Latest revision as of 17:34, 19 November 2015

[edit] Sidhpur Town

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Head-quarters of the ialuka of the same name, Kadi prant, Baroda State, situated in 23 55' N. and 72 26' E., on the Saraswat! river, with a station on the Rajputana-Malwa Railway, 64 miles north of Ahmadabad. Population (1901), 14,743. Sidhpur, which was formerly known as Sristhala, is a town of much religious importance, and is frequented by great crowds of Hindu pilgrims. They resort here because it is said to be the only place where shraddha can be performed for the propitiation of the manes of deceased mothers. What Gaya is for the fathers, Sidhpur is for the mothers.

A. K. Forbes in his l?as Mala has described the celebrated Rudra Mahalaya or Mala, founded in the tenth century by Mularaja, and reconstituted by Jay Singh Siddha Raja, once the glory of Sidhpur, but now only a massive ruin :

' The Rudra Mala was a very large edifice of the usual form and apparently three storeys high. In the centre of three sides of the mandapa projected two-storeyed porticoes called rup choris\ on the fourth the adytum, a most massive structure rising to the extreme height of the central building, and then mounting beyond it into a sikara or spire. On either side stood a klrtti stambha or triumphal pillar, one of which exists in a nearly perfect state. Two richly adorned columns support an entablature and sculptured pediment. Above the brackets, formed of the heads of marine monsters, springs a delicately chiselled arch called the torana or 'garland.' The temple stood in the centre of an extensive court, to which access was given by three large gate-houses, that in front opening on to the terrace lead- ing to the river. The rest of the surrounding wall was composed of numerous lesser shrines, three of which remain and have been con- verted into a Muhammadan mosque/

But the work of destruction has proceeded rapidly since the time of Forbes, and now there is little left save gigantic stones with superb carving to show the former magnificence of the great temple. Oppo- site Sidhpur and across the river is a large square building forming a dharmsala of Kewalpuri Gosains. The town also contains numerous other temples, and several tanks, one of which, the Bindu Sarovar, is held peculiarly holy. The tortuous and narrow streets, the crowded houses, and the population too great for the area inhabited, unite in making Sidhpur an unattractive town for all except the Audichya Brahmans, who derive comfortable incomes from this holy place, and the Bohras. The latter are merchants who carry on business in Burma, Zanzibar, &c., and then retire to Sidhpur to spend the rest of their existence in their well-built houses and pleasant gardens. The town possesses a magistrate's court, Anglo-vernacular and ver- nacular schools, a dispensary, and the usual public offices. It is administered as a municipality, which was reconstituted on a partly elective basis in 1905, and has an income of Rs. 6,500 from customs, excise, and tolls. The chief arts are dyeing and printing of cloth, but the wood-carving on the houses is also worthy of notice. Sidhpur is locally known as the centre of the poppy-growing tract in Baroda, and the place where the State manufactures opium.