Short description: Term used in Hindu texts to describe the Indian subcontinent.
Map showing the locations of Kingdoms mentioned in the Indian epics or Bharata Khanda.
Bharata Khanda is a term used in Hindu texts, including the Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Puranic, to describe the Indian subcontinent. The historical context of the Sanskrit epics are the Vedic period (1700–600 BCE), Mahajanapadas (600 BCE) and the subsequent formation of the Maurya Empire (322 BCE), the beginning of the "golden age" of Classical Sanskrit literature.
The name
In Hindu scriptures, Bharata Khanda is the habitable world; the known land as experienced by the writers.[1][2][3] It is named after the legendary emperor Bharata and was first used in the Vedic Period (1700–600 BCE).
The Kingdoms
The boundaries of the kingdoms
Often rivers formed the boundaries of two neighboring kingdoms, as was the case between the northern and southern Panchala and between the western (Pandava's Kingdom) and eastern (Kaurava's Kingdom) Kuru. Sometimes, large forests, which were larger than the kingdoms themselves, formed their boundaries as was the case of the Naimisha Forest between Panchala and Kosala kingdoms. Mountain ranges like Himalaya, Vindhya and Sahya also formed their boundaries.
The cities and villages
Some kingdoms possessed a main city that served as its capital. For example, the capital of Pandava's Kingdom was Indraprastha and the Kaurava's Kingdom was Hastinapura. Ahichatra was the capital of Northern Panchala whereas Kampilya was the capital of Southern Panchala. Kosala Kingdom had its capital as Ayodhya. Apart from the main city or capital, where the palace of the ruling king was situated, there were small towns and villages spread in a kingdom. Tax was collected by the officers appointed by the king from these villages and towns. What the king offered in return to these villages and towns was protection from the attack of other kings and robber tribes, as well as from invading foreign nomadic tribes. The king also enforced code and order in his kingdom by punishing the guilty.
Interactions between kingdoms
There was no border security for a kingdom and border disputes were very rare. One king might conduct a military campaign (often designated as Digvijaya meaning victory over all the directions) and defeat another king in a battle, lasting for a day. The defeated king would acknowledge the supremacy of the victorious king. The defeated king might sometimes be asked to give a tribute to the victorious king. Such tribute would be collected only once, not on a periodic basis. The defeated king, in most cases, would be free to rule his own kingdom, without maintaining any contact with the victorious king. There was no annexation of one kingdom by another. Often a military general conducted these campaigns on behalf of his king. A military campaign and tribute collection were often associated with a great sacrifice (like Rajasuya or Ashvamedha) conducted in the kingdom of the campaigning king. The defeated king also was invited to attend these sacrifice ceremonies, as a friend and ally.
New kingdoms
New kingdoms were formed when a major clan produced more than one King in a generation. The Kuru (kingdom) clan of Kings was very successful in governing throughout North India with their numerous kingdoms, which were formed after each successive generation. Similarly, the Yadava clan of kings formed numerous kingdoms in Central India.
Cultural differences in the kingdoms
Western parts of India were dominated by tribes who had a slightly different culture that was considered as non-Vedic by the mainstream Vedic culture prevailed in the Kuru and Panchala kingdoms. Similarly there were some tribes in the eastern regions of India, considered to be in this category. Tribes with non-Vedic culture specially those of barbaric nature were collectively termed as Mlechha. Very little was mentioned in the ancient India n literature, about the kingdoms to the North, beyond the Himalayas. China was mentioned as a kingdom known as Cina, often grouped with Mlechcha kingdoms.
List of Kingdoms
Kingdoms of Northern India
| Kuru Kingdom
|
Panchala Kingdom
|
Vatsa Kingdom
|
Matsya Kingdom
|
Kasmira Kingdom
|
| Yaudheya Kingdom
|
Trigarta Kingdom
|
Gandhara Kingdom
|
Pulindas
|
Darada Kingdom
|
Foreign Kingdoms of the North
| Parada Kingdom
|
Parasika Kingdom
|
Tushara Kingdom
|
| Huna Kingdom
|
Hara Huna Kingdom
|
Rishika Kingdom
|
Kingdoms of North Western India
| Salwa Kingdom
|
Madra Kingdom
|
Sindhu Kingdom
|
Sauvira Kingdom
|
| Sivi Kingdom
|
Kekeya Kingdom
|
Gurjara Kingdom
|
Kamboja Kingdom
|
Foreign Kingdoms to the North-West
| Bahlika Kingdom
|
Parama Kamboja Kingdom
|
Uttara Madra Kingdom
|
Uttara Kuru Kingdom
|
| Yavana Kingdom
|
Khasa Kingdom
|
Saka Kingdom
|
Pahlava Kingdom
|
Kingdoms of Eastern India
| Kosala Kingdom
|
Kasi Kingdom
|
Magadha Kingdom
|
Kingdom of the Videhas
|
| Kirata Kingdom
|
Himalaya Kingdom
|
Parvata Kingdom
|
Nepa Kingdom
|
Kingdoms of Western India
| Dwaraka Kingdom
|
Abhira Kingdom
|
Sudra Kingdom
|
Nishada Kingdom
|
| Avanti Kingdom
|
Heheya Kingdom
|
Saurashtra Kingdom
|
Surparaka Kingdom
|
Kingdoms of Central India
| Surasena Kingdom
|
Anupa Kingdom
|
Dasarna Kingdom
|
Vidarbha Kingdom
|
| Karusha Kingdom
|
Kunti Kingdom
|
Chedi Kingdom
|
Malava Kingdom
|
Kingdoms of South-Western India
| Saraswata Kingdom
|
Kishkindha Kingdom
|
Gomanta Kingdom
|
Nasikya Kingdom
|
| Konkana Kingdom
|
Asmaka Kingdom
|
Danda Kingdom
|
Anarta Kingdom
|
Kingdoms of North-Eastern India
| Lauhitya Kingdom
|
Malla Kingdom
|
Sonita Kingdom
|
Vanga Kingdom
|
| Pragjyotisha Kingdom
|
Pundra Kingdom
|
Suhma Kingdom
|
Utkala Kingdom
|
Kingdoms of Southern India
| Karnata Kingdom
|
Kerala Kingdom
|
Mushika Kingdom
|
Chera Kingdom
|
| Pandya Kingdom
|
Chola Kingdom
|
Mahishaka Kingdom
|
Ay Kingdom
|
Foreign Kingdoms of the South
Kingdoms of the South-Eastern India
See also
- Ramayana
- Mahabharata
- Bharatavarsha
- Chakravartin
- Monarchy in ancient India
- Iron Age India
- Avestan geography
References
- ↑ Buchanan, Francis (1988), A journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar, Volume 1, Asian Educational Services, ISBN 978-81-206-0386-8, https://books.google.com/books?id=WnTq2fz8l8QC
- ↑ Buchanan, Francis (1807), A Journey from Madras Through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar, Volume 2, T. Cadell and W. Davies, https://books.google.com/books?id=Wmtkai-L6I0C
- ↑ Buchanan, Francis (1807), A Journey from Madras Through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar, Volume 3, T. Cadell and W. Davies, https://books.google.com/books?id=6xRIe323MQEC
External links
