Panchavati, Nashik

Panchavati is a sacred quarter on the banks of the Godavari in Nashik. The name joins the Sanskrit words pancha, five, and vati, banyan tree, after five old banyans that grow here and shade the pilgrims who come to the area.

In Hindu tradition, Panchavati is where Rama, Sita and Lakshmana lived for a long part of their exile, as told in the Ramayana, and that link has made it one of the main pilgrimage areas of the city. Legend also says the banyan groves once sheltered sages and ascetics who came to meditate in their shade. Over the centuries the quarter grew into a busy centre of worship, though the riverside still offers quiet corners for prayer and reflection.