Palanpur

Palanpur (Gujarati: Pālanpur) is a city and a headquarters of Banaskantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat.

[5]: 71–2 The Jain texts mentions that Prahladana, brother of Paramara Dharavarsha of Abu, founded Prahladanapur in 1218 and built Prahladana-vihara dedicated to Pallaviya Parshwanatha.

At the start of the seventeenth century, the Palanpur State was taken over by Jhalori dynasty of the Pashtun Lohani tribe which was founded in 1373 and ruled from Jalore (Rajasthan).

The dynasty came into historical prominence during the period of instability that followed the demise of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the early 18th century.

Sher Muhammad Khan attended the coronation ceremony of King George V in Delhi in 1910 and built a club named after him in 1913.

In 1918, his successor Tale Muhammad Khan constructed Kirti Stambh, a 22-metre tower near the railway station commemorating the gallantry of his father and the history of town and his dynasty.

Early Jhalori ruler Malik Mujahid Khan built Mansarovar, a lake dedicated to his queen Manbai Jadeja, in 1628.

The sculptures include that of Ganesha, Shiva, Apsaras, dancing figures, worshiping couples and floral or geometrical patterns.

A worn out inscription found on one sculpture embedded in left wall can not read clearly but the year Samvat 1320 ( 1263 AD) can made out.

[10] Kirti Stambh : The 22m(72 feet) high Tower of Fame was built by a wealthy Jain merchant in the 12 century A.D. and is dedicated to Adinathji (Rishabhnatha), the first of the Tirthankaras.

It has direct rail links on the broad gauge to the cities of Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Mysore, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Delhi, Dehradun, Muzaffarpur, Bareilly and Jammu.

It is connected to most of the cities and towns in Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodra, Bhuj, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Porbandar.

Indian Railways’ proposal to double the broad gauge line between Palanpur and Samakhiali has received government backing.

An aerial view of Jorawar Palace, 1936
Mira Gate, the only surviving gate of the city walls
King George V Club
Mithi Vav
Palanpur Railway Station, 1952