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| || The Past || Don't Miss || Festivals || When to Go || Getting There || |
Nasik,
with its 200 temples and scenic bathing ghats stands on the
banks of the Godavari River. The sites here are associated with
stories from the Epic Ramayana and hence are referred to as
'Rambhumi'. Once every 12 years, the historic 'Kumbh Mela' is
held here. Although this city forms part of the Mumbai-Pune-Nasik
industrial triangle, Nasik retains its status as one of Maharashtra's
most holy and ancient cities. |
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Nasik is believed to be the place where one of
the most crucial pieces of the epic Ramayana was carried out. Nasik
had then been a part of the thick forest of Dandakaranya, which
was located in the southern Indian plateau. At the centre of the
city is the famous Panchavati, a dense covering of ancient banyan
trees where the exiled prince of Ayodhya, Rama, had taken refuge,
along with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman. This is also the
place from where Sita was kidnapped by Ravana. Nasik is also part
of the history of the Mughal Empire, where Emperor Akbar lived.
It was labeled as a land that the great Maratha, Shivaji, called
the birthplace of the valiant.  |
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The
Trimbakeshwar Temple is located in Trimbak,
30 kms from Nasik. It contains one of the twelve Jyotirlingas
(naturally occurring shrines) in India. The temple has beautiful
carvings. There is a belief that anybody who visits Trimbakeshwar
attains salvation. It is considered to be the holiest place
to perform Shraddha ceremony as mentioned in 'Nirnaya Sindhu'
- a religious book of Hindus. The river Godavari rises here
from a hill called Brahmagiri. Nearby there is the 'Gangasagar
bathing tank' into which the Godavari River trickles
in, from its source. A bath in these waters is supposed to wash
away sins. Sundarnarayan Temple stands on the
raised west bank of the Godavari. There are small carvings of
Hanuman, Narayana and Indra on the walls. This Vaishavite temple
has three black Vishnu images. The hall leads through three
porches, each with balcony seating, arches and slightly spherical
domes. Angled eaves and serpentine pediments head the doorways
inside the porches. |
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Deolali
Camp is an important Indian military center. One of
the oldest in India, the British set up this centre in 1861.
Kalaram Mandir was built by Sardar Odhekar
of Peshwa in 1782. The temple derives its name from the idol
of Lord Ram, which is black in colour. The temple is placed
in the midst of a walled enclosure with 96 pillars and has a
25 mt high Sikhara. Close by is the Sita Gupha Cave,
where Sita is believed to have hidden from Ravana. In the Temple
Hill nearby, there is also a famous temple of Lord Khandoba. |
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The
Kumbh Mela, evidently one of the largest religious
gatherings on earth, attracting a huge crowd of devotees, alternates
between Nasik, Allahabad, Ujjain and Haridwar every three years.
The Mela is noted for the colossal number of Hindu holy men,
especially the naked sadhus it attracts. The legend goes hence-
the gods and the demons fought for a pot of nectar (Amrit Kumbh),
the nectar of immortality. Lord Vishnu, disguising himself as
an enchantress (Mohini), seized the nectar from the demons.
While fleeing from the evil ones, Lord Vishnu passed the nectar
on to his winged mount, Garuda. The demons finally caught up
with Garuda and in the ensuing struggle, a few drops of the
precious nectar fell on Allahabad, Nasik, Haridwar and Ujjain.
Since then, the Kumbh Mela has been held in all these places,
alternatively, every 12 years. |
| The best time to visit Nasik is from October to February. |
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There
is only one daily flight to and from Nasik. The other airport
is in Mumbai, 187 kms away. |
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Nasik
is an important junction on the central railway route and is
linked directly with most cities in India. |
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A bus service connects Nasik with the adjoining towns. A
regular bus and taxi service connects Nasik with Mumbai. |
