Dravida is mentioned as one of the kingdoms in the southern part of present-day mainland India during the time of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

Dravida in the Mahabharata

Dravida is listed among the ancient Indian (Bharata Varsha) kingdoms: "In the south, are the Dravidas, the Keralas, the Mushikas, and the Vanavashikas; the Karanatakas, the Mahishakas, the Vikalpas, and also the Mushakas; the Jhillikas, the Kuntalas. (6,9)"

The origin of Dravida

The

links the origin of Dravidas with sage Vasistha. Viswamitra, a king in the Chandravanshi Amavasu clan, attacked the cow of Vasistha. Then many armies emerged for the protection of that cow and they attacked the armies of Viswamitra. Other kingdoms that were mentioned along with the Dravidas in this incident were

Sakas The Saka (Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who histor ...

Yavanas The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit and Yavanar in Tamil, were words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for " Ionians" ( grc, ...

, Savaras, Kanchis, Paundras and

Kiratas The Kirāta ( sa, किरात) is a generic term in Sanskrit literature for people who had territory in the mountains, particularly in the Himalayas and Northeast India and who are believed to have been Sino-Tibetan in origin. The meaning o ...

Nishada Nishada (') is a tribe mentioned in ancient Indian literature (such as the epic ''Mahabharata''). The ancient texts mention several kingdoms ruled by this tribe. In the Mahabharata, the Nishadas are described as hunters, fishermen, mountaineers o ...

and Sinhalas, and the barbarous kingdoms of

Khasas Khasas (Devanāgarī: खश; ') were an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe and a late Janapada kingdom from Himalayan regions of northern Indian subcontinent mentioned in the various historical Indian inscriptions and ancient Indian Hindu and Tibetan lite ...

, Chivukas, Pulindas, Chinas Hunas with Keralas, Mleecchas etc.

Sahadeva's conquests

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

Sahadeva Sahadeva ( Sanskrit: सहदेव) was the youngest of the Pandava brothers, the five principal protagonists of the epic '' Mahabharata''. He and his twin brother, Nakula, were blessed to King Pandu and Queen Madri by invoking the twin god ...

reached the Dravida country during his southern military campaign.'' Sahadeva brought under his subjection and exacted tributes from the Paundrayas, the Dravidas along with the Udrakeralas and the

Andhras Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and the Talavanas. He also vanquished the Karanatakas, Pashandas, the town of Sanjayanti, the

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writin ...

, the Ustrakarnikas, the city of Atavi and the city of Yavanas. (2,30)

Yudhishthira's Rajasuya

Dravidas are mentioned along with other kings who attended

king

Yudhishthira ''Yudhishthira'' ( Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his fir ...

Rajasuya Rajasuya () is a Śrauta ritual of the Vedic religion. It is ceremony that marks a consecration of a king. According to the Puranas, it refers to a great sacrifice performed by a Chakravarti - universal monarch, in which the tributary princes ma ...

sacrifice. The kings of the Dravidas and the Singhalas were present in the sacrifice (2,33). On another occasion, the Cheras,

Cholas The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

and Dravidas (3,51).

Pandavas visited Dravida land during their pilgrimage

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

reached the sea in the Dravida land, and visited the holy spot passing under

Agastya Agastya ( kn, ಅಗಸ್ತ್ಯ, ta, அகத்தியர், sa, अगस्त्य, te, అగస్త్యుడు, ml, അഗസ്ത്യൻ, hi, अगस्त्य) was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the I ...

’s name, which was exceedingly sacred and exceptionally pure. And the valiant king visited the feminine sacred spots. They visited one by one those holy places on the coast of the sea and many other sacred spots and came to the holiest of all known by the name of Suparaka. (3,118)

Arjuna's conquests

''Arjuna in his military campaign after the

Kurukshetra War The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...

, visited Dravida country''

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

proceeded towards the southern ocean. In those regions battle took place between him and the Dravidas and Andhras and the fierce Mahishakas and the hillmen of Kolwa. (14,83)

Dravidas in Kurukshetra War

On the side of Pandavas

{{see also, Akshauhini *

converted the people of the Dravida land to be a portion of his own army (5,22) *The Kuntalas, the Andhras, and the Talacharas, and the Shuchupas, and the Venupas were described as allies of

(5,140) *The Pandyas, the Cholas, the Keralas and the Andhras supported

Dhristadyumna Dhrishtadyumna ( sa, धृष्टद्युम्न, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the courageous and splendid one) is the son of Drupada—the king of the Panchala kingdom—and the twin brother of Draupadi in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. Dhri ...

Sikhandi Shikhandi ( sa, शिखण्डी, translit=Śikhaṇḍī) is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Born as the daughter of Drupada, the King of Panchala, Shikhandi becomes a biological male after agreeing to a sex exchange with a ...

and

Satyaki Yuyudhana ( sa, युयुधान, '), better known as Satyaki ( sa, सात्यकि, ), was a powerful Yadava chieftain of Narayani Sena, belonging to the Vrishni clan to which Krishna also belonged. According to the Puranas, he was ...

. (8,12) *The Andhaka, and the Nishada foot-soldiers, urged on by

, once more rushed towards Karna in that battle (8,49)

On the side of Kauravas

*The Kamvojas, the Sakas, the Khasas, the Salwas, the Mlechchhas, the Pulindas, the Dravidas, the Andhras, and the Kanchis were described as allied to the

Kauravas ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his w ...

(5-161,162) *The Kaikeyas, the Malavas, the Madrakas the Dravidas of fierce prowess, the Yaudheyas, the Lalittyas, the chander, the Usinaras, the Tundikeras, the Savitriputras who supported

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...

were slain by

(8,5)

Dravida Kingdom in the Pallava Era

Dravida was conquered twice during the

Pallava dynasty The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as f ...

, first by Dhruvaniti around 400 CE, and again by Kongani-varma III in the late 6th and early 7th Century.Charles Philip Brown, 1863
Carnatic Chronology: The Hindu and Mahomedan methods of reckoning time explained: with essays on the systems; symbols used for numerals, a new titular method of memory, etc.
London, Bernard Quaritch, pg.41

References

Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...

, translated to English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli Kingdoms in the Mahabharata