List of 30 ancient sites mentioned in Mahabharata

1. Banganga, Kurukshetra – This place is located a few kilometers away

from Kurukshetra. This was the place where Bhishma Pitamah had laid
down on a bed of arrows. On being asked for water, Arjun shot down an
arrow on the ground and a stream of water of Ganga came out and went
straight to Bhishma Pitamah’s mouth.
2. Kurukshetra – This was the famous battlefield of the Mahabharata War. It
is situated 40 km east of Ambala city. This land is also known as the land of
Altar for the sacrifice of Lord Bramha. A lake named Brahma Sarovar is
very famous here. According to the Bhagwat, before the war of
Mahabharata, Lord Krishna came here to take a dip in the Brahmakund.
3. Hastinapur – Hastinapur is located in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. This was a
grand city in the times of Mahabharata. This was also the capital of
Kauravas and the Pandavas. This is the place where Draupadi lost here
wealth and Yudhisthir lost his brothers in the game of gamble. After
winning the war of Mahabharata, Pandavas made this city as their capital.
4. Varnavat – Situated on the banks of river Ganga, it is a city located near
Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. It was here that Duryodhana built a Lakshgriha
(wax house) to kill the Pandavas. To avoid the war of Mahabharata,
Pandavas had asked for five villages from the Kauravas, Varnavat being one
of these five cities.
5. Panchal Pradesh – Panchal Pradesh was located between the Himalayas
and the river Chamba on both sides of the river Ganga. Once, when the King
 of Panchal got the news of an attack from the King of Ayodhya, he said that
his five (panch) sons only were enough to fight the war. Since then, it was
called “Panchal”. Draupadi was the daughter of the King Drupadi and was
named “Panchali” as she was the princess of Panchal.
6. Gandhar or Gandhara – This was an ancient city of Mahabharata and is
currently situated to the west of river Sindhu in Sindh Pradesh, Rawalpindi.
Dhritrashtra’s wife Gandhari was the daughter of King of Gandhara.
Gandhari’s brother Shakuni was a mastermind behind the war of
Mahabharata.
7. Takshashila – This was the capital of Gandhar Desh. After the war of
Mahabharata when the Pandavas left for the king Himalayas, Parikshit was
made the king.
8. Ujjanak – This was an ancient city near Kashipur, Nainital district. Guru
Dronacharya taught archery to the Pandavas and Kauravas over here. There
is a huge temple situated over here. Locals call it one of the 12 Jyotirlingas.
This place is also called as Bhimshankar.
9. Shivi Desh – Shivi Desh was located on the north border of India in South
Punjab. The grandson of the generous King Ushinar was a Shaivya, who had
got his daughter Devika married to Yudhishthir. During the war of
Mahabharata, Shaivya played the role of an archer from the side of the
Pandavas.
10.Indraprastha – Indraprastha was a grand city situated to the south of
present-day New Delhi. The Pandavas had established this city after
destroying Khandav Van (Forest). Vishwakarma, the architect of the devtas
had designed this city. This city was the capital of the Pandavas.
11.Vrindavan – It is situated 10 kilometers away from Mathura in Uttar
Pradesh. This is a place of Lord Krishna ‘Bal-leelayen’. Even today Raas
Leela is the main attraction of this place, Temple of Bankebihari and
Radhavallabh is very famous here. Janmashtami is popularly celebrated
here.
12.Gokul – Gokul is situated in Uttar Pradesh on the banks of river Yamuna.
Krishna and his elder brother Balram were brought up. Shri Krishna later
became Arjun’s charioteer during the war and Balram taught the art of mace
fight to Bhima and Duryodhan.
13.Barsana – Uttar Pradesh – This place is located 21 km from Govardhan
mountain, has four hill-tops that represent the four faces of Brahma, the
Creator. Each hilltop is associated with some incident from Krishna’s life.
On Mor Kutir top, he danced guise as a peacock to win the love of Radha.
Radha’s parents lived in Barsana. The house of Radha’s father is atop the
Brahma Hill in Barsana.
