Maharashtra

Maharashtra is India's third largest state in terms of area and second largest in terms of population after Uttar Pradesh. It is bordered by the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa and the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The Arabian Sea makes up the state's western coast. Mumbai (Bombay), India's largest city, is the capital of Maharashtra.

Maharashtra was known as "Rashtra" in the Rig Veda, "Rashtrik" in Ashoka's inscriptions, and "Maha rashtra" afterwards, as attested by Huein-Tsang and other travellers. The name appears to have been derived from "Maharashtri" in an old form of Prakrit, an ancient Indian language.

However, there are other theories put forward by different schools of thought. one version suggests the derivation of the name from "land of the Mahars and the Rattas". Another possible derivation is believed to be the corruption of the term "Maha Kantara", which means "Great Forest". Both these theories did not carry much weight, as can be seen from the name of Maharashtra.