Mangalwedha

Geography

The city of Mangalwedha is situated 55 km west of the district headquarters at Solapur and 25 km southeast of Pandharpur city.

Mangalwedha shares its boundaries with Pandharpur, Mohol, Jath and Vijapur in Karnataka.

History

Mangalwedha is known as the "Land of Saints", as Saint Damaji, Saint Kanhopatra, Saint Basaveshwera, Saint Chokhamela were from Mangalwedha. In the 14th century, Mangalwedha was an active workplace of many saints such as Sant Damaji, Sant Chokhamela, Sant Bagadebaba, Sant Gopabai, Sant Kanhopatra, Shri Swami Samarth, Shri Sitaram Maharaj and others.

Mangalwedha is also known as 'Jwariche Kothar'.

Major crops that grow in and around Mangalwedha are jowar, bajra, ground-nut and corn.

In the 14th century Mangalwedha was ruled by Bidarshahi followed by Adilshahi.

Huljanti village is known for 'Mahalingaraya' daity and there is a big fair in Diwali. Many people from Maharashtra and Karnataka come there to worship the god.

Cuisine

Mangalwedha is famous for jowar (sorghum) crop. Mangalwedha is known for its special cusine of bhakri (a type of bread) made from jowar and salsa made from coarsely ground green chillies kharda/thecha and onion and chutney of groundnuts. Bhaji (a fritter made from gram flour) is another delicacy from Mangalwedha.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Mangalwedha had a population of 21,694. Males constituted 52% of the population and females 48%. Mangalwedha had an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy was 76%, and female literacy was 60%. In Mangalwedha, 13% of the population were under 6 years of age. The town has a huge number of Kannada speakers along with Marathi.

Villages in Mangalwedha:

People from the following villages generally come here to worship Sant Bagadebaba: