Nasik

City and sacred site (tirtha) near the
headwaters of the Godavari River in the
state of Maharashtra, about 100 miles
northeast of Bombay. Nasik is one of the
four sites for the Kumbha Mela, a religious bathing (snana) festival. Nasik
hosts this festival every twelve years.
Nasik is an important bathing place and
is a center of pilgrimage, piety, and
learning. According to tradition the godking Rama, his wife, Sita, and his brother,
Lakshmana lived during much of their
twelve years in exile in the nearby village
of Panchavati. Rama, Sita, and
Lakshmana are central characters in the
Ramayana, the earlier of the two great
Hindu epics. Although claims of them
living near Nasik are impossible to prove
or disprove, the legend adds one more
layer of sanctity to the site.