Souravroyjournalist at 16:17, 15 September 2025

2025-09-15T16:17:07Z

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{{Short description|Ancient city in present-day central India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
[[File:Mahajanapadas (c. 500 BCE).png|right|thumb|300px|Mahishmati in Mahajanapadas of India in 500 BCE.]]
'''Mahishmati''' ({{IAST3|Māhiṣmati}}) was an ancient city and the capital of Haihayas in the present-day central India on the banks of [[Narmada River]] (in [[Madhya Pradesh]]), although its exact location is uncertain. The city may have flourished as late as until 13th century, as indicated by a [[Paramara dynasty|Paramara]] inscription.

== Identification ==
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"geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [75.78, 23.18] }
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"type": "Feature",
"properties": { "marker-symbol": "star", "title": "[[Maheshwar]]" },
"geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [75.583, 22.178] }
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"geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [76.152, 22.251] }
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The following things are known about Mahishmati's location:

* It was located on the banks of the [[Narmada]] river.<ref>{{cite book |author=James G. Lochtefeld |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch |url-access=registration |year=2002 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-8239-3179-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch/page/n367 410] }}</ref>
* It was located to the south of [[Ujjayini]], and north of [[Pratishthana]], on the route connecting the two cities (according to ''[[Sutta Nipata]]''). [[Patanjali]] mentions that a traveler starting out from Ujjayini saw the sunrise at Mahishmati.<ref name="PKB_1977"/>
* It was located in the [[Avanti (India)|Avanti kingdom]], and at times was a part of a separate kingdom near Avanti. It replaced Ujjayani as the kingdom's capital for a brief period. It also served as the capital of the other kingdoms that separated from Avanti, such as [[Anupa kingdom|Anupa]].<ref name="PKB_1977"/><ref>{{cite book |author1=V. S. Krishnan |author2=P. N. Shrivastav |author3=Rajendra Verma |title=Madhya Pradesh District Gazetteers: Shajapur |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YiALAQAAIAAJ |year=1994 |publisher=Government Central Press, Madhya Pradesh |page=12}}</ref>
* Avanti was divided into two parts by the [[Vindhyas]]. Ujjayini was located in the northern part, while Mahishmati was located in the southern part.<ref>{{cite book |author=Harihar Panda |title=Professor H.C. Raychaudhuri, as a Historian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f1XMtc2Q97IC&pg=PA23 |year=2007 |publisher=Northern Book Centre |isbn=978-81-7211-210-3 |page=23 }}</ref>

Several cities in [[Madhya Pradesh]], located along the Narmada river, are claimed to be the ancient Mahishmati. These include:

; [[Mandhata]] or [[Omkareshwar]]
: [[F. E. Pargiter]],<ref>{{cite book |title=The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society (Bangalore). |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4JtEAQAAMAAJ |year=1911 |page=65 }}</ref> and G. C. Mendis,<ref>{{cite book |author=G.C. Mendis |title=The Early History of Ceylon and Its Relations with India and Other Foreign Countries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVrUcdi4ZikC&pg=PA31 |date=1 December 1996 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=978-81-206-0209-0 |page=31 }}</ref> among others, identify Mahishmati with the Mandhata island ([[Omkareshwar]]).
: According to Pargiter, the description of Mahishmati in ''[[Raghuvamsa]]'' makes it clear that it was located on an island. Moreover, ''[[Harivamsa]]'' states that the founder of Mahishmati was [[muchukunda]], the son of [[Mandhatri|King Mandhata]].<ref name="PKB_1977"/>
: A 1225 CE inscription of the Paramara king [[Devapala (Paramara dynasty)|Devapala]] has been found at Mandhata. It records the grant of a village to [[Brahmin]]s, and states that the grant was made while the king was staying at Mahishmati.<ref>{{cite book |author=Harihar Vitthal Trivedi |title=Inscriptions of the Paramāras (Part 2) |series=Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Volume VII: Inscriptions of the Paramāras, Chandēllas, Kachchapaghātas, and two minor dynasties |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8B4LAQAAMAAJ |year=1991 |publisher=[[Archaeological Survey of India]] |pages=175–177}}</ref>

