Paithan

Pait han (Paiṭhaṇ) pronunciat ion (help·info), hist orically Prat iṣṭ hāna, is a t own wit h municipal
council in Aurangabad dist rict , Maharasht ra, India. Pait han is locat ed 56 kilomet res (35 mi) sout h
of present -day Aurangabad on t he Godavari River. It was t he capit al of t he Sat avahana dynast y,
which ruled from t he second cent ury BCE t o t he second cent ury CE. It is one of t he few inland
t owns ment ioned in t he famous first -cent ury Greek book, t he Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
 Paithan

Town

Paithan

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Coordinates: 19.48°N 75.38°E (https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Paithan&para

ms=19.48_ N_ 75.38_ E_ type:city(34556)_ region:IN-MH)

Country India

State Maharashtra

Region Marathwada

District Aurangabad

Government

 • Mayor Mr.Suraj Lolge

Elevation 458 m (1,503 ft)

Population (2001)

 • Total 34,556

T ime zone UTC+5:30 (IST )

PIN 431 107

Telephone code 02431

Vehicle registration MH-20

Pait han is associat ed wit h many spirit ual leaders of all fait hs since ages. To name some of t hem
are - Changdev Maharaj, Saint Dnyaneshwar, Saint Sopandev, Saint Nivrut t inat h, Saint Mukt abai,
Saint Eknat h, Saint Jaganade Maharaj, Saint Bhanudas, Gaga Bhat t a, et c. Pait han was t he home
t own and Samadhi st hal of t he great Marat hi saint Eknat h; people flock yearly t o his shrine during
t he t ime of t he Pait han yat ra, also known as t he Nat h Shasht i. Apegaon village, t he birt hplace of
Saint Dnyaneshwar and his t hree ot her siblings is locat ed along t he nort hern bank of t he River
Godavari, about 12 kilomet ers east erly t o Pait han. The religious saint s and philosophers
ent hralled t he masses t hrough t heir works writ t en in simple Marat hi st yle and popularized t he
bhakt i cult in t he wake of Islamic expansion. Therefore, Pait han eminent ly deserves t he
appellat ion as "Sant pura". Pait han is also an import ant place for believers of Mahanubhava
Sampradaya. Sarvajna Chakradhar Swami st ayed in Pait han for a long period. Pait han cont inued t o
play a pre-eminent role even during t he Muslim period when t he Sufi saint s dominat ed t he realm
of religious act ivit ies in t he region.

Pait han is a well known ancient Digambar Jain atishay kshetra (pilgrimage place of miracles). A
beaut iful black sand idol of 20t h Jain Tirt hankar, Bhagwan Munisuvrat nat h is in t he t emple.

Pait han region also saw Muslim Sufi saint s flourishing.

Pait han is also known for it s saris — t he Pait hani beaut iful silk saris t hat sport int ricat ely
embroidered gold or silver borders.

Dnyaneshwar Udyan at Pait han is developed on t he lines of Brindavan Gardens, Mysore.

The cit y is home t o many not ed personalit ies of modern t imes like Shankarrao Chavan, Yogiraj
maharaj Gosavi (Descendant of Sant Eknat h), Balasaheb Pat il (Hist orian)

History

Prat isht hana (Sanskrit : प्रतिष्ठान, lit . standing firmly) was capit al of First Sat avahana king from
where it grew int o Empire covering almost half of present India.The Sat avahana known as
"Trisamudrat oyapit vahana". Lat er, under t he name Pisht apura (Sanskrit : पिष्टपुर, lit . flour city), it was
t aken by t he Chalukya ruler Pulakesin II who commissioned t he recording of t he event in a poem
as "reducing Pisht apuram t o flour".

Prat isht hanapura or present day Pait han is said t o be t he capit al of Mulaka desh. Aurangabad,
Nashik, Jalna, Washim are part s of Mulaka. Mulukanadu follows t he usual conjoint formulat ion of
similar communit ies: t he word Naadu means country in all t he sout h Indian languages; t his is
suffixed t o t he count ry whence t he communit y hails, being in t his case "Muluka". Thus,
Muluka+Naadu=Mulukanadu, "people of t he Muluka land." Muluka or Mulaka is ident ified and it is
also known as Moolaka or Moolaka desha along wit h Ashmaka.

