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The Karusha Kingdom is one of the Yadava kingdoms of the Mahabharata epic. It is placed to the south of Chedi. Karusha king Dantavaktra supported Chedi king Shishupala and was killed by Vasudeva Krishna. Karusha Kingdom is identified as modern Datia district of Madhya Pradesh.
Karusha was mentioned as a kingdom of ancient India (Bharata Varsha) along with the Kuntalas, the Kasi-kosalas, the Chedis, the Bhojas. (6,9)
Karusha was also a type of tree (3,111). Karusha region was probably the regions where these trees grew in abundance
Kiratas (hunter-gatherers) armed with cruel weapons and ever engaged in cruel deeds, eating of fruits and roots and attired in skins and living on the northern slopes of the Himavat and on the eastern mountains and in the region of Karusha on the sea-coast (possibly in the sea coast of Bangladesh) and on both sides of the Lohitya mountains (Lohit, Arunachal Pradesh. They brought tribute to Pandava king Yudhishthira.(2,51)
The assembled kings of the Chedi and the Karusha tribes joined the Pandavas with all their resources. (5,22). Karusha army was placed under the general Dhristaketu who was the king of Chedi Kingdom (5,199). The Chedis, Karushas and Kasis were placed under him.
Other armies allied with the Pandavas who fought along with the Karushas were the Matsyas, Panchalas, Srinjayas, Somakas, Prabhadrakas, some Surasenas, Suras, some Kekayas, Pandyas, Kanchis, Keralas, Cholas, Dravidas, Andharas, some Kosalas, some Magadhas and the Yadavas under Satyaki and Chekitana. (6-47,54,98,107) (7-9,11,21,153), (8-12,30,47,49,54,56,73,78
The Mahājanapadas were sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE. Two of them were most probably ganatantras (republics) and others had forms of monarchy. Ancient Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya make frequent reference to sixteen great kingdoms and republics which had evolved and flourished in a belt stretching from Gandhara in the northwest to Anga in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent and included parts of the trans-Vindhyan region, prior to the rise of Buddhism in India.
The Panchala kingdom was one of the historical mahajanapadas of ancient India. It was annexed into the Nanda Empire during the reign of Mahapadma Nanda.
Kosala Proper or simply Kosala is the kingdom of the celebrated personality of Treta Yuga, Raghava Rama. Ayodhya was its capital, presently in Ayodhya district, Uttar Pradesh. Rama's sons Lava and Kusha inherited parts of this kingdom. Lava ruled from the city called Ayodhya and Kusa from the city called Kushavati. A colony of Kosala kings existed in Madhya Pradesh. It was called Dakshina Kosala. Rama's mother Kausalya was from this kingdom. King Rama extended his influence up to the island-kingdom of Lanka situated in the southern ocean. He had friendly relations with the southern kingdom of forest dwellers (Vanaras) called Kishkindha.
The Kunti Kingdom was the kingdom of Kunti-Bhoja, one of the prominent kings among the Bhoja Yadavas.
Chedi (Sanskrit:चेदी) was an ancient Indian janapada, a kingdom which fell roughly in the Bundelkhand division of Madhya Pradesh regions to the south of river Yamuna along the river Ken. Its capital city was called Suktimati in Sanskrit and Sotthivati-nagara in Pali. In Pali-language Buddhist texts, it is listed as one of the sixteen mahajanapadas.
Dasarna Kingdom was one of the many kingdoms ruled by Yadava kings in ancient central and western India. It lay to the south of the Chedi and Panchala kingdoms, in northern Madhya Pradesh. The Panchala prince Sikhandi married a princess from Dasarna. Sikhandin was alleged to be 'one of the neuter-gender'. This led to a dispute between the Dasarna king and the Panchala king Drupada.
The historical Avanti Kingdom of ancient India is described in the Mahabharata epic. Avanti was divided into north and south by river Vetravati. Initially, Mahissati was the capital of Southern Avanti, and Ujjaini was of northern Avanti, but at the times of Mahavira and Buddha, Ujjaini was the capital of integrated Avanti. The country of Avanti roughly corresponded to modern Malwa, Nimar and adjoining parts of the Madhya Pradesh.
