List of 56 Nations
Deshas and capitals
(source as on 18 October 2018: from various puranas, bhagavatam, bhavisya purana, and mahabharat, ramayana etc. and bharat varsha map location directions, some of the capital names changed over ages.)
Desha | Direction
Bharat-Varsha |
Capital |
Panchala | North |
*Mahabharat |
Kuninda (or Kulinda)
Central Himalayas (located in the modern state of Uttarakhand and southern areas of Himachal in northern India.) |
North | Nāgarkot |
Kinnara | North | Kinnara |
Kosala (uttar) | North | Ayodhya |
Matysa
(or Machcha tribe) |
North | Viratapuri or Viratanagar
|
Nepa
(Nepal) |
North | Nepalakaksha |
Hara Huṇa | North (foreign) | |
Kashmira | North west | Srinagara
|
Madra | North west | Sākala
(modern Sialkot in the Punjab province of Pakistan). |
Kekeya
(also known as Kekaya, Kaikaya, Kaikeya etc. part of Vahika country.) (The Kekayas occupied the land now comprised by three districts of Jhelum, Shahpur and Gujerat,all in Pakistan.) |
North west | Rajagriha or Girivraja
(as per Ramayana) |
Sindhu | North west | Vrsadarbhpura |
Kamboja | North west | Rajapura (Rajauri)
|
Kosala (dakshina)
(south central) (place of Sri Rama’s mother Kaushalya) |
North-central | Sripura |
Kasi;
Benaras or Banaras |
North-east | Varanasi
|
Malla
(or Mallarashtra)
|
North-east | # Kusavati (modern Kasia near Gorakhpur)
|
Kuru
(from the Puru dynasty) |
North | Indraprastha
Hastinapura (delhi) |
Kuru (W)
|
North | Kurukshetra
|
Vatsa or Vamsa
(branch of Kuru) |
North | Kausambi
|
Magadha | East | Pataliputra
Kusagārapura
Ancient great country, Magadha desha comprised of the present Patna and Gaya districts of Bihar and its capital originally at Girivaja-Rajagrha (Rajgir) and then Pāṭaliputra (near Patna. |
Gaya desha
(also called Kikata)
|
East | Gaya |
Videha | East | Mithila |
Anga
(east of Magadha) |
East | Champa |
Pragjyotisha
The word Pragjyotishpura derived from Sanskrit words "Prag", "Jyotisha" and "Pura" meaning 'city of eastern light' otherwise 'city of eastern astrology'. |
East | Pragjyotishpura (now Guwahati)
In the Kishkindha Kanda of the Ramayana, the kingdom is placed in the west near Mount Varaha on the sea.
|
Vanga | East | Chandrakanta |
Pundra
(- Was ruled by Paundra Vasudeva, who imitated Sri Krishna and was killed in battle with Him.
|
East | Paundra
|
Kalinga
(eastern coast, Orisha) |
East | Rajapura |
Suhma | East | |
Odra | East | Katak |
Sonita | East | Sonitapura
(Aniruddha, Sri Krishna’a son married the daughter of his kingdom) |
Utkala (Utpala, Okkal)
(jagannatha temple) was located in the northern and eastern portion of the modern-day Indian state of Odisha and also included the districts of Bankura, Purulia and Midnapore districts of West Bengal. |
East | Puri |
Saraswata | West | Saraswati |
Abhira
(Comprises parts of Northern Konkan and Nasik region. ) |
West | Nasik |
Surasena
(Andhakas and Vrishnis dynasty) |
Western/Central | Mathura
|
Anarta
|
Western/Central | Prabhas
|
Dwarika | Western/Central | Dwarikapuri |
Saurashtra
(southern Gujarat) Gurjara or Gurjaradesha or Goparasthra (eastern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat) |
Western/Central | Gomantaka
|
Chedi
(Jhansi district in Uttar Pradesh)
|
Western/Central | Suktimati (Sukti) |
Kunti
(North to Avanti Kingdom) |
Western/Central | Kunti Bhoja |
Avanti | Western/Central | Mahishamati (southern capital)
Ujjaini (northern capital)
|
Malava
(West to Avanti Kingdom) |
Western/Central | Udayapuri, Madhyamika |
Hehaye
(also known as Haihaya, Haiheya, Heiheya) |
Western/Central | Mahishmati
|
Dasarna
(present madhya pradesh) |
Western/Central | Vidisha |
Pulinda
(the Vindhyan region in Central India) |
Central | Pulinda-nagara
(located in present-day Jabalpur District of Madhya Pradesh state.) |
Vidarbha
(northeastern Maharastra) |
Central | Kundinapura
|
Anupa | Central | Surpana |
Shurapaka
(near the Western sea, close to the mouth of river Narmada. identified with modern Sopara, in Palgar district north of Mumbai) |
Central/West | Kalyani or Matanga
|
Konkana
(Konkan region (coastal region) of Maharashtra)
|
Central | Puri |
Dandaka
(It is roughly the Nashik District, Maharashtra) |
Central | Janasthana |
Vraji | Vaishali
| |
Gandhara | north-west | Pushkalavati
Puruṣapura (Peshawar) Takshashila
|
Pallava | South | Kanchi/Kanchipuram |
Andhra or Andhraka | South | Amravati ((Dharanikota)
(Historically, Amaravati was the capital of Satavahanas, the first great Andhra kings who ruled from 230 BC to 220 BC after the downfall of the Mauryan empire.) |
Kishkindha
(- kingdom of Bali, Sugriva during Ramayana around the Tungabhadra river (then known as Pampa Saras)
|
South | Kishkindha
(Mt. Rishimukha)
|
Pandya | South | Madura
(present day Madurai) |
Kerala (Chera) | South | Kodungallur (or Makotai)
Kollam |
Chola or Chola Nadu
(region that includes the modern-day Tiruchirapalli District, Tiruvarur District, Nagapattinam District, Ariyalur District, Perambalur district, Pudukkottai district, Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal District) |
South | Cholamandalam
Early Cholas: Poompuhar, Urayur, Tiruvarur Medieval Cholas: Pazhaiyaarai, Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram |
Telinga
(present telengana) Kakatiya dynasty |
South | Kotalingala
(has the Koteswara Siddeshwara Temple.) |
Gomanta | South | Gokarna |
Karnataka
Mahishakha |
South | Mahishapuri (mysore) |
Mushika (kolaputra) | South | Mushikapuri |
Tulunga (Tulu Nadu) | South | Sauparnika |
Lanka
(present Srilanka) |
South | Lankapuri |
Sinhala
(near lanka) |
South | 'Anuradhapuri' |
Brahmarshi-desha, 'the county of the holy sages,' includes the territories of the Kurus, Matsyas, Panchalas and Shurasenas (i.e., the eastern half of the State of Patiala and of the Delhi division of the Punjab, the Alwar State and adjacent territory in Rajputana, the region which lies between the Ganges and the Jumna, and the Muttra District in the United Provinces).