Patrons of Water in Mewar

Posted by Admin on Wednesday, December 18th, 2019

The ‘Suryavanshis’ (Solar Dynasty) have contributed immensely towards human welfare on Earth. The social order established by Manu proved beneficial for the entire human race. Scriptures hail Ikshvaku, son of Manu as a glorious and righteous Monarch whose grandeur dominated all four directions of Earth to an extent that for centuries to come the Solar Dynasty was popularly referred to as Ikshvaku Dynasty. One of the descendants of Ikshvaku Dynasty was the legendary King Bhagirath, son of King Dilip. Bhagirath performed penance and worshipped Goddess Ganga with the purpose of providing salvation to his ancestors and welfare of the entire Universe. This practice led to the descent of Goddess Ganga from Heaven to Earth in the form of the sacred River Ganges. Emergence of the Ganges on Earth was a boon resulting in all round development and progress of the entire Universe.

Picking up from here the kings of Solar Dynasty of Gohil lineage, forever, continued to serve the society. Various important projects related to human welfare were fostered by them. The efforts of the Solar Dynasty flourished, commanding respect from contemporary rulers all around, thus they managed to establish Mewar as one of the strongest and most powerful states of the era.

Rulers of Mewar, during their respective reigns, made individual efforts to undertake, implement and successfully complete activities of sustainable management of natural recourses of fresh water to meet their current and future demands. Udaipur, which is world famous as, ‘The City of Lakes’ is one of the finest examples of  protection of hydrosphere where the lakes of the city are interconnected to form a system which supports and sustains ground water recharge, ensuring availability of water for the purpose of – consumption, industries, agriculture and tourism. Apart from this, the Maharanas of Mewar have contributed immensely towards universal unity, patriotism, independence, dedication, devotion, sacrifices for social and economic welfare aimed at betterment of masses.

Traditional methods of conservation and management of water by the Maharanas of Mewar has set an unprecedented example presenting them as role models in the field of water conservation and management. The Maharanas not only guarded and protected the territories of their state from invaders but also contributed largely towards conservation of rain water to meet the essential requirement of water supply during war and drought. Maximum  methods of natural water harvesting and harnessing in Mewar region is in the form of lakes, ponds, dams, step-wells and canals, built by the Maharanas of Mewar.