Nashik, with a population of 1.4 million, is the 3rd most populated city of Maharashtra, the 24th most populous city of India and comes under the Nashik district of Maharashtra. The literacy rate is 90 percent and Marathi is the official and most widely spoken language. Located on the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, at the foothills of the Western Ghats, the district is a good agricultural belt famous for its fresh produce of grapes and other fruits and vegetables. The table grape revolution was started here in 1925 and today Nashik exports table grapes across the globe. The prominent rivers flowing through Nashik are the Godavari, Vaitarana, Bhima, Girana, Kashyapi and Darana. The total population of Nashik district is 6.1 million, the literacy rate is over 82 percent and 45 percent of the population constitutes the working population out of which 61 percent are engaged in the agriculture sector, 2 percent in the household industry and 37 percent in services and industry. The aircraft manufacturing plant of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, the Indian Currency and Government Stamp Paper Printing Presses and many wineries are located in this region. Nashik is also a hub for the textile industry and more recently as a prominent destination for Information technology companies. Numerous sights in the Nashik District are linked to the Ramayana and are considered sacred with the existence of several old temples. The name of the city Nashik is derived from the Sanskrit word for nose, Nasika,and is considered to be the spot where Laxman severed the nose of Shurpanakha. The Kumbh Mela is held at the banks of the River Godavari and Trimbak, which lies 36 kilometers from Nashik is the source of the River Godavari, where the ancient Trimbakeshwar temple enshrines one of the 12 Shiva Jyotirlingas.
