Heritage

Vaidisha, identified with the ancient Vidisha-Besnagar region of present-day Madhya Pradesh, occupied one of the most strategically important landscapes of central Bharat. Situated around the Betwa or ancient Vetravati River and close to the Vindhyan and eastern Malwa regions, it stood at a natural meeting point between northern India, the Malwa plateau, Bundelkhand and the routes leading farther south.

Modern geographical identification: Vidisha and the eastern Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, India

The Mahabharata nevertheless clearly knows the Malavas as a distinct political and military people. They appear during the Pandavas’ campaigns, at Yudhishthira’s Rajasuya sacrifice and on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. The epic also names individual Malava chiefs, confirming that they possessed recognised leadership and substantial military strength.

The Mahabharata remembers Avanti mainly through its two warrior rulers, Vinda and Anuvinda. They first appear as kings who resisted Sahadeva during the Pandava campaign conducted before Yudhishthira’s Rajasuya sacrifice. They were defeated but retained their kingdom. Years later, when the great conflict between the Pandavas and Kauravas began, both rulers chose Duryodhana and became prominent warriors in the Kaurava army.

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 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.