Southern India’s state of Karnataka contains the administrative district known as Dharwad, often spelled Dharawada. Dharwad, often referred to as Dharwar, is the district’s administrative center. Dharwad is situated on National Highway 4, which connects Chennai and Pune, 421 kilometers southeast of Pune and 425 km northwest of Bangalore.

The district covered 13738 km2 before 1997. The former Dharwad district was divided into the new districts of Gadag and Haveri in 1997, and the new district of Davanagere was formed by combining parts of Dharwad district with land that had previously belonged to three other districts.