; [[Maheshwar]]
: [[Hasmukh Dhirajlal Sankalia|HD Sankalia]],<ref>{{cite book |author=Hasmukhlal Dhirajlal Sankalia |title=Aspects of Indian History and Archaeology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2pwtAAAAMAAJ |year=1977 |publisher=B. R. |page=218 |isbn=9789350500347 }}</ref> [[Pramatha Nath Bose|PN Bose]]<ref name="PNBose_1882"/> and [[Francis Wilford]],<ref name="PNBose_1882"/> among others, identify Mahishmati with present-day Maheshwar.
: Pargiter criticises this identification, stating that the Bramin priests of Maheshwar claimed their town as the ancient Mahishmati on basis of similar-sounding names, in order to glorify their town.<ref name="PKB_1977"/>

; Other obsolete identifications
: Writers such as [[Alexander Cunningham]],<ref name="MP_Rajgarh">{{cite book |title=Madhya Pradesh District Gazetteers: Rajgarh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1pBhAAAAIAAJ |year=1996 |publisher=Government Central Press, Mahishmati |page=175 }}</ref> [[John Faithfull Fleet]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fleet |first1=J. F. |title=XII. Mahishamandala and Mahishmati |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland |volume=42 |issue=2 |year=2011 |pages=425–447 |issn=0035-869X |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00039605|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1550229 }}</ref> and Girija Shankar Agrawal<ref>{{cite book |author=Hartosh Singh Bal |title=Water Close Over Us |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fwONAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT69|date=19 December 2013 |publisher=HarperCollins India |isbn=978-93-5029-706-3 |page=69 |author-link=Hartosh Singh Bal }}</ref> identified [[Mandla]] as the location of ancient Mahishmati. However, this view is no longer considered as accurate by the modern scholars.<ref name="PKB_1977"/>
: [[B. Lewis Rice]] identified Mahishmati as a location in the former [[Mysore State]] (present-day [[Karnataka]]). His argument was based on ''Mahabharata'', which states that Sahadeva crossed the Kaveri River on his way to Mahishmati. However, besides the [[Kaveri River|southern Kaveri]], there is a [[Kaveri River, Madhya Pradesh|smaller Kaveri]], which meets Narmada near Mandhata.<ref name="PKB_1977"/>

== Mentions in ancient literature ==

=== Sanskrit texts ===

The Sanskrit epic [[Ramayana]] mentions the attack of [[Rakshasa kingdom|Rakshasa]] king [[Ravana]] on Mahishmati.<ref name="PNBose_1882">{{cite journal |author=PN Bose |publisher=Asiatic Society |location=Calcutta, India |title=Note on Mahishmati |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VVsyAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA129 |year=1882 |pages=129}}</ref> The ''[[Anushasana Parva]]'' states that [[Ikshvaku]]'s son Dashashva was a king of Mahishmati. It goes on to mention that the [[Haihayas|Haihaya]] king [[Kartavirya Arjuna]] ruled the entire earth from his capital Mahishmati (13:52).<ref name="PKB_1977"/> He was killed by [[Parashurama]].<ref name="Encyclopaedia">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8897ridkczoC&q=Mahishmati&pg=PA435 | title=Encyclopaedia of Ancient Indian Geography, Volume 2 | publisher=Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd | author=Subodh Kapoor | year=2002 | pages=435 | isbn=9788177552997}}</ref>

''[[Mahabharata]]'' mentions Mahishmati as part of a kingdom distinct from the Avanti kingdom.<ref name="PKB_1977">{{cite book |title=Historical Geography of Madhya Pradesh from Early Records |author=PK Bhattacharya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=njYpsvmr2dsC&pg=PA170 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=978-81-208-3394-4 |year=1977 |pages=170–175 }}</ref> The ''[[Sabha Parva]]'' (2:30) states that the [[Pandava]] general [[Sahadeva]] attacked Mahishmati, and defeated its ruler Nila.<ref name="PKB_1977"/> Mahismati was protected by Agni, due to his matrimonial relationship with the king's daughter. Agni even granted the unmarried women of Mahismati liberty of not staying with only one husband forever, and moving about freely. <ref>PC Roy Mahabharata, Sabha Parva, Digvijaya Parva, Section XXXI Page 73</ref> King Nila of Mahishmati is mentioned as a leader in the [[Kurukshetra War]], rated by [[Bhishma]] as a ''Rathi''. His coat of mail had blue colour (Mbh 5:19,167).

