Aurangabad district (Marathi pronunciation: �u̯ɾəŋɡaːbaːd̪, officially known as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, is one of the 36

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

of the state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

in western

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It borders the districts of

Nashik Nashik, formerly Nasik, is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra situated on the banks of the river Godavari, about northeast of the state capital Mumbai. Nashik is one of the Hindu pilgrimage sites of the Kumbh ...

to the west,

Jalgaon Jalgaon () is a city in the state of Maharashtra, India. The city is located in North Maharashtra in the subregion of Khandesh, and serves as the administrative headquarters of its namesake district, the Jalgaon district. In the subregion of ...

to the north, Jalna to the east, and

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar, officially Ahilyanagar, is a city in, and the headquarters of, the Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost impre ...

to the south. The city of Aurangabad houses the district's administrative headquarters. The district has an area of 10,100 km, of which 37.55% is urban and the rest is rural. Aurangabad District is a major tourism region in Marathwada, with attractions including the

Ajanta Caves The Ajanta Caves are 30 rock-cut architecture, rock-cut Buddhist caves in India, Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century Common Era, BCE to about 480 CE in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, Aurangabad district of Maharashtra sta ...

and Ellora Caves.

Geography

Aurangabad District is located mainly in the

Godavari River The Godavari (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganges River, Ganga River and drains the third largest Drainage basin, basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. It ...

Basin and partly in the Tapti River Basin. The district is located between 19 and 20 degrees north longitude and between 74 and 76 degrees east latitude, covering an area of 10,100 km.

Geology

Geological formations

Aurangabad District lies on the

Deccan plateau The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura Range, Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound ...

and is covered by the

Deccan Traps The Deccan Traps are a large igneous province of west-central India (17–24°N, 73–74°E). They are one of the largest volcanic features on Earth, taking the form of a large shield volcano. They consist of many layers of solidified flood ...

, which formed during the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...

and Lower Eocene ages. Thin alluvial deposits lie above the Deccan Traps along the major rivers. The basaltic lava flows belonging to the Deccan Traps are the only major geological formation in the district. The lava flows are horizontal, with each flow featuring two distinct layers. The upper layer consists of vesicular and amygdule zeolitic basalt, while the lower layer consists of massive basalt.

Elevation and mountains

The average height of southern portion of the district is between 600 and 670 metres. The district features four distinct mountains: * Antur – 827 m * Abbasgad – 671 m * Satonda – 552 m * Ajintha – 578 m

Rivers

The major rivers in Aurangabad District are the

Godavari The Godavari (, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga River and drains the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharash ...

Purna : Purna is a town with a municipal council in the Parbhani district of Maharashtra, India. Geography Purna is located at . It has an average elevation of . Purna is situated in the Maharashtra state of India. Demographics India census, Purna ...

, Shivana, and Kham rivers. The Narangi river rises on the southern slopes of the water divide south of the Maniyad river near the village of Naral. It flows past Vaijapur, where it is joined by the Deo Nala river from Nasik District. The Narangi follows a long south-southwesterly course before its point of entry into the Godavari. It is joined by the Chor nala from the west and the Kurla nala from the east, continuing the trend of the Kurla river after the Kurla's confluence.

Climate

The rainy season lasts from June through September and the average rainfall is 734 mm. The temperature ranges from 14 to 40 degrees Celsius on average. The winter season is from October to February and the summer season is from March to May.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Aurangabad District has a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 3,701,282 inhabitants and a population density of . It is the 72nd most populous district in India out of

640 Year 640 ( DCXL) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 640 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming y ...

, and the

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 70 million annu ...

between 2001 and 2011 was 27.33%. The district has a

sex ratio A sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, ei ...

of 917

females An organism's sex is female (symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and male ...

for every 1000 males and a

literacy rate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

of 79.02%. 43.77% of the population live in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 14.57% and 3.87% of the population respectively.

Religions

According to the 2011 census,

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

is the most followed religion in the district and is practised by 69.77% of the population. Other popular religions include

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(21.25%),

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

(8.35%) and

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

(0.84%). In rural areas, Hindus are nearly 80% of the population while Muslims are nearly 15% of the population.

Languages

As of the 2011 Census of India, 69.66% of the population in the district speaks

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

, 14.51%

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, 9.49%

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and 2.57%

Lambadi Lambadi, Lambani, Lamani or Banjari is a Western Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Banjara people across India. The language does not have a native script. Regional dialects are divided between the Banjara of Maharashtra (written in Devanaga ...

as their first language. 1.06% of the population recorded their language as 'Others' under Hindi.

Government and politics

Administrative divisions

The district comprises nine

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

s: Kannad, Soyagaon, Sillod, Phulambri,

Aurangabad Aurangabad (), officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a ...

, Khuldabad, Vaijapur, Gangapur, and

Paithan Paithan (), historically Pratiṣṭhāna ɾə'tɪʂʈʰanə is a town with municipal council in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Maharashtra, Maharashtra, India. Paithan is located south of present-day Aurangabad on the banks of the ...

