Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha, is a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * The State (newspaper), ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, Un ...

in the western and central peninsular region of

India India, officially the Republic of India (: ), is a country in . It is the by area, the country, and the most populous in the world. Bounded by the on the south, the on the southwest, and the on the southeast, it shares land borders wit ...

India

occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India as well as the second-most populous country subdivision in the world. It was formed on 1 May 1960 by splitting the bilingual

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of Independence of India, India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maha ...

, which had existed since 1956, into majority Marathi-speaking Maharashtra and Gujarati-speaking

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * The State (newspaper), ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in ...

Gujarat

. Hence Maharashtra is a Marathi linguistic state. As the home of the

Marathi people The Marathi people, also rendered as Marathis or Maharashtrian, are an ethnolinguistic group who speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language as their native language. They inhabit the state of Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH) is a state i ...

, Maharashtra is divided into 6

divisions Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics) Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the ways that numbers are combined to make new numbers. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multi ...

and 36

districts A district is a type of administrative division Administrative division, administrative unitArticle 3(1). , country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, first-level subdivision, as well as many similar terms, are generic na ...

, with the state capital being

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city A capital or capital city is the municipality holding primary status in a country, Constituent state, state, province, Department (country subdivisio ...

Mumbai

, also the most populous urban area in India and

Nagpur Nagpur (Marathi pronunciation: aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha, is a states and union territories of India, state in the western and central ...

Nagpur

serving as the winter capital. The

Godavari#REDIRECT Godavari River The Godavari is India India (Hindi: ), officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous country, the List of ...

and the

Krishna Krishna (, ; sa, कृष्ण, ) is a major deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered divinity, divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as "a God (male deity), god or goddess (in a polytheis ...

Krishna

are the two major rivers in the state.

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also

...

is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The forest cover in the state is 16.47% of the state's geographical area. Out of the total cultivable land in Maharashtra, about 60% is used for grain crops with

Jowar ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flower ...

(''Sorghum bicolor'') being the dominating crop. Spread over , Maharashtra is the third-largest state by area in India. It is bordered by the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, بحر العرب ''Bahr al-Arab'') is a region of the northern Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering or 19.8% of the water Water is an Inorganic co ...

to the west, the Indian states of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO; ) is an international standard are technical standards developed by international organizations (intergovernmental organizations), such as Codex Alimentarius in f ...

and

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India India (Hindi: ), officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous country, the ...

Goa

to the south,

Telangana Telangana (, , ) is a state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * The State (newspaper), ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspape ...

to the southeast and

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (lit. thirty-six forts) is a landlocked and heavily forested States and union territories of India, state located in the region of Central India. Formerly part of Madhya Pradesh it was granted statehood on Chhattisgarh Rajyotsava, 1 ...

to the east,

and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning ''Central Province'') is a state in central India India (Hindi: ), officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most ...

to the north, and the Indian

union territory #REDIRECT Union territory#REDIRECT Union territory A union territory ( hi, script=latn, kendraśāsit pradeś, , centrally administered province) is a type of administrative division Administrative division, administrative unitArticle 3(1). , ...

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is a union territory A union territory ( hi, script=latn, kendraśāsit pradeś, , centrally administered province) is a type of administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit ...

to the northwest.

hosts the winter session of the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of e ...

. The state has three international airports,

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराज आंतरराष्ट्रीय विमानतळ) is the primary international airport An international airport is a ...

(Mumbai), Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport (Nagpur), and

Pune Airport Pune Airport, is located approximately northeast of the historic centre of Pune Pune, known as Poona until 1978 ( ;), is the second-largest metropolitan city in the Indian State of Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH) is a state in ...

(Lohegaon, Pune). The state is home to three railways headquarters viz. Central Railway (

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, formerly Victoria Terminus, Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) ...

Konkan Railway

(

CBD Belapur The Central Business District of Belapur (C.B.D Belapur) is a node of Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (), also known by its Renaming of cities in India, former name New Bombay, is the largest planned community, planned city in the entire world, ...

