| Lok Sabha Constituencies in Osmanabad district, Maharashtra (MP Constituencies) | Osmanabad |
| MLA Assembly Constituencies in Osmanabad district, Maharashtra | Osmanabad Paranda Tuljapur Umarga |
About Osmanabad District :
Osmanabad district lies in the southern part of state. Most of the district area is rocky while the remaining part is plain. The height of district is 600 mm above sea level. Most part of the district is surrounded by small mountain called “Balaghat”. Bhoom, Washi, Kalamb, Osmanabad & Tuljapur Tahsil lie in the range of this Balaghat mountain.Some part of the major rivers like Godawari and Bhima come under this district.
The district is located on east side of Marathwada region within North latitude 17.35 to 18.40 degree and east latitude 75.16 to 76.40 degree.
The area of district is 7512.4 sq. km out of which 241.4 sq km is urban area ( 3.21 % of total area ) and 7271.0 sq km is rural area ( 96.79 % of total area)
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Tourist Places :
Shri Tuljabhavani :
Tuljapur, the one amongst three and half Shakti Peethas (abodes of cosmic powers) of the state, is situated in Maharashtra, wherein resides the Mother Goddess Tulja Bhavani. She is also fondly revered as Aai (mother) Ambabai, Jagdamba, Tukai by her devotees who throng in millions to Tuljapur for her Darshan and for seeking her blessings. As a divine Mother, she protects her children from the sins of evil desires, selfishness, jealousy, hatred, anger and ego. At the same time, TuljaBhavani symbolizes the power of the Supreme Being that maintains moral order and righteousness in the universe.
TuljaBhavani is also described as the impressive and formidable goddess in Hindu Puranas. She is known for combating demons who threaten the stability of the universe. She killed the Demon (asur) called Kukur, who, endowed with supernatural powers, had become arrogant and a great menace to the social and moral order of the day. When the Goddess appeared to kill him, the demon assumed the form of a ferocious buffalo (mahisha) and challenged her for a combat. She vanquished him in the battle and killed him and from then onwards, she became popularly known as “Mahishasur Mardini”, the one who killed the demon called Mahishasur. In Maharashtra, TuljaBhavani worship is of great antiquity and innumerable royal houses and their nobles have been devotees. She is the Family Deity ( Kuldaivat) of most of the Maharashtiran families, including the great Bhonsla dynasty , whose most celebrated progeny was Great Shivaji, the founder of Hindavi Swarajya. Legend has it that it was Tuljabhavani who gifted the Bhavani sword to Shivaji to vanquish his opponents in the battlefield
Shri Saint Goroba Kaka :
Saint Goroba was born in Ter(Dhoki) in the year 1267. Hence the village is popular & known as “Goroba Ter”. The temple of Saint Goroba is also one of the attraction for Tourist & pilgrimage visiting to Osmanabad dist. The temple was built in 13th century after the death of Saint Goroba in 1317.This square shaped temple is constructed fully with stone & is one of the best model in architecture. They have also constructed one “Sabha Mandap” to perform religious & cultural activities. Mostly the pilgrimage those are from rural area & are offenly visiting to Pandharpur and Tuljapur visit here on their return journey
Dharashiv Caves :
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The dharashiv caves are situated 8 Kms away from Osmanabad city in Balaghat Mountains. The caves were taken note of by Archaeological Department and mentioned in the book “Archaeological survey of India” by James Verges. There are total 7 caves in the Balaghat Mountain lane. The first cave is without any statue with small open space .The second cave consists of a statue with Artistic work on right side of statue. The art work is of gandharva era. The fourth cave is with open space without any statue inside. The statue in the sixth cave is damaged while the seventh cave has no statue. That this is an ancient place is shown by the caves excavated in the hill at a distance of about eight miles.
These caves were originally Buddhist, but were later converted into monuments of the Jain religion and fresh caves were also excavated nearby. Of this we shall speak later. There are some more Buddhist caves excavated in the hills, about 8 miles from Dharashiva. The earlier of them are referred by Burgess to the middle of the 7th century A. D. Cave No. II is modeled on the plan of the Vakataka caves at Ajanta. It has a central hall measuring 80 feet by 80 feet, with 14 cells for the residence of the Bhiksus and garbhagraha with a colossal image of the Buddha in Pamasana. From the hoods of a serpent spread over its head, it is supposed by some to be the image of the Jaina Tirthankara Paravanatha, but the figures of deer with a dharmacakra between them on the pedestal indicate that it is that of Gautama Buddha. Another cave (No. III) has a hall of 59’ by 59’, closely resembling Cave No. I. Later some Jain caves (No. V and VI) were excavated on the same hill. They are described in the Prakrt work Karakandacariu as excavated by the king Karakanda, who came to know about the earlier caves from the prince Siva of Terapura (Tagara).
The Karakandacariu is a work of the 11th century A. D. so these later caves were probably excavated in the 9th or 10th century A. D. during the age of Rastrakutas. As per the historical survey of caves they were built in 5th century B.C. There is severe differences between historical researchers & archaeological intelligence regarding religion i.e. whether the caves belongs to Buddha or Jain. There is also strong differences regarding the era of when the caves where built. Recently in 1996 with help of World Bank few parts of cave have been repaired.