. The new proposal for tehsil is lasur and pishor. The big towns were divide from gangapur tehsil and kannad tehsil Nine Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha constituencies are located in this district: Sillod, Kannad, Phulambri, Aurangabad Central, Aurangabad West, Aurangabad East,

, Gangapur, and Vaijapur. The Vidhan Sabha constituencies are grouped into two

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

constituencies:

and Jalna.

Villages

* Deulgaon Bazar * Koli Bodkha

Officers

Members of Parliament

* Sandipanrao Bhumre, Shiv Sena Shinde Group
* Kalyan Kale, INC

Guardian Minister

=list of Guardian Minister

District Magistrate/Collector

Tourism

There are many points of interest in Aurangabad District, including temples, villages, gardens, and sanctuaries.

Indian rock-cut architecture

File:AJANTA CAVES - C.SHELARE (2).jpg, The

are 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments built during rule of the Vakatakas. File: Cave 26, Ajanta.jpg, Buddhist "Chaitya Griha" (prayer hall) with a seated Buddha in Cave 26 of the Ajanta Caves. File:1 Hinayana style Aurangabad Buddhist Cave with stupa.jpg,

Chaitya A chaitya, chaitya hall, chaitya-griha, (Sanskrit:''Caitya''; Pāli: ''Cetiya'') refers to a shrine, sanctuary, temple or prayer hall in Indian religions. The term is most common in Buddhism, where it refers to a space with a stupa and a rounded ...

with

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

, Cave 4, Aurangabad Caves. File: Aurangabad Caves, another view.JPG, Various sculptures next to an entrance at Aurangabad Caves. File: Kailasa temple overview, Ellora.jpg, Central pillar near Kailasa temple at Ellora Caves. File:Ellora Caves, India, The Vishvakarma Buddhist Cave.jpg, Statue of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

seated. Part of the Carpenter's cave (Buddhist Cave 10). File:Kailasha temple at ellora.JPG, Kailasa temple, Ellora, Aurangabad File:Ajanta Cave 26 Dagoba with praying monks.jpg, Buddhist monks praying in front of the Dagoba of Chaitya in Cave 26 of the Ajanta Caves.

Caves

* The

are situated from Aurangabad city. They comprise 30 rock-cut caves around a gorge and were built by the

Satavahana The Satavahanas (; ''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras (also ''Andhra-bhṛtyas'' or ''Andhra-jatiyas'') in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavaha ...

, Vakataka and

Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

dynasties between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE. They contain various works of ancient Indian art, including paintings which are among the rarest and finest surviving examples of their era. The Ajanta Caves are a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. * The Ellora Caves are from Aurangabad city. They consist of 34 caves built between the 5th and 10th centuries CE under the patronage of the

Rashtrakuta Dynasty The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from Manapu ...

. They represent the epitome of Indian rock cut architecture. Like the Ajanta Caves, the Ellora Caves are also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. * The Aurangabad Caves are from Aurangabad city. Nestled amidst the hills are 12 Buddhist caves dating back to 3 A.D. Of particular interest are the Tantric influences evident in the iconography and architectural design of the caves.

Holy sites

Grishneshwar temple in Aurangabad district.jpg, View of Grishneshwar temple Kachner.jpg, Idol of Parshvanatha at Kachner temple *

Grishneshwar Temple Grushneshwar Jyotirlinga is a Hindu temple of Shiva in Verul village of Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, India. It is one of the 12 '' Jyotirlinga'' mandirs. The mandir is a national protected site, one and a half kilometers away from the Ell ...

is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines in India. It was built by Ahilyabai Holkar in the 18th century CE. The structure is a unique example of Bhoomija architecture with a Maratha style influence. * The 250 year old Kachner Jain Temple is dedicated to Parshvanatha. It contains an idol called Chintamani Parshvanath. * Shuli Bhanjan is a hill near Aurangabad. It is believed that Saint Eknath Maharaj carried his Tapasya here.

Hindu temples and shrines

There are dozens of Hindu temples and shrines in the region. *Grishneshwar temple * Kailash temple, Ellora caves, Verul *Khadakeshwar temple. *Vitthal Mandir, Pandharpur, A'bad. *Renukamata mandir, Karnapura. Karnapura Temple. *Sansthan Ganapati mandir. *Siddhivinayak mandir. *Pavan Ganesh mandir. *Sai Tekadi (Hill). *Hanuman Tekadi (Hill). *Khandoba Mandir, Satara. * Bhadra Maruti Temple, Khuldabad. *Sant Dnyaneshwar Mandir, Paithan. *Eknath Maharaj Mandir, Paithan. *Savata Maharaj Mandir, Vaijapur. *Mahalakshmi Mandir, Vaijapur. *Virbhadra Temple, Vaijapur. *Sant Danshower Maharaj Sansthan. *Mhasoba Maharaj Mandir, Sillod. *Sindhi mandir, Sillod. *Shree Chakradhar Swami Mandir, Gangapur. *Panchavati Mahadev mandir, Gangapur. *Ekmukhi Datt Mandir, Gangapur. *Bhairavnath Mandir, Soegaon. *Munjoba mandir, Soegaon. *Mahamuni Agasti Maharaj Warkari Shikshan Sansthan, Soegaon. *Ram mandir, Kannad. *Bajarangbali mandir, Kannad. *Jagrut Siddhivinayak temple, Kannad.