14.Mathura – Uttar Pradesh – Mathura was a famous place of pilgrimage
during the Mahabharata period. It is located near the banks of Yamuna. Shri
Krishna was born here. Shri Krishna killed the oppressor Kans, son of King
Ugrasen, and got back Ugrasen his throne. After the fight in-between the
 Yaduvanshis, when the Yadavas were killed, Yudhishthir crowned Brijnath,
the great-grandson of Krishna, the King of Mathura.
15.Kashi, Uttar Pradesh – The ancient city of Mahabharata period, Kashi was
famous as the chief education center of India. Bhishma Pitamah had won
over Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika, the three daughters of the Kashi King.
Dhritarashtra was Ambika’s son and Pandu was Ambalika’s son.
Dhritarashtra’s sons were called Kauravas and Pandu’s sons were called
Pandavas. The Mahabharata war was fought between the Kauravas and the
Pandavas.
16.Ekachakranagari – Aarah, Bihar – During the period of Mahabharata,
Aarah was known as Ekachakranagari. After being saved from the
Lakshgriha, Pandavas had lived in Ekachakranagari for a few days at a
Brahmin’s house. It was here only that Bakasur’s son Bhishak had caught
hold of the horse of Yudhishthir’s Ashvamedh Yagya and was later killed
by Arjun.
17.Magadh – South Bihar – The ancient name of present-day South Bihar was
Magadh. During the time of Mahabharata, Jarasandh ruled Magadh. Asti
and Prapti, two daughters of Jarasandh, were married to Kans. After Krishna
killed Kans, he became an enemy of Jarasandh. Jarasandh attacked Mathura
many times. For the Rajsurya Yagya performed by Yudhishthira, Lord
Krishna, Arjuna, and Bhima went to Magadh in the disguise of Brahmins
and Bhima killed Jarasandh while wrestling.
18.Pundru Desh, Bihar – A part of Bihar was known as Pundru Desh during
the time of the Mahabharata. King Pondrak of this region was a friend of
Jarasandh and thought himself to be Krishna. He was present at the
swayamvar of Draupadi. Due to his ego, he challenged Krishna to discard
his dress or else get ready for a fight. Krishna fought with him and killed
him.
19.Pragjyotishpur – Guwahati, Assam – The capital of ancient Assam state,
Pragjyotishpur, was located near present-day Guwahati. During the
Mahabharata times, Narkasur was the king of this state. He had made 16000
girls captive. He even fought a battle with Lord Krishna. Shri Krishna killed
Narkasur and took all 16,000 girls to Dwarka and married them. Here, near
the Neelkanth Mountain, is located the famous temple of Kamakhya Devi
built by Narkasur. Kamakhya: Assam- Kamakhya is a famous Shaktipeeth,
located ten kilometers away from Guwahati in Assam. During the time of
Mahabharata, Narkasur had built a temple of Kamakhya Devi here.
According to Bhagwat Purana, when Lord Shiva was roaming around like a
man in despair with the dead body of Sati, then Lord Vishnu – with the help
of his Sudarshan Chakra cut Sati’s dead body into pieces and dropped them
one by one so that Shiva gets released of this weight and returns to being
normal. There were 51 pieces of the dead body of Sati cut by Lord Vishnu
and the places on the earth where they fell are known as Shaktipeeth. Each
Shaktipeeth is connected with one of the body parts of Sati. Kamakhya in
 Assam is where the Yoni (vagina) of Sati fell and is considered a very
powerful center of Shakti (female) worship.
20.Manipur – East India – Manipur was an ancient city dating back to
Mahabharata times. Manipur’s King Chitravahan had a daughter named
Chitraganda. She was married to Arjun and had a son named Babhruvahan.
Babhruvahan had taken part in the Rajsurya Yagya performed by the
Pandavas.
21.Sindhu Desh – Sindh-Punjab, Mohen-jo-Daro – The ancient Sindhu Desh
of Mahabharata time was famous for art-literature. King Jaydrath of Sindhu
Desh was married to Dushaala, daughter of Dhritarashtra. Jaydrath was the
chief reason of the death of Arjun’s son Abhimanyu who was caught up in
the Chakravyuh. To take revenge for Abhimanyu’s death, Arjun killed
Jaydrath.
