Solapur district General information
Solapur District is a district in Maharashtra state of India. The city of Solapur is the district headquarters. It is located on the south east edge of the state and lies entirely in the Bhima and Seena basins. The entire district is drained by the Bhima River.
Solapur District leads in beedi production. Kundalsangam, Karmala and Barshi have adopted the path of development through industry and education. Akkalkot also has mallikarjun temple where many lingayat devotees workship daily.
Solapur is an ancient historical and religious place with Shri Siddharameshwar as its "Gramadaiwata". Shri Siddharameshwar was a historical figure of the 12th century whose "Karmayoga" on his own native land-Solapur, turned him into a God-figure over the course of time. Siddharama was a great conributor to Lingayata religion and he is considered as one of the six prophets of Lingayat religion. He had gained the "Siddhi". As Solapur was a drought prone area, Shri Siddharameshwar dug a lake with the help of 4000 "Sharanas" to solve the problem of potable water. He entombed himself alive (Shivyogsamadhi) at Solapur.
During the Indian independence movement, the people of Solapur enjoyed full freedom on 9th, 10 and 11 May 1930. However, this resulted in the executions of Shri Mallappa Dhanshetti, Shri Kurban Hussein, Shri Jagannath Shinde and Shri Kisan Sarda who were hanged on 12 January 1931, in the prison at Pune. This resulted in the city becoming recognized as "The City of Hutatmas".
The presiding deity of Maharashtra, Lord Vitthal is at Pandharpur in this district. Swami Samarth of Akkalkot has followers from all walks of life. Solapur is famous as a textile town, especially owing to its talented weavers’ community, and is an important railway junction on the North-South train line.
History
The Early Chalukyas of Badami and the Later Chalukyas of Kalyani, whose capitals were situated in the Kanarese country, were known as Kuntaleshvaras (the lords of Kuntala). Their capital was situated at Manapura (modern Man in the Satara district). The neighbouring territory now comprised in the Satara and Sholapur districts came to be known as Mana-desha, which is named in some records of the age of the Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri. The Kuntala country comprising the Sholapur District was included in the Empire of Ashoka the Great.
Mananka, the founder of the early Rashtrakuta family, flourished in circa A.D. 350. He founded Manapura, which he made his capital. He is described in one of his grants as the illustrious ruler of the Kuntala country. Kuntala was the name of the upper Krishna valley in ancient times. The places mentioned in some of the grants can be identified in the Satara and Sholapur Districts. Their capital Manapura is probably identical with Man, the chief town of the Man taluka of the Satara district. These Rashtrakutas of Manapura often came into conflict with the Vakatakas of the Vatsagulma branch. The Pandarangapalli plates of Avidheya state that Mananka harassed the rulers of Ashmaka and Vidarbha. On the other hand, an inscription in Cave XVI at Ajanta states that the Vakataka king Vindhyasena (i.e., Vindhyashakti II) defeated the king of Kuntala, who evidently belonged to this Rashtrakuta family.
A stone inscription at Mardi in the Sholapur District mentions several grants made to the god Yogeshvara during the reigns of the Yadava kings Bhillama V, Jaitugi and Singhana. [Khare, Sources of the Mediaeval History of the Deccan (Marathi), Vol. I, p. 43 f.] From the particulars of the regnal fourth year of Bhillama mentioned therein it seems that he had come to the throne in Shaka 1106 (A.D. 1184). He conquered the Sholapur territory from the Kalachuris sometime after Shaka 1102 in which some grant had been made to the same temple during the reign of the Kalachuri king Sankamadeva. The inscription mentions Marudhi as the ancient name of modern Mardi. Several inscriptions in the Sholapur District record gifts made in the reign of Singhana. The aforementioned Mardi inscription mentions the Shaka year 1134 as the thirteenth regnal year of Singhana.Two other inscriptions of the reign of Singhana have been found at Pulunj. [2. Loc. Cit.] about 12 miles east of Pandharpur in the Sholapur District. One of them mentioning the Siddharatha cyclic year corresponding to Shaka 1121 records Singhana's grant of the village It the to Ammugidevara, a devotee of the god Siddhasomanatha at the town of Purnajapura (modern Pulunj). The inscription mentions several other places in the neighbourhood of Pulunj such as Soijana (Sowdane), Kuruvalage (Kurul), Degave (Degaon), Lalige (Nulee), Pattharige (Pathari), Koravalli (Kuroli), Chinchavalli (Chincholi), Asuthige (Ashti), Revalapala (Ropale), Tungatuha (Tungat), Eventige (Yevati) and Poragave (Pohargaon). Many of these names are Kanarese and the inscription also is written in the Kanarese language. Some inscriptions of the reign of Ramachandra have been found at Velapur, ten miles south-east of Malshiras in the Sholapur District.
Demography
District - Solapur
Area - 14886 km²
Sub-divisions - Solapur, Madha (Kurduwadi), Pandharpur
Talukas - North Solapur, Barshi, Akkalkot, South Solapur, Mohol, Mangalwedha, Pandharpur, Sangola, Malshiras, Karmala, Madha.
Proposal for a separate Phandarpur District The Solapur district is under proposal to be bifurcated and a separate Phandarpur district be carved out of existing Solapur district.
Distance from Mumbai - 450 km
Tourist places -
Pandharpur, Kundalsangam,Akkalkot, Akluj, Barshi, Karmala, Nanaj(North Solapur taluka) In Pandharpur, warkaris come for having darshan of Lord Vitthal and Rukmini without any invitation on Aashadhi Ekadashi and Kartiki Ekadashi. Lakhs of warkari come by walking in scorching sunny or rainy days. They walk hundreds of miles with chanting of Dhyanoba-Tukaram. Jai Jai Vitthal Jai hari Vitthal. Lord Vitthal's temple is of ancient time. This is unique case in world to which statue devotee can touch. Mangalwedha is known as a land of saints like Damaji, Kanhopatra, and Tikacharya. For Damaji, Lord Vitthal came at Mangalwedha as a Vithoo Mahar. Damaji was head clerk of Badshah of Beedar (now in Karnataka), opened doors of warehouses of Jawari in scarcity days and saved thousands of lives.
* Siddheshwar Temple and lake
* Solapur Fort (Bhuikot Killa)- Fort built by Bahamani sultan
* Prin.K.P.Mangalvedhekar Institute of Management.,
* Pandharpur (Lord Vithoba Temple,1, 2)
* Akkalkot (Swami Samarth Maharaj Temple)
* Barshi
* Maldhok wildlife sanctuary, Nannaj
* Ramling - Lord Mahadeo Temple
* Gangapur - Shri Dattatreya Temple
* Dahigaun - Jain Temple