31-785: Vallabhi (or Valabhi or Valabhipur ) is an ancient city located in the Saurashtra peninsula of Gujarat , near Bhavnagar in western India . It is also known as Vallabhipura and was the capital of the Kingdom of Valabhi , an early medieval state ruled by the Chandravanshi Maitraka Dynasty . Vallabhi was occupied as early as the Harappan period , and was later part of the Maurya Empire from about 322 BCE until 185 BCE. The Satavahana dynasty ruled
62-463: Is Minnagara , from which much cotton cloth is brought down to Barygaza . In earliest foreign mention, Egyptian mathematician, geographer, astrologer Claudius Ptolemy and Greek manuscript Periplus both call this region "Surastrene" The region is mentioned in the Junagadh Rock inscription dating 150 CE, attributed to Rudradaman I . Prior to this, during the rule of Ashoka (268–232 BCE),
93-576: Is one well for fewer than 20 people or one well every 300 metres". Amri Saurashtra went through severe droughts over the years to the extent that people could no longer grow crops, nor did they have drinking water available. There has been in recent times a campaign to take up rain water harvesting. Significantly, the Check dam campaign from the late 1990s brought almost a drastic change resulting in raising water tables in Saurashtra. However, in 2019,
124-777: Is suspected that during his reign, there was an Arab Invasion. The last known ruler of the dynasty was Siladitya VII. The rule of the Maitrakas is believed to have ended during the second or third quarter of the eighth century when the Arabs invaded . Religious inscriptions are known from Valhabi, which were dedicated to the Brahmans as well as the Buddhist and Jains. The Indologist Sylvain Lévi wrote an article entitled "Les donations religieuses des rois de Valhabi" . The numerals used in
155-510: The Diu district of the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu union territory. The name "Saurashtra" itself is from Sanskrit सौराष्ट्र ( saurāṣṭra , transl. from Saurashtra ), the vṛddhi form of सुराष्ट्र ( surāṣṭra , transl. Saurashtra ), derived from सु ( su , transl. good ) + राष्ट्र ( rāṣṭra , transl. nation ). Thus
186-419: The trade of silk clothes and diamonds to the royal families of ancient South India, as the silk became the attire of royal families after the period of Gupta dynasty . These Brahmins who trace their ancestry to the historical region of Saurashtra are now known as the Saurashtra people . Several historians believe that it was Saurashtrian textile merchants who introduced idly to South India during
217-496: The 10th and 12th centuries. There are even claims that a mix of rice and urad dal ground together and later steamed to form cakes had its origins in Gujarat . This was called Iddada . For a long time, the name Sorath referred to this region. From the 9th to 14th century Chudasama Rajput ruled Sorath with their capitals Vanthali and Junagadh alternatively. The Chudasama Rajputs ruled Sorath longer than any others, until
248-632: The 16th century. The name Kathiawad seems to have been derived from the early settlements of Kathikas or Kathis who entered Gujarat from Sindh in early centuries of the Common Era . The state of the region in the early nineteenth century is shown in Letitia Elizabeth Landon 's poetical illustration, "Scene in Kattiawar", to an engraving of a painting by Clarkson Frederick Stanfield . The natural vegetation on most of
279-492: The Indian National Congress between 1955 and 1959, became Saurashtra's first Chief Minister. He was succeeded by Rasiklal Umedchand Parikh on 19 December 1954. On 1 November 1956, Saurashtra was merged into Bombay state . In 1960 Bombay state was divided along linguistic lines into the new states of Gujarat and Maharashtra . The territory of Saurashtra, including Junagadh and all of Sorath, became part of
310-535: The Kingdom of Nambanus and of all India. That part of it lying inland and adjoining Scythia is called Abiria , but the coast is called Syrastrene. It is a fertile country, yielding wheat and rice and sesame oil and clarified butter, cotton and the Indian cloths made therefrom, of the coarser sorts. Very many cattle are pastured there, and the men are of great stature and black in colour. The metropolis of this country
