The Geography of the Puranas c11.s1.3

c11.s1.3

It is to be remembered that the whole Upper Gangetic Basin, as defined above, was once mostly covered with woodlands and forests. The earliest Āryan settlements were on the rivers amidst cleared or open lands. It was from these nuclei that the territories of various tribes or communities who had settled there grew into compact units and led to the foundation of the respective janapadas and kingdoms. Naturally, within a uniform plain the boundary lines or frontier zones between the different territories were either the broad flood plains of the great rivers or the thick forests which remained uncleared for a long time. Some of these forests (Suyaṃjatavana) remained the normal feature of the land. For instance, the Kuru-jāṅgala was a wild region in the Kuru realm (discussed below), which extended as far as the Kamyaka forest. The kingdom of Uttara-Pañcāla was founded in this jungle tract. The Añjanavana at Sāketa, the Mahāvana at Vaisāli and the Mahāvana at Kapilavāstu were natural forests, which extended up to the slopes of the Himālayas. The Parileyyakavana was an elephant-forest at some distance from Kauśāmbī on the way to Saravasti. The Lumbinivana on the Rohiṇī, the Nāgavana of the Vajji kingdom, the Salavana of the Mallas at Kusinārā, the Bhesakalavana in the Bharga kingdom, the Siṃsapavana at Kauśāmbī, the forest to the north of Setavya in Kośala and the one near Alvi and the Pippalivana of the Moriyas may be cited as typical examples of natural forests which covered a substantial area of the Basin.