Idar, Gujarat

Idar is a town in Sabarkantha district, Gujarat, India. It is known for the manufacture of handmade wooden toys, tiles, its temples and various beautiful architectural monuments on its hills, and its historical background. Idar is at the southern end of the Aravalli Range.
Idar was historically named Ilvadurg, which means the fortress of Ilvan. Its name was later corrupted into Idar. It was mentioned in Padma Purana as well as in the Mahabharata as Ila.
The town is mentioned in Mahabharata and Bhavishottar Puran as 'Ilvadurg'. The exact date of its origin is not known; but it is believed that it came into existence at the time when Yudhishthira was ruling over Hastinapur at the end of the Kurukshetra War of Mahabharata.
According to tradition, Idar has been celebrated from the earliest times. Even in the past cycle, yuga, it was known, and in the present cycle, before the days of Vikram, the legendary king Veni Vachh Raj ruled at Idar, the possessor of a golden figure which helped him to build the hillfort and its reservoirs. His queen was a Nagputri, the daughter of a snake-king of the under world, whither, the legend says, she and her consort betook themselves when the queen found that men were mortal.
The first clear tradition shows Idar in the possession of Bhils. Raja mandlik Bhil was King of Ider. After the fall of Vallabhi in 770, Kamalavati or Pushpavati, one of the wives of Maitraka king Shiladitya was at Ambaji to fulfil a vow. She heard news and took refuge in a cave in the mountains and there gave birth to a son called Gruhaditya or 'Goha' or cave-born. Making over the child to a Brahmin woman, the queen followed her husband through the fire. The young prince, of a daring character and adventurous spirit, soon passed out of his guardian's hands, and joining the Idar Bhils was by them chosen king. Whether in sport or earnest, the election was real, and for several generations his successors ruled in Idar. At last Nagaditya or Aparajita the eighth prince was killed by his subjects. He left a son named Bappa Rawal who never succeeded to his father's chiefship, but became the founder of Mewar dynasty. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang (640) mentions a place which he calls O-clia-li, the Chinese way of writing Vadali, a village nearby. British General Cunningham identified this place with Idar. He further noted that in the eleventh century Vadali or Vadari was the capital of a family of chiefs claiming descent from Raja Bhara Gupta, whom the General believed to be the same as the above-mentioned Bappa. According to tradition, Idar was refounded by Parihar Rajputs, who, subject to Chittor, ruled there for several generations. Towards the close of the twelfth century, the Idar chief took part with Prithviraj Chauhan, king of Delhi, against the Ghurid Sultanate and was killed in the Battles of Tarain (1192). Idar then fell into the hands of a Bhil king named Hathi Sord who founded the Sord dynasty and was succeeded by his son Samalio Bhil. The latter was killed by a Rathod prince named Sonangji, who took occupied Idar, and became the founder of the dynasty of the Raos who ruled there for several generations. After numerous changes of fortune and many struggles with the Muslims, the Raos had at last to leave Idar, and were, in 1728, succeeded by the Rathod dynasty from Marwar.
Raja Anand Singh, with the help of his brother Rai Singh and a few horseman from Palanpur and the Kolis of Gadhwara, he established himself in Idar without difficulty in 1728 or 1729. He died in 1753. Then HH Maharaja Rajendra Singh became the ruler of princely state of Idar. In 1924 it was made part of the Western India States Agency. It was transferred to the Rajputana states in the early 1940s. In 1949 it was dissolved and split between Sabarkantha and Mehsana districts which were at that point in Bombay State. Both these districts became part of Gujarat when it was formed in 1960.
Idar is located at 23°50′N 73°00′E﻿ / ﻿23.83°N 73.0°E﻿ / 23.83; 73.0. It has an average elevation of 195 metres (639 feet). Idar is home to the very scenic and beautiful mountains with round shaped grey or red granite rocks.
Idar has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) with a very long dry season and a moderate wet season. Daytime temperatures are high throughout the year, but nighttime temperatures can dip below 10 °C (50 °F) in the dry season.
Highest recorded temperature:48.5 °C (119.3 °F) on 22 May 2010Lowest recorded temperature:4.8 °C (40.6 °F) on 22 January 1962
Idar is a region which has become a hub for cotton ginning and processing. It also has a very strong network of dairy co-operatives which helps it stay firm on an economic footing in years where the rains are not good.
As of 2001 India census, Idar had a population of 29,567. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Idar has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 75%, and female literacy is 61%. 13% of Idar's population is under 6 years of age.
Jain, Brahmins, Patel, Mansuri, Darbar, Suthar (Mistry), Vaishnav Vaniya, Desai, Darji, Soni (goldsmiths), Vankars, and Thuri community live here.