The tanks are the bodies of water located in the vicinity of the temples. They are specially constructed to store holy water. As the water is meant for ‘abhishek’ i.e. ritual bath of the temple deity, the tank is considered sacred. It is also a source of drinking water for the pilgrims. Architectural experts are of the opinion that these were the quarries developed during construction of the temple and developed into the tanks. As such many of the temples are associated with such type of sacred tanks.

Kushavarta tirtha at Trimbakeshwar referred to as the Tirthraj. A dip in this Tirtha during Simhastha, is a great act bestowing the greatest Punya on the pilgrims. It is believed that during this period all the holy Tirthas of the universe gather at Kushavart. Besides Kushavarta, there are several other ‘Tirthas’ such as Bilva tirtha, Indra-tirtha, Vishvanath tirtha, Mukunda tirtha and so on. Bhimashankar temple complex is associated with three holy tanks i.e. Bhimarathi kunda, Moksha kunda and Sarvathrtha kunda. Three more kundas are Krida tirtha, vyaghrapad thirth and the third Tirtha, un-named, capable of removing barrenness. Besides, a large pool, Hanuman-Tale is at the base of Nagphani. Bhavani Temple of Tulajapur is on the slopes of mountain. At the first stage is a large tank called Kallola tirtha which carries waters from all the sacred rivers and tirtha’s of India. Immediately close to Kallolatirtha is a tank called Gomukhtirtha that carries water of the holy Ganga.

Kundas at Nasik are unique as they are located in the bed of river Godavari. They are Laxman Kunda, Dhanusha Kunda i.e. Bow Kunda and Ram-Kunda. Ram-kunda is the holiest spot, as it is believed that Ram used to bathe in this Kunda. A special feature of this Kunda is its water has bone-dissolving property. There are still many small holy tanks in river Godavari.

Practically every hill fort has a water tank. But the Devtake at Sinhagad is a unique one as the name itself suggests that it is god’s tank. This water said to possess medicinal properties. One ayurvedic practitioner of previous generation from Pune employed one person for bringing this water for preparation of medicines.

Mention must be made of river Ganga appearing at Rajapur, Ratnagiri at regular intervals of 12 years. The belief is that it is the same river Ganga of northern India. The appearance of Ganga water is celebrated in the form of Jatra, i.e.fair.