Dabhoi

Dabhoi is a town and a municipality in the Vadodara district in the state of Gujarat, India. Dabhoi was historically known as Darbhavati, Darbikagrama, Darbhavatipura, and Dabhohi. It is first mentioned in the sixth century astronomical treatise Romaka Siddhanta. It was an important pilgrim site for Hindus due to the Kalika temple and for Jains as well. It is also mentioned in several Jain works, such as Hemachandra's Yogartrevritti and Ramchandra's Vikramcharitra. The town and its surroundings were under Chavda and later under Chaulukya rulers who built few buildings and temples from the ninth century. The fortification of it is ascribed to the Chaulukya king of Gujarat, Jayasimha Siddharaja (1093-1143 AD), who made this his frontier fortress. The architectural style and the exquisite stone carving and iconography on the fort walls and gates suggest that it was conceived and constructed in the same period as Rudra Mahalaya and Zinzuwada Fort. It is mentioned as an important city in the Jain inscriptions of Girnar (VS 1288). In the 13th century, the town came under Vaghela rule. The information on Dabhoi can be found in prashastis and inscriptions such as Someshwar prashasti, which mentions that the fort surrounding the town was built (1231 CE) during the reign of Vaghela ruler Viradhavala, father of Visaladeva, who made it his frontier fortress. He carried out the construction as a celebration of the birth of his son. The gates of it were said to construct by his ministers Vastupala and Tejapala. The Vaidyanatha-Mahadeva temple, Parsavanath Jain temple, torana in white marble, Vireshwara temple, and Kumbeshwara complex was also built in the 13th century. Of all these, only gates, Vaidyanatha Mahadeva temple, and Parshwanath Jain temples are in good condition. The ruins of other structures and a kund suggest the grandeur of the town in the 13th and 14th centuries. It came under the Gujarat Sultanate later. It was a district headquarter during the Mughal rule in Gujarat.