From Puneshwar to Pune: The Temple, the River, and the Name of a Holy City
Long before Pune became the thriving city it is today, a
temple dedicated to Shiva stood quietly along the banks of the river Mutha.
Known as the Puneshwar temple, it was one of the most revered shrines in the
region, drawing devotees from across the land. Close by stood another sacred
structure, the Narayaneshwar temple, dedicated to Bhagavan Vishnu. Together,
these two temples gave this riverside settlement its spiritual character and
its earliest identity.
The Shiva Purana describes Shiva as present wherever there
is a sacred confluence of rivers and devoted worship. The location of the
Puneshwar Shiva temple at the riverbank was thus not incidental but deeply
intentional, reflecting the Shaiva understanding of sacred geography where
flowing water and divine presence are inseparable.
In the late thirteenth century, this heritage was brutally
disrupted. Invaders swept through the region and pulled down the Puneshwar
temple, erasing a landmark that had defined the settlement for generations. Yet
even as the physical structure was destroyed, the name it had lent to the place
endured. It is widely believed that the name Pune itself derives from
Puneshwar, the presiding deity of this ancient temple, carrying forward the
memory of the shrine even in the absence of its walls.
The earliest known record of Pune comes from the Rashtrakuta dynasty. This dynasty constructed some of the most celebrated Shiva temples in India and therefore it is only natural that they would have constructed a Shiva on the banks of Mutha river.
Punya: The Sanskrit Root of a City's Name
Beyond the direct link to the Puneshwar temple, the name of
the city draws from far deeper Sanskrit roots. The word Punya, from which the
city's name is ultimately derived, carries meanings of virtue, holiness, and
spiritual merit. It is a word woven throughout the fabric of Hindu
philosophical and religious thought, describing actions, places, and states of
being that carry divine grace.
The Bhagavad Gita in Chapter 7, verse 28, speaks of those
whose sins have come to an end and whose actions are Punya, stating:
"Yesham tv anta-gatam papam jananam punya-karmanam, te
dvandva-moha-nirmukta bhajante mam drdha-vratah."
("Those whose sins have ended and whose actions are
virtuous, freed from the delusion of duality, worship Me with firm
resolve.") — Bhagavad Gita 7.28
The city historically carried the name Punyanagari, meaning
City of Virtue or Holy City. This was not mere ornament. It was a designation
earned through the city's spiritual landscape, its temples, its river
confluences, and the religious life that flourished along its banks.
The Sacred Confluence: Rivers and Religious Merit
Another explanation for the name Pune rests on the city's
geographical position at the sangam, the sacred confluence of the Mula and
Mutha rivers. In Hindu religious thought, the meeting of rivers is a site of
immense spiritual significance. The Skanda Purana and numerous Tirtha Mahatmya
texts speak of confluences as places where sin is washed away and punya, or
merit, is accumulated. To live near such a confluence was itself considered an
act of religious virtue.
This sangam made the settlement a natural gathering point
for pilgrims, sages, and those seeking spiritual refuge. The riverbanks were
lined with temples, ghats, and ashrams. The spiritual energy of the confluence
shaped the character of the settlement in ways that outlasted any single ruler
or dynasty, embedding the idea of punya, holiness and virtue, into the very
identity of the place.
Ancient Records: The Rashtrakuta Copper Plates
The earliest written records of the settlement come from the
copper plate inscriptions of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, dating to 758 CE and 768
CE. These ancient documents refer to the settlement as Punaka-vishaya or
Punya-vishaya, with vishaya denoting an administrative district or territorial
unit. This is among the oldest documentary evidence of the city's existence and
already links it firmly to the concept of punya.
The Rashtrakutas, who ruled across the Deccan, were great
patrons of religion and learning. Their copper plates were issued to grant land
and privileges to Brahmins and temples, and the very act of recording the
settlement in such a sacred administrative context reinforces the city's
religious standing during this early period. These inscriptions place Pune's
documented history at well over twelve centuries.
From Punawadi to Kasbe Pune: The Maratha Era
By the thirteenth century, the settlement was known as
Punawadi, a name combining the root Puna with wadi, meaning a hamlet or cluster
of habitations. This was a period of considerable turbulence in the Deccan,
marked by invasions and the collapse of earlier dynasties. It was during this
time that the Puneshwar temple was destroyed, a loss that reshaped the physical
landscape of the settlement even as its name endured.
With the rise of the Maratha power under the Bhosale clan,
Pune took on new significance. Under Maratha rule, it was known as Kasbe Pune,
with Kasbe denoting a market town of some importance. The great Maratha king
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was deeply associated with Pune. His mother,
Jijabai, and his guardian Dadoji Kondadev oversaw his early upbringing and
education in Pune, and the city became central to the administrative and
cultural life of the emerging Maratha empire.
Shivaji Maharaj's reverence for dharma and Hindu religious
traditions ensured that the sacred character of the city continued to be
honoured even as it grew into a political and military centre. Temples were
restored and built, and the religious life of the city flourished anew under
Maratha patronage.
Poona Under the British and the Restoration of Pune
When the British established control over the Deccan in the
early nineteenth century, Pune became an important administrative and military
cantonment. The British anglicised the city's name to Poona, a phonetic
rendering that they formalised in 1857. For over a century, Poona served as the
official name in government documents, railway timetables, and maps.
The colonial period brought significant changes to the
city's character, introducing English-medium institutions, new administrative
structures, and a cantonment culture. Yet the city's identity as a centre of
learning, religion, and culture remained resilient. Pune was also a crucible of
the Indian independence movement, home to leaders such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
who drew upon the city's deep cultural roots to galvanise national sentiment.
In 1978, following independence and the reorganisation of
states, the official spelling was restored to Pune, reclaiming the name that
had its roots in Sanskrit, in the sacred banks of the Mutha, and in the ancient
temple of Puneshwar.
A Name That Carries History
The name Pune is thus not a simple geographical label. It is
a palimpsest layered with centuries of sacred meaning, political change, and
cultural memory. From Punya-vishaya in the copper plates of the Rashtrakutas,
through Puneshwar in the riverbank temple of Shiva, through Punawadi and Kasbe
Pune under the Marathas, through Poona under the British, and back to Pune in
independent India, the name has traced an arc of history that few cities in the
world can match in continuity.
Today, Pune stands as one of India's most dynamic cities, a centre of education, technology, and culture. Yet its ancient identity as Punyanagari, the City of Virtue, remains alive in its temples, its river confluences, and in the very syllables of its name. The Puneshwar temple may have been destroyed centuries ago, but the word it helped give to this city continues to carry forward, across time and transformation, the spirit of punya that first defined this sacred place.