page_title: Rani ki vav
section_title: Sculptures
hierarchical_section_title: Rani ki vav / Architecture / Sculptures
caption_attribution_description: This is a photo of ASI monument number&#160; N-GJ-160.
context_page_description: Rani ki Vav or Ranki vav is a stepwell situated in the town of Patan in Gujarat state of India. It is located on the banks of Saraswati river. Its construction is attributed to Udayamati, daughter of Khengara of Saurashtra, queen of the 11th-century Chaulukya dynasty and spouse of Bhima I. Silted over, it was rediscovered in 1940s and restored in 1980s by the Archaeological Survey of India. It has been listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites since 2014.
  The finest and one of the largest examples of its kind and designed as an inverted temple highlighting the sanctity of water, the stepwell is divided into seven levels of stairs with sculptural panels; more than 500 principal sculptures and over a thousand minor ones combine religious, mythological and secular imagery.
context_section_description: There are more than 500 principle sculptures and over a thousand minor ones combine religious, mythological and secular imagery, often referencing literary works. The ornamentation of stepwell depicts the entire universe inhabited by gods and goddesses; celestial beings; men and women; monks, priests and laity; animals, fishes and birds including real and mythical ones; as well as plants and trees.
  The stepwell is designed as an underground shrine or inverted temple. It has spiritual significance and represents the sanctity of water. The sculptures in stepwell depicts numerous Hindu deities including Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, goddesses (Devi), Ganesha, Kubera, Lakulisha, Bhairava, Surya, Indra and Hayagriva. The sculptures associated with Vishnu outnumbers all which include Sheshashayi Vishnu (Vishnu reclined on thousand hooded snake Shesha in the celestial ocean), Vishwarupa Vishnu (Cosmic form of Vishnu), twenty four forms as well as Dashavatara (ten incarnations) of Vishnu.
  The sculptures of deities with their families such as Brahma-Savitri, Uma-Maheshwar and Lakshmi-Narayan are there. Notable among other sculptures are Ardhanarishwara as well as large number of goddesses such as Lakshmi, Parvati,  Saraswati, Chamunda, Durga/Mahishasurmardini with twenty hands, Kshemankari, Suryani and Saptamatrikas. There are images of Navagraha (nine plantets) as well.
  There are a large number of celestial beings (Apsaras). One sculpture of Apsara depicts either applying lipstick to her lips or chewing on aromatic twig while a man is tickling her feet. On the northern side of the third storey pavilion, there is a sculpture of an Apsara warding off a monkey clinging to her leg and pulling at her clothes, revealing her seductive body. At her feet, there is a nude female with a snake around her neck probably representing an erotic motif. A sculpture of Nagkanya (serpent princess) with long hair and swan as well as sculptures of celestial dancers in classical dance positions are there.
  There are large number of sculptures portraying women in their everyday life and activities. One sculpture depicts a woman combing her hair, adjusting her earring  and looking herself in the mirror. Another sculptures include a woman writing a letter, a young woman with scorpion climbing her right leg and her clothes sliding off unknowingly, a young woman pulling a beard of a dwarf-like man, a woman with fish plate in her hands with a snake encircling her leg and reaching out to fish. One sculpture depicts a young women coming out of bath with her wet hair and a swan catching droplets of water falling from her hairs as if they are pearls. These women sculptures are adorned with jewelry including bangles, earrings, necklaces, waist girdles, anklets and others as well as with elegant clothes and well combed hairs. The variety of expressions and emotions are depicted in them. They represent beauty as well love in its sublime and seductive form signaling eroticism. There are sculptures representing maternal love such as a woman holding her child and pointing to moon to divert his attention, a woman raising her child high to let him pick a mango from tree, a woman in a mango grove with children with her.
  There are gradually increasing cantilevered brackets in the well shaft which are profusely ornamented. There kalpavriksha carvings on the wall repents fertility and nature worship while kirtimukhas and makaras adorn the basements and capitals of pillars. On the northern side wall of entrance of the stepwell, there are geometric lattice patterns and designs resembling designs of local textile tradition of Patola. They may have been adapted from the wood carvings and the ceilings of the temples. Animal figures of horses, elephants and lions are used as decoration of pillars and basement moldings.
caption: Geometric lattice patterns and designs resembling Patola textile designs
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