As per legends Prat isht hana was built by King Ila. Ila, who was t he king of Bahlika, st rayed int o
Shiva's forest during his hunt ing t rip and was cursed t o become a woman by Shiva. By praying
Shiva's consort Parvat i, Il[1] a managed t o st ay as man and woman alt ernat ively every mont h. He
would not remember event s of one st age in t he ot her. When he was a woman, he married Budha
(Mercury, one of t he nine planet s t he 'Navagrahas') t hrough whom he had a son (Pururavas). Budha
helped Ila t o at t ain his former self by pleasing Shiva t hrough 'Ashwamedha Yagna' (Horse
sacrifice). Aft er leaving Budha, Ila left Bahlika and est ablished t he cit y Prat isht hana from where
he ruled for long. Aft er him, Pururavas became t he king of Prat isht hana. (Source: Valmiki
Ramayana, Ut t ara Khanda, Sarga 90).

In ancient t imes it was called Prat isht hanpura and it has seen many ups and downs in it s long and
chequered hist ory. Because of it s long and cont inued exist ence it was t he seat of a number of
dynast ies and dynast ic rules. It was credit ed t o be t he capit al of t he ancient Janpadas like
Asmaka. Thus, Pait han gained t he epit het as "Suprat ist hana" (Sanskrit : सुप्रतिष्ठान, lit . standing very
firmly) not only for it s polit ical import ance as t he capit al cit y during t he long rule of t he
Sat avahanas and of great consequence t ill t he Yadavas, but also for it s affluence and of highly
advanced civilizat ion. It s import ance has also been vouchsafed in t he writ ings of t he foreign
t ravelers and geographers. As a great commercial cent re, it was very well linked wit h t he ot her
import ant t owns of ancient India and t he west ern world. It s export s had earned great reput at ion
in t he west ern market s and had achieved int ernat ional renown. It s qualit y t ext iles such as t he
Pait hani had no parallel in t he cont emporary world. The Roman parliament was rat her forced t o
put a ban on such t ypes of luxurious import s t o save t he nat ion form ext ravagance. So it s
cont ribut ions in t he field of t rade and commerce are equally not ewort hy and as import ant as in
t he fields of polit ics and religion.

Archaeologically, Pait han's import ance need not be over-emphasised. The environs of Pait han
have given evidence of pre-hist oric and prot o-hist oric ant iquit ies. Whereas, in t he hist orical period
archaeological dat a from t he Sat avahans t o t he Yadavas has been recorded. Even now a number
of ant iquit ies of different periods are abundant ly available on t he surface of t he mounds at
Pait han. Thus we come across an amazing variet y of beads, t erracot t a. Bangles and coins of t he
Sat avahana period. Some of t he punch-marked coins predat e t he Sat avahans and t he foreign
coins confirm it s close cont act s wit h t he west ern world. Pait han, wit h it s varied and variegat ed
polit ico-economic and religio-social act ivit ies great ly cont ribut ed t o t he growt h of a highly
enriched cult ural milieu and perhaps no ot her cit y in Maharasht ra could possibly compare it self
favorably wit h Pait han. Apart from t he t hriving of t he t hree major religious sect s such as
Buddhism, Jainism and Vedic religion at Pait han ever since it became t he capit al cit y of t he
Sat avahanas, all t he religious movement s during t he medieval period have cent ered round t his
hist oric cit y.

Pait han t he ancient cit y of Prat isht han, is beaut ifully sit uat ed on t he left bank of t he river
Godavari. Since t he second millennium B.C. The dawn of t he Goda Valley Civilisat ion it has played
a vit al role in shaping t he cult ure of t he region and has been a sacred place for t he Hindus, t he
Buddhist s and t he Jains.

