History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c8.s6.1

c8.s6.1

Darkness then descends upon the fortunes of Kanauj, and the city sinks into oblivion for a long period except for the glimpse that we catch of it about the time of the Mahābhārata war. In his peace overtures Yudhiṣṭhira is represented to have said to Duryodhana: “We are desirous of peace; give us even a single province of the empire. Give us even Kuśasthala, Vrikasthala, Mākandī, Vāraṇāvata, and for the fifth any other that thou likest. Even this will end the quarrel.”⁵ Kuśasthala evidently stands for Kanauj, and we may, therefore, assume from Yudhiṣṭhira’s readiness to compromise his claims for these five towns that they were of some importance at that time.