Ancient States in the Matsya Purāṇa

To give a geographical description, not only the descriptions of natural geographical condition, but also the descriptions of different countries and states are compulsory. There are many countries and states all over the world. Their natural location is an integral part of the geographical description. Although there are many different between the ancient states and the present states, there are still some similarities between them. In ancient times, the number of countries was small but now it has increased. At the same time, their geographical conditions have also changed. The Purāṇas refer to ancient India as well as several countries and states of the world. All those states are mentioned in the identity of different dynasties. Likewise, some states have been mentioned in the Matsya Purāṇa to draw the context of a few dynasties. Although there are description more about the significance of the kings than the geographical location of the states. Yet that little information is very important in the context of the current geographical description of India.

The kings of the Ikṣvāku dynasty are described in the chapter 271 of the Matsya Mahāpurāṇa.

In that context, it is said that the capital of the Sun-dynasty king Divākara is the beautiful city of Ayodhyā in the central portion of the India.

vatsavyūhāt prativyomastasya putro divākaraḥ |
tasyaiva madhyadeśe tu ayodhyā nagarī śubhā || 5 ||

This city later became the famous Rāma land of Ayodhyā in the Rāmāyaṇa . The name of this city has not changed yet. The Purāṇa states that Ayodhyā is located in the middle portion of the country. Currently Ayodhyā is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Elsewhere in verse 18 of this chapter there is mentioned about the king Vṛhadratha and also mentioned that the clan is a dynasty of Magadha .

ītyevaṃ bhānavo vaṃśaḥ prāgeva samudāhṛtaḥ |
ata urdhvaṃ pravakṣyāmi māgadhā ye vṛhadrathā ||—Matsya (Ch.-27/18)

This Magadha state is located in present day southern Bihar. This kingdom was in ancient times a state of sixteen great Mahajanapadas. The state of Magadha was formed with some cities of present day like Patna, Jehanabad, Nalanda, Aurangabad and Gaya. The state is bounded on the north by the Ganges, east by the river Campā , on the south by the Chhota Nagpur Plateau and on the west by the Sana river. Not only the Vṛhadratha dynasty, this Magadha kingdom is a significant part of the history of the Maurya and Gupta dynasty.

There are descriptions about the king and dynasty of Śiśunāga in the verse 5 of the chapter 272.

In the context of the narration, it is said that Śiśunāga established his own son in the city of Vārāṇasī and he took shelter in a place called Giribraja .

vārāṇasyāṃ sutaṃ sthapya śrayiṣyati girivrajam |
śiśunāgaśca varṣāṇi catvāriśaṃda bhaviṣyati ||—Matsya (Ch. 272/6)

There is no need for a separate identity of the city or Vārāṇasī because the reputation of this city is well known from ancient times to present day. This holy land of Lord Śiva belongs to the state of Uttar Pradesh. Vārāṇasī is also known as Benaras now. Even some call it as Kāśī . In ancient times this place has also been mentioned as Avimukta, Ānandavana and Rudravāsā (Varanasi: About the city” official website of Uttar Pradesh Tourism. Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013). On the other side, Girivraja is the Rājagṛha or Pātaliputa (Matsya Purāṇa , Gitapress–1037 page). This place is located in Nālandā district of Bihar. It is now known as Rajgir. This place is also mentioned in the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa as Girivraja . In the Mahābhārata , it is mentioned as the capital of king Jarāsandh. In ancient times this place was known by many other names like Indraśilagṛha (Aitihasik Sthana, page 77), Magadhpur (AS, P-289, 693), Vārhadrathapur (AS, P-622), Vimbisārapurī (AS, P-289) and Pañcaśailapur (AS, P-515).

In the context of another king Udāsī, in the 272nd chapter, there is mentioned about the Kusumpur .

This town was located on the southern coast of the Ganges.—

udāsī bhavitā tasmāt trayastriṃśat samā nṛpaḥ |
sarve pūrvaparaṃ rājā dakṣiṇyāṃ kusumāhvayam ||
gaṅgāyā dakṣiṇe kule caturthe tu kariṣyati ||
—Matsya (Ch-272/10, 11)

Later the name of the city was changed to Pātliputra and the present name is Patna (Matsya Purāṇa , Gitapress).

Apart from these 272nd chapter contents some other dynasties such as the Ikṣvāku dynasty, Pāñcāl dynasty, king of Kāśī , king of Haihaya dynasty, king of Kaliṅga dynasty, dynasty of Aśmaka country, Kuru dynasty, king of Maithila , Śurasena dynasty and Vītihatra dynasty (15, 16, 17). These dynasties provide evidence of the existence of several ancient cities of that time. For an example–Pāñcāl , which is a special city of the Mahajanapadas, is also mentioned in the Mahābhārata as a famous country. Draupadī is the princess of this city according to the Mahābhārata . Currently it is located in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. Kaliṅga country which lies on thebanks of the Mahānadi and Godāvarī , references to this country are also found in the Mahābhārata . At present it belongs to the state of Odisha. Some portions of this city are located in Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. However, some consider Kaliṅga as Odisha. Aśmaka or Aśśaka Nagar which is another ancient city on the bank of Godāvari , consists of sixteen Mahājanas . It is currently surrounded by some parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telengana and Maharashtra. The capital of this ancient city was Potāli or Podānā , which is now considered the Bodhan region of Telangana. Kuru is another famous city of the ancient Sixteen Mahajanapadas. The famous Kuru Kingdom of the Mahābhārata was surrounded by the city which is now located in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The Mithilā dynasty is named after Mithilā Nagar, which is an ancient Vedic city. It is currently located in the state of Bihar. The Vedic town is bounded oneast by the Mahānandā , on the south by the Gangā , on the west by the Gandaki river and on the north by the Himalayan foothills. It is thought that some parts of the city extend to Nepal. Śurasena , this ancient city is currently located in Uttar Pradesh. Mathura is capital of the city. Even some call it Vrajabhumī . This Vrajabhumī is the holy place of Yadavaśreṣṭha Lord Śrīkṛṣṇa’s activity place.

There are also references to several other dynasties, such as the Āndhra dynasty, Śaka dynasty, Vṛhadratha dynasty etc. Although no specific country is mentioned in the context of those tribes.