page_title: Mehsana
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mehsana / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Gate of Toranwali Mata Temple, Mehsana, Gujarat, India
context_page_description: Mehsana, also spelled Mahesana, is a city and municipality in Mehsana district, in the Indian state of Gujarat. Established in 14th century, the city was under Gaekwads of Baroda State from 18th century to the independence of India in 1947. The municipality was established in 1919–20. The town has population of about 185,000. Dairy, oil and natural gas are major industries while there are several small and medium enterprises in the city.
context_section_description: Jaisinh Brahmabhatt describes the following legend in his poems from 1932 AD: Mehsana was established by Mehsaji Chavda, Rajput heir of the Chavda dynasty. He constructed the Torana (arc gate) of the city and a temple dedicated to Goddess Toran on Bhadrapad Sud 10 in Vikram Samvat 1414 (1358 AD). The legend is corroborated in Pragat Prabhavi Parshwanath athva Parshwanathna Chamatkaro published in Vikram Samvat 1909 (1823 AD) by Manilal Nyalchand Shah who also mentioned in it that Mehsaji built a temple dedicated to Chamunda.  Another legend says that Mehsaji established the town in Vikram Samvat 1375 (1319 AD). Both legends describes that the town is named after Mehsaji. These legends also inconclusively establish that the town was founded during the Rajput period.
  Gaekwads conquered Baroda and established Baroda State in 1721. They expanded their rule in north Gujarat and established Patan as its administrative headquarters. Later the headquarters was moved to Kadi and subsequently to Mehsana in 1902. The Gaekwad dynasty connected the city by Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway which was opened on 21 March 1887. Sayajirao Gaekwad III built Rajmahal palace in 1904 (Vikram Samvat 1956) at a cost of 443,532 rupees by the British architect Stevens. Intended for his son, Fatehsinhrao, who died shortly afterwards in 1908, the palace was then handed over to municipal authorities. It is being used as a district court.
  Baroda State merged with the Union of India after independence in 1947. It was merged into Bombay State as Mehsana district in 1949. Later it became part of Gujarat in 1960 after the division of Bombay state into Gujarat and Maharashtra. Mehsana is headquarters of Mehsana district in north Gujarat.
caption: Gate of Toranwali Mata Temple
exif: {"GPS GPSImgDirection": "283", "GPS GPSImgDirectionRef": "M", "Image GPSInfo": "842", "Image Model": "Lenovo K50a40", "Image Tag 0x0222": "0", "Image Tag 0x0220": "0", "Image Tag 0x0223": "0", "Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Tag 0x0221": "0", "Image Tag 0x0224": "1", "Image DateTime": "2016:11:20 14:30:06", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Tag 0x0225": "", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image Software": "Lenovo Camera", "Image ExifOffset": "426", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image Make": "Lenovo", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "17159", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "998", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2016:11:20 14:30:06", "EXIF FNumber": "2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Unidentified", "EXIF FocalLength": "89/25", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4096", "EXIF SubSecTime": "95", "EXIF LightSource": "other light source", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2016:11:20 14:30:06", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "95", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2304", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "812", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "82", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "95", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF ExposureTime": "671/1000000"}