341-603: The Sorath area came under Muslim rule. Sorath, a Muslim name of Saurashtra, was initially one of ten prants , but by the colonial age it was one of only four surviving ones, the others being absorbed. The salute state Junagadh (alias "Junagarh" or the "Old Fort"), founded during British rule, and its neighbouring states were controlled by the Western India States Agency (WISA). In 1947, Junagadh's Muslim ruler desired to accede his territory to Pakistan, but
SECTION 10
#1732780747892372-544: The Valhabi inscriptions and on their coins, dated to c. 600 CE , are often mentioned as an intermediary step in the evolution of Hindu-Arabic numerals . Saurashtra (region) Saurashtra , also known as Kathiawar , is a peninsular region of Gujarat , India, located on the Arabian Sea coast. It covers about a third of Gujarat state, notably 11 districts of Gujarat, including Rajkot District . It
403-467: The area, off and on, from the late second century BCE until the early third century CE. The Gupta Empire held the area from approximately 319 CE to 467 CE. The Great Council of Vallabhi , which codified the Śvētāmbaras Jain texts, was held there in 454 CE, during the decline of the Gupta Empire. In the fifth century (CE), the first two Maitraka rulers, Bhatarka and Dharasena I, only used
434-611: The circular design included the inscription "SORUTH POSTAGE" at the top, and "ONE ANNA OF A RUPEE" (or "FOUR ANNAS...") at the bottom. Some of these were surcharged in 1913–14, followed by redesigned stamps in 1914. A set of eight stamps in 1929 included pictures of Junagadh, the Gir lion , and the Kathi horse in addition to the nawab. In 1937 the one anna value was reissued reading "POSTAGE AND REVENUE". The Indian province of Saurashtra did not design any of its own stamps, but before adopting
465-461: The idols of deities of these temples were moved to other places, one of those is located at Kanakaditya Temple at Kasheli near Pawas in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra . The location of other 11 idols are currently unknown. The Saurashtra region comprises the south western part of modern Gujarat state and the districts included in this region are: The region also historically encompassed
496-528: The isolation of Kathiawar, except one narrow neck which connects it on the north-east with the mainland of Gujarat. The peninsula is sometimes referred to as Kathiawar after the Kathi Darbar , which once ruled most of the region. However, Saurashtra is not entirely synonymous with Kathiawar, since a small portion of the historical Saurashtra region extends beyond the Kathiawar peninsula. Sorath forms
527-438: The local princes and petty subas (totalling 222 in Saurashtra alone). However, Maharaja Krishnakumar Sinhji of Bhavnagar State readily extended to offer his large and royal empire of Bhavnagar / Gohilwar to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and Bhavnagar became the first in the country to be merged into the union of India. The capital of Saurashtra was Rajkot . Uchharangray Navalshankar Dhebar, who later went on to become President of
558-531: The name literally means "good nation." Referred to as Saurashtra and as some other names as well over a period of time, since the Mahabharata and Vedic period , this region is mentioned again as Surastrene, or Saraostus in the first century CE Periplus of the Erythraean Sea : "Beyond the gulf of Baraca is that of Barygaza and the coast of the country of Ariaca, which is the beginning of
589-494: The northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat in the east. In the northeast, it is connected to the rest of Gujarat and borders on the low, fertile hinterland of Ahmedabad . It is crossed by two belts of hill country and is drained radially by nine rivers which have little natural flow aside from in monsoon months, thus dams have been built on some of these. Kathiawar ports have been flourishing centres of trade and commerce since at least
620-463: The peninsula is xeric scrub . A range of low hills known as the Gir Hills occupies the south-central portion of the peninsula. The highest of these is Girnar . The hills are home to an enclave of tropical dry broadleaf forest . Gir National Park and its surroundings host the last remaining Asiatic lion population. Other national parks in Kathiawar are Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar on
651-460: The predominantly Hindu population rebelled. After India's independence in 1947, 217 princely states of Kathiawar, including the former Junagadh State, were merged to form the state of Saurashtra on 15 February 1948. Initially, it was named United State of Kathiawar , which was renamed to Saurashtra State in November 1948. The exercise took up a lot of Shri Vallabhbhai Patel's time to convince
