{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}} {{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}} {{Infobox religious building | building_name =Mata Bhavani's Stepwell | image =Mata Bhavani's Stepwell Ahmedabad 1866.jpg | caption =Mata Bhavani's Stepwell, 1866 | image_size = | alt = | map_type =India Ahmedabad##India Gujarat | map_size = | map_caption =Location in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India | location =[[Asarwa]], [[Ahmedabad]] | coordinates = {{coord|23.0443357|72.6068337|region:IN|display=inline,title}} | religious_affiliation = | rite = | region = | state =[[Gujarat]] | province = | territory = | prefecture = | sector = | district = | cercle = | municipality =[[Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation]] | consecration_year = | status = | functional_status =Active | leadership = | website = | architecture =yes | architect = | architecture_type =[[stepwell]] | architecture_style = | founded_by = | funded_by = | general_contractor = | facade_direction = | groundbreaking = | year_completed = | construction_cost = | specifications = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | materials = | heritage_designation = [[Monument of National Importance]]<br />ASI Monument No. N-GJ-23 }} '''Mata Bhavani's Stepwell''' or '''Mata Bhavani ni Vav''' is a [[stepwell]] in [[Asarwa]] area of [[Ahmedabad]], [[Gujarat]], India.
==History and architecture== Mata Bhavani's stepwell was built in the 11th century during [[Chaulukya dynasty]] rule in Gujarat. It is one of the earliest existing examples of stepwells in India. A long flight of steps leads to the water below a sequence of multi-story open pavilions positioned along the east–west axis. The elaborate ornamentation of the columns, brackets and beams are a prime example of how stepwells were used as a form of art.<ref name="Tadgell 1990">{{cite book|last=Tadgell|first=Christopher|title=The History of Architecture in India|year=1990|publisher=Phaidon Press|location=London|isbn=0-7148-2960-9}}</ref> A much later constructed small shrine of Hindu Goddess [[Bhavani]] is located in the lower gallery from which the stepwell derived its name.<ref name=gg>{{cite book|title=Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Ahmedabad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EL4IAAAAQAAJ&q=dastur+khan+mosque&pg=PA284|publisher=Government Central Press|pages=282–283|year=1879}}</ref> It was built before the establishment of the modern city of Ahmedabad.<ref>{{cite web | last=Shukla | first=Rakesh | title=ક્યારેક લોકોની તરસ છિપાવતા હતા ગુજરાતના આ જળ મંદિરો-માતા ભવાનીની વાવ| website=gujarati.oneindia.com | date=24 June 2014 | url=http://gujarati.oneindia.com/features/some-interesting-stepwell-gujarat/slider-pf63029-019322.html | language=gu | access-date=20 November 2016}}</ref>
The stepwell is 46 metres long and 5.1 metres wide at its entrance. It has three stories and three pavilions. The diameter of the well is 4.8 metres.<ref name="Jain-Neubauer1981">{{cite book|author=Jutta Jain-Neubauer|title=The Stepwells of Gujarat: In Art-historical Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=61fSwBF4bbYC&pg=PA35|date=1 January 1981|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02284-3|pages=35–36}}</ref>
==See also== * [[Dada Harir Stepwell]] * [[Amritavarshini Vav]] * [[Adalaj Stepwell]] * [[Jethabhai's Stepwell]] * [[Ahmedabad]]
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Ahmedabad topics|status=collapsed}}
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 11th century]] [[Category:Stepwells in Gujarat]] [[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Ahmedabad]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Ahmedabad]] [[Category:Tourist attractions in Ahmedabad]] [[Category:Monuments of National Importance in Gujarat]]