Wikipedia
Khandesh ( Marathi: खान्देश) is a region of central India, which forms the northwestern portion of Maharashtra state.
Khandesh was the region demarcated as a boundary after which Dakkhan a.k.a. Deccan started.
Originally The Khandesh state was founded and ruled by the Faruqi dynasty with the capital at Burhanpur which is now in Madhya Pradesh. Khandesh State had covered the area of the today's Dhule, Jalgaon, Nandurbar districts of Maharashtra state and Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh state.
The terms "Khandesh" and "Deccan" thus connote historical and political affiliations, as well as geographical zones. Khandesh lies on the Northwestern corner of the Deccan plateau, in the valley of the Tapi River, and is bound to the north by the Satpura Range, to the east by the Berar ( Vidarbha) region, to the south by the Hills of Ajanta, belonging to the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, and to the west by the northernmost ranges of the Western Ghats, and beyond them the coastal plain of Gujarat.
After India's independence in 1947, Bombay province became Bombay state, which in 1960 was divided into the linguistic states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. During the formation of the State of India, Burhanpur became the part of the state Of Madhya Pradesh, and in 1960, East Khandesh became Jalgaon district, and West Khandesh became Dhule of the Maharashtra State.
The principal natural feature is the Tapi River. Unlike the rest of the Deccan, whose rivers rise in the Western Ghats and flow eastward to the Bay of Bengal, the Tapi flows westward from headwaters in southern Madhya Pradesh to empty into the Arabian Sea. The Tapi receives thirteen principal tributaries in its course through Khandesh. None of the rivers is navigable, and the Tapi flows in a deep bed which historically made it difficult to use for irrigation. Most of Khandesh lies south of the Tapi, and is drained by its tributaries the Girna, Bori and Panjhra. The alluvial plain north of the Tapi contains some of the richest tracts in Khandesh, and the land rises towards the Satpuda hills. In the centre and east the country is level, save for some low ranges of barren hills. To the north and west, the plain rises into rugged hills, thickly wooded, and inhabited by the tribal Bhil people.