Guj: પાટણ pāṭaṇa
‘(Anahil’s) City’ -City/District, Gujarat
From Skt/Guj: pattana/paṭṭana, ‘town’, ‘city’.
King Vanaraja of the 8thC Chavda dynasty founded this city and, according to legend, named it Anahilpur or Anahilpattana after a cowherd who chose the location. The word Patan is a corruption of this.
Anhilpur Patan served as the capital of three dynasties in medieval Gujarat: the Chavadas (8-10thC), the Chalukyas (10-13thC) and the Veghelas (13-14thC). In the Chalukya period it was one of the top 10 cities in the world with a population of 100,000.
Patan has many important archaeological sites including the Old City and Fort, and the Rani ki vav (Queen’s Stepwell).
Rani ki vav, Patan Bernard Gagnon
