History of Vadnagar
Vadnagar, in Mehsana District, has a history of 2500 years old and has discovered many interesting archaeological sites during excavations. These excavations have traces of Harappan Culture.
The city was called by names like Chamatkarpur, Anandapur, Anartapur, and Vruddhanagar. The name Chamatkarpur which means Miracle town was given to it due to its king who was healed of leprosy by taking bath in its shakti tirth’s ( powerful holy place) magical waters.
It became Anartapur later as a prosperous state during Mahabharata Era. This is also mentioned in travel stories by a Chinese Traveller Hsuan Tsang. Tsang visited Anartapur twice in 632 AD and mentioned that the city had a rich and flourished history with lots of temples and a Buddist presence.
The prosperous Vadnagar attracted invaders from all corners. It was Solankis who took a keen interest in reviving the culture of the city after the attack by Malva rules who ignored the city. Solankis were powerful rulers with a desire for development and preserving heritage and culture. They built six gates to protect the city.
They built numerous temples, vavs ( step-wells), palaces, kunds, wells, roads, and schools across the state and in Vadnagar as well. The downfall started after the city was again attacked by Mughals and the city was destroyed yet another time.