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Bharata Khanda - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Bharata Khanda - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Bharata Khanda - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Bharata Khanda
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Epic India) This article is about the kingdoms as reflected in the epic of the Mahabharata. See History of India for a conventionally historical overview, in particular the articles on the Mahajanapadas and the Middle kingdoms of India for ca. 700 BCAD 1200. Bharata Khanda (or Bharata Ksetra[1]) is a term used in Hindu texts, including the Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Puranic, for the geography of Greater India in ancient India. The historical context of the Sanskrit epics are the late Vedic Mahajanapadas (early 1st Millennium BCE) and the subsequent formation of the Maurya Empire (322 BCE), the beginning of the "golden age" of Classical Sanskrit literature.
Contents
1 The name 2 The Kingdoms 2.1 The boundaries of the kingdoms 2.2 The cities and villages 2.3 Interactions between kingdoms 2.4 New kingdoms 2.5 Cultural differences in the kingdoms 2.6 Main kingdoms of Northern India 2.7 Main kingdoms of North-Central India 2.8 Kingdoms of Western/Central India 2.9 Kingdoms of North Western India 2.10 Foreign Kingdoms to the North-West 2.11 Foreign Kingdoms to the North 2.12 Eastern Kingdoms of India 2.13 Kingdoms of Central India 2.14 Kingdoms of Southern India 2.15 Saraswathi Valley Kingdoms of India 2.16 Himalayan kingdoms 3 See also 4 References 5 External links
The name
In Hindu scriptures, Bharata Khanda is habitable world; the known land as experienced by the writers.[2]
The Kingdoms
The boundaries of the kingdoms
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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.
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 was 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.
Map of Ancient India with locations of cities and places during the time of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Buddha.
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.
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Telinga Kingdom
Kishkindha Kingdom
Gomanta Kingdom
Karnata Kingdom
Pallava Kingdom
Himalayan kingdoms
The table lands and valleys of the great Himalayan Mountain Ranges, which were almost inaccessible to the people settled in the Ganges, Sarasvati River and Sindhu river valleys, were inhabited by tribes who had very little interactions with the rest of the world. The domains of these tribes are listed below: To know about the mythological aspects of these exotic tribes see Hindu mythology. To know about the historical significance of these tribes see the Exotic tribes of ancient India. Kirata Kingdom Himalaya Kingdom Parvata Kingdom Nepa Kingdom
See also
Ramayana Mahabharata Bharatavarsha Chakravartin Exotic tribes of ancient India Monarchy in ancient India Iron Age India
References
1. ^ Dikshitar, Ramachandra. The Gupta Polity (http://books.google.com/books? id=KP_DTtd6kJEC&pg=PA230&lpg=PA230&dq=%22Bharata+Khanda%22&source=bl&ots=w5JvDmpLO7& sig=wDmJI_zXyLr0mxlzMEITvOfcfM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kPmCT_mpG4jJ0AGT3PT2Bw&ved=0CGIQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=%22 Bharata%20Khanda%22&f=false). 2. ^ Hamilton, Francis. A journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore, Canara, and Malabar (http://books.google.com/books? id=oajq17SrONAC&pg=PA306&lpg=PA306&dq=%22Bharata+Khanda%22&source=bl&ots=RoyhLGQzww& sig=1RKazcvk-itZyHhQFoDPPQr1hg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kPmCT_mpG4jJ0AGT3PT2Bw&ved=0CFsQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q= %22Bharata%20Khanda%22&f=false).
Law, Bimala Churn (1926). Ancient Indian Tribes (http://www.archive.org/stream/ancientindiantri032697mbp#page/n9/mode/2up). Motilal Banarsidas.
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External links
Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa (English translation is available at http://www.sacredtexts.com/hin/maha/index.htm) Ramayana of Valmiki (English translation is available at http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/index.htm) Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bharata_Khanda&oldid=550352048" Categories: Wikipedia pages needing cleanup from November 2011 Sanskrit texts Indian literature Ancient India Ancient Hindu kingdoms Ancient Indian kingdoms This page was last modified on 14 April 2013 at 19:15. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
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