Gates and forts

Daulatabad fort21.jpeg, Front view of Daulatabad Fort Bhadkal Gate.JPG, Bhadkal Gate The city of Aurangabad is known for its 52 gates and has been called the "City of Gates". These gates were built during Mughal era. Daulatabad Fort (aka Devagiri Fort), located some north-west of Aurangabad, was built in the 12th century CE by the Yadava Dynasty. It was one of the most powerful forts during the medieval era. The fort was built on a conical hill and defended by moats, trenches, and three encircling walls with bastions. It also had two fixed massive canons which could be pivoted. The fort was never conquered by any military force.

Mughal architecture

BIBI KA MAQBARA (TOMB OF THE LADY) 2.jpg,

Bibi Ka Maqbara The Bibi Ka Maqbara (English: "Tomb of the Lady") is a tomb located in the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was commissioned in 1660 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's son, Prince Azam Shah, in the memory of his mother ...

Tomb Aurangzeb.jpg, Tomb of Aurangzeb * The

is the burial mausoleum of Emperor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

's wife, Dilras Banu Begum (posthumously known as Rabia-ud-Daurani). The site is from Aurangabad city. It is an imitation of the

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

at Agra and is popularly known as the "Taj of the Deccan". * The Tomb of Aurangzeb is located in the village of Khuldabad, to the north-west of Aurangabad city, in the south-eastern corner of the complex of the

dargah A Sufi shrine or dargah ( ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargāh'' दरगाह درگاہ, ''dôrgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervi ...

of Sheikh Zainuddin. Aurangzeb is considered to have been last great

Mughal emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

Other notable sites

Panchakki fountain, Aurangabad.jpg, Panchakki was designed to generate energy from water flowing down a mountain. It displays the scientific thought process that guided medieval Indian architecture. Salim Ali Lake.jpg, Salim Ali Lake Siddharth Garden and Zoo.jpg, Siddharth Garden near a bus stand in Aurangabad * Panchakki, which literally means "water mill", is a 17th-century water mill situated within the old city of Aurangabad. It is known for its underground channel, which carries water from hills over 8 km away. The channel culminates in an artificial waterfall that powers the mill. * Salim Ali Lake & Bird Sanctuary is located in the northern part of the city near Delhi Darwaza, opposite Himayat Bagh. During the Mughal period, it was known as Khiziri Talab. It was renamed after the great

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and naturalist Salim Ali. It features a bird sanctuary and a garden maintained by the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation. * Siddharth Garden and Zoo is situated near the central bus station in Aurangabad city. It is the only zoo in the

Marathwada Marathwada () is a geographical region of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Maharashtra. It was formed during the Nizam of Hyderabad, Nizam's rule and was part of the then Hyderabad State. The region coincides with the Aurang ...

region. It is home to several species of animals, birds, flowers, and trees. The name "Siddhartha" is a reference to

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

Transportation

Road

* Mumbai – Aurangabad * Hyderabad – Aurangabad * Nagpur – Aurangabad * Dhule – Aurangabad * Pune – Aurangabad (approximately 4.5 hours journey time) * Solapur – Aurangabad

Rail

The

Manmad Manmad ( ənmaːɖ is a town in Nashik district in Maharashtra, India. It is the third largest city in Nashik district, with a population of approximately 80,000. Geographically, the town lies within Nandgaon Tehsil in Nashik District. Though ...

- Kachiguda Railway Station Broad gauge railway line emanates from the

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Bhusawal Bhusawal is a city in the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, India. Situated along the Tapti River, it lies between the Satpura Range and the Ajanta range, Ajanta Hills of the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau. The city is a significant hub for the ...

Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...

trunk route at

and is an important traffic artery in Aurangabad District. Routes include: * Mumbai – Aurangabad * Hyderabad – Nanded – Aurangabad * Secunderabad – Bangalore – Parbhani – Aurangabad * Delhi – Aurangabad – Delhi * Nagpur – Aurangabad – Nagpur * Mumbai-Aurangabad – Mumbai – Janshatabdi Express (daily service) * Nandigram Express – via – Aurangabad to Mumbai (daily service) * Devgiri Express – via – Aurangabad to Mumbai (daily service) * Tapovan Express (AWB to NED)(Nanded) or (AWB to CSTM )(Mumbai)(daily service) * Marathwada Express- (AWB to DAB)(Darmabad) or AWB To MMR(Manmad Jn) (daily service) * Sachkhand Express- (AWB to NED)(Nanded) or (AWB to ASR) Amritsar JN (daily service)

Aurangabad Airport Aurangabad Airport is a domestic airport and a seasonal international airport serving the city of Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It is located at Chikalthana, about 5.5 km east of the city centre and 11 km from Aurangabad Railway ...

has flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad-Tirupati, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Udaipur, and Jaipur.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aurangabad District, Maharashtra Districts of Maharashtra Aurangabad division Marathwada