Tuljapur is a town with a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

in Dharashiv District in the

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 ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

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 ...

. It is the administrative seat of Tuljapur taluka. Tuljapur is the location of the annual Tulja

Bhavani Bhavānī (also known as Bhāvya, Tulajā, Turajā, Tvarita, Aṃbā, Jagadambā and Aṃbē) is an epithet associated with Durga. Bhavani translates to "giver of life," meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is cons ...

fair during

Navaratri Navaratri () is an annual Hindu festival observed in honor of the goddess Durga, an aspect of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess. It spans over nine nights, first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and aga ...

, i.e., in the months of September and October (the date varies). The town is home to the Tulja Bhavani Temple.

Geography

It has an elevation of 648 metres (2125 feet).

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Tuljapur had a population of 31,714. Males constituted 52% of the population and females 48%. Tuljapur had an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy was 76%, and female literacy was 60%. In 2001 in Tuljapur, 14% of the population was under 6 years of age. Marathi is spoken here.

Culture

The Tulja Bhavani Temple is dedicated to the Hindu goddess

. The town has received much notice during past centuries since the temple has always enjoyed a special association with the Bhosale clan to which Chhatrapati Shivaji belonged. Goddess Bhavani was the family deity of the Bhosale clan. As the Goddess Bhavani is the deity of many people from

, they come walking in during the Dasara Festival to worship the Goddess Bhavani. Every year after

, on the eve of Kojagiri Poornima, many devotees cover long distances to reach the city. Huge crowds are drawn to the temple for worshipping the goddess Bhavani. The temple-town of

Pandharpur Pandharpur City (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, əɳɖʱəɾpuːɾ is a popular pilgrimage town, on the banks of Chandrabhaga River, Chandrabhagā River, near Solapur, Solapur city in Solapur district, Solapur District, Maharashtra, Ind ...

, the osmanabad caves, and the Naldurg Fort all lie within easy reach.

Pooja

The noble minded priests from well known family encompasses Magar, Hangargekar, Karhade, Palange, Bhosale, Tole, Kadam from the Maratha caste and Pathak, Lasane, Prayag, Shamraj and Kulkarni families are brahmin priests in Tuljabhavani temple from very prior time.

Education

The city of Tuljapur is the centre for many government schools like Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Sainik School (which trains students for the army education). Colleges like Shree Tuljabhavani College of Engineering and many other colleges offering degree courses like Y. C. College, Tuljabhavani College, Kulswamini college are located here. The school has both secondary and higher secondary education facilities. The aim is to inculcate a spirit of patriotism and encourage a career in the Armed Forces of India. The

Tata Institute of Social Sciences Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is a multi-campus public university in Mumbai, India. It is Asia's oldest institute for professional social work education and was founded in 1936 in the then Bombay Presidency of British India as the S ...

, Mumbai, a deemed university of international repute has Off-Campus known as School of Rural Development at Tuljapur, and offers Master & PhD study programmes.

Transport

Tuljapur has frequent buses from

Solapur Solapur () is a city located in the south-western region of the States and Territories of India, Indian state of Maharashtra, close to its border with Karnataka. Solapur is located on major highway, rail routes between Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore ...

which is situated 45 km away and also from Osmanabad which is 25 km away. Nearest railway stations are in Solapur (45 km) and Osmanabad (25 km). also many of commercial vehicles are available to Hindu devotees who generally come at Navratri week. MSRTC provide ac Shivshahi bus service on Nashik, Pune, Kolhapur, etc. Tuljapur has frequent buses from Latur which is situated 71 km away and also from Pune which is 297 km away from Tuljapur. Frequent buses from Parbhani which is situated 228 km away and also from

Nanded Nanded is a city in Maharashtra state, India. It is the List of cities in Maharashtra, tenth largest city in the state and the List of cities in India by population, seventy-ninth most populated city in India. It is the second largest city in ...

which is 206 km away from Tuljapur.

References

External links

Shri Tuljabhavani Mandir Website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Osmanabad district