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Concept
Pañcāla
Summary
Panchala (पञ्चाल, IAST: ) was an ancient kingdom of northern India, located in the Ganges-Yamuna Doab of the Upper Gangetic plain. During Late Vedic times (c. 1100–500 BCE), it was one of the most powerful states of ancient India, closely allied with the Kuru Kingdom. By the c. 5th century BCE, it had become an oligarchic confederacy, considered one of the solasa (sixteen) mahajanapadas (major states) of the Indian subcontinent. After being absorbed into the Mauryan Empire (322–185 BCE), Panchala regained its independence until it was annexed by the Gupta Empire in the 4th century CE.
The Pañcāla state was located to the west of the Gomti river, and the north of the Chambal River. Its western neighbours were the Sūrasenas and the Yakṛllomas, while in the north-west it was separated from the Gaṅgā and the Kurus by dense forests. The northern boundaries of Pañcāla were the forests around the region of the Gaṅgā's source. The territory of Pañcāla corresponded to the modern-day Bareilly, Budaun, and Farrukhabad districts, as well as the nearby parts of Rohilkhand and of the Central Gaṅgā-Yamunā Doab in Uttar Pradesh.
Drupada, the king of Panchala was the father of Draupadi, the heroine of the epic, who married the Pandavas. To avenge her humiliation during the game of dice played at Hastinapur and which led to their lengthy exile, he fought on the side of the Pandavas at the Kurukshetra War. Bhishma ranked him a Mighty Maharathi, his son Dhrishtadyumna an Atirathi and his other son, Shikhandi, a Rathi. He contributed three (of the seven) Akshauhini armies to the Pandavas during the war.
The Panchala janapada is believed to have been formed by multiple janas (tribes). The Shatapatha Brahmana suggests that Panchala was the later name of the Krivi tribe (who, according to the Rigveda, lived on the bank of the Indus river). The later Vedic literature uses the term Panchala to describe the close associates of the Kurus. The Mahabharata mentions the 'Saranjayas' as a tribe or a family among the Panchalas, occasionally using the terms inter-changeably, but also separately at a few places.
Official source
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