u/New_Octopus

Credit @mycinemastory

It was Valabhi, the capital of the Maitraka dynasty. Valabhi was already an important port and trading centre, but by around the 7th century it had also become a major place of learning. The Chinese monk Yijing wrote that its reputation rivalled that of Nalanda.

And it wasn't only Buddhist studies. Students came there for subjects such as law, economics, administration, accountancy and literature. Some graduates went on to work in government.

The old city was in what is now Vallabhipur in Bhavnagar district. Today, there's obviously nothing resembling the university that once stood there. Most of what we know about Valabhi comes from inscriptions, historical accounts and the writings of travellers who visited India.

It's kind of strange to think that a place in Saurashtra was once mentioned alongside Nalanda as a major centre of learning.

I only came across Valabhi properly while reading about the history of Saurashtra, and it made me wonder how many other places around here have stories that have almost disappeared from popular memory.

Sources

• Annette Schmiedchen, Maitrakas, Wiley Online Library
• Pradeep & Rajani, Ancient Valabhi: A Remote Sensing Perspective
• The Times of India: Satellite imagery locates ancient Valabhi
• Dr. D. G. Apte, Universities in Ancient India
• Dr. Ambedkar Open University, material on Valabhi

One thing I recently found interesting about Gondal was how early it made girls' education compulsory.

By 1918, Gondal State had compulsory education for girls in all of its villages. This was during the rule of Maharaja Bhagvatsinhji.

His interest in education wasn't limited to girls either. Schools were opened across the state, and Gondal eventually had free and compulsory primary education. He also pushed for technical education, hospitals, railways, irrigation and other public works.

There was another side to the reforms too. Bhagvatsinhji's wife, Maharani Nandkunvarba, stopped observing purdah and began appearing at public events. The practice of keeping women secluded within the palace was also ended.

And then there's the Bhagavadgomandal, the huge Gujarati dictionary and encyclopaedia that was produced with his support. It eventually became a nine-volume work covering thousands of pages.

It's interesting to think about all of this in the context of a relatively small princely state in Saurashtra.

Source

• Gujarat Tourism, Riverside Palace, Gondal
• Times of India: Gujarat board results: Maharaja's legacy behind Gondal's top grades (2017)
• Live History India: Gondal's Doctor Maharaja
• Royal Opera House Mumbai: About Gondal Family

We’ve officially reached 100 members on r/Kathiyawar.

It may not sound like a huge number compared to the massive subreddits out there, but for a community that’s focused specifically on Kathiyawar and Saurashtra, 100 people is a pretty good start.

Thanks to everyone who joined, contributed, and helped the subreddit get here.

100 members today. Let’s see where we can take it from here.

- Your dearest mod

After independence, the Bhakra project was approved as a major national development project to provide irrigation, generate electricity, and support India’s economic growth. Its reservoir, however, required the submergence of the old capital of Kahlur. Raja Anand Chand, the last ruler of the Chandel dynasty of Kahlur, accepted the project despite knowing that his ancestral capital, chandel palaces, temples would be lost beneath the rising waters. From 1954 onward, the Sutlej gradually swallowed the historic town, including Chandel temples, royal palaces, homes, and surrounding land. By 1962–63, the old capital of Kahlur lay submerged beneath the newly formed Gobind Sagar reservoir.

Anand Chand nevertheless continued to fight for his people and their interests during this transformation. He secured a separate administrative identity for Bilaspur before its integration into Himachal Pradesh. His journey continued from hereditary ruler to administrator and finally an elected Member of Parliament. The Chandela capital was lost, but the legacy of Kahlur survived through its people and memory.

A real battle between Sodha Parmar and Chabhad Rajputs took place over a single refugee partridge. In Vikram Samvat 1474, an injured partridge (titar) flew into the Sodha Parmar camp, seeking shelter under Mother Jombai's lap. The Chabhads claimed the bird was their theft and demanded it be handed over, but Mother Jombai refused in defense of Rajput honor. This seemingly small dispute soon escalated into a full-scale conflict. Later accounts suggest that the injured partridge may have been deliberately used as a pretext to provoke the clash, pointing toward underlying political motives. As a result, 500 Chabhads had fallen, while 140 Sodha Parmars were martyred. Through this bloody sacrifice over a single bird, the Sodha Parmars preserved their honor.

