Abhaneri

Abhaneri, also spelled Abaneri, is a village in the Dausa district of the Indian state of Rajasthan, situated on the Jaipur-Agra Highway. Modern day Abhaneri contains the ruins of an ancient city, Abhangari, as well as the popular tourist sites of the Chand Baori step well and the Harshat Mata Temple. The site was first reported by B L Dhama in 1903 when he published a List of Objects of Antiquarian Interest in the States of Rajputana. Beside the step well and the temple, it has many examples of early (circa 8th-9th century CE) Pratihara art. Many sculptures from the area have been removed and are now contained in the collections of museums around India such as the Government Museum, Amber; the Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur; the Hawamahal City Palace; and the Archaeological Survey of India. The Indian Government issued a postal stamp depicting the Chand Baori in 2017.

== History == Abhaneri was originally named Abha Nagari, ("City of Brightness"), but over time the name evolved to its present form. Originally ruled by the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, the area was later conquered by Muslim invasions under Mahmud of Ghazni and later ruled by the Mughals. Later the Maratha conquered the area and it became a part of Jaipur State until independence. Abhaneri is small in size, but attracts tourists from across the globe. The site has attracted some scholarly attention. In 1955, Pupul Jayakar and R C Agrawal published two articles in Marg Magazine, followed by an exhaustive catalogue of sculptural art found in the region by Rajendra Yadav that was published in 2006.