The Geography of the Puranas c11.s6.t2: (i) (d) Eastern and South-Eastern Slopes of the Vindhyas

The Geography of the Purāṇas c11.s6.t2

Language: English

(i) (d) Eastern and South-Eastern Slopes of the Vindhyas

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The three janapadas which fall under this group are:

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Utkala which coincided which the present Balasore district of Orissa.

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Tosala covered the whole of the Mahānadi delta. Tosali (modern Dhauli) near Bubhaneswar occurs in the centre of this region.

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Kosala may be identified with the northern margin of the modern Mahākosal region.

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Mekala covered the southern slopes of the Maikal range, south of Amarkantaka, i.e. the present Bilaspur district of Madhya Pradesh.

(1) Tripura is a well-known region round Tewar (about 10 miles west of Jabalpur). This janapada covered the upper Narmadā valley which coincided with the present Jabalpur and parts of the Mandla and Narsimhapur districts.

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(2) Tuṇḍikera. We find two towns of the same name north of the Narmadā. The one which is north-east of Narsimhapur lies beyond the Bhander range on its forested slopes. The other which lies within the Narmadā basin is a better choice since the region about it is fairly wide and suitable for the location of a janapada. Since the Narmadā is not very wide here, the janapada of Tuṇḍikera probably extended to its south and occupied a larger portion of the Narmadā trench which is about 50-60 miles wide. The town Sainkheda on the southern side of the Narmadā reminds us of Saundikera which is the alternative name of the same janapada as given by the Matsya Purāṇa.

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Tumura, Kiṣkindhaka, Patavi. Beyond the Tuṇḍikera janapada towards the west, the river Narmadā below its confluence with the Tawa flows in a wider valley, which opens out towards the west. Here the Vindhyan scarp to the north of the valley and the Satpura hills in the south form a sort of a triangular basin with its apex near Hoshangabad where the two come nearest and its base towards the west along the meridian of Khandwa. Beyond this line the two hill systems approach each other between Barvani and Surpan. Thereafter the Narmadā comes out of the mountainous terrain and flows through the western coastal plain into the sea.

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As the river flows in a wide flood-plain and is fairly deep, it forms a suitable boundary between the political units north and south of it. This was true as much in ancient times as today.

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The Tumura janapada appears to have occupied here the southern basin of the Narmadā. It probably coincided with the western half of the present Hoshangabad district, centred about Seoni-Malva about 20 miles east of Tumurni, a town on the Itarsi-Khandwa railway line.

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Further down the Tumura janapada, down the river Narmadā and south of the river, lies the Khandwa-Khargon plain, a region which is strategically important since it controls the southern route through the Khandwa gap into the Tapti valley. This appears to correspond to the Kiṣkindhaka janapada of the Purāṇas.

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Below this janapada and again south of the Narmadā where it receives its southern affluents, the Goi, the Purāṇic janapada of Patavi was probably located at the foothills of the Satpuras which overlook the Narmadā here. The town of Pati a few miles south of Barwani, appears to point to its approximate location.

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*Vitihotra*. North of the Narmadā and west of Tuṇḍikera where the northern basin of the Narmadā is wider and where a large number of its biggest affluents meet it from the north, the janapada of Vitihotra appears to have been located. Thus this janapada was bounded in the south by the Narmadā, in the north, west and east by the steep arc of the Vindhyan scarp which stood like an impenetrable wall along its borders. Vitihotra therefore covered the whole of the north of the Narmadā drained by the streams known as the Kolar, Jamner, Chankesar and Kanar which stood across and controlled the gaps in the Vindhyan scarp through which the southern routes from Ujjaini passed. The centre of the region appears to be Satwas which lies about 30 miles north-west of modern Harda.

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*Anūpa*. The name of this janapada suggests an ill-drained or marshy land. In the context of the Narmadā basin this janapada appears to coincide with the extensive, ill-drained, alluvial tract across which the Narmadā flows just after its release from the Vindhyan-Satpura trench. Anūpa therefore coincided with the southern part of what is today known as Rewa Kantha.

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Besides the janapadas discussed above, the various Purāṇas contain the names of a few more janapadas, which vary considerably from Purāṇa to Purāṇa. Perhaps some of the known janapadas mentioned in one Purāṇa lost their importance at the time the other Purāṇas were composed. It is not certain whether the names of janapadas were changed by accident or by design. In the latter case it is possible that some of the janapadas suffered extinction or transformation in human content or extent in course of time, and janapadas with new names came into being. However, the janapadas whose names appear to have been distorted in various Purāṇas but not changed or replaced, are indicated on the accompanying map with the help of other works. The rest have been omitted. The table below gives a complete list of janapadas as given in the Vāyu Purāṇa and its variations in other Purāṇas. This may be helpful to future workers in this field.

