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Champaner (The Lost capital of Gujarat)

August 6, 2020

A site where three religions co-existed long ago before there was a word called secularism and remained capital of Gujarat established by King Vanraj Chavda the most successful ruler of The Chavda dynasty which reigned over most of Gujarat from the year 690 to 942. He was the one who named the province of Champaner on his favorite general Name “Champa” right on the foot of Pavagadh Hills which said to be a chunk of the Himalaya’s Mountain which the mighty God Hanumanji carried to save Lord Ram’s Brother Laxman who got injured fighting one of Ravana's sons. Champaner has Not just That there are three Jain temples on the Pavagadh hills that are said to be 5000 years old! But after the foundation laid by Vanraj Chavda Champaner was handed to a family called Patai’s among them the last ruler called “Patai Jaisinh” has a very mythological story behind him. According to the local folklores (Garba) once during the Navratri time, Goddess Mahakali assumed the form of a lady to come down & enjoy the festival but the King did not behave properly so he was cursed that his kingdom should fall and it Did in the 15th Century during his reign Mahmud Begada or Known as Mahmud Shah I, attacked and to control over Pavagadh & Junagadh and established his kingdom’s Capital to Champaner which now is a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site since 2004 making it the second UNESCO Heritage site in Gujarat and here lies The Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park as a commemoration of stories like this! Then came the Mughal Ruler Humayun who conquered these lands and shifted his capital to Ahmedabad & once a capital was long forgotten in history although Today’s scenario is quite different it’s a major pilgrimage destination and there is a pretty good infrastructure for tourism being developed by the local government to promote this destination. Find yourself in these ancient stories & structures in this lost capital of Gujarat Champaner-Pavagadh.

Categories: Tourism India