The Karusha Kingdom is one of the

Yadava The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and ...

kingdoms of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

epic. It is placed to the south of Chedi. Karusha king

Dantavakra Dantavakra ( sa, दन्तवक्र, lit=crooked-teeth) is the king of Karusha in Hinduism. Dantavakra is the third and last birth of Vishnu's gatekeeper, Vijaya, while his brother Jaya is Shishupala. Legend Puranas According to the P ...

supported Chedi king

Shishupala Shishupala ( sa, शिशुपाल, lit. ''protector of children'', IAST: ''Śiśupāla''; sometimes spelt Sisupala) was the king of the Chedi kingdom, and an antagonist in the Mahabharata. He was the son of King Damaghosha and Srutashubha, ...

and was killed by Vasudeva Krishna. Karusha Kingdom is identified as modern

Datia Datia is the district headquarter of the Datia District in north central Madhya Pradesh,a state of Central India. It is an ancient town, mentioned in the Mahabharata ruled by King Dantavakra. The city is 78 km from Gwalior, 325 ...

district of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

References in Mahabharata

Karusha was mentioned as a kingdom of ancient India (Bharata Varsha) along with the Kuntalas, the Kasi-kosalas, the Chedis, the Bhojas. (6,9)

Alliance with Yadavas, Chedis and Magadhas

Alliance with the Yadavas

*Karusha king is mentioned as attending the self-choice of Draupadi along with Bala Rama and Vasudeva Krishna, the great

heroes.(1,188)

Alliance with the Chedis

*Karusha king came to

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 firs ...

's new palace at

Indraprastha Indraprastha (lit. "Plain of Indra" or "City of Indra") is mentioned in ancient Indian literature as a city of the Kuru Kingdom. It was the capital of the kingdom led by the Pandavas mentioned in ''Mahabharata'' . Under the Pali form of its nam ...

along with his friend

, the king of Chedi Kingdom and with the Vrishi

heroes(2,4)

Alliance with the Magadhas

*The mighty Vaka, the king of the Karushas, capable of fighting by putting forth his powers of illusion, waiteth, upon Jarasandha, as his disciple. The Karusha king Dantavakra also wait upon

Jarasandha Jarasandha was a powerful king of Magadha, a minor antagonist in Mahabharata. He was the son of king Brihadratha, the founder of the Barhadratha dynasty of Magadha. According to popular lore, the descendants of Brihadratha ruled Magadha for 26 ...

the king of

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

. (2,14)

Dispute with Chedi King Shishupala

*Chedi king Shishupala, disguising himself in the attire of the king of Karusha, ravished the innocent Bhadra, the princess of Visala, the intended bride of king Karusha. (This Karusha is certainly not Dantavakra, Shishupala's friend). (2,44)

Karusha region on the sea coast

''Karusha was also a type of tree (3,111). Karusha region was probably the regions where these trees grew in abundance'' Kiratas (hunter-gatherers) armed with cruel weapons and ever engaged in cruel deeds, eating of fruits and roots and attired in skins and living on the northern slopes of the Himavat and on the eastern mountains and in the region of Karusha on the sea-coast (possibly in the sea coast of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

) and on both sides of the Lohitya mountains ( Lohit,

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...

. They brought tribute to

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 ...

king

.(2,51)

Karushas in Kurukshetra War

The assembled kings of the Chedi and the Karusha tribes joined the

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 ...

with all their resources. (5,22). Karusha army was placed under the general Dhristaketu who was the king of Chedi Kingdom (5,199). The Chedis, Karushas and Kasis were placed under him. Other armies allied with the

who fought along with the Karushas were the Matsyas, Panchalas, Srinjayas, Somakas, Prabhadrakas, some Surasenas, Suras, some

Kekayas Kekaya (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Kekaya tribe were called the Kaikayas. Location The Kekayas were located between the Gāndhāra ...

, Pandyas, Kanchis, Keralas, Cholas, Dravidas, Andharas, some Kosalas, some Magadhas and the

Yadavas The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and S ...

under

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 ...

and Chekitana. (6-47,54,98,107) (7-9,11,21,153), (8-12,30,47,49,54,56,73,78

Other References

*A virtuous and truthful king of

Kasi KASI (1430 AM, "News Talk 1430") is a radio station licensed to serve Ames, Iowa. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and licensed to iHM Licenses, LLC. It airs a News/Talk radio format. The station was assigned the KASI call letters b ...

and Karusha was called a mad dog for having renounced his territories and riches! (3,25) *At (1,67) Karushaka tribe was linkied with the

Asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

clan called ''Krodhaveshas'' *One of the sons of Manu was named Karusha. (1.75) *There was a sage named Karusha who dwelled in the western kingdoms. (12,207)

References

* Kisari Mohan Ganguli, ''The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose'', 1883-1896. {{Mahabharata Yadava kingdoms