Nanded is a city in Marathwada.
About
Nanded , is the second largest city in Marathwada region of Maharashtra state of India. Nanded is also district headquarter of Nanded District in Marathwada region or [[Nanded, Maharashtra|Nanded revenue division. It is known as an important holy place for the Sikh faith.
One of the oldest and historic cities in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, Nanded is situated on the north bank of the Godavari River.The Nanda dynasty ruled over Nanded for generations in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. Nanded was also part of the Maurya Empire under Ashoka (c. 272 to 231 BCE).
Early mentions of Nanded and irrigation practices are found in the Lilacharitra, a treatise written about 700 years ago by Mhaimbhatta. The city was formerly known as Nanditat (Marathi: ??????) according to a copper plate inscription found at Vasim. Nanded District and the adjoining areas were ruled over by the Andhrabhrtyas and Satvahanas during the first century AD.
In 1708, the year following Aurangzeb's death, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth spiritual leader of the Sikhs, came to Nanded. He proclaimed himself the last living Guru and established the Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal Guru of Sikhism, elevating the reverence of the text to that of a living leader. Around 1835, Maharaja Ranjit Singh's oversaw the construction of a gurudwara at Nanded. Located at the site of Guru Gobind Singh's cremation, the gurudwara is part of the Hazur Sahib..
Nanded became part of the Hyderabad State in 1725 and continued to be part of the Nizam's dominions until 1948. After India gained independence in 1947, the Indian Armed Forces annexed Hyderabad and ended the rule of the Nizam in Operation Polo, making Nanded part of the new Hyderabad State. Nanded, being a Marathi speaking area, is part of Maharashtra, based on India's linguistic state formation.
How to Reach
Nanded is very well connected by Roads and Railways.
Railways: Direct trains are available to Nanded from Mumbai, Aurangabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Nagpur, Patna, Delhi, Pune, Sriganganagar, Rajasthan and Amritsar. Roads : Nanded is 650km east of Mumbai by road and about six-hour drive from Aurangabad and Hyderabad and 11-hour drive from Pune. Several passenger bus services operate from Nanded providing easy overnight connectivity with almost every major city in Maharashtra. These buses are reasonably priced and fairly punctual. The comfort level differs greatly from operator to operator.
Airport : Nanded is connected with three flights in a week for Mumbai. The nearest international airport is Hyderabad(284km). Nanded has the dubious distinction of having Marathwada regions first airport. But due to negligence, it was not developed. Now it has been renovated and named as 'Shri Guru Gobind Singh ji Airport'. It was inaugurated on 4 October 2008 by Union Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashokrao Chavan. Go Air has started its services from Amritsar-New Delhi-Mumbai-Nanded-Nagpur.
Reproduced from Wikipedia