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The Chinas or Chīnaḥ are a people mentioned in ancient Indian literature from the first millennium BC, such as the Mahabharata, Laws of Manu, as well the Puranic literature.
Kuru was a Vedic Indo-Aryan tribal union in northern Iron Age India, encompassing the modern-day states of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and some parts of western Uttar Pradesh, which appeared in the Middle Vedic period and developed into the first recorded state-level society in the Indian subcontinent.
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. Ahichchhatra was capital of northern Panchala and Kampilya was capital of southern Panchala.
Saurashtra kingdom in the epic Mahabharata is one among the many kingdoms ruled by Yadava kings in the central and western India. Other kingdoms in this group include Chedi Kingdom, Dasarna Kingdom, Surasena Kingdom or Vraja Kingdom, Karusha Kingdom, Kunti Kingdom, Avanti Kingdom, Malava Kingdom, Gurjara Kingdom, Anarta Kingdom, Dwaraka Kingdom, Heheya Kingdom and Vidarbha Kingdom.
In the Mahabharata epic, the Heheya Kingdom is one of the kingdoms ruled by Chandravanshi (Yadava) kings in the central and western India. It was ruled by the powerful Kartavirya Arjuna, who even defeated Ravana. Its capital was Mahishmati on the banks of river Narmada in present-day Madhya Pradesh. They conquered many other kingdoms of India. However, the enmity with the warrior-type Bhargavas resulted in their demise. Parasurama was the Bhargava leader under whom they were exterminated. Talajangha was an allied kingdom of Heheya, to the east of it.
Madra Kingdom was a kingdom grouped among the western kingdoms in the epic Mahabharata. Its capital was Sagala in Madra region, modern Sialkot in the Punjab province of Pakistan. 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.
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 Raghava 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 Yagna.
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.
Kasmira was a kingdom identified as the Kashmir Valley along the Jhelum River of modern Jammu and Kashmir. Possibly, the sage Kashyapa or a descendant of this sage lived here, since the name Kas is derived from the name Kashyapa like the name Caspian of the Caspian Sea. During the epic ages this was one among the territories of the Naga race. The Naga are related to Kashyapa; according to the Puranas, the Naga race originated from Kashyapa. The Kasmiras were allies of the Kuru king Duryodhana.
Hara-Huna was an ancient kingdom and inhabited by the Hara Hunas tribe close to the Himalayas who had limited interaction with the Indian kingdoms, thus they were identified in the epic Mahabharata.
Rishika was an ancient kingdom inhabited by the Rishikas who were originally a tribe north to Himalayas who had limited interaction with early Indian kingdoms and mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. They belonged to the Xinjiang province of China, east of Kashmir. The Pandava hero, Arjuna visited this place during his northern military campaign for collecting tribute for Yudhishthira's Rajasuya sacrifice.
Kīkaṭa was an ancient kingdom in what is now India, mentioned in the Vedas.
Suhma Kingdom was an ancient state during the Late Vedic period on the eastern part of the Indian Subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. This kingdom was mentioned in the epic Mahabharata along with its neighbouring kingdom Prasuhma.
Kalinga is a tribe described in the legendary Indian text Mahabharata. They were a warrior clan who settled in and around the historical Kalinga region, present-day Odisha, west Bengal, Bangladesh and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Keralas or Udra Keralas are a dynasty mentioned in Sanskrit epics of ancient India. In the Mahabharata, the Keralas rule over a kingdom which took part in the Kurukshetra War on the side of the Pandavas. According to the Puranas, the navigators and survivors of the Yadavas of Dwaraka also settled in Kerala later, resulting in the cult of Krishna worship. And some remnants of the Sinhalas of Sri Lanka and of the Naga culture are also found here.
Nishada is a tribe mentioned in ancient Indian literature. The ancient texts mention several kingdoms ruled by this tribe. In the Mahabharata, the Nishada are described as tribes that have the hills and the forests their abode. They are linked with a king called Vena who became a slave to wrath and malice, and became unrighteous. Sages killed him for his malice and wrongdoings. In the epic Valmiki Ramayan there is a character named Guha who is from the Nishad Tribe, whom the central character of the epic Sri Ramchandra calles him 'aatmasamam' which literally means equal to his soul or among the best friends. There we also fiend praises of the Nishad community by the central character Shri Ramchandra for the contribution of Nishad community leader Guha in the internal and external security of the Ayodhya Kingdom.
The Sudra Kingdom is mentioned as one of the kingdoms of ancient India mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. They were mentioned along with another tribe called the Abhiras along the banks of Sarasvati River where it dried up in the desert. The Yadava Balarama visited this place during his pilgrimage along the partially dried up river Saraswati. After this place, only a dried up river bed existed and the desert or the Maru region began.
Kirata Kingdom (Kirat) in Sanskrit literature and Hindu mythology refers to any kingdom of the Kirata people, who were dwellers mostly in the eastern Himalayas. They took part in the Kurukshetra War along with the Parvatas (mountaineers) and other Himalayan tribes. They are widespread in the folds and valleys of Himalayas in Nepal and Bhutan, and in the Indian states of West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam and Tripura. Kiratas ruled in Nepal after Gopal and Mahipal. The first king of the Kiratas was Yalamber, who defeated Bhuvan Singh, the last king of Ahir dynasty and established Kirat rule in Nepal. He extended his kingdom as far as the Tista river in the east and the Trishuli in the west.
Himalaya kingdom was a mountainous country in Himalayas mentioned in the Puranas. Himavat was its ruler. His daughter Parvati, who became a wife of Lord Siva, was a princess from this kingdom. The Indian epic Mahabharata doesn't mention a kingdom named Himalaya, but mentions many kingdoms in the Himalaya mountains like the Kuninda, Parvata, Nepa, Kirata, Kimpurusha, and Kinnara.
Kishkindha is the kingdom of the Vanara King Sugriva, the younger brother of Vali, in the Sanskrit epic Ramayana. According to the historical account of India, this was the kingdom where Sugriva ruled with the assistance of his friend, Hanuman. This kingdom is identified to be the regions around the Tungabhadra river near Hampi in present-day Vijayanagara district, Karnataka. The mountain near the river known as Rishimukha, where Sugriva lived with Hanuman during his exile, bears the same name.
References
- Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated to English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli