VVCMC seeks to restore Nalasopara’s ancient name: Shurparak

The proposal was discussed at the VVCMC standing committee on Monday, and most members present agreed with it

MUMBAI: The Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) has decided to submit a proposal to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking the restoration of Nalasopara’s ancient name, Shurparak, to honour the region’s historical and cultural legacy.

According to local experts, the name “Nalasopara” was assigned to the railway station during the British era and is a hybrid of the names of two nearby villages, Nala and Sopara. (Wikimedia Commons)

Present-day Nalasopara, located in the northern part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, is identified with Shurparak, an ancient port city and trading hub, referred to as Supparaka in Prakrit sources.

According to local experts, the name “Nalasopara” was assigned to the railway station during the British era and is a hybrid of the names of two nearby villages, Nala and Sopara. Sopara is regarded as a corrupted form of the ancient Shurparak.

“Historically known as Shurparak, this region is rich in heritage and deeply connected to India’s glorious past,” said Vasai-Virar mayor Ajeev Patil. “The name change would not only serve as a tribute to our ancestors but also instil a sense of pride in the local community by reconnecting them with their roots,” he added.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manoj Patil has urged Fadnavis to take up the matter with the Centre through the state government. He has also advocated renaming Nalasopara railway station as “Shurparak railway station” through a gazette notification, renaming the legislative assembly constituency as “Shurparak”, and launching a “Shurparak Awareness Campaign” jointly with the railway and tourism departments.

Anirudh Paul, a local resident and professor of architecture at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies, said that Nalasopara has a rich history, as ships from the Vaitarna and Vasai creeks used to dock here. “Urbanisation has destroyed the historic port, but the heritage and lost glory cannot be restored just by changing the name,” he added.

Historians have acknowledged that the Nalasopara region was an important settlement and trading centre whose history stretches back more than two millennia. The Puranas describe the location of Shurparak with precise geographical references. The text “Shurparak Mahatmya” contains a verse describing the holy site of Shurparak as situated within four boundaries: the Vaitarna (Vitasta) River to the north, Vasai Creek to the south, the Sahyadri Mountains to the east, and the sea to the west.

The city is also explicitly mentioned in the Skanda Purana, a Hindu religious text, while the Mahabharata describes it as Samudratatasthitam (situated on the seacoast). These geographical references correspond precisely to the present-day Nalasopara-Sopara-Vasai-Virar region.

Remains of Ashoka-era stupas and rock edicts have also been discovered here. Notably, the map of “Bharatvarsha” displayed in the new Parliament building highlights only two locations in Maharashtra, one of which is Shurparak.