Indapur

This article is about the Indapur city in Pune district, Maharashtra, India. For the tehsil in Pune district, see Indapur tehsil.

Indapur
town
Indapur Location in Maharashtra, India
Coordinates: 18°07′N75°02′E / 18.12°N 75.03°E / 18.12; 75.03 Coordinates: 18°07′N75°02′E / 18.12°N 75.03°E / 18.12; 75.03
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Pune
Elevation	527 m (1,729 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	25,515
Languages
• Official	Marathi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration	MH-42

Indapur is a town and a municipal council in Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Indapur is known for Jahagir of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's father and grandfather. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's grandfather Malojiraje died in battle in Indapur.

It has National Highway 65 connecting the south and west region of India. Noted maeathi poet Shanta Shelke was born in Indapur. Indapur city is located to the nearest Bhima River, Ujani Dam & Baramati-the hometown of Indian politician Mr. Sharad Pawar.

Demographics

As of 2001 ^[update] India census, ^[1] Indapur had a population of 21,584. Men constitute 52% of the population and Women ~48%. Indapur has an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: Male literacy is 75%, and female literacy is 62%. In Indapur, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Climate

Indapur is a quiet hot place as it receives scanty rainfall. Shetphal lake is the major water reservoir in the district. Ujjani dam backwater along with Nira left canal and Khadakwasla canal system are major sources of irrigation and water supply for Indapur Taluka.

Crops

Crops like wheat, sugarcane and jowar are grown here. The place also owns many heavy machinery factories. The most noted among these is the ordnance factory of Government of India at Walchand Nagar. This factory holds great importance for the defense of India.

History

Indapur has historic significance in the expansion of Mughal empires in Central-South India, and subsequent Maratha resistance. Indapur was the Jagir of Malojiraje and Shahajiraje Bhosale. The historical place where Shivaji's grandfather Shri Malojiraje was living & died in a war. This place also known for the Shri 1008 Shantinath Digambar Jain Teerth Kshetra. Vishwasrao Peshwa of the Maratha Empire was born in Indapur.

And Former Minister of Maharashtra Harshvardhan patil (Bhau) is from Indapur. He was four times MLA from indapur & also work as minister in maharashtra..

Malojiraje

Born to Babaji Bhosale, Malojiraje (grandfather of the Shivaji) was a Sardar under Nizamshah - the ruler of that region appointed by the Moghul emperor. At the start of his service, Malojiraje received the Jagir of Indapur and Supe from Nizamshah. In Indpaur Jagir there were about 34 villages. The neighboring ruler, Adilshah, was a constant threat to Nijamshah, mainly over territorial disputes. In the year 1599, AD, Malojiraje died fighting in the Indapur Battle against Adilshah; at that time, his son (and Shivaji's father) Shahajiraje was only 5 years old.

The brother of Malojiraje, Vithojiraje gave 17.5 RUKE(Nearly 1 Acres) of land for the SAMADHI (final resting place) of Malojiraje. However, this structure was destroyed over the years. But the Footprints(PADUKA) on the Samadhi are in a good condition and put in the "Indreshwar Mandir" in Indapur.

Shahajiraje

After the death of Malojiraje his elder son Shahajiraje became Sardar of Nijamshah and again the Jagir of Indapur came under Shahajiraje and later on the same was transferred to Shivaji.

While Shahajiraje was the Sardar of Adilshah, Nijamshah offered the Jagir of Indapur and Supe to him in order to get him back. From this incident, the importance of Indapur city is very much evident.

Battle of Sinhagad

In the year 1660, Indapur, Baramati and Pune had been captured by the Mogul army headed by Shaistekhan. Nearly 10 years later in 1670, the entire area was won back by the Maratha Army under the leadership of Shivaji in the battles starting from the battle of Sinhagad.

In June 1670, the Mogul army was totally unprepared and ill-equipped as the Monsoon had arrived. Sensing this as a unique opportunity, before the preparation of the Mogul army, Shivaji decided to attack the urban area of Pune, Baramati, Supe and Indapur in the rainy season. Within 10–15 days, Marathas captured all these areas back from Mughals using their famous guerilla warfare techniques. Nearly 1500 Mogul infantry fled to Pune from Sinhagad after the battle. By the time rainy season started, Indapur , Baramati and many other regions, excluding Pune, were won by Marathas.

This battle significantly boosted the confidence of Marathas and within two months after this battle, the Maratha army won all nearby forts like Purandar, Lohagad and so on.

