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Modhera
Village in Gujarat, India

Modhera is a village in Becharaji Taluka in Mehsana district, Gujarat, India. The town is well known for the Sun Temple of Chaulukya era. The town is located on the bank of Pushpavati river.

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History

The town was known as Dharmaranya during Puranic age. It is believed that Rama had performed yagna here to cleanse the sin of killing Brahmin Ravana. He had built Modherak which was later known as Modhera.2

The Sun Temple was built during the reign of Bhima I of Chaulukya dynasty in 1026-1027 (Vikram Samvat 1083).345 Modheshwari Temple is located in the village.6 Gyaneshwari/Dharmeshwari stepwell belongs to 16th-17th century. It has a shrine at the first pavilion of the stepwell instead of usual at the end.7 The stepwell of Modhera probably belongs to 11th century with the mandapa belonging to 10th century.8 Hawa Mahal is a building located on a elevated location. It is a sandstone pavilion with six pilasters and 12 pillars supporting a flat roof. Some pillars have kichaka brackets on their top. There is a jali window on its rear side and an ornamental geometric patterns on the edge of its plinth. It seems that it has been erected from the ruined parts of the earlier structure from the Chaulukya era.9

Economy

Electricity

Modhera became the first "solar village" of India. The village meets its complete electricity requirements by a 6 MW solar plant with a 15 MWh battery energy storage system on 12 hectares (0.12 km2) land located 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) from the village. A total of 1300 out of the 1600 houses in the village installed rooftop solar systems. The project cost ₹65 crore (equivalent to ₹73 crore or US$8.5 million in 2023) with half financed by the Government of Gujarat and the other half by the Government of India.10111213

See also

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Modhera. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Modhera.

23°35′N 72°08′E / 23.583°N 72.133°E / 23.583; 72.133

References

  1. Subodh Kapoor (2002). The Indian Encyclopaedia: Meya-National Congress. Cosmo Publications. pp. 4871–4872. ISBN 978-81-7755-273-7. 978-81-7755-273-7 ↩

  2. Subodh Kapoor (2002). The Indian Encyclopaedia: Meya-National Congress. Cosmo Publications. pp. 4871–4872. ISBN 978-81-7755-273-7. 978-81-7755-273-7 ↩

  3. Hasmukh Dhirajlal Sankalia (1941). The Archaeology of Gujarat: Including Kathiawar. Natwarlal & Company. pp. 84–91. Alt URL https://books.google.com/books?id=fvAdAAAAMAA ↩

  4. "Sun-Temple at Modhera (Gujarat)". Archived from the original on 29 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160429110946/http://ignca.nic.in/nl002206.htm ↩

  5. Subodh Kapoor (2002). The Indian Encyclopaedia: Meya-National Congress. Cosmo Publications. pp. 4871–4872. ISBN 978-81-7755-273-7. 978-81-7755-273-7 ↩

  6. Livemint (9 October 2022). "PM Modi declares Gujarat's Modhera as India's first 24x7 solar-powered village". mint. Retrieved 13 October 2022. https://www.livemint.com/news/india/pm-modi-declares-gujarat-s-modhera-as-india-s-first-24x7-solar-powered-village-11665323102394.html ↩

  7. Jutta Jain-Neubauer (1 January 1981). The Stepwells of Gujarat: In Art-historical Perspective. Abhinav Publications. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-391-02284-3. 978-0-391-02284-3 ↩

  8. Jutta Jain-Neubauer (1 January 1981). The Stepwells of Gujarat: In Art-historical Perspective. Abhinav Publications. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-391-02284-3. 978-0-391-02284-3 ↩

  9. "હવા મહેલ બન્યો અસામાજિકતત્વોનો અડ્ડો, સ્થાપત્યોનું જતન કેમ નથી કરતું તંત્ર?". Zee News Gujarati (in Gujarati). Retrieved 22 March 2025. https://zeenews.india.com/gujarati/gujarat/hawa-mahal-has-become-a-haven-for-anti-social-elements-why-doesnt-the-administration-preserve-the-architecture-387804 ↩

  10. Gupta, Uma (26 August 2021). "Gujarat's Modhera will be India's first solar village". PV Magazine India. Retrieved 17 October 2021. https://www.pv-magazine-india.com/2021/08/26/gujarats-modhera-will-be-indias-first-solar-village/ ↩

  11. "Sun Temple, Modhera village to get 24X7 solar power". The Indian Express. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/sun-temple-modhera-village-to-get-24x7-solar-power-7341532/ ↩

  12. Prasad, Nithin Thomas (31 March 2020). "Modhera Sun Temple Gets ₹650 Million Grant for 6 MW Solar, 15 MWh Battery Energy Storage System". Mercom India. Retrieved 17 October 2021. https://mercomindia.com/modhera-sun-temple-grant-solar-battery-energy-storage/ ↩

  13. Livemint (9 October 2022). "PM Modi declares Gujarat's Modhera as India's first 24x7 solar-powered village". mint. Retrieved 13 October 2022. https://www.livemint.com/news/india/pm-modi-declares-gujarat-s-modhera-as-india-s-first-24x7-solar-powered-village-11665323102394.html ↩