Chand baori- well of brightness

Chand baori : Abhaneri

The best example of amazing and elaborated architecture is the chand baori situated in Abhaneri, a small village near Jaipur. Abhaneri was established by the king Chand of rajasthan, and the place was known by the name Abha Nagri, the city of brightness. The well was named after king Chand, and was known as the well of brightness blessed by the goddess Harshshat.

Chand Baori is the deepest step well in the world which is located opposite to the harshshat Mata temple. It is said that this traditional well is somewhere connected to the religious traditions and customs of Hindu mythology, and that’s why built in front of the Mata temple.

Water has always played an important role in the Hindu culture. The idea of stepwell was first introduced by Hindus as an art and then was popularized all over the world. From 600 AD, the stepwell construction was seen in the western region of India, and chand baori titled as the deepest step well from that time. Chand Baori attained the popularity of peak from 11th to 16th century which serves as the storage tanks that can store large amount of water for long and at the normal temperature. Construction of Chand Baori encouraged other government authorities to build same structure in the other regions realizing scarcity of rain and water. Not only this, this structure was proven to withstand even in the earthquakes ranging 7.6 Richter scale.

Baori is 100 foot deep involving 3500 narrow steps use to draw water from the well in 13 different stories. The centre well filled with rain water, which is purely hygienic. Abhaneri experiences dried weather and climate which enforces people to draw harvested rain water from the well so as to survive for long. In addition to the excellence of Indian architecture, chand baori displays the geometrical intelligence of the bygone era. The temple opposite to well, harshshat Mata temple symbolizes the goddess of joy and happiness which magnetize the well as well with her power and so, no one is the village is left untouched with the well water

History of Chand baori

Built in 9th century, the deepest step well, chand baori was considered for the community gathering as well. Chand Baori was titled as the designation for the royal residence for the Kings and Queens. At the time of king chand, chand bowri was also the stage for performing arts in front of the King and the Queen and the villagers were ordered to sit around the well and enjoy the performance. Chand baori explains every detail used by the Indian architecture at that time to develop a step well. Other step wells in different regions of India, were originated from the idea of Chand Baori which is the pride honour for the king chand of Abhaneri.

Chand baori along with the harshshat mata temple are worth visiting which personifies the magnificent architecture and geometry excellence involved in establishing rain water harvest plan following the traditional manners of Hindu mythology. Just like every place in rajasthan, Abhaneri, famous for its royal past with this excellent and handsome structure of step wells, interests and engage the tourist visitors from all over the globe. Every element and structure involved in Chand baori is expected to carry forward the same honour of royal rajputs what it is carrying now for years to go.