| KOSHAL Kosal proper or Uttar Kosal was an ancient Indian region, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Awadh in present day Uttar Pradesh. Ram's sons Luv and Kush inherited parts of this kingdom. Luv ruled from the city called Sravasti and Kush from the city called Kushavati. A colony of Koshal kings existed in Madhya Pradesh. It was called Dakshin Kosal. Ram's mother Kausalya was from this kingdom.
History
:
According to the Buddhist text Anguttar Nikaya and the Jaina text, the Bhagavati Sutra. Originally mentioned in the Ramayan as a Janpad state dating from approximately 1000 BCE, Koshal was one of the sixteen Maha Janpads in 7th century BCE and its cultural and political strength earned it the status of great power. However, it was later weakened by a series of wars with the neighbouring kingdom of Magadha and, in the 4th century BCE, was finally absorbed by it. The Koshal region had three major cities, Ayodhya, Saket and Shravasti and a number of minor towns as Setavya, Ukattha, Dandakappa, Nalakapana and Pankadha. According to the Purans, Ayodhya was the capital of Koshal during the reign of Ikshvaku and his descendants. Shravasti was the capital of Koshal between 6th century BCE and 6th century CE.
Koshal
Maha Janpad :
The Vedshruti river flowed on the southern border of Koshal state during the Ramayan period. Sri Ramachandra had crossed the Koshal border even before crossing the Gomti River on his way to the forest from Ayodhya - 'Etawacho Manushyanam Gramasvasavastinam, Shrimanatniyayuvir: Koshalnkosaleshwar:', Ayodhya Kand 49,8. The crossing of Vedshruti and Gomti is mentioned in Ayodhyakand 49,9 and 49,10 and after crossing the Sayyandik or Sayi River - 'Sa Manun Raja Dattamixvakve Pura, Sfitaan Rashtravatman Ramo Vaidehimanavardasayat', Ayodhya 49,12 Shri Ram With many districts left behind and Ikshvaku by ManuThe land of the prosperous (Kosal) kingdom given to Sita was visible to Sita. It seems that during the Ramayana period, this country was divided into two districts - North Kosal and South Kosal.
Rani Kaushalya of King Dasharatha was probably Rajakanya of South Kosal (Raipur - District of Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh). In the Raghuvansh 13,62, Kalidas has called Ayodhya the capital of North Koshal, Ayodhya was a very prosperous city during the Ramayan period.
According to Angusadnikaya, Koshal was counted in sixteen districts of North India before the Buddh period. At this time the Sadanira (Gandaki) river flowed on the border of Videh and Kosal. At the time of the Buddh, the king of Koshal was Prasenjit, who married his daughter Koshal to Magadh-king Bimbisara. The kingdom of Kashi which was under Kosal at this time was given to the princess for the expenditure of her cosmetics in dowry. The capital of Koshal was at Shravasti at this time. Saket, a nearby suburb of Ayodhya Was a famous city of Buddhism.
Another city of Kosal, Setavya, is also mentioned among the Jatak. The sixth and fifth centuries BC Kosal was a powerful kingdom similar to Magadh, but gradually the importance of Magadh increased and with the establishment of the Maurya Empire, Kosal became a part of the Magadh Empire. After this, there is no importance in the history of Koshal as a district.
[p.242]: was prevalent in literature till the Gupta period. 4,24,64, in this quotation probably describes Koshal as being ruled by a king named Devarakshit along with other Janpads in the pre-Gupta period. It can also be South Koshal. Guptsamrat Samudragupt of Prayag 'Koslk in Commendation MS' or Kosal (South Kosal) Mahendra mention Samudragupt which was conquered by. Some foreign scholars (Sylvain Levy, Jean Préjriluski) believe Kosal to be a Austric language. Australians had settled in India even before the Dravidians. Give. Ayodhya, Saket, Shravasti, Saryu.
Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh included the areas of Gonda and Bahraich. It is mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana 1.4.5: Kosalo Naam Mudit: Spheto Janpado Mahan. Input: Sariyutire Prudential Dhanadhanyavan.
