Paithan
Encyclopedia
Paithan formerly Pratishthana, is a city and a municipal council
Municipal council
A municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...

 in Aurangabad district
Aurangabad District, Maharashtra
Aurangabad District is one of the 35 districts of Maharashtra state in western India. It is bordered by the districts of Nashik to the west, Jalgaon to the north, Jalna to the east, and Ahmednagar to the south. Aurangabad is the headquarters and principal city...

 in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

. The city was the capital of the Sātavāhana
Satavahana
The Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indian dynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar and Prathisthan in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward...

 empire of ancient India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 that ruled from 2nd century BC to 2nd century AD. It is one of the few inland towns mentioned in the famous 1st century AD Greek book, Periplus Maris Erytharaei.

Paithan is located 56 km south of present-day Aurangābād on the Godavari River
Godavari River
The Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...

 in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

. Paithan was home of the great Maharashtrian saint Eknath
Eknath
Eknath was a prominent Marathi scholar and religious poet. He is called a "sant" in the Marathi tradition as are most other religious poets...

, whose "samadhi" can be found there. The little town is famous for its Shrine of 'Sant Eknath
Eknath
Eknath was a prominent Marathi scholar and religious poet. He is called a "sant" in the Marathi tradition as are most other religious poets...

' where people flock every year during the time of 'Paithan Yatra' also known as NathShashti. The town is mostly famous today for its sarees — the Paithani
Paithani
Paithani is a variety of sari, named after the Paithan town in Aurangabad Maharashtra state where they are woven by hand. Made from very fine silk, it is considered as one of the richest saris in Maharashtra....

 beautiful silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

 saris which sport intricately embroidered gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 or silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 borders. It is also a famous Digambar Jain atishay kshetra. A beautiful Black coloured Sand Idol of 20th Jain Tirthankar, Bhagwan Munisuvratnath is installed in temple here. It is believed that all wishes are fulfilled by praying here. Sant Dnyaneshwar
Dnyaneshwar
Dnyāneshwar , also known as Jñanadeva , was born into a Deshastha Brahmin Kulkarni family.He was a 13th century Maharashtrian Hindu saint , poet, philosopher and yogi of the Nath tradition whose works Bhavartha deepika teeka ,...

 Udyan Dnyneshwar Udyan
Dnyneshwar Udyan
Jnaneshwar Udyan or Dnyaneshwar Udyan is a garden in Maharashtra resembling the Brindavan Gardens near Mysore. It is situated by Nathsagar, the reservoir formed by the Jayakwadi Dam. It is located in the ancient town of Paithan which is 40 km south of Aurangabad. Out of an area of 125 hectares,...

is famous garden developed on the lines of Mysore Garden.

Saint Jaganade Maharaj Temple

Shri Santaji Jagnade (1624–1688) was one of fourteen cymbal players employed by Shri Tukaram Maharaja, a prominent Marathi Saint.[1][clarification needed] Jagnade recorded several of Tukaram's Abhangs.[2] He belonged to the Teli caste of oil producers[3] and is the only Saint from that caste. Jagnade was born and brought up in Sadumbare in the Maval tehsil in the Pune District.
He was a Varkari, a devotee of Lord Vittala (or Vithoba), an incarnation of Lord Krishna, who in turn, is considered in Hinduism to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
The address of his temple in Paithan is santaji chawk teli dharmshala Paithan. The founders of this temple are Mr. Kedarnath Dadarao Sarje and Mr. Pralhadseth Sidlambe.

Paithan Jain Tirth

Paithan is a Digambar Jain Atishay kshetra (Pilgrimage place of miracle). Paithan has one Chaturth Kalin (thousands of years old) sand Idol of Bhagwan Munisuvrat Nath. The idol is of the time period when the stone idol were not made and hence one can estimate its antiquity. It is believed that Ram, Lakshman and Sita used to worship this idol. The idol is miraculous, and one who visits the temple with pure intent and full devotion gets his or her all wishes fulfilled.

Jaikwadi Dam

A major dam named the "Jaikwadi Dam" is located near Paithan, and is known for attracting a wide variety of resident and migratory birds. This is the world's first dam made from soil. It has 27 gates. On 9 August 2006, Paithan experienced its worst flood in known history when the dam floodgates were opened because of heavy rainfall in the region. Photography at this dam is banned and driving your vehicle up to the dam is not permitted. All notices are only in Marathi.

History

Pratishthanapura was capital of First Satavahana
Satavahana
The Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indian dynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar and Prathisthan in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward...

 king from where it grew into Empire covering almost half of present India.The Satavahana known as "Trisamudratoyapitvahana"

Pratishthanapura or present day Paithan is said to be the capital of Mulaka desh. Aurangabad, Nashik, Jalna, Vashim are parts of Mulaka. Mulukanadu follows the usual conjoint formulation of similar communities: the word Naadu means country in all the south Indian languages; this is suffixed to the country whence the community hails, being in this case "Muluka". Thus, Muluka+Naadu=Mulukanadu, "people of the Muluka land." Muluka or Mulaka is identified and it is also known as Moolaka or Moolaka desha along with Ashmaka.

Geography

Paithan is located at 19.48°N 75.38°E. It has an average elevation of 458 metres (1502 feet).

Demographics

India census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Paithan had a population of 34,556. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Paithan has an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 75%, and female literacy is 60%. In Paithan, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Bidkin
Bidkin
Bidkin is a large village in Paithan Taluka of Aurangabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-History of Bidkin:Bidkin was founded by Sufi saint Nizamuddin who came to Aurangabad in the 8th century Hijri,...

 is a large village in Paithan Taluka having a population of 14941 according to 2001 census.

Transport

Nearest Railway Station : Aurangabad (50 km)

Nearest Airport : Aurangabad (53 km)

Available bus routes:
  • Aurangabad - Paithan
  • Ahmednagar - Shevgaon
    Shevgaon
    Shevgaon is a city in Shevgaon tehsil of Ahmednagar in the Indian state of Maharashtra.Avhane - Temple of Ganesh .Ghotan- Ancient Temple of Lord Shiva...

     - Paithan
  • Beed
    Beed
    Beed is a town and administrative headquarters of the district of the same name located in central Maharashtra state of India. According to 2001 census, it is the largest urban area in the district with a population of 138,091. Calculated population of 2010 is 161,604. It ranks 295th in population...

     - Gevorai - Paithan

Parks

  • Sant Dnyaneshwar garden, Paithan
  • Jayakwadi dam bird sanctuary: home for migratory birds from Siberia
  • Shani Shignapur is also close to this place

Geographical Location

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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