Vahu ni Vav, Lavana, Gujarat

Vahu ni Vav, Lavana, Gujarat

Vahu ni Vav is an ancient stepwell located in Lavana Village in Khanpur Taluk in Mahisagar District of Gujarat, India. This stepwell is considered as part of the Kaleswari group of monuments. The stepwell is called as Daughter in Law’s stepwell in English. The stepwell is one of the protected monuments in Gujarat declared by Archaeological Survey of India.

Legends

There are two stepwells namely Sasu ni Vav and Vahu ni Vav to the north-west of Kund. As per legend, they were built by a mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law. It is said that the mother-in-law denied water to her daughter-in-law from her stepwell, so the daughter-in-law built her own stepwell. She built a longer but narrower stepwell which offended her mother-in-law, so she cursed the water with impurity.

History

These stepwells were built in the Nanda style since it has only one entrance. These stepwells are believed to be built in the 14^th or 15^th century CE and are richly decorated with intricate sculptures. Their iconography is found similar to the Rani ki Vav. Hence, these stepwells can be dated to 10^th century CE also. This stepwell might have been built little later than the Sasu ni Vaav.

The Step Well

Vahu ni Vav is narrower and two storied while Sasu ni Vav is broader and four storied. The step well is constructed on south west – north east axis such that the water well lies at the north eastern end. The structure is built with sandstones. The stepwell has four kutas (pavilion towers) and four mandapas supported by four pilasters without any pillars.

The lower two mandapas are narrower than the previous ones. The pilasters have monolithic shafts and are of Ruchaka type. Each pilaster has three brackets at the top in orthogonal axes. There are niches on both side walls of the mandapa with sculptures of water gods and deities in each mandapa. Notable sculptures are Dashavatara, Seshayi Vishnu, Sapta Matrikas etc.

Connectivity

The stepwell is located at about 700 metres from Lavana Bus Stop, 16 Kms from Malpur, 18 Kms from Khanpur, 26 Kms from Lunavada, 36 Kms from Modasa Railway Station, 37 Kms from Modasa, 134 Kms from Ahmedabad Airport and 144 Kms from Ahmedabad. Lavana is situated on Lunavada to Modasa route. The stepwell is well connected to Lunavada by buses.

Location | Photos