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Dravida is mentioned as one of the kingdoms in the southern part of present-day mainland India during the time of the Mahabharata.
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Dravida is mentioned as one of the kingdoms in the southern part of present-day mainland India during the time of the Mahabharata.
Dravida is listed among the ancient Indian (Bharata Varsha) kingdoms:
"In the south, are the Dravidas, the Keralas, the Mushikas, and the Vanavashikas; the Karanatakas, the Mahishakas, the Vikalpas, and also the Mushakas; the Jhillikas, the Kuntalas. (6,9)"
The Mahabharata links the origin of Dravidas with sage Vasistha. Viswamitra, a king in the Chandravanshi Amavasu clan, attacked the cow of Vasistha. Then many armies emerged for the protection of that cow and they attacked the armies of Viswamitra.
Other kingdoms that were mentioned along with the Dravidas in this incident were Sakas, Yavanas, Savaras, Kanchis, Paundras and Kiratas, Nishada, and Sinhalas, and the barbarous kingdoms of Khasas, Chivukas, Pulindas, Chinas Hunas with Keralas, and Mleecchas.
Pandava Sahadeva reached the Dravida Region during his southern military campaign.
Sahadeva brought under his subjection and exacted tributes from the Paundrayas, the Dravidas along with the Udrakeralas and the Andhras and the Talavanas. He also vanquished the Karnatas, Pashandas, the town of Sanjayanti, the Kalinga, the Ustrakarnikas, the city of Atavi and the city of Yavanas. (2,30)
Dravidas are mentioned along with other kings who attended Pandava king Yudhishthira's Rajasuya sacrifice.
The kings of the Dravidas and the Sinhalas were present in the sacrifice (2,33). On another occasion, the Cheras, Cholas and Dravidas (3,51).
Pandavas reached the sea in the Dravida land, and visited the holy spot passing under Agastya’s name, which was exceedingly sacred and exceptionally pure. And the valiant king visited the feminine sacred spots. They visited one by one those holy places on the coast of the sea and many other sacred spots and came to the holiest of all known by the name of Surparaka. (3,118)
Arjuna in his military campaign after the Kurukshetra War, visited the Dravida country
Arjuna proceeded towards the southern ocean. In those regions battle took place between him and the Dravidas and Andhras and the fierce Mahishakas and the hillmen of Kolwa. (14,83)
Dravida was conquered twice during the Pallava dynasty, first by Dhruvaniti around 400 CE, and again by Kongani-varma III in the late 6th and early 7th Century. [1] [2]
In Jana Gana Mana, the nation anthem of India, the line about Dravid is found:-
द्राविड़ उत्कल बंग
Sahadeva was the youngest of the five Pandava brothers in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He, along with his twin brother Nakula, was born to Madri, one of the wives of Pandu, the Pandava patriarch, who invoked the Ashvini Kumaras, divine twin physicians, to beget her sons. Kunti, Sahadeva's stepmother, loved him the most despite his birth to Madri. Sahadeva is renowned for his wisdom, knowledge of astrology, and skill in swordsmanship.
The Kurukshetra War, also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu epic poem Mahabharata , arising from a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura. The war laid the foundation for the events of the Bhagavad Gita.
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Sauvīra was an ancient kingdom of the lower Indus Valley mentioned in the Late Vedic and early Buddhist literature and the Hindu epic Mahabharata. It is often mentioned alongside the Sindhu Kingdom. Its capital city was Roruka, identified with present-day Aror/Rohri in Sindh, mentioned in the Buddhist literature as a major trading center. According to the Mahabharata, Jayadratha was the king of the Sindhus, Sauviras and Sivis, having conquered Sauvira and Sivi, two kingdoms close to the Sindhu kingdom. Jayadratha was an ally of Duryodhana and the husband of Duryodhana's sister Dussala. The kingdom of Sauvira is also stated to be close to the Dwaraka and Anarta kingdoms. According to Bhagwat Puran Sauviras were once connected with Abhira.
Kekeya Kingdom was a kingdom mentioned in the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata among the western kingdoms of then India. The epic Ramayana mentions one of the wives of Dasharatha, the king of Kosala and father of Rama, was from Kekeya kingdom and was known as Kaikeyi. Her son Bharata conquered the neighbouring kingdom of Gandhara and built the city of Takshasila. Later the sons and descendants of Bharata ruled this region from Takshasila.
Gandhāra was an Ancient Indian kingdom mentioned in the Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. Gandhara prince Shakuni was the root of all the conspiracies of Duryodhana against the Pandavas, which finally resulted in the Kurukshetra War. Shakuni's sister was the wife of the Kuru king Dhritarashtra and was known as Gandhari after the area of Gandhāra. Puskalavati, Takshasila (Taxila) and Purushapura (Peshawar) were cities in this Gandhara kingdom. Takshasila was founded by Rama's brother Bharata. Bharata's descendants ruled this kingdom afterwards. During the epic's period, the kingdom was ruled by Shakuni's father Suvala, Shakuni and Shakuni's son. Arjuna defeated Shakuni's son during his post-war military campaign for Yudhishthira's Aswamedha Yajna.
The Pahlava Kingdom is identified to be a kingdom of an Iranian tribe. The kingdom was well known, even during the campaign of Alexander. It was also mentioned in the epic Mahabharata.
Sakas are described in Sanskrit sources as a Mleccha tribe grouped along with the Yavanas, Tusharas and Barbaras. There were a group of Sakas called Apa Sakas meaning water dwelling Sakas, probably living around some lake in central Asian steppes. Sakas took part in Kurukshetra War.
Khasas were a north western tribe mentioned in the epic Mahabharata.
Hunas were a tribe close to Himalayas that, because of limited interaction with Indian kingdoms, were mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. They belonged to the Xinjiang province of China, east of Jammu-Kashmir. However, they were nomadic people who changed their settlements from time to time.
Kalinga is a kingdom described in the legendary Indian text Mahabharata. They were a warrior clan who settled in and around the historical Kalinga region, present-day Odisha and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh. According to political scientist Sudama Misra, the Kalinga janapada originally comprised the area covered by the Puri and Ganjam districts.reference-Sudama Misra (1973). Janapada state in ancient India. Bhāratīya Vidyā Prakāśana. p. 78.
Andhra was a kingdom mentioned in the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. It was a southern kingdom, currently identified as Indian state of Andhra Pradesh which got its name from.
The Keralas or Udra Keralas were a royal dynasty mentioned in Sanskrit epics of ancient India. In the Mahabharata, the Keralian Empire took part in the Kurukshetra War by feeding both armies. According to the Puranas, the navigators and survivors of the Yadavas of Dwaraka also settled in Kerala later. Some remnants of the Naga culture are also found here.
Karnata was an ancient kingdom, mentioned in the great epic Mahabharata, It gave the name to the South Indian state of Karnataka.
Kanchi was a southern kingdom mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. This kingdom took part in the Kurukshetra War.
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Parvata Kingdom refers to the territory of a tribe known as Parvatas (Mountaineers), mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. Most of the descriptions of Parvata kingdom in the epic refer to a mountainous country in the Himalayas. Tribes belonging to other mountainous regions in the north west, west and the east of the Indo-Gangetic Plain were also known as Parvatas, when used as a collective name. Parvatas took part in the Kurukshetra War. The epic also mentions a sage named Parvata who was a companion of sage Narada.
In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Vrishasena was the eldest son of the warrior Karna and his wife, Padmavati. Along with his father, he fought in the Kurukshetra war from the side of the Kauravas and faced many prominent warriors like Upapandavas, Drupada, Dhrishtadyumna, Nakula, Sahadeva, Virata and many more.