) and Western Railway (Churchgate). The High Court of the state viz.

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay, also known as the Mumbai High Court, is the High courts of India, high court of the India, Indian States and union territories of India, states of Maharashtra and Goa, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Havel ...

is located in Mumbai. The state contributes 48 seats and 19 seats to the lower house

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, wikisource:Constitution_of_India/Part_V#Article_93, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of India, Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. M ...

and to the upper house

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally A constitution is an aggregate of fundamental principles A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a rule Rule or ruling may refer to: Huma ...

, respectively.

President's rule#REDIRECT President's rule In India India (Hindi: ), officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous country, the List of countries an ...

has been imposed in Maharashtra three times since 1980, for different reasons and for a total of 156 days.

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, ...

is practised by more than three-fourths of the population, followed by

Islam Islam (; ar, اَلْإِسْلَامُ, al-’Islām, "submission

o God Oh God may refer to: * An exclamation; similar to "oh no", "oh yes", "oh my", "aw goodness", "ah gosh", "ah gawd"; see interjection An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling ...

) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that Muhammad is a Muhammad in Islam, messenger of God.Peters, F. E. 2009. "Allāh." In , ed ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism (, ) is the world's fourth-largest religion Religion is a social Social organisms, including humans, live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and ...

. The predominant ethnolinguistic group of the Maharashtra is

, who speak the

...

language. The

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was a power that dominated a large portion of the in the 18th century. The empire formally existed from 1674 with the coronation of as the and ended in 1818 with the defeat of ' at the hands ...

was the prominent kingdom based in Maharashtra. Prior to Indian independence, the state was ruled by the

Satavahana dynasty The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sa ...

Rashtrakuta dynasty Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') was a royal dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from Manapura, ...

Western Chalukyas The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the Deccan Plateau, western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannadiga dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basav ...

Deccan sultanates#REDIRECT Deccan sultanates The Deccan sultanates were five late-medieval Indian kingdoms—on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range—that were ruled by Muslim dynasties: namely Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bija ...

Mughals The Mughal Empire, Mogul or Moghul Empire, was an early modern empire in South Asia South Asia is the southern region of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of th ...

, and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

British

. Ruins, monuments, tombs, forts, and places of worship left by these rulers are dotted around the state. At the time of Indian independence movement in the early 20th century, there were two major princely states in Maharashtra: Deccan and Kolhapur. The state is home to four

UNESCO World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ha ...

Ajanta

Ellora Ellora (\e-ˈlȯr-ə\, : ) is a located in the of , . It is one of the largest rock-cut Hindu temple cave complexes in the world, featuring Buddhist and Jain monuments with artwork dating from the period 600–1000 CE., Quote: "These 34 mo ...

Ellora

and

Elephanta

caves and the

(formerly Victoria Terminus).

Pune Pune (; ) is the seventh most populous city in India and the second-largest city in the state of Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha, is a state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'' ...

Pune

is known as the '

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2017, its population was estimated at 152,450. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, and northeast of Bristol. The city is home to the Unive ...

Oxford

of the East' due to the presence of several well-known educational institutions.

Nashik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is an ancient city and the largest city A city is a large human settlement In geography, statistics and archaeology, a settlement, locality or populated place is a community in whic ...

Nashik

is known as the 'Wine Capital of India' as it has the largest number of

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grape juice. Yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The ...

and

vineyards A vineyard ( ; also ) is a plantation A plantation is a large-scale estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops. The crops that are grown include cotton, coffee, tea, cocoa, su ...

in the country. Maharashtra provides legal protection to its

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** extant taxon, Living species, one that is ...

tiger

population through six dedicated tiger reserves under the precincts of the

National Tiger Conservation Authority The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was established in December 2005 following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force, constituted by the Prime Minister of India India (Hindi: ), officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), ...

