Guj: વડોદરા vaḍōdarā
‘Banyan Tree’ [Chandanavati, Virakshetra/Viravati, Vadapatra, Baroda] -City/District, Gujarat
From Guj: vaḍa/vaṭa, ‘banyan’; and SKT: taru, ‘tree’, ‘hollow of a tree’ or Skt: patraka, ‘leaves’.
The town was previously called Chandanavati (after its Rajput ruler Raja Chandan) and Virakshetra/Viravati (‘land of warriors’). Later on, it was known as Vadpatraka or Vadodará.
The British called it Baroda and, in 1974, the official name of the city was changed back to Vadodara. Vadodara is the third largest city in Gujarat.
It is famous for the Lakshmi Vilas Palace built by the Gaekwad dynasty (a Marathi clan who ruled Baroda state from the 18thC) in 1890 at a cost of £180,000 (£19.5m or ₹182.4 crore in today’s money).
Laxmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara Mocha drrd
