Historical Geography of Ancient India c10.364

c10.364

Vairāṭa.—Vairāṭ or Vairāṭanagara was the capital of the Matsya country which lay to the south or south-west of Indraprastha and to the south of Śūrasena (*Rgveda*, VII, 18, 6; *Gopatha-Brāhmaṇa*, I, 2. 9, *B.I. series*). Vairāṭanagara was so called because it was the capital of Virāṭa, the king of the Matsyas. It is the headquarters of a tahsil in the Jaipur State, now accessible by a fine metalled road connecting Delhi with Jaipur, a distance of 52 miles. Traditionally it can be identified with Virāṭapura, the capital of Virāṭa, the king of the Matsya country, at whose capital the five Pāṇḍava brothers and Draupadī passed the thirteenth year of their exile. When they disclosed their identity, Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, married Uttarā, the daughter of king Virāṭa (*Mahābh.*, lxxii). The town of Vairāṭ is situated in the midst of a circular valley surrounded by low hills, famous for their copper mines. It is 105 miles to the south-west of Delhi and 41 miles north of Jaipur. It is situated on a mound of ruins about one mile in length by half a mile in breadth or upwards of two and half miles in circuit, of which the town of Vairāṭ does not occupy more than one-fourth.