The Geography of the Puranas c11.s6.1

c11.s6.1

The 'Vindhyan region' as conceived by the Purāṇas in this context covered a vast area. It included almost all the plateaus and hills between the Yamunā and the Chambal in the north, the Tāpti-Mahānadī axis in the south, the western seaboard (within the present Gujarat State) on the west, and the Chhota Nagpur and Orissa hills on the east. This vast region whose chief characteristics are its rugged terrain, mostly covered with thick forests, narrow and entrenched river valleys, sparse population and paucity of through routes, can be further divided into three well-defined sub-regions: