ABSTRACT
While serving a utilitarian purpose of providing life-giving water for both man and beast in the parched and arid lands of Gujarat, thousands of constructed stepwells also became a site for women's rites and rituals and the focal point for the worship of local goddesses. They provided scope for the expression of artistic and aesthetic beauty. The carvings and images inside the stepwells depict humans, divine beings, mythical creatures, plants, birds and other animals. They portray the sacred universe of the Indians and reveal their unique understanding of the world of nature. Birds are represented widely in the iconography of the stepwells: they are symbolic and significant in water architecture and women's art.
