Historic gateway and guardian of the city’s wealth
- Gandhi Road, Near Bhadra
In the morning, the shopkeepers will come to Teen Darwaza pay their respect, get Lakshmi’s blessing and only then open their shop
The gate of Goddess Lakshmi
Hidden behind the stalls of the bustling Bhadra market is one of the city’s most iconic sites. Teen Darwaza was built in 1415 as the triple gateway to the royal square. So famous is this gateway that it is eternalised as the logo of the city. Not just because of its intricate Islamic architectural features, but because of the story of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity. Lakshimi was on her way out of fort when she was stopped by a guard. He built the gate to make sure she never left the walls of Ahmedabad.
Keep the flame burning
Fable or fact, the city even today pays its due to the Goddess Lakshmi and for over 600 years the guards keep a lamp burning in her honour. Mirza Yunis and his mother Zainab Bibi are part of the family which was and still is responsible for taking care of the lamp. Yunis also runs a jewellery stall at the market. He shares: “In the morning, the shopkeepers will come to Teen Darwaza pay their respect, get Lakshmi’s blessing and only then open their shop.
Women power
This historic structure also bears testimony to a very progressive royal enactment of 1812, when Ahmedabad was under the rule of the Hindu Maratha Empire. The Maratha governor granted equal inheritance rights of ancestral property to all women, irrespective of the religion, which was very liberal in those days. The official inscription if this decree is on a plaque at the wall of the middle gate.