Nanded

Tehsil Nanded, District Nanded, Maharashtra.

Nanded is the second largest city in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, India. It is also headquarters of Nanded district in the Aurangabad Division of the state. It is an important holy place for the Sikh faith and is famous for the Hazur Sahib Gurudwar.
Nanded is one of the historical places in Marathwada region of Maharashtra State. It is situated on north bank of Godavari river. It is famous for Sikh Gurudwaras. Nanded is a town of great antiquity. It is said that during the Puranic days, Pandavas travelled through Nanded district. Nandas ruled over Nanded through generations. Nanded also formed part of the Mauryan Empire during the reign of emperor Ashoka the great (272 to 231 BCE). The mention of Nanded is found in the Lilacharitra, a treatise written about 700 years ago by Mhaimbhatta. It gives the description of the idol of Narasimha in the town. Nanded was formerly known as Nanditat (Marathi: नंदितट) which is confirmed by the copper plate found at Vasim. Nanded District and the adjoining areas were ruled over by the Andhrabhrtyas or Satvahanas during the First Century A.D. During the fourth century A.D. Kandhar was the capital of the King Sogadev and at Nanded was ruled by the king Nanddeva of the Chalukya Dynasty. That the Rashtrakutas were ruling at Kandhar is established by the inscription at Krishnadev alias Khandardev found at Khandar. Another inscription at Arahapur shows that some dynasty of the Rashtrakutas was also ruling over Degloor. Hottal, a place in Nanded District was the capital of the Chalukyas, Kakatiyas followed by the Yadavas of Devgiri were the last the Hindu dynasties to have ruled of this part. During the very first invasion by the Muslims this territory subjugated to them and after a few years it became a part of the fief of Malik Kafur, the general of Alauddin Khilji.

With the advent of the Bahamanis, the southern country or the Deccan was divided into four parts or the subhas and Nanded was included in the Subha of Telangana. The famous Vazir or the Prime Minister of the Bahamanis Mahmud Gavan divided the Kingdom into subhas with Nanded forming part of Mahur Balaghat. Resided at Nanded and Kandhar for many days and the Vazirabad part of Nanded town was established by him. Nanded was the capital of the district of Telangana. When Aurangzeb was appointed the Subhedar of the Deccan. Bidar was the Headquarters of the Subha and named as Ahmadabad. The Subha of Bidar was divided into six sarkars and 76 mahals and Nanded was one of the Sarkars of that subha. In 1708, the year following the death of Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Singh the tenth spiritual leader of the Sikhs came over to Nanded, his permanent abode. He proclaimed himself the last living Guru and established the Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal Guru of the Sikhs. This elevates the reverence of Granth to that of a living Guru. A monument has been constructed at place where he breathed his last. Maharaja Ranjit Singh's endowment saw the construction of a beautiful Gurudwara at Nanded around 1835 AD. The Gurudwara features an imposing golden dome with intricate carvings and a breathtakingly beautiful artwork. It is known as Takhat Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib.

Nanded became the part of the Hyderabad State in 1725 when the Nizam permanently opted for the Deccan and continued to be part of Nizam's dominions until 1948. With India getting freedom in 1947 and the consequent police action against the Hyderabad State and invasion by the Indian Armed Forces, the district forming part of the Marathwada region of the Hyderabad state became part of the bilingual Bombay State. Consequently upon the creation of Maharashtra in 1956, the district continues to form part of the state of Maharashtra.