Anupa (literally, watery tract) is an ancient

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n region roughly corresponds to the areas around ancient

Mahishmati Mahishmati () was an ancient city and the capital of Haihayas in the present-day central India on the banks of Narmada River (in Madhya Pradesh), although its exact location is uncertain. The city may have flourished as late as until 13th centu ...

city in the present-day

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

. The

Vayu Purana The ''Vayu Purana'' (, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. ''Vayu Purana'' is mentioned in the manuscripts of the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts, which has led scholars to propose that the text is among the ...

mentions a

janapada The Janapadas () () (c. 1100–600 BCE) were the realms, republics (ganapada) and kingdoms (sāmarājya) of the Vedic period in the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic period reaches from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age: from about 1500 BCE to ...

(realm) of Anupa, located on the ''Vindhyaprishtha'' (Vindhya plateau). The Nasik cave inscription of Gautami Balashri claims that her son

Gautamiputra Satakarni Gautamiputra Satakarni ( Brahmi: 𑀕𑁄𑀢𑀫𑀺𑀧𑀼𑀢 𑀲𑀸𑀢𑀓𑀡𑀺, ''Gotamiputa Sātakaṇi'', IAST: ) was a ruler of the Satavahana Empire in present-day Deccan region of India. He was mentioned as the important a ...

's dominion included Anupa. The Junagarh rock inscription of Rudradaman I mentions Anupa as a part of his kingdom.

Maharajas of Valkha

A number of copper-plate grants discovered from this region ( Shirpur, Bagh and Manavar in

Dhar district Dhar district () is a districts of Madhya Pradesh, district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The historic town of Dhar is administrative headquarters of the district. The district has an area 8,153 km2. It is bounded by the distri ...

) are issued by a family bearing the title, ''Maharaja''. They recognized the suzerainty of certain emperors bearing the title, ''Paramabhattaraka'' (most probably the Imperial Guptas. The names of the rulers of this family are Bhulunda, Svamidasa and Rudradasa. These three rulers ruled from their capital, Valkha, which is not yet identified. All of their copper-plate grants are dated in an unspecified era.Mirashi, V.V. (1981). ''Three Manavar Plates of the Maharajas of Balkha'', in M.D. Khare ed. ''Malwa through the Ages'', Bhopal: the Directorate of Archaeology & Museums, Government of Madhya Pradesh, pp.225-32

Subandhu of Mahishmati

Two copperplate grants found from

Barwani Barwani or Badwani () is a municipality, municipal town in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh, India, that is situated near the left bank of the Narmada River. It is the administrative headquarters of Barwani district and has also served as th ...

and the Bagh Caves are issued by a ruler, Subandhu, whose capital was Mahishmati. The Badwani plate is dated in the year 167 of an unspecified era.

Notes

{{reflist Historical Indian regions History of Madhya Pradesh