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This article tries to compile and classify all the Kingdoms of Ancient India mentioned in the Sanskrit / Vedic literature. This literature includes the two Indian epics viz the Mahabharata and the Ramayana , the Puranas and the Vedas with their supplement texts. Ancient India saw the emergence of one of the earliest Civilizations of the world. It was the largest among the civilizations based on area, spreading the whole of the Indian Subcontinent , with hundreds of kingdoms located in the midst of forests, desert-lands, mountain-ranges and rivers. Introduction Much of the political and geographical mosaic of Ancient India can be derived from the epic Mahabharata . The other great Indian epic Ramayana is yet another source. From the Vedas , notably Rig Veda , we get the geo-political information of the Ancient India, that predates the Mahabharata-period. The Puranas forms a window to the geo-political scenario of Ancient India during the post-Mahabharata period. The Pre Historic Time Span Earlier Studies The time coordinates in which these kingdoms existed, is not exactly known, the earliest dates being around 5000 BC , to the latest dates around 500 AD. As per the Aryan Invasion Theory , based primarily on the Indic studies of Max Muller , the Rig Veda was written around 1500 BC and other Vedas before 800 BC. In this scheme the epic Mahabharata dates around 800 BC and Ramayana around 600 BC and the Puranas from 500 BC to 500 AD. Modern Studies However the modern studies, tend to push these dates further into the past. These studies are based on the astronomical, geographical and linguistic evidences. Astronomical evidences include, the occurrence of solar and lunar eclipses and the stellar-position of the Vernal Equinox which find mention in the ancient Indian literature constituted by the four Vedas (Rik, Yajus, Sama and Atharva) , the two epics (Mahabharata and Ramayana), the Puranas , the Aranyakas , the Brahmana Texts , the Upanishads , the Vedangas , the Sasthras , the Sutras and the Smritis . Geographical evidence include the discovery of the dry-bed of the Saraswati River through satellite imagery and ground-based studies, the discovery of the ruins of the Dwaraka Island through oceanography, the discovery of the ruins of many cities mentioned in the epic, like Kausambi , Ahichatra , Hastinapura , Ayodhya , Kapilavastu and Indraprastha . Linguistic evidence are based on the fact that highly systematic languages like Sanskrit or Vedic Language (the earlier form of Sanskrit) require few millenia for their evolution. The huge amount of Sanskrit/Vedic literature could not have been accumulated in a few centuries. This literature dealt with complex subjects like mathematics (including algebraic geometry), astromomy (which included high-precision prediction of eclipses, recording of vernal-equinox-changes that is noticeable only by observations continuing for a few millania of time), medicine (including surgery, animal-husbandry for horse & elephant and medical-botany), grammar, law, metallurgy, architecture and engineering. It also included huge amount of varifiable geographic information of the Indian Subcontinent , with mention various cultures and climates that existed in the region. Links between the Civilizations The Indus Valley Civilization , existed around 3000 BC. Mohenjodaro and Harappa were the two early discovered archaeological sites of this civilization. The span of this civilization was further expanded, with the discovery of hundreds of sites whose concentration is the greatest along the Saraswati river. The locus of Saraswati river is already charted to be through the present day Haryana and through the Thar Desert of Rajasthan ). This river is the central river mentioned in the Vedas. Thus the Vedic Civilization is closely linked to the Indus Valley civilization. Since the majority of the cities of this urban civilization lies along the banks of river Saraswati, the Indus Valley civilization is now appropriately renamed as Saraswati Sindhu Civilization . The urban civilization of the Saraswati-Sindhu was predated by a rural civilization to the north of it ( Mehargarh culture), dated to be around 5000 BC. Recent studies shows that the people of this rural civilization could be the Rig Vedic people, with their land centered in the northern plains of Saraswati , Sindhu and five other rivers, collectively known as the Sapta Sindhu , (the land of seven rivers). Thus these studies consider the Saraswati-Sindhu civilisation to be post-Vedic, or post Rig-Vedic. In other words, this civilization was a continuation of the Vedic Culture . This view is further strengthened by the fact that the Indus Script , as far as it is deciphered till now, resembles the Brahmi Script of Sanskrit , more than any other script now existing. Revised Time Spans The Rig Vedic period is considered to be spanning from 5000 BC to 3500 BC. Other Vedas formed in a period from 3500 BC to 2500 BC, with core Mahabharata period centered around 2500 BC. The core of Ramayana was formed earlier than the core of Mahabharata, probably around 4000 BC, though Ramayana available for current reading took its shape after the Mahabharata was completed. Both the epics should have completed its final shape by 800 BC before the period of Buddha in 500 BC. The Puranas shoud have taken its shape from 2500 BC to 500 AD since they contain mentions about Budha as well as the Maurya Dynasty of 400 BC. The Four Yugas Sanskrit/Vedic literature, do mention about a classification of historic epoches based on a scheme called Yugas . But since the Vedas were dated at 1500 BC, based on older theories, these classification was never taken seriously, and was dissmissed as mythology. Based on the latest dates on the Vedic literature, one can map the Yuga system to the current historic dates as follows. Key events that took place in those period also is mentioned in brackets. Krita Yuga = Pre Historic Periods up to 5500 BC (King Manu 's Reign and the Great Flood) Treta Yuga = 5500 BC to 3500 BC (King Raghava Rama 's Reign) Dwapara Yuga = 3500 BC to 2500 BC ( Kurukshetra War ) Kali Yuga = 2500 BC onwards to current Age The above stated scheme gives a rough estimate about the time-period in which the kingdoms mentioned in this article existed. Mahabharata is the main source of reference for the major number of kingdoms mentioned below. Further contribution is from Ramayana and the Puranas and a few from the Vedas. The Kingdoms Main Kingdoms of the Puru clan '' Puru Clan was the main clan of Ancient Indian kings belonging to the Lunar Dynasty or the Chandra Vamsa . It was founded by Puru the son of Yayati who himself was the grand grandson of Pururavas Aila the first king of the Lunar Dynasty.''
Main Kingdoms of Ikshwaku clan '' Ikswaku Clan was the main clan of Ancient Indian kings belonging to the Solar Dynasty or the Surya Vamsa .''
Yadava Kingdoms ''Yadava Kingdoms were ruled by the Yadava Clan of kings founded by Yadu the elder brother of Puru .''
Matsya Kingdoms
Western Kingdoms
North Western Kingdoms
Northern Kingdoms
Eastern Kingdoms
Kingdoms South to Vindhya Ranges
Kingdoms of Extreme South
Saraswati Valley Kingdoms
Himalayan Kingdoms The table lands and valleys of the great Himalayan Mountain Ranges, which were almost inaccessible to the people settled in the Ganga , Saraswati and Sindhu river valleys, were inhabitted by tribes who had very little interactions with the rest of the world. The Vedic people of the plains considered these tribes to be super-human and in later periods considered them even as natural-spirits. The domains of these exotic tribes are listed below:- ''To know about the mythological aspects of these exotic tribes see Hindu Mythology . To know about the historical significance of these tribes see the Exotic Tribes Of Ancient India .''
Other Kingdoms See also |
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