Mesmerizing Adalaj Vav - Picture Gallery

Adalaj History

The history of the Adalaj step-well, built in 1498 is established by an inscription found on a marble slab positioned in  a recess on the first floor. The Sanskrit inscription in the stepwell reads:

"Samvat 1555 (1498 AD), month of Magha

"Salutation to Vinayaka to whose race belonged King Mokala, chief of the country of Dandahi. From him were born Karna, Mahipa, and Virsinh and Naisha were the sons of Mahipa. Virsinh's queen, whose name is Rooda, has constructed this well.

"It is dedicated at this time – when the sun is in the north, the month is Magha, the bright half (Shukla Paksha), the 5th day, the day of the week, Wednesday, the lunar mansion – Uttara, Karana-Bava, the yoga – Siddhi."

Then follows a glowing description of the well, after which the queen, or rather lady of the chief, is praised in a few verses; the expense is stated at 5,00,111 tankas or over five lakhs, and the whole ends with a repetition of the date as given above.

The construction of the step well was started by Rana Veer Singh, who got killed in a battle with Begda. The step well was then completed by lady Rooda in 1499. The cultural and architectural depiction in the deep wells at various levels are a tribute to the history of the step wells, built initially by the Hindus & subsequently ornamented and blended with Islamic architecture during the Muslim rule,  in Indo Islamic style.

Early step well were made of sand stones interlocked – use of lime, Jaggery, Chikni mitti & Glass. The well cylinder was the basic form to deepen the wells. The stepwells in Gujarat have survived long in view of the builders’ knowledge about the soil conditions and Earth Quake proneness of the region. 

Step wells were used as a meeting and resting place during summer since their cool interiors offered unbelievable respite from the scorching sun outside.