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JANAPADAS (OR COMMUNITIES) OF MADHYADESA OR CENTRAL REGION

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S=same as in the first column; O=omitted)

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| Vy | Mts | Bmd | Mārk | Vmn & others |
| Kuru | S | S | O | |
| Pāñcāla | S | S | O | |
| Sālva | S | S | O | S (Mbt) |
| Jāṅgala | S | S | O | |
| Sūrasena | S | S | O | S (Mbt) |
| Bhadrakāra | S | S | O | |
| Bodha | Bāhya | S | O | S (Mbt) |
| Satapathe- | Salva | S | O | |
| śvara | Pataccara | S | O | |
| Vatsa | Matsya | S | Matsya | |
| Kisalva | Kirāta | Kusatta | Kūta | |
| Kisadya; | | | | |
| Kisasta | | | | |
| Kulya | S | S | S | |
| Kuntala | S; Kunti | S | S | Kunti (Mbt) |
| Kāśi | S | S | S | Kanti (Mbt) |
| Kośala | S | S | S | |
| Arthaya | Āvanta | Prathama | Arvuda | |
| A (r)thapa | | | Arthava | |
| | | | Athava | |
| Tilaṅga | Kaliṅga | Kaliṅga | Kaliṅga | |
| (Bh)Puliṅga | | | | |
| Magadha | Mūka | Magadha | Malaka | |
| Maśaka | | | | |
| Vrka | Andhaka | S | S | |

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JANAPADAS OF NORTHERN (& NORTH-WESTERN) REGION

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| Vāhlika | S | S | S | S |
| Vaṭa(dh)dhāna | S | S | S | S |
| Ābhīra | S | S | S | S |
| Kālatoyaka | S | S | S | Kalatoyada |
| Aparita | Purandhra | S | Aparānta | Aparānta |
| (Ks)Śūdra | S | S | S | S |
| Phal(n)Ava | Pallava | Pallava | Pallava | Pallava |
| Carmakhandika | Cattakhandika S | S | Sakhetaka | |
| Gāndhāra | S | S | S | S |

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| Vy | Mts | Bmd | Mārk | Vmn & others |
| Darva | O | S | Dārva | Kukkuṭa |
| | | | Darva | |

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JANAPADAS OF APARĀNTA OR WESTERN REGION

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JANAPADAS OF EASTERN REGION

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| Vy | Mts | Bmd | Mārk | Vmn & others |
| Pravaṅga | Plavaṅga | S | S | S |
| Vaṅgeya | Māthaṅga | Vaṅga | Raṅgeya | Vaṅgeya |
| Mālad(v)a | Yamaka | S | Mānada | Mansāda |
| Mālavartin(k)a | Mallavarṇka | Mālavanika | Mānavartika | Valadantika |
| Brahmottara | Suhmottra | S | Brahmottara | S |
| Pravijaya | S | S | S | S |
| Bhārgava | S | S | S | S |
| | Mārgava | | | |
| Geyamarthaka | Geyamālava | S | Geyamallaka | Geyamaryaka |
| | Ārya Gālava | | | Geyamarṣaka |
| | Mālava | | | |
| Prāgyotiṣa | S | S | S | S |
| Muṇḍa | Puṇḍra | Pauṇḍra | Madra | Prsadhra |
| Videha | S | S | S | S |
| Tāmraliptaka | S | S | S | S |
| Māla | Sālva | S | Malla | S |
| Magadha | S | S | S | S |
| Govinda | Gonardda | Gonanda | Gomanta | Mānanda |
| | | | Gomeda | |

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JANAPADAS OF SOUTHERN REGION

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| Pāṇdya | S | S | Puṇḍra | Puṇḍra |
| | | | S | |
| Kerala | S | S | S | S |
| | | | Kevala | |
| Caulya | Cola | S | Cola | Cauda |
| Kulya | S | S | Kutya | S |
| Setuka | S | S | Sailaṣa | Jānuka |
| Mūṣika | Sūtika | S | S | S |
| Rumana | | | Kumāra | Kumārāda |
| Kumana | Kupatha | Kunāsa | Kusuma | |
| Vanavāsika | Vājivāsika | Vānavāsaka | Nāma-vāsaka | Mahāṣaka |
| | Vajikāṣika | | Vanavāsaka | |
| Mahārāṣtra | Navrāṣtra | S | S | S |
| Māhiṣaka | S | S | S | S |
| Kaliṅga | S | S | S | S |
| | Kapila | | | |
| Ā(A)bhīra | Kārusa | S | S | S |
| | Kāvera | | | |

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| Vy | Mts | Bmd | Mārk | Vnin & others |
| Caiśika | Haiśika Hośika | Caiśika | Vaiśikya | Vaisakya |
| Āṭavya | S | S | S Āḍhakya | Āraṇya |
| Vara Savara | Sabara | Vara | Savara | Sabara |
| Pulinda | S | S | S | S |
| Vindhya-Mūlika | Vindhya-Puṣika | S | Vindhya-mauleya | Vindhya-Sauleya |
| V(ai)idarbha | S | S | S | S |
| Daṇḍaka | S | S | S | S |
| Pānika Pāunika | O | Saulika | Paurika | O |
| Maul(n)ika | O | S | S | O |
| Aśmaka | O | S | S | S |
| Bhogavarddhana | O | S | S | S |
| Nairṇika Naitika | O | Maindika | Naiśika | Naimika |
| Kuntala | O | S | S | Kuṇḍala |
| Andhra | O | S | S | S |
| Udbhida | O | S | S | Ulida Ucchida |
| Nalakālika | O | S | Vanadāraka | Nalakāraka |

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JANAPADAS OF THE VINDHYAN REGION

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JANAPADAS OF MOUNTAIN REGIONS

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Linked texts (2)

Matsyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
Mahābhārata — Vyāsa, Sanskrit