Kishkindha (, ) is a kingdom of the vanaras in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. It is ruled by King

Sugriva ''This character is about the vanara, in the Ramayana.'' Sugriva ( sa, सुग्रीव, , ) is a character In the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. He is the younger brother of Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara kingdom of Kis ...

, the younger brother of Vali, in the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

epic ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

''. According to the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

epic, this was the kingdom that Sugriva ruled with the assistance of his counsellor,

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

. During the

Treta Yuga ''Treta Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the second and second best of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by ''Dvapara Yuga''. ''Treta Yuga'' lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine year ...

, the whole region was within the dense

Dandaka Forest Dandakaranya is a historical region in India, mentioned in the Ramayana. It is identified with a territory roughly equivalent to the Bastar division in the Chhattisgarh state in the central-east part of India. It covers about of land, which ...

which was founded by King Danda, son of

Ikshvaku Ikshvaku ( Sanskrit ; Pāli: ) is a legendary king in Hindu mythology. He is described to be the first king of the Kosala kingdom, and was one of the ten sons of Shraddhadeva Manu, the first man on the earth. He was the founder and first king ...

, and descendant of Vaivasvata Manu in the Satya Yuga, which extended from the

Vindhya The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India. Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...

range to the South Indian peninsula. Thus, this kingdom was considered that of the vanaras. During the

Dvapara Yuga ''Dvapara Yuga'' ( Dwapara Yuga), in Hinduism, is the third and third best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by ''Treta Yuga'' and followed by ''Kali Yuga''. ''Dvapara Yuga'' lasts for 864,000 years (2,400 divine ...

, the

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 ...

is stated to have visited this kingdom in the epic ''

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 ...

'' during his southern military campaign to collect tribute for

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.

Literature

Ramayana

The Ramayana has a book that is based in Kishkindha, known as the

Kishkinda Kanda Kishkindha (, ) is a kingdom of the vanaras in Hinduism. It is ruled by King Sugriva, the younger brother of Vali, in the Sanskrit epic '' Ramayana''. According to the Hindu epic, this was the kingdom that Sugriva ruled with the assistance ...

. In this text, a banished Sugriva sends his trusted counsellor, Hanuman, to meet the mysterious Rama and Lakshmana. Satisfied with their noble demeanour, he brings them to Sugriva. The two parties exchange their tales, after which Rama forges an alliance with the former vanara monarch: Sugriva, in turn, shows the cloak and jewels of Sita that had descended from the sky upon his kingdom during her abduction by Ravana. After Sugriva regales the tales of his brother's exploits, he goes to challenge his brother for a duel, having sought Rama's assistance in the fight. When Rama does not loose his arrow, Sugriva flees towards the Rishyamuka hill, where his brother dared not venture. Rama explains that he did not intercede since he could not distinguish between the two, upon which a wreath of flowers was placed around the vanara's neck. The entourage then visit the hermitage of Saptajanas: Killing of Vali Monkey

Ignoring his wife Tara's pleas to make peace with Rama, Bali sets out to duel his brother once more, and is slain by Rama's arrow to his breast. Vali and Rama engage in a conversation about the morality of Rama's actions, to which Rama retorts that the vanara had conducted himself in a heinous manner by forcefully bedding Ruma, Sugriva's wife. Even as Tara laments, Sugriva is installed as king once more. However, four months later, he fails to honour his pledge to support Rama's rescue, lost in his blissful dalliance with Tara. A furious Lakshmana, first mollified by Tara, reproaches Sugriva for his conduct, after which he reconciles with him. Sugriva assembles his vanara forces and commands them to venture into the following regions: Lakshmana and the monkey king Sugriva are conversing in a palanquin carried by four monkeys to offer allegiance to Rama

Lakshmana and the monkey king Sugriva are conversing in a palanquin carried by four monkeys to offer allegiance to Rama

The vanara army then venture out of Kishkindha to scour these regions for Sita.

Mahabharata

's conflict with the kings of Kishkindha is mentioned in the

Garuda Purana

Brahma mentions Kishkindha while narrating the Ramayanam:

In popular culture

* This kingdom is often identified to be the region around the Tungabhadra river (then known as

Pampa Sarovar Pampa Sarovara is a lake in Koppal district near Hampi in Karnataka. To the south of the Tungabhadra River, it is considered sacred by Hindus and is one of the five sacred ', or lakes in India. According to Hindu theology, there are five sacred ...

a) near Hampi in present-day Vijayanagara district,

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

. The mountain near the river known as Rishimukha, where Sugriva lived with Hanuman during his exile, bears the same name. * The Anjaneyadri Hill is held by the locals to the birthplace of Hanuman.

References