state of W India: 118,809 sq mi (307,714 sq km); pop. 85,565,000; cap. Mumbai
See Maharashtra in American Heritage Dictionary 4
A historical region of west-central India. It was controlled by the Muslim rulers of India from the early 14th to the mid-17th century and incorporated by the British into the province of Bombay in the 19th century. The Marathi-speaking section of the region became a separate state in 1960.