solapur

Location: 456-km From Mumbai, On The Banks Of River Sina, and Maharashtra
Famous As: Jain Center
Also Spelt As: Sholapur
Also spelt Sholapur, administrative headquarters of Solapur district are located on the banks of the Sina River in Maharashtra state. The city is located on major road and rail routes between Mumbai and Hyderabad, with a branch line to Bijapur and Gadag. Solapur developed as a commercial center for cotton and other agricultural produce.
Solapur is a major city of Maharashtra and is an important center of Jains. The area, which now forms Solapur district, was formerly part of Ahmadnagar, Pune and Satara districts. It is influenced by its geography and the area is largely consists of plains. The river Bhima flows from northwest to the southeast and Sina River also flows from it. The southwest and northeast parts of the district are arid areas. Solapur is meeting ground for Maharashtra and Karnataka and from very old times the trade routes passed across Solapur district.
There are 8 famous Digamabar Jain temples at Solapur two are at Sukervar Peth, one in Kasagi, one at Shravikashram, one at Bhusari and Seth Sakharamji temple. Solapur bed-sheets have earned fame and reputation for their novel designs and durability. The chief deity of the city is Shri Siddeshwar.

History:  As per the mythological literary sources the region south of Godavari was covered with thick forest and was inhabited by the aboriginal. Agastya was the first Aryan who crossed the Vindhya Mountains and settled on the banks of Godavari followed by other sages who established their hermitages in the different regions of the south. In early centuries the city belonged to the Hindu Chalukyas and Devagiri Yadavas, but later became a part of the Bahamani and Bijapur kingdoms.
Vairag village in Barshi tehsil situated at a distance of 14 miles to the south east of Barshi and 30 miles to the North of Solapur is a meeting place of saints of Nath Sect who have enunciated worldly life for meditation. Because of this particular aspect the village seems to have been named as 'Vairag'.

PRIME ATTRACTIONS

Solapur is a place with historical, religious, industrial and commercial importance. A number of objects of interest found in the city are Ground fort, Siddheshwar temple, Mallikarjuna temple, Parasnath temple, Adinath temple, Masjids, Churches and Agyari.
Akkalkot is considered to be an important center of Datta. The Vatavriksha Temple of Shri Swami Samantha and Akkalkot Swami math is important religious places, which are visited by many devotees. Phandharpur the city of Pandhavi Vithoba is another most important pilgrimage center for the whole of India. It ranks first among the fairs in the state with an aggregate congregation of four to five lakh on Ashadhi and Kartiki Ekadasi.

HOW TO GET THERE

Rail: Solapur is a distance of 456-km from the Mumbai on the main broad gauge rail line of Central railway connecting Mumbai and Chennai.

Road: It is also well connected by road. State transport ply buses from major cities of the state like Mumbai, Aurangabad, and Pune to Solapur.

FAIRS AND FESTIVALS:  A fair is held at Saint nath temple in honour of Saint Nath for a period of 6 days from shravana shud 11 to Vad 1. About 20 to 25 thousand people attend this fair. Nandidhwaj procession on Makar Sankranti is also attended by millions of, devotes.

GENERAL INFORMATION