NASIK, a town and district of British India, in the central division of Bombay. The town is on the Godavari river, connected by a tramway (6 m.) with Nasik Road railway station, 207 m. N.E. of Bombay. Pop. (1931) 48,703. It is a very holy place of Hindu pilgrimage, being 18 m. from the source of the Godavari, and a large number of Brahman priests live here. Shrines and temples line the river banks, and in the vicinity there are a num ber of sacred caves, among which those of Pandu Lena are the most noteworthy. They are ancient Buddhist caves dating from the 3rd century before Christ to the 6th century after, with nu merous inscriptions of the highest historical value. Nasik has manufactures of brass and copper ware, and there is a government distillery at Nasik Road.
The DISTRICT OF NASIK has an area of 5,877 sq.m. With the exception of a few villages in the west, the whole district is situ ated on a tableland from 1,300 to 2,000 ft. above sea-level. The western portion is hilly, and intersected by ravines. The eastern tract is open, fertile and well cultivated. The Sahyadri range
stretches from north to south ; the watershed is formed by the Chander range, which runs east and west. All the streams to the south of that range are tributaries of the Godavari. To the north of the watershed, the Girna and its tributary the Mosam flow through fertile valleys into the Tapti. The Girna Left Bank Canal, irrigating some 4,000 acres, was opened in 1909. It contains several old hill forts, the scenes of many engagements during the Mahratta wars. Nasik district became British territory in 1818 on the overthrow of the peshwa. The population in 1931 was 1,000,048. The principal crops are millet, wheat, pulse, oil-seeds and cotton and fine grapes and vegetables are grown. There is a trade in copper and brass ware, and sugar cane. There are railway workshops at Igatpuri. At Sharanpur is a Christian village, with an orphanage of the Church Missionary Society. The district is crossed by the main line of the Great Indian Peninsula railway.