KISHKINDHA

Kishkindha was name of a Janpad and were people of the same name known to Panini and mentioned in Ramayan / Mahabharat. Kishkindha was the kingdom of the Vanar King Sugriv, the younger brother of Vali, in the Ramayan. This kingdom is identified to be the regions around the Tungabhadra lake (then known as Pampasar) near Hampi in Karnataka.

Anegondi :

Anegondi previously called Kishkindha is a village in the Gangavathi taluk, Koppal district in Karnataka.

History :

V. S. Agrawala writes that Ashtadhyayi of Panini mentions janpad Kishkindha under Sindhvadi (IV.3.93).

V. S. Agrawala writes that Patanjali makes clear the social status of the sudras in his time. Firstly there were sudras who were not excluded from Aryavrat but were living within its social system. Secondly, there was another class of sudras who were living outside Aryavrata and its society. He cites as examples (1) Kishkindha-Gabdikam (2) Shaka-Yavanam and (3) Saurya-Krauncham. Of these Kishkindha may be identified with Pali Khukhunndo in Gorakhpur, Gabdik with Gaddis of Chamba, who were deemed as living outside the limits of Aryavrat, Saurya with Saureyya or Soron in Etah district and Krauncha with the later Krauncha-dvara some where in Garhwal.

In Ramayan :

Kishkindha Kand of Ramayan tells us that Kishkindha (also known as Kishkindhya), was the kingdom of the Vanar King Sugriv, the younger brother of Vali, in the Ramayan. This was the kingdom where he ruled with the assistance of his minister, Hanuman.

This kingdom is identified to be the regions around the Tungabhadra lake (then known as Pampa Saras) near Hampi in Karnataka. The mountain near to the lake with the name Risyamuka where Sugriv lived with Hanuman, during the period of his exile also is found with the same name.

During the time of Ramayan ie, Treta Yug, the whole region was within the dense forest called Dandak Forest extending from Vindhya range to the South Indian peninsula. Hence this kingdom was considered to be the kingdom of Vanars which in Sanskrit means Forest Dwellers.

In Mahabharat :

During Dwapar Yug, the Pandav Sahdev was said to visit this kingdom, as per the epic Mahabharat, during his southern military campaign to collect tribute for Yudhisthir's Rajasuya Yagya.

Sahdev's Conquests : Sabha Parv, Mahabharat / Book II Chapter 28 tells us that Sahdev was sent south by Yudhisthir to subjugate kingdoms for the Rajasuya Yagya, after crowning as the Emperor of Indraprasth. He was specifically chosen for the south because of his expertise with the sword, and because Bhishma opined that Southerners are skilled with sword-fighting in general. The Mahabharat mentions several kingdoms to the south of Indraprasth which were conquered by Sahdev. Kishkindhya was one of them.

"And then he beheld the celebrated caves of Kishkindhya and in that region fought for seven days with the vanar kings Maind and Dwivid."

Source :

https://www.jatland.com/
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