Mahesana district General information
Mehsana district in north Gujarat is located within the latitudes 23:02' N to 24:09°' N and longitudes 71:26°' E to 72:51°' E. Mehsana town, administrative headquarters of Mehsana district, Gujarat state, west central India, in the lowlands between the Aravalli Range and the Little Rann of Kutch. Founded in the 12th to the 14th century by the Chavada Rajputs, the old town is believed to have had four gates, of which only one remains. Rajmahal, built by the Maratha ruler of Baroda (now Vadodara), Sayaji Rao III, is an imposing structure. The town is a centre of marketing and manufacturing. It is a major junction of the Western Railway and several highways.It had a population of 1,837,892 of which 22.40% were urban as of 2001.
Mehsana borders with Banaskantha district in the North, Patan and Surendranagar districts in West, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad districts in South and Sabarkantha district in the East. The parts of this district have been broken off for the formation of new districts in 1964 to Gandhinagar district and in 2000 to Patan district.
History
Historically parts of this district have been broken off for the formation of new districts.
* 1964 to Gandhinagar district.
* 2000 to Patan district.
Economy
Agriculture
The main crops are Bajra, jowar, jira, cotton and oilseeds mirch.
Commerce
The major trading centres in the district are oilseeds, jira (cumin), isabgul (psyllium) and anise.
There are some oil fields near Kalol in this district. Asia's second largest dairy 'Dudh Sagar' is situated in Mehsana.
Tourist Place
Modhera - The Temple of the Sun God: At Mehsana, you will see the Sun Temple at Modhera, built in 1026 AD by Bhimadeva of the Solanki Rajput clan. The temple is one of the two Sun Temples in the world - the other being at Konark. It is an exemplary model of art and architecture of the 11th century - a style that was to influence the development of temple architecture in neighboring regions.
The temple site at Modhera, located on a high mound on the left bank of the river Pushpawati, consists of three distinct units: the Sun Temple, the Nrityamandapa, and the Suryakunda. The outer facades have a string of friezes and above that is the mandovara with exquisite carvings of gods and goddesses. The Sun Temple has a rectangular step tank with about 108 shrines. Larger shrines of Vishnu, Ganesha and the Natraja-incarnation of Shiva in tandav stands on three sides of the Surya Kund, with the Sabha Mandap of the principal temple soaring on the fourth side with 52 pillars carved in intricate detail depicting tales from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Between the Sabha mandapa and the sanctum sanctorum is a hall with pillars and arches the walls have 12 inches showing the different aspects of the Sun God in each month. The outer walls are filled with sculptures of Surya and other gods. In another part of the temple you can see a whole Kama Sutra of traditional erotic sculpture in a style that rivals that of Khajuraho and Konark. Unlike Konark, which rests on 12 wheels of a chariot, Modhera has been built on the petals of a lotus which runs the whole length of the temple..