Parbhani is a city in Maharashtra state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Parbhani District. Parbhani is the fourth largest city in Marathwada region of Maharashtra after Aurangabad, Nanded and Latur. It is around 200 kilometres (120 mi) away from regional headquarter Aurangabad while it is 491 km (305 mi) away from the state capital Mumbai. It has a total population of 307,170.
The highest employment in the district is in Agro based, Leather, Jute products, Rubber & Plastic products, Cotton Textiles, Chemical and Mineral based industries. The district has 74% of the workforce employed in the Agricultural Sector, 24% in the Industrial Sector and the remaining 2% are Household workers.
Parbhani district forms part of the greater tract known as Maharashtra and till 1853 was included in Berar along with Buldana, Akola, Amravati and Yavatmal districts. The ancient history of this region could be traced to the legends recorded in the Epics and the Puranas which states that the country to the south of the Vindhyas was in those days covered by dense forests. Valhurgram village in Parbhani district also claims epic connections. The former is supposed to be the birth place of Valya Koli who later became the celebrated author of Ramayana. Parbhani town was known as Prabhavati on account of the existence of a beautiful temple of Goddess Prabhavati. Therefore, it is quite likely that the present name Parbhani is a modified form of Prabhavati.
For administrative purpose, the district is divided into two subdivisions viz., Parbhaniand Sailu. Parbhani sub-division includes Parbhani, Gangakhed, Palam, Purna and Sonpeth tahsils and Sailu sub-division includes Sailu, Pathri, Jintur and Manwath tahsils.
Parbhani district is situated towards the southwest in the State. Hingoli lies to the north of the district, Nanded to the east, Latur and Beed to the south, and Beed and Jalna to its west.