. Maharashtra is the most industrialised state in India and the state's capital, Mumbai is India's

financial Finance is the study of financial institutions, financial markets and how they operate within the financial system. It is concerned with the creation and management of money Image:National-Debt-Gillray.jpeg, In a 1786 James Gillray caricatu ...

and commercial hub.—
— The state has played a significant role in the country's

social Social organisms, including humans, live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary/involuntary. Etymology The word "Social" derives fr ...

and political life and widely considered a leader in terms of

agricultural Agriculture is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary Image:Family watching television 1958.jpg, Exercise trends, Increases in sedentary behaviors such as watching tele ...

and

industrial productionIndustrial production is a measure of output of the industrial sector of the economy An economy (from Greek language, Greek οίκος – "household" and νέμoμαι – "manage") is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distri ...

, trade and transport, and education.—
—
— Maharashtra is among the most developed Indian states and continues to be the single largest contributor to the national economy with a share of 12% in the country's

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary In a 1786 James Gillray caricature, the plentiful money bags handed to King George III are contrasted with the beggar whose legs and arms were amputated, in the left corner">174x174px Money is any ...

.—
—
—
— The

economy of Maharashtra The economy of Maharashtra is the List of Indian states and union territories by GDP, largest in India . It is one of the most urbanised of Indian States. Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra is considered the financial capital of India with the ...

is the largest in India, with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of and GSDP per capita of . Maharashtra is the fifteenth-highest ranking among Indian states in

human development index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of , (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and indicators, which are used to rank countries into four tiers ...

History

Chalcolithic The Chalcolithic (),The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) , p. 301: "Chalcolithic /,kælkəl'lɪθɪk/ adjective ''Archaeology'' of, relating to, or denoting a period in the 4th and 3rd millennium BC, chiefly in the Near East and SE Europe, ...

sites belonging to the

Jorwe culture The Jorwe culture was a Chalcolithic archaeological culture which existed in large areas of what is now Maharashtra state in Western India, and also reached north into the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. It is named after the type site of Jorwe. T ...

(''circa'' 1300–700 BCE) have been discovered throughout the state. Inner sanctum with Mahavira statue, Ellora Cave 32

Maharashtra was ruled by the

Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age list of ancient great powers, historical power in South Asia based in Magadha, founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. Quote: "Ma ...

in the fourth and third centuries BCE. Around 230 BCE, Maharashtra came under the rule of the

Satavahana The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan region. Mos ...

dynasty for 400 years.India Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic: p. 440 The greatest ruler of the Satavahana dynasty was

Gautamiputra Satakarni Gautamiputra Satakarni ( Brahmi: 𑀕𑁄𑀢𑀫𑀺𑀧𑀼𑀢 𑀲𑀸𑀢𑀓𑀡𑀺, ''Gotamiputa Sātakaṇi'', IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless ...

. In 90 CE, Vedishri, son of the Satavahana king

Satakarni Satakarni (also called Sātakarnī I, Brahmi script: 𑀲𑀸𑀢𑀓𑀡𑀺, ''Sātakaṇi'') was the third of the Satavahana kings, who ruled the Deccan Plateau, Deccan region of India. His reign is generally dated to 70-60 BCE, although some ...

, the "Lord of Dakshinapatha, wielder of the unchecked wheel of Sovereignty", made

Junnar Junnar (Marathi pronunciation: ]) is a city in the of the Indian of . The city has history dating back to the first millennium. The nearby fort of was the birthplace of Maratha king , the founder of the . Junnar was declared the first touri ...

, 30 miles north of

, the capital of his kingdom. The state was also ruled by

Western Satraps The Western Satraps, or Western Kshatrapas (:, ''Mahakṣatrapa'', "Great s") were () rulers of the western and central part of India ( and : modern , , and states), between 35 to 405 CE. The Western Satraps were contemporaneous with the s wh ...

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an Outline of ancient India, ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period ...

Gurjara-Pratihara The Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty was an imperial power during the Late Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled much of Northern India from the mid-8th to the 11th century. They ruled first at Ujjain and later at Kannauj Kann ...

