VADNAGAR – A HISTORIC TOWN OF GUJARAT
Situated at a distance of 112 km from Ahmedabad in the north direction,
Vadnagar is a historic town known for its legends, battles, temples,
forts, gates and large water bodies. In ancient time Vadnagar was called Chamatkarpur. According to a legend, there was a king named Chamatkar who ruled Anarthdesh, the ancient Vadnagar. The legend tells us that he was suffering from leprosy due to a curse from a she-deer. With the advice of sages, the king did penance and took bath in the famous ‘Sankh Tirth’ situated in Vadnagar, and his leprosy was cured. Thereafter he established the town name Chamatkarpur.
Vadnagar was also known as Anarthapur, the capital of the kingdom of Anartha. Anartha is referred to in Mahabharata. It says: warriors from Anartha participated in Kurukshetra war on the side of both the Pandavas and the Karuavas.
Post Mahabharata war, Anarthapura was no more remained the capital city and seat of power. In its west a new and powerful city called Vallabhi became the capital of Gujarat. But Anarthapura continued to be a prosperous trading city. It remained as a cultural centre and patronized artists, sculptors, musicians, dancers and actors. The city was joyful and happy. By 2nd century AD, it came to be known as the Ananadapura - ‘the City of Joy’. It attracted monks and followers of Buddhism and Jainism. The city supported hundreds of Buddhist monks. Recent archaeological discoveries of a finely carved Buddha head from a farmland suggest the presence of Buddhism.
The city was visited by the Chinese traveller Huen T Sang twice. He wrote:
‘This country is about 2000li in circuit, the capital about 20li. The population is dense; the establishments rich. There is no chief ruler, but it is an appendage of Malava. There are some ten sangharamas with less than 1000 priests; they study the Little Vehicle of Sammatiya School. There are several tens of Deva temples, and sectaries of different kinds frequent them. Going west from Valabhi 500li or so, we come to the country of ‘Su-la-Cha’.
The city of Anandapura became very old and at some stage people started calling it Vruddhanagar. However, the city maintained its importance as a place of art, literature, music, drama, architecture, sculpture, learning and trade.
The city was conquered by the Malvas and ruined its prosperity. However, under the rule of Solankis (942 – 1244) the Malvas were driven out from Vadnagar. To strengthen its security the Solanki ruler Kumarpal rebuilt the fort around it in 1152 AD. The city reached to its zenith during the Solanki rule. Great many temples, palaces, residences, bazaars, wells, vavs, kunds, roads were built in and around the city. Yet the most remarkable among the Solanki remains are the twin torans, which were built in the 10th century as victory symbols over the Malvas.
The entire city had a protective fort with six gates built by the Solanki rulers.
Vadnagar has always been a city of temples. However, the most important is the temple of Hatkeshwar, a 15th century monument and the shrine of the Nagar Brahmins.
After about four centuries of peace Vadnagar was attacked, looted, burnt by the army of Delhi Sultanate. Yet, during the rule of Gujarat Sultanate, Vadnagar bounced back its prosperity. But it was short lived. In 1726 Marathas sacked it and it was practically burnt down into ashes. Many of its citizens fled. It was again looted in 1735 by Khandji Holker and in 1737 by Daqmaji Gaekwad. The city was left to ruin.
Vadnagar has been strongly associated with Nagar Brahmins, a caste of high order Brahmins known for their novelty and knowledge. Though Vadnagar has been the original home of Nagar Brahmins yet the city could never sustain them. Vadnagar was invaded several times and Nagar had to flee and seek refuge at various places. It is believed that it is because of Lord Hatkeshwar the Nagar families have never been able to permanently settle at Vadnagar.
In 1669 AD, Vadnagar was invaded by the Maharana of Mewar. In the Maratha regime Vadnagar was repeatedly invaded forcing Nagars to move out of the city. In 1693, Aurangzeb ordered the destruction of the Hatkeshwar temple at Vadnagar. Shri Govindramji Tikaramji, a great poet of Shajapur has written ‘fed up the atrocities of the Muslim kingdom, our Nagar ancestors moved to Malva in 1400 bullock carts.’
