Karanja Lad

Karanja Lad, or Karanja, is a city of a Municipal council in Washim district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The town is named after Saint Karanj. Karanja is a holy place for Hindus, Jains, and Muslims. It is the birthplace of Shri Narasimha Saraswati Swami Maharaj, believed to be the second incarnation of Lord Dattatreya.

Karanja is located at It has an average elevation of 422 metres (1387 feet). The Adan River flows near Karanja city. It is an important source of domestic water supply to the city. There are three lakes situated in the city, the Rishi Talaw, the Sarang Talaw, and the Chandra Talaw.

Karanja is famous for its Nrusimha Saraswati Swami Maharaj temple. Shri Nrusimha Saraswati Gurumaharaj is the second avatar (incarnation) of Lord Dattatreya. Born in Karanja in 1378, he traveled far and wide in what is now known as the States of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. He achieved Sainthood and performed several miracles. He imparted spiritual knowledge to his disciples, many of whom themselves attained Sainthood. The Gurumandir Temple conducts several major events to celebrate the various avatars of Lord Dattatreya. Over the past 100 years, Gurumandir has become a nucleus for religious and social welfare activities in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region. Other old temples are Vitthal mandir, Chote Ram mandir and as well as famous "Kannao Ram mandir". Each year Ramnavami and other Hindu religious activities are performed in these temples.

Karanja is the only place in India that had been the set of three Bhatarakas representing three Digambar Jain traditions: Balatkar Gana, Sena Gana and Kastha Sangh. The Balatkar Gana seat had relocated from Manyakheta. There are four major Digambar Jain temples in Karanja. The Kastha Sangh temple has extraordinary wooden carvings dating back to at least 14th century. The Sena Gana temple has a pat (scroll) painting depicting the Panchkalyanak ceremonies of Jain Tirthankars. This scroll is painted in the Rajasthani style and is around 800 years old. Balatkar Gana temple has a collection of rare manuscripts. In 1926, Prof. Hiralal Jain had discovered 12 unknown Apabhramsha manuscripts here. They were later edited and published, supported by local donors. Karanja is known as the "Kashi" of Jainism. Also famous is the "Mahaveer Brahmacharyashram" or Gurukul. This place is the site of the first Gurukul founded by Acharya Shri 108 Samantabhadra in 1918 AD, it celebrated its ‘Shatakpurti Mahotsav’ in 2018. The Karanja institution was the first of 11 Gurukuls established by Acharya Samantabhadra. Gurukuls based this pattern was later started in Maharashtra (Bahubali, Ellora, Kunthalgiri), Khurai in Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka (Stawawidhi, Karkal, Terdal, Bellad Bagewadi). The famous Berkeley scholar of Buddhism and Jainism Padmanabh Jaini was a student of the Karanja Gurukul.

Karanja is also known as Karanja Bibi, referring to BiBi Saheba's Dargah in the Bibi Sahebapura. Karanja is also famous for its mosques (masjids). There are as many as 60 mosques in Karanja, most notably the Jama Masjid, which is a historical mosque built in 981 Hijri (1573/74 AD).

Built in 1905, Kannao Mansion is famous for its use of French/Italian architecture. Kannao Mansion is more than a century old replica of Shrilanka Queen Bungalow. It was also featured in the Marathi channel.

The Kannao Bungalow has 307 doors. Nawab Subhan Khan constructed a wall and four doors around Karanja, namely the Delhi Gate, the Darwha Gate, the Mangrul Gate, and the Poha Gate.

Hindu, Muslim, and Jain communities are actively involved in the municipal politics of Karanja. All communities coexist peacefully and with respect for each other's religious sentiments. Prakash Dahake and Yusuf Punjani are considered the most powerful politicians from Karanja. Mr. Dahake was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Karanja and Yusuf Punjani is indirectly ruling Karanja Municipal Council. After the 2014 state elections, Rajendra Patni was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Karanja defeating Yusuf Punjani by a very narrow margin.

Karanja is famous for its fruit market. Karanja has a profitable market of papayas, and distributes the fruits across India, Nepal, and Bhutan.