Anarta Kingdom

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Anarta is a Vedic period kingdom of ancient India described in the Mahabharata, roughly forming the northern Gujarat state of India. It was founded by the father of Vaivasvata Manu and Yama, named Anarta. He built a fortress at Kusasthali (Dvaraka), which was later flooded by Varuna. The place remained then for some time as a forest land, before Krishna and the Yadavas went there and built Dvaraka.^[1] It was then ruled by Yadavas after they fled from Mathura of Surasena Kingdom, due to the attacks of Jarasandha, the king of Magadha. The Yadava chiefs like Vasudeva Krishna, Bala Rama (brother of Krishna), Kritavarma and Satyaki, ruled this kingdom under their king Ugrasena. In Mahabharata, Dwaraka is considered as a capital city of Anarta Kingdom. But some other ancient texts like Mahabhagavata, mentions Dwaraka and Anarta as two independent kingdoms. As per the Purana viz. Bhagavata Purana, Bala Rama's wife Revati was from this kingdom.

Other Yadava kingdoms in west-central India include:

1. Chedi (Jhansi district in Uttar Pradesh)
2. Surasena (Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh (also known as Vraja)
3. Dasharna (south to Chedi Kingdom)
4. Karusha (east to Dasharna Kingdom)
5. Kunti (North to Avanti Kingdom)
6. Avanti (Ujjain district in Madhya Pradesh
7. Malava (West to Avanti Kingdom)
8. Goparashtra (southern Rajasthan)
9. Heheya (Narmada valley around the city Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh)
10. Saurashtra (southern Gujarat)
11. Dwaraka (offshore the Dwarka city in Gujarat)
12. Vidarbha (north eastern Maharashtra)