Shri Munisuvrat Bhagwan Paithan

From ancient t imes Pait han was import ant emporium of t rade and commerce wit h links
connect ing it t o mart s in India and in Europe. It developed it s own religion and educat ional
inst it ut ions and in t he field of art , drew t he at t ent ion of t he Muslim invaders, who overran t he
cit y and whose cult ure left it s imprint upon t he life and manners of t he people of Pait han.
During
t he sevent eent h cent ury, t he Marat has, recognizing t he value of Pait han as a cent re of religious
and economic import ance, st rove hard t o keep it under cont rol. They felt a special affinit y
t owards t his ancient cit y and many Marat ha rulers made it a point t o st op at Pait han while on
t heir way t o ot her places. In 1679, for inst ance, Chhat rapat i Shivaji halt ed at Pait han while
proceeding t o Jalna . During his st ay he issued achart er appoint ing Kawale – a leading priest of
Pait han – as a royal priest . This arrangement made by Shivaji for a local priest t o perform t he
family rit uals is underst andable in view of t he fact t hat Pait han was regarded as moksha-t irt ha –
a pilgrimage cent re from where t he soul could be liberat ed forever from a shackled exist ence.
Shivajis son and successors honored t his chart er for a long t ime.
The Peshwas, t he
administ rat ors of t he Marat ha rulers, also kept close connect ions wit h Pait han cit y. Peshwa
Balaji Bajirao in 1761, married int o t he Wakhare family – moneylender of Pait han and his
successors . Peshwas Madhavrao and Narayanrao, maint ained t he close associat ion. Peshwa
Madhavrao, judging from his let t ers, was part icularly impressed by t he t ext iles of Pait han.

Paithan Jain Tirth

Pait han is a well known ancient Digambar Jain atishay kshetra, meaning a pilgrimage place of
miracles. This t emple is dedicat ed t o Munisuvrat a, t he 20t h Jain t irt hanakar. The moolnayak of
t his t emple is a black colored sand idol of Bhagwan Munisuvrat Nat h. The idol is of t he t ime
period when st one idols were not generally made, t hus indicat ing it s ant iquit y. It is even believed
t hat Lord Rama, Lakshman and Sit a of Tret a Yuga worshiped t his idol. This Jain t irt ha and t he idol
are considered as powerful hence qualifying as an atishay kshetra.

Saint Jaganade Maharaj Temple

Shri Sant aji Jagnade (1624–1688) was one of fourt een cymbal players employed by Shri Tukaram
Maharaja, a prominent Marat hi Saint . Jagnade recorded several of Tukaram's Abhangs. He
belonged t o t he Teli cast e of oil producers[3] and is t he only Saint from t hat cast e. Jagnade was
born and brought up in Sadumbare in t he Maval t ehsil in t he Pune Dist rict . He was a Varkari, a
vaishnav devot ee of Lord Vit t hal, who is supreme Lord Krishna Himself appearing as t he King of
Dwaraka. The address of his t emple in Pait han is Shree Sant aji Maharaj Tilven Teli Samaj
Dharmshala, which is locat ed close t o Dashkriya Vidhi Pait han ghat , lit t le east erly t o Eknat h
Maharaj Mandir. The founders of t his t emple are Mr. Pralhadset h Sidlambe and Mr. Kedarnat h
Dadarao Sarje.

Jayakwadi Dam
A major dam named t he "Jayakwadi Dam" is locat ed near Pait han, and is known for at t ract ing a
wide variet y of resident and migrat ory birds. This is t he world's first dam made from soil. It has 27
gat es. On 9 August 2006, Pait han experienced it s worst flood in known hist ory when t he dam
floodgat es were opened because of heavy rainfall in t he region. Phot ography at t his dam is
banned and driving your vehicle up t o t he dam is not permit t ed.

Geography

Pait han is locat ed at 19.48°N 75.38°E (ht t ps://geohack.t oolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=P

ait han&params=19.48_ N_ 75.38_ E_ ).[2] It has an average elevat ion of 458 m (1,503 ft ).

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,[3] Pait han had a populat ion of 34,556. Males const it ut e 51% of t he
populat ion and females 49%. Pait han has an average lit eracy rat e of 67%, higher t han t he nat ional
average of 59.5%: male lit eracy is 75%, and female lit eracy is 60%. In Pait han, 14% of t he
populat ion is under 6 years of age.

Bidkin is a large village in Pait han Taluka having a populat ion of 14941 according t o 2001 census.

