Sāsvad, India

History

Saswad is a place with a long history. It is situated on the ancient trade route connecting the coastal Konkan ports to the Deccan interiors. Being on a trade route made it a center for Buddhist monasteries. The samadhi or the resting place of the 13th century Varkari Sant Sopan is located in the town. The annual Alandi to Pandharpur Wari of Dnyaneshwar Palkhi stops in the town. Later it was known as the town at the foot of the historic Purandar fort. The first Peshwa from the Bhat family, Balaji Vishwanath had his base in the town. His son, Bajirao I moved his base in 1720 to Pune and turned that place into a large city. Bajirao's family built the Sangameshwar temple in the 1720s. During the 18th century, Saswad was the seat of the Purandare family, hereditary knights of the Peshwa. The family's now crumbling palatial mansion was an imposing sight during the late Peshwa era.

In the 20th century, socialist leader Marathi writer and filmmaker Aacharya Atre born in Kodit Khurd near Saswad. He was one of the leaders of the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement. His series of books on the movement. viz. Karheche Pani कऱ्हेचे पाणी created an undisputed place in the history of Marathi language.

Maharashtra Bhushan, Padmavibhushan Shivshahir Babasaheb Purandare was also from Saswad.

From the History section of Saswad on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.