Vakataka The Vakataka Empire () was a dynasty from the Indian subcontinent that originated from the Deccan Plateau, Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE. Their state is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to ...

Kadambas The Kadambas (345–540 CE) were an ancient royal family of Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO; ) is an international standard are technical standards developed by international ...

Chalukya Empire

Rashtrakuta Dynasty Rashtrakuta (IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics Linguistics is the science, scientifi ...

, and

Western Chalukya The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the Deccan Plateau, western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannadiga dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basava ...

before finally, the

Yadava The Yadavas (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people Indians are the nationals Nationals may refer to: * People of a given nationality * A tournament or convention of national scope * Washington Nationals, a Major Lea ...

rule. The

Buddhist Buddhism (, ) is the world's fourth-largest religion Religion is a social Social organisms, including humans, live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, an ...

Ajanta Caves The Ajanta Caves are approximately 30 which date from the 2nd century to about 480 CE in of state of . The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of , particularly expressive pain ...

in present-day

Aurangabad Aurangabad () is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the ...

display influences from the Satavahana and Vakataka style. The caves were possibly excavated during this period. The Chalukya dynasty ruled from the sixth to the eighth centuries CE, and the two prominent rulers were

Pulakeshin II Pulakeshi II (IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is ...

, who defeated the north Indian Emperor

Harsha Harshavardhana (c. 590–647 CE) was an Indian emperor who ruled North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in Sou ...

Harsha

, and

Vikramaditya II Vikramaditya II (reigned 733 – 744 CE) was the son of King Vijayaditya Vijayaditya (696–733 CE) followed his father, Vinayaditya of Vatapi, Vinayaditya on to the Chalukya throne. His long reign was marked by general peace and prosper ...

, who defeated the

Arab The Arabs (singular Arab ; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, : , Arabic pronunciation: , plural ar, عَرَبٌ, : , Arabic pronunciation: ) are an mainly inhabiting the . In modern usage the term refers to those who originate from an Arab co ...

Arab

invaders in the eighth century. The Rashtrakuta dynasty ruled Maharashtra from the eighth to the tenth century.Indian History, p. B-57 The Arab traveller

Sulaiman al Mahri Sulaiman Al Mahri ibn Ahmad ibn Sulayman ( ar, سليمان المهري ابن أحمد ابن سليمان) (1480–1550) was a 16th-century Arab navigator. He was called "Al-Mahri" because he was a descendant of the Arabic tribe of Mahara. He ...

described the ruler of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty

Amoghavarsha Amoghavarsha I (also known as Amoghavarsha Nrupathunga I ) (r.814–878 CE) was a Rashtrakuta emperor, the greatest ruler of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and one of the great emperors of India India (Hindi: ), officially the Republic of Ind ...

as "one of the four great kings of the world".A Comprehensive History of Ancient India (3 Vol. Set): p. 203 Shilahara dynasty began as vassals of the Rashtrakuta dynasty which ruled the Deccan plateau between the eighth and tenth centuries. From the early 11th century to the 12th century, the Deccan Plateau, which includes a significant part of Maharashtra, was dominated by the

Western Chalukya Empire The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the Deccan Plateau, western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannadiga dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basav ...

and the

Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty ( ta, சோழ வம்சம்) was a Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India, Sri Lanka and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka **Tamil Malaysia ...

.''The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300'' by

Romila Thapar Romila Thapar (born 30 November 1931) is an Indian historian. Her principal area of study is ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between ...

: pp. 365–366 Several battles were fought between the Western Chalukya empire and the Chola dynasty in the Deccan Plateau during the reigns of

Raja Raja Chola I Rajaraja I, born Arulmoli Varman, often described as Rajaraja the Great, was a Chola The Chola dynasty ( ta, சோழ வம்சம்) was a Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India, Sri Lanka and some ...

Rajendra Chola IRajendra may refer to: * Rajendra (name), a male given name (including a list of persons with the name) * ''Rajendra'' (moth), a moth genus * Rajendra Radar

, a phased array radar {{Disambiguation ...