Saswad (also spelt Sasvad) is a town and municipal council in the Purandar taluka of Pune district, in the Pune division of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Located on the eastern side of the Sahyadri foothills, the town lies along the historic route between Pune and Phaltan and serves as the administrative headquarters of Purandar taluka.
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| State | Maharashtra |
| Division | Pune |
| District | Pune |
| Taluka | Purandar |
| Civic body | Saswad Municipal Council |
| Languages | Marathi (official) |
Saswad lies in the basin formed by the Karha river and its tributary the Chambli, in a valley flanked by the Purandar and Vajragad hill forts to the west. The town is situated on the Deccan plateau at an elevation of roughly 700 metres above sea level, and is connected to Pune city by road over the Dive Ghat. The surrounding region is semi-arid and is known for fig (anjeer) cultivation.
Saswad has long-standing associations with Maratha history. The Purandare family, hereditary administrators (deshmukhs) who later served as influential subhedars under the Peshwas, had their wada (mansion) at Saswad. The town also figured in the early career of the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji, owing to its proximity to Purandar Fort, the site of the 1665 Treaty of Purandar between Shivaji and the Mughal general Mirza Raja Jai Singh I.
The samadhi of Sopandev, one of the four siblings of the Marathi sant-poet Dnyaneshwar, is located at Saswad, making the town a notable site on the Varkari pilgrimage circuit. The annual Sopandev yatra draws large numbers of devotees.
Local self-government is handled by the Saswad Municipal Council, while the broader rural administration of Purandar taluka is centred in the town. Saswad falls within the Purandar Vidhan Sabha constituency of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency.
The local economy is largely agricultural. Purandar taluka, of which Saswad is the headquarters, is widely associated with the cultivation of figs and is one of the principal fig-growing belts in Maharashtra. Onion, jowar, bajra and horticultural produce are also grown in the surrounding villages. A proposed greenfield international airport for Pune, sometimes referred to as the Purandar airport, has been planned in the taluka near Saswad.
Saswad is connected by State Highway routes to Pune via the Dive Ghat (approximately 30 km), to Jejuri, and onward to Phaltan and Baramati. The nearest major railway station is at Pune, and the nearest airport is Pune International Airport at Lohegaon.