Anarta is the name of a Vedic period kingdom of ancient India described in the Mahabharata, roughly forming the northern Gujarat state of India. It was founded by a grandson of Vaivasvata, inter alia the father of the present Manu and of Yama, named Anartha. He built a fortress at Kusasthali (Dvaraka), which was later flooded by Varuna. The place remained then for some time as a forest land, before Krishna and the Yadavas went there and built Dvaraka. It was then ruled by Yadavas after they fled from Mathura of Surasena Kingdom, due to the attacks of Jarasandha, the king of Magadha. The Yadava chiefs like Vasudeva Krishna, Bala Rama, Kritavarma and Satyaki, ruled this kingdom under their king Ugrasena. In Mahabharata, Dwaraka is considered as a capital city of Anarta Kingdom. But some other ancient texts like Mahabhagavata, mentions Dwaraka and Anarta as two independent kingdoms. As per the Purana viz. Bhagavata Purana, Bala Rama's wife Revati was from this kingdom.
Madra Kingdom was a kingdom grouped among the western kingdoms in the epic Mahabharata. Its capital was Sagala, modern Sialkot. The Kuru king Pandu's (Pāṇḍu) second wife was from Madra kingdom and was called Madri. The Pandava twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, were her sons. Madri's brother Shalya was the king of Madra. Though affectionate to the Pandavas, he was tricked to give support to Duryodhana and fought against the Pandavas during the Kurukshetra War. He was killed by Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava. Other than the Madra kingdom with Sagala as its capital, it is believed that there was a Western Madra and a Northern Madra.
Salwa is a kingdom grouped among the western kingdoms in the epic Mahabharata. It was close to Madra Kingdom as both are mentioned together in many places. Saubha was its capital. Martikavati also was mentioned as the capital of Salwa kingdom. The famous prince Satyavan was from Salwa. He married the Madra princess, Savitri, the daughter of Madra king Aswapati. Their history is a famous narration in Mahabharata. Seven chapters 3:291 to 3:297 is dedicated to this history of Satyavan and Savitri.
Kekeya is a kingdom grouped among the western kingdoms in the epic Mahabharata. The epic Ramayana mentions One of the wives of Dasharatha, the king of Kosala and father of Raghava 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.
Vanga was an ancient kingdom and geopolitical division on the Ganges delta in the Indian subcontinent. The kingdom is one of the namesakes of the Bengal region. It was located in southern Bengal, with the core region including present-day southern West Bengal (India) and southwestern Bangladesh. Vanga features prominently in the epics and tales of ancient India as well as in the history of Sri Lanka.
Kalinga is a tribe described in the legendary Indian text Mahabharata.They were warriors clan settled in & around the historical Kalinga region, present-day Odisha and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Kirata Kingdom (Kirat) in Sanskrit literature and Hindu mythology refers to any kingdom of the Kirata people, who were dwellers mostly in the Himalayas. They took part in the Kurukshetra War along with Parvatas (mountaineers) and other Himalayan tribes. They were widespread in the folds and valleys of Himalayas in Nepal and Bhutan, and also in Indian states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal (Darjeeling), Sikkim, Assam and Tripura including west mountain of Pakistan. Kirata dynasty in Nepal was established by the king Yalamber
Within the Indian epic Mahabharata, Krishna was the son of the Yadava chief Vasudeva and his wife Devaki. Hence he was known as Vasudeva Krishna or Vaasudeva.
Pragjyotisha was a mythological kingdom that later came to be associated with the historical Kamarupa.
Kampil is a town and a Nagar panchayat in Farrukhabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located about 45 km from Farrukhabad, and 55 km from Budaun. It is a very important place from an historical and mythological point of view.
Shishupala was the son of Damaghosha after whom descendants to Chedi Kings were named as ghosis a tribe of Yadavas in Chedi, by Srutashrava, sister of Vasudeva, Kunti & cousin of Baba Nanda Rai. He was slain by Krishna, his cousin and an avatar of Vishnu, at the great coronation ceremony of Yudhishthira in punishment for the opprobrious abuse made against his august personage. He was also called Chaidya, being a member of Chedi kingdom.
Characters in the Mahabharata The most important characters of Mahabharata can be said to be Krishna, the Pandavas; Yudhishthira, Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, Draupadi, the Kouravas; who were a hundred brothers and a sister (Dushila), led by the eldest brother, Duryodhana; the important characters were Dronacharya, Kripacharya, Bheesma, Pandu and Dhritrashtra Some pivotal characters who also played a key role are Karna, Subhadra, Amba, Vidura, Abhimanyu, Shakuni, Satyavati.
