List of Places in Kuru Kingdom

List Of Places In Kuru Kingdom

This article describes the cities, towns and provinces that lay within the Kuru Kingdom as described in the epic Mahabharata.

The Mahabharata (Sanskrit Mahābhārata महाभारत) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. The epic is part of the Hindu itihāsa (or "history").

The work includes an epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War, the fates of the Kauravas and the Pandavas, philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or purusharthas (12.161). Among the principal parts are the Bhagavad Gita, the story of Damayanti, an abbreviated version of the Ramayana, and the Rishyasringa.

Hastinapura was the biggest city in Kuru Kingdom and was the capital of Kauravas, while the Pandavas ruled at Indraprastha, which grew into the kingdom's second largest city. Apart from these two cities, the kingdom contained many towns and provinces. Dwaita Forest and Kamyaka Forest lay on the western boundary of the kingdom and a vast plain studded with small bushes and lakes called Kurukshetra lay within its territories. It was in this plain, the Kurukshetra War was fought. The army camps of Pandavas and Kauravas themselves grew as large as two cities.