Kushavati
:
Ramachandra himself created this city for Kush. Kalidas has also mentioned the making of Kush, Kushavati's king in Raghuvansh 15,97 - 'This investment Kushavatya repunagankushum kusham'. RAGHUVANSH the canto is known 16 that Kush was after some time till kingdom Kushawati Ayodhya destroyed as a result of ordering dream favored goddess of Ayodhya had made his capital there again built up. Kush had to cross Vindhyachal while coming from Kusavati to Sasainya Ayodhya - 'Vyalanghayavindhyamupayanani Pashyanpulindairooppaditani' Raghuvansh 16,32. After Vindhya, Kush's army Ganga was also crossed by the bridge of elephants, Raghuvansh 16,33 i.e. when Kush, the west corridor was crossing the Ganges by the Gaja Setu, flying in the sky. The categories of swans with sides looked like those of [kush] [p.214]: the chavar above. This place where Kush crossed the Ganges may be close to Chunar (District Mirzapur Uttar Pradesh) because at this place the Ganga actually flows northwards suddenly and starts flowing straight after reaching Kashi.
In
Mahabharat :
Sabha Parv, Mahabharat / Book II Chapter 27 mentions the countries subjugated by Bhimasen. Koshal is mentioned in Mahabharat (II.27.1). Bhimasen then vanquished king Srenimat of the country of Kumara, and then Vrihadbal, the king of Koshal.
Military Campaign of Karna: Mahabharata, Book 3, Chapter 252.... And having taken Batsa-bhumi, he reduced Kevali, and Mrittikavati, and Mohana and Patrana, and Tripura, and Koshal,--and compelled all these to pay tribute.
Visit
by Xuanzang in 639 AD :
[p.520]: north-west to the kingdom of Kiao-sa-lo, or Koshal. The bearing and distance take us to the ancient province of Vidarbha, or Berar, of which the present capital is Nagpur. This agrees exactly with the position of Koshal as described in the Ratnavali, and in the Vishnu Puran. In the former, the king of Koshal is surrounded in the Vindhyan mountains, and in the latter it is stated that Kusa the son of Rama, ruled over Koshal, at his capital of Kusasthali, or Kusavati, built upon the Vindhyan precipices.
All these concurring data enable us to identify the ancient Koshal with the modern province of Berar, or Gondwana. The position of the capital is more difficult to fix, as Hwen Thsang does not mention its name ; but as it was 40 li, or nearly 7 miles, in circuit, it is most probably represented by one of the larger cities of the present day. These are Chanda, Nagpur, Amaravati, and Elichpur.
Chanda is a walled town, 6 miles in circuit, with a citadel. It is situated just below the junction of the Pain Ganga and Warda rivers, at a distance of 290 miles to the north-west of Rajamahendri, on the Godavari, and of 280 miles from Dharanikota, on the Kistna. Its position, therefore, corresponds almost exactly with the bearing and distance of Hwen Thsang.
Nagpur is a large straggling town, about 7 miles in circuit ; but as it is 85 miles to the north of Chanda, its distance from Rajamahendri is about 70 miles in excess of the number stated by the Chinese pilgrim.
[p.521]: Rajamahendri, and Elichpur is 30 miles still further to the north. Chanda is therefore the only place of consequence that has a strong claim to be identified with the capital of Koshal in the seventh century. The recorded distance of 1800 or 1900 li from Rajamahendri is further supported by the subsequent distance of 1900 li, or 900 plus 1000 li, to Dhanakakata, which was almost certainly the same place as Dharanikota, or Amaravati, on the Kistna river. Now, the road distance of Chanda from Dharanikota is 280 miles, or 1680 li, by the direct route; but as Hwen Thsang first proceeded for 900li to the south-west, and then for 1000 li to the south, the direct distance between the two places would not have been more than 1700 li.
At 300 li, or 50 miles, to the south-west of the kingdom, there was a high mountain named Po.lo.mo.lo.ki.li, which is said to mean the " black peak." M. Julien identifies this name with " Baramula-giri of the present day;" but I cannot find this place in any map or book to which I have access. The mountain is described as very lofty, and without either spurs or valleys, so that it resembled a mere mass of stone. In this mountain King So-to-po-ho, or Satavahan, hewed a pavilion of five storeys, which was accessible by a hollow road many dozens of li, that is many miles, in length. The place was not visited by Hwen Thsang, as the narrator of his journey uses the expression " on arrive," instead of " il arriva." But as the rock is said to have been excavated as a dwelling for the holy Buddhist sage Nagarjuna, the pilgrim would almost certainly have visited it, if it had been only 50 miles
[p.522]: distant from the capital ; and if the south-west bearing is correct, he must have passed quite close to the place on his subsequent journey to Andhra, which is said to be either in the same direction, or towards the south. I conclude, therefore, that the curious, " au sud-ouest du royauvie" which the pilgrim uses to indicate the position of this excavated rock, may possibly refer to the boundary of the kingdom, and consequently that the place must be looked for at 300 li, or 50 miles, beyond its south-west frontier. This position would agree very well with that of the great rock fortress of Deogir, near Elura, and the name of Polomolokili, or Varamula-giri, might be accepted as the original of Varula, or Elura. Parts of the description, such as the long galleries hewn out of the rock, and the cascade of water falling from the top of the rock, agree better with the great Buddhist establishment at Elura than with Deogir. But as the place was not actually visited by Hwen Thsang, his description must have been made up from the varying accounts of different travellers, in which the contiguous sites of Elura and Devagiri were probably treated as one place.
