Paithan (Paiṭhaṇ) About this sound pronunciation , formerly Pratiṣṭhāna, is a city and a municipal council in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, India. It was the capital of the Satavahana dynasty, which ruled from the second century BCE to the second century CE. It is one of the few inland towns mentioned in the famous first-century Greek book, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.Paithan is located 56 kilometres (35 mi) south of present-day Aurangabad on the Godavari River.