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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 in Nasik. 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 pilgrimage sites. |
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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. In the centre of Nasik 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. Nasik 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.
Nasik was labeled as a land that the great Maratha, Shivaji, called the birthplace of the valiant. Hence, Nasik is one of the most visited Hindu pilgrimage sites.  |
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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 takes a pilgrimage tour to 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. The Trimbakeshwar Temple is one of the most renowned Hindu pilgrimage sites of Nasik. | |
Deolali
Camp is an important Indian military center in Nasik. 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 held here in Nasik 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 go for a pilgrimage tour to 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. |