The same rock-hewn habitations are also described by Fa-Hian, in the beginning of the fifth century. He calls the excavation the monastery of Pho-lo-yu, or the "Pigeon," and places it in the kingdom of Tathsin, that is in Dakshian, or the south of India, the present Dakhan. His information was obtained at Banaras ; and as wonders do not lose by distance, his account is even more wonderful than that of Hwen Thsang. The monastery, hewn out of the solid rock, is said to be five storeys in height, each storey in the
[p.523]: shape of a different animal, the fifth, or uppermost, storey being in the form of a Pigeon, from which the monastery received its name. The Chinese syllables Pho-lo-yu must therefore be intended for the Sanskrit Paravata, a "pigeon." A spring of water rising in the uppermost storey, descended through all the rooms of the monastery, and then passed out by the gate. In this account we have the five storeys, the spring of water falling from the top, and the name of the place, all agreeing very closely with the description of Hwen Thsang. The chief point of difference is in the meaning assigned to the name, as Hwen Thsang states that Polomolo-kili signifies the "black peak," while according to Fa-Hian, Pholoyu means a " pigeon." But there is still another account, of an intermediate date, which gives a third meaning to the name.
In A.D. 503, the king of Southern India sent an ambassador to China, from whom it was ascertained that in his country there was a fortified city named Pa-lai, or "situated on a height." At 300 li, or 50 miles, to the eastward, there was another fortified town, named in the Chinese translation Fu-cheu-ching, or " ville soumise a ce qui est deteste," which was the birth-place of a famous saint, whose name was Chu-san-hu, or " Coral-beads " (grains de corail). Now, Pala-mala is the name of a " coral necklace," or " string of coral-beads ; and as it represents every syllable of Hwen Thsang's Polomolo, I presume that it must be the same name. I am unable to explain Hwen Thsang's translation of the name as the "black
[p.524]: peak " in any of the northern dialects ; and I can only suggest that he may perhaps refer to one of the southern or Dravidian dialects. In Kanarese, male is a "hill;" and as para, or "quicksilver," and paras, or the " touchstone," are both of black hue, it is probable that they are connected with pe. Para, therefore, might signify "black," and paramale would then be the black hill. One of the most venomous snakes in southern India, which is of a very dark blue or almost black colour, is called Para-Gudu. It seems probable, therefore, that Hwen Thsang's translation may be derived from one of the southern dialects. This confusion in the Chinese translations is no doubt due to the very defective power of the Chinese syllables for the transcription of Sanskrit words. Thus, Po.lo.fa.to might be read as Paravata, a "pigeon," according to Fa-Hian; or as paravata, " subject," according to the Si-yu-ki ; while it is probable that the true reading should be parvat, a " mountain," as the monastery is specially stated to have been excavated in a rocky hill.
The capital itself was named Pa-lai, which is said to mean " qui s'appuie sur une Eminence." Now the citadel of Chanda is called " Bala kila,", or the " High Fort," which, though a Persian appellation given by the Muhammadans, was very probably suggested by the original appellation of Palai.
In all our Chinese authorities the rock-hewn monastery is connected with a holy sage ; but the name in each account is different. According to Fa-Hian,
[p.525]: it was the monastery of the earlier Buddha named Kasyap. In the Si-yu-ki, however, it is said to be the birthplace of the Muni Paramal, while Hwen Thsang states that the monastery was excavated by King Satavahan, for the use of the famous Nagarjun. From the wonderful descriptions of Fa-Hian and Hwen Thsang I have been led to think that their accounts may possibly refer to the grand excavations of Deva-giri and Elura. But if the distance given by Hwen Thsang as well as by the Si-yu-ki is correct, the rock-hewn monastery must be looked for about 50 miles to the west or south-west of Chanda. Now in this very position, that is about 45 miles to the west of Chanda, there is a place in the map called Pandu-kuri, or the "Pandus' houses," which indicates an undoubted ancient site, and may possibly refer to some rock excavations, as the rock-hewn caves at Dhamnar and Kholvi are also assigned to the Pandus, being severally named " Bhim's cave, Arjun's cave," etc. In the total absence of all information, I can only draw attention to the very curious and suggestive name of this place. There is also a series of Buddhist caves at Patur, 50 miles to the south-west of Elichpur and Amaravati, and 80 miles to the east of Ajanta. As these have never been described, it is possible that the site may hereafter be found to correspond with the descriptions of the rock-hewn monastery by Fa-Hian and Hwen Thsang.
