jarat (/ˌɡʊdʒəˈrɑːt/ GUUJ-ə-RAHT, Gujarati: [ˈɡudʒəɾat̪ ] ⓘ) is a state along the western coast

of India. Its coastline of about 1,600 km (990 mi) is the longest in the country, most of which
lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering
some 196,024 km2 (75,685 sq mi); and the ninth-most populous state, with a population of
60.4 million in 2011. It is bordered by Rajasthan to the northeast, Dadra and Nagar Haveli
and Daman and Diu to the south, Maharashtra to the southeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east,
and the Arabian Sea and the Pakistani province of Sindh to the west. Gujarat's capital city is
Gandhinagar, while its largest city is Ahmedabad.[13] The Gujaratis are indigenous to the state
and their language, Gujarati, is the state's official language.

The state encompasses 23 sites of the ancient Indus Valley civilisation (more than any other
state). The most important sites are Lothal (the world's first dry dock), Dholavira (the fifth
largest site), and Gola Dhoro (where 5 uncommon seals were found). Lothal is believed to
have been one of the world's first seaports.[14] Gujarat's coastal cities, chiefly Bharuch and
Khambhat,[15] served as ports and trading centres in the Maurya and Gupta empires and
during the succession of royal Saka dynasties in the Western Satraps era.[16][17] Along with
Bihar, Mizoram and Nagaland, Gujarat is one of four Indian states to prohibit the sale of
alcohol.[18] The Gir Forest National Park in Gujarat is home to the only wild population of the
Asiatic lion in the world.[19]

The economy of Gujarat is the fourth-largest in India, with a gross state domestic product
(GSDP) of ₹16.55 trillion (equivalent to ₹19 trillion or US$230 billion in 2023) and has the
country's 10th-highest GSDP per capita of ₹215,000 (US$2,700).[6] Gujarat has the highest
exports of all states, accounting for around one-third of national exports.[20] It ranks 21st
among Indian states and union territories in human development index.[21] Gujarat is regarded
as one of the most industrialised states and has a low unemployment rate,[22] but the state
ranks poorly on some social indicators and is at times affected by religious violence.[23]

Etymology
Gujarat is derived from the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, who ruled Gujarat in the 8th and 9th
centuries CE.[24][25][26][27] Parts of modern Rajasthan and Gujarat have been known as Gurjarat
or Gurjarabhumi for centuries before the Mughal period.[28]

History
Main article: History of Gujarat

Ancient history

Gujarat was one of the main central areas of the Indus Valley civilisation, which is centred
primarily in modern Pakistan.[29] It contains ancient metropolitan cities from the Indus Valley
such as Lothal, Dholavira and Gola Dhoro.[30] The ancient city of Lothal was where India's
first port was established.[14] The ancient city of Dholavira is one of the largest and most
prominent archaeological sites in India, belonging to the Indus Valley civilisation. The most
recent discovery was Gola Dhoro. Altogether, about fifty Indus Valley settlement ruins have
been discovered in Gujarat.[31]

Indus Valley civilisation

Dholavira, one of the largest cities of Indus Valley civilisation, with stepwell steps to reach
the water level in artificially constructed reservoirs[32]

Archaeological remains of washroom drainage system at Lothal

The ancient history of Gujarat was enriched by the commercial activities of its inhabitants.
There is clear historical evidence of trade and commerce ties with Egypt, Bahrain and Sumer
in the Persian Gulf during the time period of 1000 to 750 BCE.[31][33] There was a succession
of various Indian empires such as the Mauryan dynasty, Western Satraps, Satavahana
dynasty, Gupta Empire, Chalukya dynasty, Rashtrakuta Empire, Pala Empire and Gurjara-
Pratihara Empire, as well as the Maitrakas and then the Chaulukyas.

The early history of Gujarat includes the imperial grandeur of Chandragupta Maurya who
conquered a number of earlier states in what is now Gujarat. Pushyagupta, a Vaishya, was
appointed the governor of Saurashtra by the Mauryan regime. He ruled Girinagar (modern-
day Junagadh) (322 BCE to 294 BCE) and built a dam on the Sudarshan lake. Emperor
Ashoka the Great, the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, not only ordered his edicts
engraved in the rock at Junagadh, but also asked Governor Tusherpha to cut canals from the
lake where an earlier Indian governor had built a dam. Between the decline of Mauryan
power and Saurashtra coming under the sway of the Samprati Mauryas of Ujjain, there was
an Indo-Greek defeat in Gujarat of Demetrius. In 16th century manuscripts, there is an
apocryphal story of a merchant of King Gondophares landing in Gujarat with Apostle
Thomas. The incident of the cup-bearer torn apart by a lion might indicate that the port city
described is in Gujarat.[34][35]

For nearly 300 years from the start of the 1st century CE, Saka rulers played a prominent part
in Gujarat's history. The weather-beaten rock at Junagadh gives a glimpse of the ruler
Rudradaman I (100 CE) of the Saka satraps known as Western Satraps, or Kshatraps.
Mahakshatrap Rudradaman I founded the Kardamaka dynasty which ruled from Anupa on
the banks of the Narmada up to the Aparanta region bordering Punjab. In Gujarat, several
battles were fought between the Indian dynasties such as the Satavahana dynasty and the
Western Satraps. The greatest and the mightiest ruler of the Satavahana dynasty was
Gautamiputra Satakarni who defeated the Western Satraps and conquered some parts of
Gujarat in the 2nd century CE.[36]