Saswad

Saswad is a municipal council located on the South-Eastern corridor of Pune district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Saswad is situated on the banks of the Karha River. Saswad is about 31 km from Pune-Central Station.

==History== thumb|right|Sangameshwar temple in 1813 by British artist Robert Melville Grindlay. The Purandare palace can be seen in the background Saswad is a place with a long history. It is situated on the ancient trade route connecting the coastal Konkan ports to the Deccan interiors. Being on a trade route made it a center for Buddhist monasteries. The samadhi or the resting place of the 13th century Varkari Sant Sopan is located in the town. The annual Alandi to Pandharpur Wari of Dnyaneshwar Palkhi stops in the town. Later it was known as the town at the foot of the historic Purandar fort. The first Peshwa from the Bhat family, Balaji Vishwanath had his base in the town. His son, Bajirao I moved his base in 1720 to Pune and turned that place into a large city. Bajirao's family built the Sangameshwar temple in the 1720s. During the 18th century, Saswad was the seat of the Purandare family, hereditary knights of the Peshwa. The family's now crumbling palatial mansion was an imposing sight during the late Peshwa era.