Brahma Vav

Brahma Vav is a stepwell in Khedbrahma, Gujarat, India. It was built in 14th century.

History

The stepwell is situated opposite the Brahma temple. Based on ornamentation of the miniature shrines in the stepwell, it is dated to 14th century. There is no inscription in the stepwell to ascertain its age.
There are some paliya dedicated to Dhabi gatekeepers of the village who died fighting Maharaja Shivsinhji of Idar around Samvat 1800. The inscriptions on them are worn out.
It is sacred to the Humada Digambara Jains and the Khedavala Brahmins. It is considered the place of origin for these sub-communities, as mentioned in the Hūmaḍa Purāṇa and other texts. They used to worship their ancestral-patron deities here.

Architecture

The stepwell is built with grey granite stone. It is constructed in east-west direction; the entrance is in the east and the well is in the west. It is long; of stepped corridor and the well of diameter. The stepwell becomes narrower as one goes downwards and to the well. It has four kuta where fourth is attached to the well. The breadth is and at the entrance which decreases to in second kuta and in the third kuta. It had row of miniature shrines as an ornamentation in the wall of shaft of the stepwell which suggests it was built in 14th century. They resemble temple spires and has niches. It has 27 niches without any idols now. It is now in despair due to lack of maintenance.