Osmanabad

Osmanabad (Marathi: उस्मानाबाद) is a city and a municipal council in Osmanabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Geography

The city of Osmanabad is located at 18.17°N 76.05°E / 18.17; 76.05. It has an average elevation of 647 metres (2122 feet).

Osmanabad district is located in the southern part of the state of Maharashtra. Most of the area of the district is surrounded by Small Mountain called "Balaghat". Bhoom, Washi, Kalamb, Osmanabad & Tuljapur Tahsil lie in the range of this Balaghat Mountain. The district is surrounded by Solapur to the south-west, Ahmednagar to the North-West, Beed to the North, Latur district to the East and Bidar & Gulbarga districts of Karnataka to the South.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, the city of Osmanabad had a population of 17,510. Males constituted 52% of the population and females 48%. Osmanabad has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 67%. In Osmanabad, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Osmanabad along with the other four districts of the Marathwada region was formerly a part of the Nizam’s State. After India got its freedom in 1947 the reorganisation of various princely states was carried out. In 1956 the Marathwada region was included in the then Bombay State into Maharashtra and Gujarat. In 1960, Osmanabad along with the other districts of Marathwada became an integral part of Maharashtra. Today Osmanabad is a full fledged district of Maharashtra playing significant role in various aspects of the state.

Osmanabad city has one Government BAMS College, one Government Diploma College, one Private Pharmacy College and an Private Engineering College also. Another engineering college in Osmanabad District is in Tuljapur. Osmanabad has Government Agriculture college (under Marathwada Agriculture University, Parbhani) near Ter. Osmanabad also has a Sub-Center of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, which includes Department of Management Science, Department of Education, Department of Chemistry, etx.

Monuments

Tuljapur town in Osmanabad district is famous for Tulja Bhavani Temple built by Raje Shahaji. Persons from all over Maharashtra visit the temple for worship. Tulja Bhavani College of Engineering is located near the town.

Kati village in Tuljapur Division has two mosques said to be more than 500 years old. The larger is called Jamia Masjid. The smaller Masjid is older and very small with a mysterious typical architecture.

Naldurg is another historical place in Osmanabad with a beautiful historic fort.

Mankeshwar is a place where there is a Hemadpanti Shiv Temple and goddess Satwai Devi temple.

The district also offers some worth visiting sites to name a few are: Saint Goroba Temple, Dharashiv Caves, Ramling (Temple of Lord Shiva), Wadgaon Siddheshwar (Temple of Lord Shiva), Naldurg Fort and Paranda Fort etc.

Osmanabad City also have famous Darga of Hazrat Khwaja Shamsoddin Gazi(RA). interiors of darga is decorated with colourful glass pieces which is the main attraction nowadays.

Dharashiv caves

The dharashiv caves are situated 8 km away from Osmanabad city in Balaghat Mountains. The caves were taken note of by Archaeological Department and mentioned in the book "Archaeological survey of India" by James Verges. There are total 7 caves in the Balaghat Mountain lane. The first cave is without any statue with small open space .The second cave consists of a statue with Artistic work on right side of statue. The art work is of gandharva era. The fourth cave is with open space without any statue inside. The statue in the sixth cave is damaged while the seventh cave has no statue

That this is a ancient place is shown by the caves excavated in the hill at a distance of about eight miles. These caves were originally Buddhist, but were later converted into monuments of the Jain religion and fresh caves were also excavated nearby. Of this we shall speak later.

There are some more Buddhist caves excavated in the hills, about 8 miles from Dharashiva. The earlier of them are referred by Burgess to the middle of the 7th century A. D. Cave No. II is modeled on the plan of the Vakataka caves at Ajanta. It has a central hall measuring 80 feet by 80 feet, with 14 cells for the residence of the Bhiksus and garbhagraha with a colossal image of the Buddha in Padmasana. From the hoods of a serpent spread over its head, it is supposed by some to be the image of the Jaina Tirthankara Paravanatha, but the figures of deer with a dharmacakra between them on the pedestal indicate that it is that of Gautama Buddha. Another cave (No. III) has a hall of 59’ by 59’, closely resembling Cave No I.

Later some Jain caves (No. V and VI) were excavated on the same hill. They are described in the Prakrt work Karakandacariu as excavated by the king Karakanda, who came to know about the earlier caves from the prince Siva of Terapura (Tagara). The Karakandacariu is a work of the 11th century A. D. so these later caves were probably excavated in the 9th or 10th century A. D. during the age of Rastrakutas.

As per the historical survey of caves they were built in 5th century B.C. There is severe differences between historical researchers and archaeological intelligence regarding religion i.e. whether the caves belongs to Buddha or Jain. There is also strong differences regarding the era of when the caves where built. Recently in 1996 with help of World Bank few parts of cave have been repaired.

Transport

Air: Nearest airport is at Solapur (70 km). Solapur is linked to Mumbai by air. Pune is another airport nearby.

Rail: Osmanabad railway station has connections to Pune, Mumbai, Kolhapur, Miraj-Sangli, Pandharpur, Nagpur, Parbhani, Latur,Nanded, Parali Vaijnath, Hyderabad, and Nizamabad. It is itself serviced by a bus connection from Osmanabad Bus Stand, which is 9 km from it.

Road: National Highway 9 and National Highway 211 pass through the district.

External links

• Osmanabad Online