengara's queen Ranakadevi. According to

Madhusudan Dhaky Madhusudan Amilal Dhaky (31 July 1927 – 29 July 2016) was an architectural and art historian from Gujarat, India. He had written extensively on Indian temple architecture, Jain literature and art. Life Dhaky was born on 31 July 1927 in Porban ...

and Harishankar Shastri, it was probably in last quarter of the 9th century during the reign of Dharanivaraha of the Chhapa dynasty who ruled from Vardhamana (now Wadhwan). According to Kantilal Sompura, it was built no earlier than 10th century. James Burgess had listed it as the Memorial Temple of Ranakdevi. It is listed as the Monuments of National Importance and maintained by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

Architecture

The temple is an example of post-Maitraka and early Nagara phase of

. It is about 9 m high on a large ''pitha'' (platform). The ''grass-patti'' (band of grass moulding) is first seen here which continued in later architecture of the style. The shikhara has an

amalaka An amalaka (), is a segmented or notched stone disk, usually with ridges on the rim, that sits on the top of a Hindu temple's shikhara or main tower. According to one interpretation, the amalaka represents a lotus, and thus the symbolic seat for ...

and

kalasha A kalasha, also called Pūrṇa-Kalaśa, Pūrṇa-Kumbha, Pūrṇa-Ghaṭa, also called ghat or ghot or kumbh ( , Telugu: కలశము Kannada: ಕಳಶ literally "pitcher, pot"), is a metal (brass, copper, silver or gold) pot with a large ...

mouldings. The exterior walls had niches in all three direction devoid of any statues. They have a miniature ''phansana'' carving on top of it. It also have carvings of

kirtimukha Kirtimukha (Sanskrit: कीर्तिमुख ,', also ', a bahuvrihi compound translating to "glorious face") is the name of a swallowing fierce face with huge fangs, and gaping mouth, very common in the iconography of Hindu temple architectu ...

, chaitya,

gavaksha In Indian architecture, gavaksha or chandrashala (''kudu'' in Tamil, also nāsī) are the terms most often used to describe the motif centred on an ogee, circular or horseshoe arch that decorates many examples of Indian rock-cut architecture and ...

and tamalapatra decorations. As it has water outlet in northern direction, it must be a Shiva temple. There is a statue of

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afr ...

lying near the temple. In sanctum, the two simple statues are marked as

Mahakali Mahakali () is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism. She is also known as the supreme being in various tantras and Puranas. Similar to Kali, Mahakali is a fierce goddess associated with universal po ...

and Ranakdevi. The doorframe of sanctum has statues of

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

and others.

References

{{Hindu temples in Gujarat Hindu temples in Gujarat Monuments of National Importance in Gujarat Tourist attractions in Surendranagar district Cultural history of Gujarat 9th-century Hindu temples 10th-century Hindu temples Māru-Gurjara architecture