Boter Kothani Vav Explained

Boter Kothani Vav
Alternate Names:	Mehsana Vav
Coordinates:	23.6034°N 72.4015°W
Location Town:	Mehsana
Location Country:	India
Architect:	Local
Completion Date:	1674
Style:	Indian architecture
Floor Count:	Eleven storied stepwell
Mapframe-Zoom:	14
Mapframe-Marker:	water

Boter Kothani Vav, also known as Mehsana Vav^[1] or Interi Vav,^[2] is a stepwell located in Mehsana, Gujarat, India.

History

The stepwell was constructed during the reign of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. An inscription dated Samvat 1731 (1674 CE) in Persian and Devnagari scripts states that it was commissioned by Shah Gokaldas from Laghu Shakha of Shrimali caste, and his mother Manabai for public welfare.^[3] Gokaldas is a son of Virji who is a son of Vaka and grandson of Tejpal, as mentioned in the inscription.^[4]

Repaired and renovated during the Gaekwad rule,^{[5] [6]} it became neglected and polluted. It was cleaned by the Mehsana Municipality in 2013.^{[7] [8]} It was cleaned again and its water was approved for use in gardens in 2020.^[9]

Architecture

It is located near Bhimnath Mahadev temple in Para area.^[10] It is constructed of bricks and sandstone. It is 45to long and eleven floors deep, and has unique twin wells. It is known as Boter Kothani Vav, literally the stepwell with 72 cells.^{[3] [11]}

See also

• Rajmahal, Mehsana
• Para Lake
• Nagalpur Lake

Notes and References

1. Book: Purnima Mehta Bhatt. Her Space, Her Story: Exploring the Stepwells of Gujarat. 16 December 2014. Zubaan. 978-93-84757-08-3. 57–58. https://web.archive.org/web/20170824131900/https://books.google.com/books?id=tWmiDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT57. 24 August 2017. live.
2. Web site: 2015-05-13. મહેસાણાની ઐતિહાસીક વિરાસત એવી 'બોત્તેર કોઠા'ની વાવ ફરીથી તંત્રની ઉદાસિનતાનો. 2020-11-06. Divya Bhaskar. gu.
3. Book: S. B. Rajyagor. Gujarat State Gazetteers: Mehsana District. Gujarat State Gazetteers. 5. 1975. Directorate of Government Print., Stationery and Publications, Government of Gujarat. 805. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170216021852/https://books.google.com/books?id=JycbAAAAIAAJ. 2017-02-16.
4. Book: Bhojak, Kanaiyalal Amthalal. Mehsana: Prachin Arvachin. Mehsana Municipality. 1957. Mehsana. 48-53. gu. gu:મહેસાણા: પ્રાચીન અર્વાચીન. Mehsana: Ancient and Modern.
5. Web site: Shukla. Rakesh. 24 June 2014. ક્યારેક લોકોની તરસ છિપાવતા હતા ગુજરાતના આ જળ મંદિરો-બોતેર કોઠાની વાવ. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20161120213416/http://gujarati.oneindia.com/features/some-interesting-stepwell-gujarat/slider-pf63029-019322.html. 20 November 2016. 20 November 2016. gujarati.oneindia.com. gu.
6. Web site: 2 December 2013. શિલ્પ-સ્થાપત્યની બેનમૂન બોતેર કોઠાની વાવ કચરાપેટી બની ગઈ. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170824131900/http://gujarati.webdunia.com/article/gujarati-regional-news/%E0%AA%B6%E0%AA%BF%E0%AA%B2%E0%AB%8D%E0%AA%AA-%E0%AA%B8%E0%AB%8D%E0%AA%A5%E0%AA%BE%E0%AA%AA%E0%AA%A4%E0%AB%8D%E0%AA%AF%E0%AA%A8%E0%AB%80-%E0%AA%AC%E0%AB%87%E0%AA%A8%E0%AA%AE%E0%AB%82%E0%AA%A8-%E0%AA%AC%E0%AB%8B%E0%AA%A4%E0%AB%87%E0%AA%B0-%E0%AA%95%E0%AB%8B%E0%AA%A0%E0%AA%BE%E0%AA%A8%E0%AB%80-%E0%AA%B5%E0%AA%BE%E0%AA%B5-%E0%AA%95%E0%AA%9A%E0%AA%B0%E0%AA%BE%E0%AA%AA%E0%AB%87%E0%AA%9F%E0%AB%80-%E0%AA%AC%E0%AA%A8%E0%AB%80-%E0%AA%97%E0%AA%88-113120200004_1.htm. 24 August 2017. 20 November 2016. Webdunia. gu.
7. News: 2013-12-04. ૭૨ કોઠા વાવ : મહેસાણાની શાન અને જાન છે. 2020-11-06. Divya Bhaskar. gu.
8. News: 21 March 2013. Enthusiasts to revive stepwell in Mehsana. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20130322222113/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/Enthusiasts-to-revive-stepwell-in-Mehsana/articleshow/19115026.cms. 22 March 2013. 20 November 2016. The Times of India.
9. News: 2020-10-30. મહેસાણાની અવાવરૃં બનેલી 72 કોઠાની વાવ જીવંત કરાશે. 2020-11-06. Gujarat Samachar. gu.
10. News: 2019-11-27. અયોગ્ય@મહેસાણા: ઐતિહાસિક 72 કોઠાની વાવમાં સ્વચ્છતા અભિયાનનું સુરસુરીયું. 2020-11-06. Atal Samachar. gu.
11. Book: Census of India, 1991: Mahesana. Government Photo Litho Press. 1992. 29. en.