Credit - ImperialRajputs

લગભગ ૮૦૦ વર્ષોના સમયગાળા દરમિયાન ભારતના ત્રણ મહાન સામ્રાજ્યોએ આ તળાવના નિર્માણ, જાળવણી અને સમારકામમાં પોતાનો મહત્વનો ફાળો આપ્યો હતો. શિલાલેખોમાંથી મળતી માહિતી મુજબ આ તળાવનો ઐતિહાસિક ઘટનાક્રમ કંઈક આ પ્રમાણે છે:

મૌર્ય કાળ: ઈ.સ. પૂર્વે ૩૧૯ ની આસપાસ, મૌર્ય સમ્રાટ ચંદ્રગુપ્ત ના વૈશ્ય જાતિના સુબા પુષ્યગુપ્ત એ ગિરનાર ખડક પાસે આ 'સુદર્શન' તળાવનો મૂળ બંધ બાંધ્યો હતો. ત્યારબાદ, સમ્રાટ અશોકના શાસનકાળમાં (ઈ.સ. પૂર્વે ૨૫૦), તેમના 'યવનરાજા' સુબા તુષાસ્પે તેમાં પાણી લઈ જવા માટે નહેરો બનાવીને તેને વધુ સુશોભિત અને ઉપયોગી બનાવ્યું હતું.

ક્ષત્રપ કાળ: મૌર્ય કાળ પછી, મહાક્ષત્રપ રુદ્રદામનના શાસન દરમિયાન (ઈ.સ. ૧૫૦ ની આસપાસ), એક ભયંકર વાવાઝોડાને કારણે આ જૂનો બંધ અચાનક તૂટી ગયો. આ કટોકટીના સમયે રુદ્રદામને આનર્ત અને સુરાષ્ટ્રના રક્ષણ માટે નીમેલા પોતાના પહલવ જાતિના સુબા, કુલૈપના પુત્ર સુવિશાખ ને આદેશ આપીને તે જ જગ્યાએ એક નવો અને મજબૂત બંધ બંધાવ્યો હતો.

ગુપ્ત કાળ: રુદ્રદામને બનાવેલા આ નવા બંધને પણ સમય જતાં નુકસાન થયું. ગુપ્ત સમ્રાટ સ્કંદગુપ્તના શાસનકાળ દરમિયાન (ઈ.સ. ૪૫૬ ની આસપાસ), જ્યારે પર્ણદત્ત સુરાષ્ટ્રનો સુબો હતો, ત્યારે ભારે વરસાદથી પલાશિની, સિકતા અને વિલાશિની નદીઓમાં ભારે પૂર આવ્યું અને આ બંધ ફરીથી તૂટી ગયો. આ સમયે પર્ણદત્તના પુત્ર ચક્રપાલિતે યુદ્ધના ધોરણે માત્ર બે મહિનામાં જ ફરીથી આ બંધનું સમારકામ કરાવ્યું. આ નવો બંધ ૧૦૦ હાથ લાંબો, ૬૮ હાથ પહોળો અને ૭ માણસ (લગભગ ૩૮ ફૂટ) જેટલો ઊંચો બનાવવામાં આવ્યો હતો. ચક્રપાલિતે આ વિશાળ જળાશયની નજીકમાં જ વિષ્ણુ ભગવાનનું એક મંદિર પણ બંધાવ્યું હતું.

Commercial flights connecting Bombay and Kathiyawar were already operating in the 1930s, making the journey in just 90 minutes.

Air Services of India Ltd. was one of the country's early airlines and operated regular services to Kathiyawar before expanding its network to other cities. Rajkot even had its own booking agent, reflecting how the region was already part of India's growing civil aviation network long before independence.

The airline later became part of Indian Airlines in 1953, It's a small but fascinating piece of Kathiyawar's aviation history.

Just a few kilometres from Somnath, in the village of Kadvar, stands the ancient Varaha Temple, believed to have been built in the 6th century CE. It is considered one of the oldest surviving Hindu temples in Gujarat.

The temple is dedicated to Varaha, the boar avatar of Vishnu, and is known for its unusual rectangular design, something rarely seen in temples of that period. One of its most intriguing features is a sculpture that many scholars believe resembles Buddha, offering a glimpse into a time when different religious traditions coexisted in western India.

Despite the damage and the passage of time, the temple still preserves many of its original carvings and architectural features.

Sikotari Mata has long been worshipped by the seafaring communities of Saurashtra as the guardian of sailors and fishermen.

Many historians and maritime archaeologists believe her name and tradition are linked to Socotra Island, near the entrance to the Red Sea, which served as an important refuge for Gujarati merchants sailing across the Arabian Sea centuries ago.

Whether viewed as history, tradition, or both, it is a remarkable reminder of Kathiyawar's deep maritime connections with the wider world.