22.Matsya Desh – North Rajasthan – Matsya Desh, located north of present-
day Rajasthan, was one of the chief states of the Mahabharata times. Its
capital was Viraatnagari. Pandavas had lived here at the King Viraat’s
palace in disguise for one year as they were to live incognito after the exile.
Arjun’s son Abhimanyu was married to King Viraat’s daughter Uttara.
There is a mention of Matsya Desh even in the Vedic times.
23.Muchhkand Tirtha, Dhoulpur, Rajasthan – In the times of Mahabharata,
this was a dangerous mountain range in Dhoulpur, Rajasthan. After winning
over Mathura, when Kaalyavan followed Krishna, Krishna hid in a cave in
this mountain range and covered Muchhkand, who was sleeping there with
his Pitambar (yellow cloth). Kaalyavan woke up Muchhkand, and the
moment Muchhkand set his eyes on Kaalyavan, he was reduced to ashes.
24.Patan, Mehsana, Gujarat – Patan, situated near Mehsana, Gujarat, was a
famous commercial city during the Mahabharata period. It is said that in the
Dwapar Age, there was Hidimbvan around this city. During the period of
their exile, the Pandavas had come here and it was here only that Bhima
killed a demon named Hidimba and married his sister Hidimba.
25.Vardayini Dham: Rupalnagar, near Kalol, Gujarat – Rupalnagar was
known as Rupavati during the time of Mahabharata. While going to
Viraatnagari, the Pandavas had performed pooja of Bhagwati Arya over
here. As this place was blessed by the Pandavas, the Devi was named
Vardayini and the place was named Vardayini Dham. Dwarka: Gujarat-This
is situated on the west coast of Gujarat and is an ancient city of the
Mahabharata period. To protect the Yadavas from on and off attacks of
Jarasandh, Lord Krishna shifted his capital from Mathura to Dwarka.
Marine Archeologists have found the sunken remains of Dwarka off the
coast of Gujarat. It is estimated to be a couple of thousand years old.
Prabhas – This is the famous place of pilgrimage located on the west
seacoast of Gujarat. Dwarka is also located within this region. During the
Mahabharata period, when Krishna shifted his capital from Mathura to
Dwarka, he resided in the Prabhas region. It was in Prabhas that Lord
 Krishna was injured with the arrow of a hunter and left for his heavenly
abode (Golok).
26.Avantika, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh – The present-day city of Ujjain in
Madhya Pradesh was famous by the name of Avantika during the
Mahabharata period. Rishi Sandipani’s ashram was located in Avantika.
Lord Krishna and Balram had taken their education from Sandipani.
Avantika is considered one of the seven holy cities of India.
27.Chedi, Madhya Pradesh – Located between the river Ganga and the
Narmada in Madhya Pradesh, Chedi was a grand city of Mahabharata times.
Shishupal, the King of Chedi, wanted to marry Rukmini but Krishna
abducted her and got married to her. Because of this, Shishupal always
remained angry at Krishna. During the war of Mahabharata, the residents of
Chedi supported the Kauravas.
28.Vidarbha, Vidarbha Pradesh – King Bhismak of Vidarbha, the capital of
Vidarbha Pradesh, was a valorous person. At the time of the Surya Yagya
organized by the Pandavas, he had captured the horse of the Yagya. Due to
this, there was a fight between him and Sahadev and he was defeated.
29.Revatak, Near Junagadh, Gujarat – Revatak Mountain near Junagadh in
Gujarat is also known as Girnar. This mountain is near Dwarka. Arjun had
abducted Subhadra from near this mountain and later, with Krishna’s
approval, married her.
30.Yayaatipur – Cuttack, Orissa – Orissa’s present-day region Jajpur, was
known as Yayaatipur in the times of Mahabharata. The river Vaitarni flows
from near this region. Pandavas, along with Maharshi Lomesh, had offered
pind-dan to their ancestors over here.