Raniji ki Baori
Interesting facts
- It was built by Rani Nathavati, a queen of the Solanki clan, to relieve Bundi's water shortage during a time of famine.
- Her son Budh Singh, during whose reign it was completed, ruled Bundi from 1695 to 1729.
- Carvings around the well include avatars of Vishnu, such as Varaha the boar, Matsya the fish and Narasimha the man-lion.
- The stone elephants in the corners turn their trunks inward, as if bending to drink from the well.
- The well is reputed to be the largest of Bundi's stepwells, many of which were neglected during the colonial period.
- More than three centuries after it was built, the stepwell still holds water.
Why it is worth it
Bundi is known as the city of stepwells — around fifty of them are scattered through the old town — and Raniji ki Baori, the Queen's Stepwell, is the grandest. Set in the heart of this small Rajasthani town, it drops about 46 metres in a long, multi-storey descent, its galleries and landings stacked one above another down to the water. From the top the eye falls through a series of carved gateways framed by the walls of the shaft, each opening smaller than the last.
It was completed in 1699 by Rani Nathavati, the younger queen of Rao Raja Anirudh Singh of Bundi, during the reign of her son Budh Singh. Bundi's baoris were commissioned by its ruling family to carry the town through the months of drought. Raniji ki Baori was also a place of assembly where the townsfolk gathered, and each level carries a small shrine — a reminder that water and worship were never far apart.
The beauty is in the stone. A narrow entrance marked by four pillars leads to the steps, and from there the eye is drawn to the high arched gateway that spans the shaft and to the richly carved pillars around it. Ogee brackets crown the arches, and stone elephants stand facing one another in the corners, as if guarding the descent. The carving is deep and crisp in the soft light of the shaft, and it changes with the time of day as the sun moves across the walls.
Bundi itself rewards slow wandering: its dozens of other baoris and tanks make Raniji ki Baori one stop in a whole townscape of water architecture rather than an isolated monument.
Getting there
The stepwell is in the centre of Bundi, in south-eastern Rajasthan. The nearest international airport is Jaipur International Airport (JAI), about 155 km away; from Jaipur, Bundi is reached overland.
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
Raniji ki Baori is a noted stepwell situated in Bundi town in Rajasthan state in India. It was built in 1699 by Rani Nathavati Solanki who was the queen of Raja Anirudh Singh of Bundi. It is a 46 meter deep stepped well with carvings on its pillars and a high arched gate. It is a multistorey structure with places of worship on each floor. The step well has a narrow entrance marked by four pillars. Stone elephant statues that face each other stand in the corners. Ogee brackets decorate all the archways of 46 m deep Raniji ki Baori, which is reputedly the largest Baori of Bundi. Baoris were significant social constructions in the medieval Bundi since they acted as assembly areas for the townsfolk.
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