- This is a list of ancient kingdoms as reflected in the epic of the Mahabharata ca. (9th to 3rd century BC). See History of India for a conventionally historical overview, in particular the articles on the realms. republics and kingdoms of the earlier Janapadas ca. (1200 to 600 BC), the Mahajanapadas ca. (600 to 300 BC) and the Middle kingdoms of India for ca. (230 BC to 1200 AD).
Bharata Khanda (or
Bharata Ksetra) is a term used in
Hindu texts, including the
Vedas,
Mahabharata,
Ramayana and the
Puranic, to describe the geographic region that encompassed the modern countries of
Afghanistan,
Bangladesh,
India,
Pakistan,
Nepal,
Bhutan and
Sri Lanka. The historical context of the Sanskrit epics are the
Vedic period (1700-600 BC)
Mahajanapadas (600 BC) and the subsequent formation of the
Maurya Empire (322 BCE), the beginning of the "golden age" of
Classical Sanskrit literature.