Religion in Paithan City

Religion in Paithan city (2011)[4]

   Hinduism (74.66%)
   Islam (21.71%)
   Buddhism (2.45%)
    Jainism (0.72%)
   Christianity (0.22%)
   Sikhism (0.01%)
   Others (0.22%)

Religion in Paithan Taluka

Religion in Paithan Taluka (2011)[5]

   Hinduism (78.23%)
   Islam (17.38%)
   Buddhism (3.6%)
   Jainism (0.43%)
   Christianity (0.15%)
   Sikhism (0.02%)
   Others (0.19%)

Transport

Nearest Railway St at ion : Aurangabad 50 km (31 mi)

Nearest Airport  : Aurangabad 53 km (33 mi)

Available bus rout es
Aurangabad - Pait han

Ahmednagar - Shevgaon - Pait han

 Beed - Gevrai - Pait han

Jalna-Ambad-Pachod- Pait han

Tourist attractions

Sant Eknat h Samadhi Mandir

Sant Eknat h Maharaj House

Naag Ghat and Palt hi Nagari (Sant a jñānēśvara mahārājānī rēyamumamukhī vēda vaḍavilā t ē
ṭ hāyakana)

Dashkriya Vidhi Pait han

Nat h Sagar Jayakwadi Dam

Sant Dnyaneshwar Garden

Dr.Balasaheb Pat il Archaeological Museum, At Sant Dnyaneshwar Garden

Bird Sanct uary: home for migrat ory birds from Siberia

Geet a Mandir near Sant Dynaneshwar Udyaan

12 Jyot irlinga t emples in Pait han

Shri 1008 Munisuvrat nat h Digamber Jain At ishaya Kshet ra

Tirt h khamb

Maulana Sahab dargah

Marat ha Krant i Bhawan, t he first of krant i bhawans in Maharasht ra by Marat ha communit y is

coming up in Kat pur area, five kilomet ers nort h of Pait han

Aapegaon, 12km east erly t o Pait han, on t he nort hern bank of t he Godavari river : The Birt h
Place Of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj (Mauli) and his t hree siblings

Mungi, 15km sout h-east erly t o Pait han, on t he Sout hern bank of t he Godavari river (in
Ahmednagar dist rict ) : The Birt h place of Nimbarkacharya ji Maharaj(Nimbarka Peet h)

Sufi's Of Pait han

Hazrat Sayyad Maulana Moizuddin Chihst i (Maulana Sahab)

Hazrat Sayyad Nizamuddin Idrees Hussaini Chisht i (Saadat h Dulha)

Sayyed Muhammad shah Quadri Algilani (pait han) Sayyed Muhammad shah Quadri was 25t h
grandson of sult an shaikh abi Muhammad Mohiyuddin Abdul Qadir Al-gilani. He came from t he
chaklamba Shareef beed. He lived at some t ime in khadki he visit ed t o pait han aft er order of his
brot her Sayyed Amiruddin Quadri (chaklamba Shareef). Today Also his descendant s live t heir life
in pait han. His elder son Hazrat Sayyad Kadar Badshah Quadri was also a sufi saint , very well
known in ahmednagar cit y. He Made his khanqah in pait han, where he used t o t each sufism t o his
mureedin. At present t he current Sajjada Nasheen Of khanqah is Hazrat Sayyad Ashfaq Quadri Al-
Jilani Saheb. There is also a great book in t his khanqah which was brought by Great -Grandfat her
Of Sayyad Muhammad Quadri, Whose Name Was Hazrat Sayyad Noor Muhammad Quadri, Al-Jilani.
His shrine is sit uat ed in a village Umapur, Beed. That book was t ranslat ed int o udru From arabic, by
Ulema of badaun under guidance of sayyad kadar badshah quadri. That book is divided in four
part s, 2 part s are print ed for public and anot her 2 are remaining. Name of t hat book is "Saif E
Dast ageer" It consist s Sayings And spirit ual Teachings of shaykh abdul kadir jilani

References

1. Valmiki Ramayana, Uttara Khanda, Sarga 90

2. Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Paithan (http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/16/Paithan.html)

3. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)"
(https://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=
A&state5=999) . Census Commission of India. Archived from the original (http://www.censusindia.ne
t/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999) on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.

4. "C-1 Population By Religious Community" (http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01.html) .

Census. Retrieved 10 June 2019.

5. "C-1 Population By Religious Community" (http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01.html) .

Census. Retrieved 10 June 2019.

Geographical location

External links

Pait han t ravel guide from Wikivoyage

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