Prakasha, popularly known as Dakshin Kashi, is a village situated on the bank of Tapi River

Tapi River

There are two rivers named Tapi*Tapti River , in the state of Gujarat, India*Tapi River, Thailand , in Surat Thani Province, Southern Thailand...

 in taluka Shahada

Shahada, Maharashtra

Shahādā , one of the 7 Tehsils in the Nandurbar district, is a town situated in the northwest corner of Maharashtra state in India. Shahādā town was in Dhule District until 1 July 1998...

 in Nandurbar district

Nandurbar District

Nandurbar is an administrative district in the northwest corner of Maharashtra state in India . On 1 July 1998 Dhule was bifurcated as two separate districts now known as Dhule and Nandurbar. The district headquarters are located at Nandurbar city...

, Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

Demographics

Prakasha has a population of around 20,000, of which 90% is in agriculture and 10% in small business.
Prakasha is a spiritually bounded village and a holy place to visit. It has 108 temples around the village. Among which the most visited temple is Kedareshwar.

Prakasha is also known for its Dhawaj Parvani, which comes after every 12 years and held on the banks of the Gomai river. This event is visited by lakh

Lakh

A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand . It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and is often used in Indian English.-Usage:...

s of devotees.

Economy

Most of the population in the village is dependent upon agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 and allied fields. The crops cultivated here include Wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

, Cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

, Sugarcane

Sugarcane

Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...

, Sunflower

Sunflower

Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...

, Jowar, Bajra, Toor dal, Bengal gram, Amaranth

Amaranth

Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbs. Approximately 60 species are recognized, with inflorescences and foliage ranging from purple and red to gold...

, Banana

Banana

Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

, Water melon, Musk melon, Sesame

Sesame

Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods....

, etc.

Places of interest

Prakasha is a famous religious place and is popularly known as Dakshin Kashi. Prakasha is one of the fastest developing place in nandurbar district because of its location on state highway and has all facilities around the village including petrol station, civil hospital, junior college and school, and also some small scale industries.
The village is frequently flooded during the rainy season but the temple suffers from no damage despite its proximity to the river. The village turns into an island during floods as its located at the junction of 2 rivers which cutoff the roads leading to village from both the sides.

History

In 1955, an excavation was carried out at this site by an Archaeological Survey of India

Archaeological Survey of India

The Archaeological Survey of India is a department of the Government of India, attached to the Ministry of Culture . The ASI is responsible for archaeological studies and the preservation of archaeological heritage of the country in accordance with the various acts of the Indian Parliament...

 team under the direction of B.K. Thapar. The excavation revealed a more than 17 m deep occupational deposit, belonging to four periods with a break between the earlier two and a continuous sequence thereafter. The periods of occupation are:

• Period I - c. 1700-1300 BCE (Chalcolithic phase)
  • Sub-period IA (the blades and microliths, hammer-stones, a restricted use of copper or low-grade bronze and four ceramic industries)
  • Sub-period IB (the black-painted red ware belonging to the Jorwe culture and the Lustrous Red Ware)
• Period II - c. 700-100 BCE (Northern Black Polished Ware
  Northern Black Polished Ware
  The Northern Black Polished Ware culture of South Asia is an Iron Age culture, succeeding the Painted Grey Ware culture...
  
  phase)
• Period III - mid 2nd century BCE-late 6th century CE
• Period IV - 6th-11th century CE