Lunavada

Lunavada or Lunawada is a town in the Mahisagar, former Panchmahal District, in the Northern part of Gujarat state of India.Lunawada is the administrative headquarters of the Mahisagar district. Lunawada was formally a Taluka, administrative subdivision, in the Panchmahal district up to 15 August 2013. The name Lunawada is derived from Luneshwar Mahadev, a temple of Lord Shiva. Lunawada is surrounded by water, the sources being the Panam river, Vasant Sagar, Kishan Sagar, Kanka Talav, Veri, Mahi River and Darkoli Talav lake.HistoryLunawada was established by the ancestors of Maharaja Vir Bhadra Singh as the state of Virpur, then it returned to the state of Lunawada. Before the town was established, the area was controlled by the princely state of Santrampur, ruled by Puwar Rajputs. The border of Santrampur state is near Koyli Vaav known as Mandvi Bazar. The last ruler of Lunawada was Maharaja Vir Bhadra Singh. The best known historical place near Lunawada is Kaleshwari where there are Pandav chori, foot prints of Bhima, ancient water kund (small bodies of water sometimes sanctified), several vaavs (large wells with accessible steps to the water level) and the Lord Shiva temple.During the British Raj, Lunavada State was one of the princely states under the Rewa Kantha Agency of Bombay Presidency. Lunavada State was founded in 1434. It was a second class state in the Rewa Kantha Agency. One important ruler was Wakhat Singhhji (1867–1919) a Solanki Rajput Maharana of high lineage. The capital was Lunavada town, said to have been founded in 1434 CE. The 1901 census records that the population had a decrease of 28% in the previous decade, due to famine.