Jalna district

Geography

The district is situated in central Maharashtra, in the north of the Marathwada region—one of eight districts—as part Aurangabad division, and is bounded on the north by Jalgaon district, on the east by Parbhani district and Buldhana district, on the south by Beed district and on the west by Aurangabad district.

The district occupies an area of 7,718 square kilometres (2,980 sq mi). The range of geographical latitudes and longitudes of the district is from 19.01' N to 21.03'N and from 75.04'E to 76.04'E, with gently to moderately sloping topography. The Northern part of the district is occupied by the Ajanta and Satmala hill ranges.

Rivers and lakes

The Godavari River flows along the southern boundary of the district, from west to east. The Purna River, one of the major tributaries of the Godavari, also flows through the district. The Dudhana, the principal tributary of the Purna, and the Kelana and the Girija, also tributaries of the Purna, as well as the Gulati and the Kundlika—which has been dammed to create the Ghanewadi Reservoir, which provides water to Jalna city—are other rivers draining the district.

History

The district is known for Jamb village, the birthplace of Samarth Ramdas Swami. The Battle of Assaye was fought on September 23, 1803 near the village of Assaye located near Jafrabad in this district.

Jalna was formerly a part of the Princely State of Hyderabad and after the Indian independence in 1947, became part of Aurangabad district. On 1 May 1981, the new district was formed by carving out Jalna, Bhokardan, Jafrabad and Ambad talukas (Sub-division) of Aurangabad district and Partur taluka of Parbhani district.

Divisions

The district was formed during the term of chief minister Abdul Rehman Antulay. The district is divided into two sub-divisions, Jalna and Partur. These are further divided into eight talukas: Jalna, Ambad, Bhokardan, Badnapur, Ghansavangi, Partur, Mantha and Jafrabad. There is a total of 970 villages in the district.

The district has five constituencies of Maharashtra State Vidhan Sabha ( Legislative Assembly):

While Partur and Ghansawangi are part of Parbhani (Lok Sabha constituency), the other three are part of the Jalna (Lok Sabha constituency).

Demographics

According to the 2011 census,

Shri Ganesha of Rajur (Shri Maha Ganapati Sansthan)

This Ganesha temple, containing the Rajur swayambhu (self-manifested) idol, is situated 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of Jalna city. On every Chathurthi lots of pilgrims come to pray to the deity. A well-attended fair is held at the temple on Angarika Chaturthi.

The Rajur is considered as one of the complete pithas (centers) of Lord Ganesha, of the three-and-a-half according to the Ganesha Purana. Other complete pithas are at Morgaon and Chinchwad, both near Pune. The remaining half-pitha is at Padmalaya.

The Matsyodari Devi Mandir of Ambad

The Matsyodari Devi Temple of Ambad is situated 21 kilometres (13 mi) south of Jalna city. Matsyodari, so called because the temple is on a hill which resembles the shape of a fish (matsya), is believed to be one of the oldest temples in the region. A well-attended annual fair is held at the temple in October, during Sharad Navratri.

Jamb Samartha, Ghansawangi

Jamb Samarth village is the place where Sant Ramdas Swami was born. This village is in Ghansavangi tehsil, of Jalna district. Samarth Ramdas was born on Chaitra Shukla Navami, Shake 1530 (as per Hindu Calendar), at 12 p.m., the same time of birth as Ram Janma (Lord Rama). He was the younger son of Suryajipant Thosar Kulkarni and Ranubai. His birth name was Narayan Suryaji Thosar. The elder brother of Sant Ramdas Swami was Gangadhar. He is known as 'Shreshtha' or 'Rami Ramdas'. He was born on Margashirsha Vadhya Trayodashi, Shake 1527.

Ramdas Swami wrote the holy granth (book) Dasbodh, Manache Shloka and many more shlokas. He took as his slogan Jai Jai Raghuveer Samarth, from the Hanuman Stuti. He built a number of Hanuman temples in villages throughout Maharashtra, for the purpose of encouraging in youth a devotion to Rama. He guided Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in establishing his rule.

A popular annual fair is held at the Ram temple on Ram Navami. This Ram temple is situated in Sant Ramdas Swami's home.

The Samartha temple was built in memory of Sant Ramdas Swami. This temple is managed by a trust which was registered in 1943 by Nanasaheb Dev. The trust comprises 55 members and 11 trustees. It owns 240 hectares (590 acres) of land. A building to lodge pilgrims is maintained by the trust. This building was built with a donation received from Queen Mother Holkar of Indore, in memory of Shri Devi Ahilyabai Holkar.

Jalicha Dev (Shri Chakradhar Swami), Jaidevwadi

Jalicha Dev is an important holy place for the Mahanubhav Panth people. It is believed that Shri Chakradhar Swami resided here for some time. It is in Jaidevwadi village, in Bhokardan tehsil, on the north side of Jalna district.

Shri Jagdamba Devi, Mantha

The Shri Jagdamba Temple of Mantha is situated on a hill 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of Mantha City. It is 300 years old. Many people come for Darshan, especially on Tuesday. A well-attended annual fair is held at the temple in Navratri and on Chaitra Purnima.

Shri Jagdamba Devi Mandir, Waghrul Jahangir

15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Jalna, along the Devel Goan Raja Road, there is Waghrul Jahangir village, which contains a Jagdamba Devi temple. It is very famous in the region.