Umta (GJ)

Village Umta, Sub District – Veesnagar,
District- Mehsana (Gujrat), Pin code -384320
Phone no.: 02765- 289085

Umta is about 8 km south of Veesnagar in the state of Gujarat. In the late eighties, the discovery of the temple supposed to have been buried nearly 800 years ago in Umta, had strengthened the claims of Mehsana and Patan to be the land with an inexhaustible treasure of ancient glory buried in its area. This area is supposed to be about 1600 years old.

About 75 idols were retrieved from an excavation carried out wherein an entire temple was unearthed at Umta. A 25 feet high wall excavated had exquisite sculptures of goddesses, gandharv etc. suggest this temple to be of the 10 – 12th century. One of the sculptures even carried an inscription dated back to VS 1240

According to a legend, about 800 years ago, the people of Umta buried the temple systematically to protect it from the invaders’ brutalities. About 250 years later Umat Sinh Rana is said to have built a Rajgadhi on the mound under which the temple was buried.

The Rajgadhi was destroyed in a fire when in 1726 the maratha darbar Kuntaji Bande burnt the village. In 1890 Sayajirao Gaekwad built a school on the ruins. When the dilapidated school building was being demolished in 1985, the back wall of the ancient temple was discovered.