SECTION 20
#1732780747892682-406: The region and its agro-economy to a certain extent. It is found that water was easily available in the region 10 to 15 years ago. Ashvin A. Shah, a US-based engineering consultant who conducted a survey in 1998 on water availability in the region, says, "The presence of 700,000 dugwells in Saurashtra region indicates the presence of extensive groundwater aquifers throughout the region. This means there
713-598: The region was hit with a severe drought, affecting 20 districts in Gujarat, and water had to be brought in by tanker from the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada River . Kathiawar Kathiawar ( [kɑʈʰijɑʋɑɽ] ) is a peninsula , near the far north of India 's west coast, of about 61,000 km (23,500 sq mi) bordering the Arabian Sea . It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in
744-479: The region was under Yavana Tushaspa, and governed by Pushyagupta during Chandragupta Maurya 's reign (322BC – 298BC). From the 8th to 11th century, Brahmin merchants from Saurashtra region started migrating towards Southern India due to the frequent Muslim invasions , these merchants upon the invitation of Chola , Pandya , Vijayanagara , Nayak and Thanjavur Maratha Kings set up mercantile silk-weaving guilds throughout Southern India and were involved in
775-425: The southern portion of the peninsula. "Sau" means 100 and "rasthra" means languages and Sourasthra is made up with 100 languages so there isn't one original word. According to few experts, the name Saurashtra is derived from Saura Rashtra. In Sanskrit, Saura means Sun and Rashtra means country. It means, country of Sun, and there were 12 sun temples in ancient times in this region. Due to continued Islamic invasions,
806-399: The stamps of India, Saurashtra issued a court fee stamp overprinted for postal use, then created more one anna stamps by surcharging three stamps of the 1929 issue. Saurashtra has been a flourishing region and rich in natural resources since ancient times, while having gone through several droughts especially during the 20th century. Water resources and its related dynamics have influenced
837-414: The state of Gujarat . The first postage stamps of the state were issued for Princely State of Junagadh in 1864. They consisted of three lines of Hindi script in colourless letters on black, and were produced by hand-stamping with watercolor ink. A second issue in 1868 used coloured letters, printed in black or red on several colours of paper. The issue of 1877 was the first to include Latin letters;
868-475: The title of Senapati (general). The third ruler, Dronasimha (Dronasena ), declared himself Maharaja (literally "Great King"). King Guhasena came after him. Unlike his predecessors, the king stopped using the term Paramabhattaraka Padanudhyata alongside his name, a term that denotes nominal allegiance to the Gupta overlords. He was succeeded by his son Dharasena II, who used the title Mahadhiraja . The next ruler
899-423: Was assimilated into the kingdom. Dharasena II was succeeded by another son of Kharagraha I, Dhruvasena II, Baladitya. He married the daughter of Harshavardhana and their son Dharasena IV assumed the imperial titles of Paramabhattaraka Mahrajadhiraja Parameshvara Chakravartin and Sanskrit poet Bhatti was his court poet. The next powerful ruler of this dynasty was Siladitya III. After him, Siladitya V ruled, and it
930-578: Was formerly a state of India before it merged with Bombay state . In 1961 it separated from Bombay and joined Gujarat. Saurashtra peninsula is bound on the south and south-west by the Arabian Sea, on the north-west by the Gulf of Kutch and on the east by the Gulf of Khambhat . From the apex of these two gulfs, the Little Rann of Kutch and Khambhat , waste tracts half salt morass half sandy desert, stretch inland towards each other and complete
961-506: Was his son, Siladitya-I Dharmaditya, who was described by the Chinese scholar and traveller Xuanzang as a "monarch of great administrative ability and of rare kindness and compassion". Siladitya I was succeeded by his younger brother Kharagraha I. During the time of Kharagraha I, a copperplate grant was found from 616 CE that shows that his territories included Ujjain . During the reign of the next ruler, his son Dharasena III, north Gujarat