''[[Harivamsha]]'' (33.1847) names the founder of Mahishmati as Mahishmant, a king who was the son of Sahanja and a descendant of [[Yadu]] through [[Haihayas|Haihaya]]. At another place, it names the city's founder as [[Muchukunda]], an ancestor of [[Rama]]. It states that he built the cities of Mahishmati and Purika in the [[Riksha Mountains|Rksha mountains]].<ref name="PKB_1977"/>

The ''[[Raghuvamsa]]'' states that Mahishmati was located on the Reva river (Narmada), and was the capital of the [[Anupa]] country.<ref name="PKB_1977"/>

According to the [[Padma Purana]] (VI.115), the city was founded by a certain Mahisha<ref name="p3">Pargiter, F.E. (1972) [1922]. ''Ancient Indian Historical Tradition'', Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, pp.263,263fn3.</ref>

Another account states that [[Kartavirya Arjuna]] conquered Mahishmati city from [[Karkotaka|Karkotaka Naga]], a Naga chief and made it his fortress-capital.<ref name="p4">Pargiter, F.E. (1972) [1922]. ''Ancient Indian Historical Tradition'', Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p.265-7</ref>

=== Pali texts ===

The Buddhist text ''[[Digha Nikaya]]'' mentions Mahishmati as the capital of Avanti, while ''[[Anguttara Nikaya]]'' states that [[Ujjaini]] was Avanti's capital.<ref>{{cite book |author=Manika Chakrabarti |title=Mālwa in Post-Maurya Period: A Critical Study with Special Emphasis on Numismatic Evidences |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=coQeAAAAMAAJ |year=1981 |publisher=Punthi Pustak}}</ref> The ''Maha-Govinda Suttanta'' also states that Mahishmati as the capital of Avanti, whose king was one Vessabhu. It is possible that the capital of Avanti was transferred from [[Ujjayani]] to Mahishmati temporarily.<ref name="PKB_1977"/>

The ''[[Dipavamsa]]'' mentions a territory called Mahisa, describing it as ''Mahisa-ratta'' ("Mahisa country"). The ''[[Mahavamsa]]'' describes this region as a [[rajamandala|mandala]], calling it ''Mahisha-mandala''. The 5th century Buddhist scholar [[Buddhaghosa]] terms this territory variously as ''Rattham-Mahisham'', ''Mahishaka-mandala'' and ''Mahishmaka''. [[John Faithfull Fleet]] theorized that Mahishmati was the capital of this region, which was named after a tribe called "Mahisha". This appears to be same as "Mahishaka", which is described as a southern kingdom (that is, south of the [[Vindhyas]] and the Narmada) in the ''[[Bhishma Parva]]'' of the ''[[Mahabharata]]''.<ref name="PKB_1977"/>

The ''[[Sutta Nipata]]'' states that when Bavari's disciples traveled from [[Pratishthana]] to Ujjayani, Mahishmati was one of the cities on the route. The inscriptions at [[Sanchi]] mention that pilgrims from Mahishmati visited the [[stupa]] at Sanchi.<ref name="PKB_1977"/>

== Epigraphic records ==

During the 6th and 7th centuries, Mahishmati may have served as the capital of the [[Kalachuris of Mahishmati|Kalachuri]] kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kalachuris of Mahismati |url=https://coinindia.com/galleries-kalachuri-mahismati.html |access-date=2012-01-08 |publisher=CoinIndia}}</ref>

Rulers of some 11th and 12th century kingdoms in present-day South India claimed Haihaya ancestry. They indicated their claimed place of origin with the title "Lord of Mahishmati, the best of the towns".<ref name="PKB_1977"/>

Mahishmati appears to have been a flourishing city in as late as the 13th century. A 1225 CE inscription of the [[Paramara dynasty|Paramara]] king [[Devapala (Paramara dynasty)|Devapala]] mentions that he stayed at Mahishmati.<ref name="PKB_1977"/>

==In popular culture ==
The [[Baahubali (franchise)|Baahubali film series]] directed by [[S. S. Rajamouli]] is set in a [[Fiction|fictionalized]] version of the kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |title=Baahubali is set in Mahishmathi kingdom |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/Baahubali-is-set-in-Mahishmathi-kingdom/articleshow/46849092.cms |website=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Ancient Indian cities]]
[[Category:Avanti (region)]]

Mahishmati - Revision history

Souravroyjournalist at 16:17, 15 September 2025