News, articles and Essays on Sanatana Dharma, Hinduism and Indian way of life.
Arbuda therefore represents one of the clearest examples in Mahabharata geography where an ancient sacred landscape can still be located within a recognisable modern setting. The mountain rises dramatically from the plains of southern Rajasthan, with Gujarat lying immediately to the south-west, while the wider Aravalli system connects it with the interior of Rajasthan.
Yet Kachchha occupies a different place in the Mahabharata from kingdoms such as Chedi, Matsya or Saurashtra. The epic clearly names the Kacchas as a people or regional community, but it does not provide a securely identifiable Kachchha king, capital or royal dynasty connected with the central narrative. It is therefore more accurate to understand Kachchha as an ancient geographical and cultural region mentioned in the Mahabharata, rather than constructing a detailed royal history that the text itself does not supply.
Among the most notable objects is a Kirtimukh, the stylised protective face commonly incorporated into Indian temple architecture, particularly above entrances and architectural openings. Archaeologists have also identified the carved capital of a temple pillar and portions of a Dev Khostam or Devakoshta, an architectural feature associated with the placement of sacred images.
Lata should therefore be understood as a historically important ancient name for southern Gujarat whose geographical landscape overlaps with regions known to the Mahabharata, rather than as a kingdom that can confidently be assigned a named ruler or capital directly from the epic.
Saurashtra appears at several important points in the Mahabharata. Sahadeva entered the kingdom during the campaigns undertaken before Yudhishthira’s Rajasuya sacrifice, where he brought its ruler Akriti under his authority. Warriors from Saurashtra later appear at Kurukshetra in a force commanded by the Yadava general Kritavarman, while after the war Arjuna again travelled through the country while following Yudhishthira’s Ashvamedha horse.
Debroy’s edition is a complete and unabridged English translation based on the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata. Extending across ten volumes, it brings together the central account of the Pandavas and Kauravas with the epic’s numerous philosophical discussions, genealogies, legends, political reflections and subsidiary narratives.
Anarta was one of the important western regions recognised by the Mahabharata, closely associated with the Vrishnis, Andhakas, Bhojas and other Yadava clans connected with Krishna. Its geographical core is generally placed in present-day Gujarat, particularly northern and central Gujarat, although the epic political world of the Anartas extended westward toward Dvaraka and the coastal Yadava centres.
Modern Termez stands close to the Amu Darya in the Surkhandarya region of southern Uzbekistan, near the country’s border with Afghanistan. In antiquity, this region formed part of Bactria, a crossroads connecting the Indian subcontinent with Iran, Central Asia and the wider Silk Road.
Dandaka therefore belongs to the Mahabharata’s geographical world not merely as an isolated name, but as a vast southern forest zone lying between established kingdoms, pilgrimage routes and the expanding political geography of ancient India.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo formally marked the commencement of the new excavation season during a visit to the site, where he inspected the trenches, archaeological remains and antiquities recovered during the first phase. The work is being undertaken by the Centre of Central Asian Studies at the University of Kashmir in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums.
