News, articles and Essays on Sanatana Dharma, Hinduism and Indian way of life.
Karusha appears several times in the epic as an established kingdom with its own rulers and warriors. Its kings attended major royal gatherings and participated in regional alliances. Karusha troops later fought in large numbers during the Kurukshetra War.
The project connects the Bábbarra Women’s Centre in Maningrida, Northern Territory, with Bengaluru’s Tharangini Studio, bringing together two women-led organisations with distinct but deeply rooted textile traditions.
The geographical identities of both kingdoms survived beyond the epic age. Mathura became the recognised capital of the historical Surasena Mahajanapada, while Chedi remained associated with the eastern Bundelkhand region around the Ken river system.
The Matsya country is traditionally identified with eastern and north-eastern Rajasthan, particularly the present-day regions of Jaipur, Alwar and Bharatpur. Rajasthan’s official educational material similarly states that the Matsya kingdom mentioned in the Mahabharata extended over parts of Jaipur, Alwar and Bharatpur, with Viratanagar as its capital.
Surasena was not important simply because Mathura later became one of the great sacred cities of India. In the Mahabharata, the region stands at the heart of the Yadava world. It is connected with Krishna, Balarama, Vasudeva, Kunti, the Vrishnis, Andhakas and Bhojas. It also becomes one of the principal theatres of the long political struggle between the Yadavas and Jarasandha of Magadha.
The Mahabharata remembers Vatsabhumi as an identifiable country conquered by Bhima during Yudhishthira’s Rajasuya campaign. It also preserves traditions connecting Kaushambi with the Chedi king Uparichara Vasu, records Karna’s conquest of the Vatsas, and places Vatsa warriors among the forces fighting for the Pandavas at Kurukshetra.
The observance reflected the longstanding relationship between India and the Tibetan community in exile, while also providing the CTA leadership with an opportunity to speak about Tibet’s own political and cultural concerns.
The British administration did not attempt to suppress Vande Mataram because it feared music. It feared what the song was beginning to achieve.
A speech may inspire those who hear it once, but a song can travel from village to village, from one generation to another and from public meetings into homes. It can be remembered without paper, repeated without printing presses and sung even when open political expression becomes dangerous. This simple quality made music one of the most enduring cultural forces behind many freedom movements.
Before entering the verses of Vande Mataram, it is worth remembering that the complete six-stanza