The mention of King Satavahana, or Sadavahana, in connection with Nagarjuna is specially interesting, as it shows that the Buddhist caves of Paramala must be as old as the first century of the Christian era. Sadavahana was a family name, and as such is mentioned in one of the cave inscriptions at Nasik.
[p.526]: Satavahana is also a well-known name of the famous Salivahan, who founded the Saka era in A.D. 79, so that we have a double proof that the Buddhist caves of Paramala must have been excavated as early as the first century. The probable identity of Satavahan and Satakarni will be discussed in another place. We know from the western cave inscriptions that Koshal certainly formed part of the vast southern kingdom of Gotamiputra Satakarni ; and if he flourished in the first century as would appear to be the case, his identity with Satavahan, or Salivahan, would be undoubted. It is sufficient here to note the great probability of this interesting point in the history of Southern India.
The kingdom of Koshal is estimated by Hwen Thsang at 6000 li, or 1000 miles, in circuit. Its frontiers are not named ; but we know from the pilgrim's itinerary that it must have been bounded by Ujain on the north, by Maharashtra on the west, by Orissa on the east, and by Andhra and Kalinga on the south. The limits of the kingdom may be roughly described as extending from near Burhanpur on the Tapti, and Nander on the Godavari, to Ratanpur in Chatisgarh, and to Nowagadha near the source of the Mahanadi. Within these limits the circuit of the
[p.527]: large tract assigned to Koshal is rather more than 1000 miles.
Divisions
of Koshal Kingdoms :
Eastern
Koshal :
Northern
Koshal :
Koshal
Kingdom of Vrihadvala to the south of Ayodhya :
Koshal with Ayodhya as its capital or Central Koshal: This was the original Koshal ruled by king Raghav Rama. This was ruled by Dirghayaghna, during this era. This kingdom was defeated by the Pandav general Bhima, in his military campaign to the east. (MBh 2.29).
Kingdoms that sprang from the Southern Koshal: The native kingdom of Raghav Ram's mother Kausalya, considered as Dakshin Koshal Kingdom split at least into two during the era of Kurukshetra War. This became evident if we follow the passage in Mahabharata, describing the military campaign of the Pandav general Sahadev, who led his troops to the southern direction. (MBh. 2.30)
Western
Koshal in Central India :
Eastern
Koshal in Central India :
Koshal
under Mauryan rule :
Jat
history :
Kaushal - This Kaushal empire included the province of Awadh. Its capital was Saket (Ayodhya), whose first king was Suryavansh Ikshvaku . Ikshvakuvanshi Raje has been ruling this city traditionally. We have written on the previous pages that the kingdom of the Kushvansh Jats has lived in this Ayodhya capital since ancient times. From Jat king Brihadwal to Prasenjit in his 27th generation, the capital of this Kaushal kingdom ruled Ayodhya. Then after some time King Prasenjit left this city of Ayodhya and made Shravasti city his capital. This Shravasti town was inhabited on the banks of river Rapti 58 miles north of Ayodhyapuri. This city was counted among the six major metros of India during the Buddha period. The Shakya kingdom where Gautam Buddha was born was under this Kaushal empire. King Prasenjit was a great friend of Mahatma Buddh.
King Prasenjit always fought with the emperor of Magadh. In order to befriend him, he married his girl to Ajatashatru, the Emperor of Magadh. After Prasenjit's death, he had four descendant kings, the last of whom was Sumitra. Due to their weakness, their skill kingdom was merged with the Magadh Empire.
North
Koshal :
Bhim's victory over Uttarkosal in Mahabharat Sabha Parv 30,3 describes - 'Tatogopalakshmana S Sotharanpi Koshalnmallanamadhipam Chaiv Parthik Chaiyyat Prabhu:'.
In Ayodhya, the capital of North Kosal, Kalidas has said - 'Possessive reply Koshalnam in general general. (Raghuvansh 13, 62)
Uttarkosal is also mentioned in Raghuvansh 18,27, 'Kausalyatyutva Koshalnam patyu: Patangavitabhushanasya, Tasyaurus: Somasut: Sutobhununetrotsav: Som IV II:'. (See Kosal , South Kosal)
Source :
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