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WonderWater architecture fact

Chand Baori is a stepwell in Rajasthan, India: a well you reach by walking down stairs. Its 3,500 steps descend about 30 metres through 13 storeys to the water at the bottom.

Abhaneri, Rajasthan, 8th–9th century CE

ArchitectureEngineeringHistoryClimate

The story behind the card

Chand Baori stands in the village of Abhaneri and is said to be named after Raja Chanda, a local ruler of the Nikumbh dynasty. No inscription records its building, but its style dates it to the 8th or 9th century. In a dry region where most rain falls in a few monsoon months, stepwells stored water and let people reach it as the level dropped through the year. Here zigzag flights of steps line three sides of the square shaft, and the fourth side holds a pillared gallery with rooms. The depth also kept the air at the bottom noticeably cooler than at the surface. Beside the well stands the temple of Harshat Mata, a goddess of joy.

Türkçe oku
Hindistan'ın Racastan eyaletindeki Chand Baori, suya merdivenle inilen bir basamaklı kuyudur. 3.500 kadar basamağı, 13 kat boyunca yaklaşık 30 metre derinliğe iner.
Abhaneri, Racastan, MS 8.–9. yüzyıl

Chand Baori, Abhaneri köyündedir ve adını Nikumbh hanedanından yerel bir hükümdar olan Raca Chanda'dan aldığı söylenir. Yapımını anlatan bir yazıt yok; ama mimari üslubu kuyuyu 8. ya da 9. yüzyıla tarihlendiriyor. Yağmurun büyük kısmının yılın birkaç muson ayında yağdığı bu kurak bölgede basamaklı kuyular suyu depolar, su seviyesi yıl boyunca düştükçe insanların ona ulaşmasını sağlardı. Burada kare biçimli kuyunun üç yanını zikzak çizen merdivenler kaplar, dördüncü yanda ise sütunlu bir galeri ve odalar yer alır. Derinlik sayesinde dipteki hava yüzeydekinden belirgin biçimde serin kalırdı. Kuyunun hemen yanında neşe tanrıçası Harshat Mata'nın tapınağı bulunur.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Chand Baori
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