Rani ki vav (Queen’s step well) is an intricately constructed step well situated in the town of Patan in Gujarat, India. It was included in the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Site. It was built in memory of Bhimdev I (AD 1022 to 1063), the son of Mularaja, the founder of the Solanki dynasty of Anahilwada Patan about 1050 AD by his widowed queen Udayamati and probably completed by Udayamati and Karandev I after his death. A reference to Udayamati building the monument is in Prabandha Chintamani composed by Jain monk Merunga Suri in 1304 AD. The well is a marvel of underground sculpture and splendour with ornate interiors and long flights of steps interspersed with multi-storeyed mandaps or pavilions. The stepwell was later flooded by the nearby Saraswati River and silted over until the late 1980s, when it was excavated by the Archeological Survey of India, with the carvings found in pristine condition. The minute and exquisite carving of this vav is one of the finest specimens of its kind. Befitting its name, the Rani-Ki-Vav is now considered to be the queen among step wells of India.
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