Nira Narsingpur

Nira Narsingpur is a village in Indapur taluka of Pune district, Maharashtra, India.[1] The confluence of rivers Bhima and Nira is 3 km from the temple. The Shri Laxmi Narsimha Temple is the Kuldaiwat (family deity) for a number of Marathi families of different castes.

This place gets its prominence because it is believed that Prahllad took a bath in this Bhima river and with his hand he made an idol of "Lord Narasimha (Lion Faced God)" with the sand and worshipped Him. The idol made of sand of "Lord Narasimha" is still intact by the magic of science. This had been smeared in the past by the diamond powder by then Winchurkar's (now Parvatikar) ancestors of the family all over the idol, which does not disintegrate the sand. This sounds strange but it's true. Recently within 2–4 years one person by name Mr. Dandawate who stays in this place got this the diamond mixture imported from United States and smeared it again on this idol to increase the life of the idol.

The story of the Lord Narasimha temple goes back to history. In olden times there was a demon called Hiranya-kashayap who was the king. He was an atheist who envied Lord Narayana (Shri Hari), because his brother Hiranyaksha had been killed by Lord Narayana earlier. Hiranya-kashyap was a self-proclaimed god. He was cruel to people who did not accept him as a god. He punished the people who offered special poojas (Yagnya, Homa) conducted by sages to please Lord Narayana. However, without his knowledge, his wife worshipped Lord Narayana and she was a great devotee of Lord Narayana, by the virtue of which both the couple gave birth to a son who was named Prahllad.

Prahllad was not an ordinary child. He was an extraordinary child blessed by Lord Narayana who by birth had spiritual powers. His face glowed like a moon and he was filled with utmost devotion towards Lord Narayana, unlike his father. As soon as the child Prahllad was of age between 5–7 years, he was sent to Gurukoola (a residential school away from home where spiritual education takes place). Since this Gurukoola was owned by his father Hiranya-Kashyap, instead of worshiping the Lord Narayana they thought here to worship the idol of his father. He denied this and started to chant Lord Narayana's mantra, "Om Namo Narayanaya". This continued and all his school mates continued to meditate on Lord Narayana only. When this came to the knowledge of Hiranya-Kashyap he was furious. He tried to convince Prahllad to chant his name and worship him like a god. But Prahllad was a hard core devotee of Lord Narayana and he never agreed. Though Prahllad was his own child the king did not forgive him; he started to punish him by asking the soldiers to beat him with a rope. But the rope turned into a flower garland by the grace of Lord Narayana. Like this there were several incidents which did not shake Prahllad's faith towards Lord Narasimha.

Hiranya-Kashayap was fed up with this kid Prahllad. Once he took him to the palace and wanted to check his faith and belief. Wanting to put an end to the child's devotion, he asked Prahllad, "Can you show me -- where's your god? Where's Lord Narayana? Show him now, I want to see him." Prahllad replied, "He is everywhere and is omnipresent." The king laughed at the poor child and wanted to embarrass him so he asked the child whether "your Lord Narayana is present in the pillar." "Yes," came the reply. The king took his Gadha (a weapon shaped like a dome in the top which can be held at the bottom with two hands) and banged on the pillar. The pillar broke and the Lord Narayana, incarnated as "Lord Narasimha" (Lion Faced God), tore Hiranaya-Kashyap apart with his nails and killed the demon.

Malik Ahmad : establishment of Nizamshahi of Ahmednagar (1490)

With the establishment of the Nizamshahi rule with Ahmednagar as its headquarters, practically the whole of the Poona territory, perhaps with the exception of Indapur, which still continued to be under at least the nominal suzerainty of Yusuf Adil Khan of Bijapur, came under the unified control of the Nizamshahi.

Shri 1008 Shantinath Digambar Jain Mandir

The Shantinath Jain Teerth, also known as Shri 1008 Shantinath Digambar Jain Mandir, is a Jain temple located in Indapur. The temple is known for its 27-foot tall granite idol of Shri 1008 Munisuvrata, the twentieth Tirthankara.

Accessibility

Indapur Bus Station operates buses to and from Indapur. You can also catch buses to Indapur from Platform number:9 of Swargate Bus Terminal.MSRTC buses from Baramati bus stop . Baramati railway station is the nearest. Pune airport is the most convenient way for air travelers. Areas Under Indapur Nimbgaon

References

1. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.