Kingdom of the Mahabharata
Indraprastha
इंद्रप्रस्थ
Capital of Pandava Kingdom
Indraprastha: Capital of Pandava Kingdom, located at coordinates 28.61°N, 77.21°E.
Key Facts
| Type | Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Sanskrit name | इंद्रप्रस्थ |
| Coordinates | 28.61°N, 77.21°E |
| Significance | Capital of Pandava Kingdom |
About Indraprastha
The magnificent city built for the Pandavas by Maya Danava. It was the capital of the Pandava kingdom and shone like Indra's heaven.
Why it matters: Capital of Pandava Kingdom
Rulers and Custodians
- Yudhishthira
- Arjuna
- Bhima
- Nakula
- Sahadeva
Details
- Palace
- Mayasabha - The palace of illusions with magical architecture
- Notable
- Site of Yudhishthira's Rajasuya Yagna
- Fate
- Lost to Duryodhana in the game of dice
On the Map
Indraprastha sits at 28.61°N, 77.21°E.
View on the full mapEvents at Indraprastha
- Birth of AbhimanyuYear -45Abhimanyu is born to Arjuna and Subhadra, destined to become the greatest young warrior of his generation.
- Abhimanyu Learns ChakravyuhaYear -35While still in Subhadra's womb, Abhimanyu listens as Arjuna explains entering the Chakravyuha.
- The Brothers and the ApsaraYear -31Narada warns the Pandavas, who share one wife, with the tale of two asura brothers so devoted they were one soul in two bodies. Made invincible by a boon that they could die only by each other's hand, they conquered the worlds - until Brahma fashioned the flawless Tilottama, and the brothers who had never wanted different things destroyed each other over a single beautiful woman.
- Indraprastha BuiltYear -30Maya Danava builds a magnificent city for the Pandavas on land given by Dhritarashtra. It shines like heaven.
- Maya Builds the Great SabhaYear -30In gratitude for his life spared at Khandava, the asura architect Maya builds the Pandavas an assembly hall of unearthly beauty - crystal floors like still water, pools like solid crystal, and gates of gold.
- Rajasuya YagnaYear -28Yudhishthira performs the imperial sacrifice to become emperor. Pandavas conquer all directions first.
- Krishna Kills ShishupalaYear -28During Yudhishthira's Rajasuya Yagna, Shishupala insults Krishna 100 times. Krishna beheads him with his Sudarshana Chakra.
- Duryodhana Humiliated in the MayasabhaYear -28Touring the magical hall after the Rajasuya, Duryodhana mistakes crystal for water and water for crystal, falling into a pool in his royal robes while onlookers laugh.
- Shishupala's Hundredth InsultYear -26At Yudhishthira's Rajasuya yagna, Shishupala insults Krishna repeatedly. After the 100th insult, Krishna's Sudarshana Chakra beheads him.
- The Anugita - Krishna Repeats Spiritual TeachingYear -13After the Ashwamedha sacrifice, Arjuna tells Krishna he has forgotten the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna says those words cannot be exactly repeated but gives the Anugita - a summary.
- The Anugita - The Gita After the GitaYear 55In the peace after the war Arjuna confesses he has forgotten the teaching given between the armies, and asks Krishna to speak it again. Krishna rebukes him - what was spoken from the summit of yoga cannot come twice - and gives instead the quieter second teaching, the lamp in place of the lightning.
Stories Set at Indraprastha
The Dice Game
The Game That Changed Everything
The Imperial Sacrifice
Indraprastha, Jarasandha, and the Rajasuya Yagna
Bhishma on the Bed of Arrows
Fifty-Eight Days of Teaching, and a King Crowned at His Feet
Arjuna's Wandering Year
Three Wives in Three Kingdoms
The Palace of Illusions
Mayasura's Masterpiece and the Laughter That Started a War
The Brothers and the Apsara
Sunda, Upasunda, and the Making of Tilottama
The Anugita
The Gita After the Gita
Nakula, the Beautiful
The overshadowed twin's own account
Sahadeva, the Silent Seer
Knowledge that could not save
Subhadra of Dwaraka
Sister, wife, and guardian of the line
The Moon's Son
The sixteen-year loan of Abhimanyu
When the Gandiva Failed
Arjuna's last, lost escort
Indraprastha, the City the Pandavas Built
From burned forest to imperial capital
Yuyutsu, Keeper of the House
Dissent's long, unglamorous fidelity
The Cattle and the Closed Door
A rule kept by breaking it, and a pardon refused
The Fires Inside the Body
A wife asks what her husband's stillness is worth
The Eight Who Questioned Brahma
The ladder from the Unmanifest down to a body
The Pillow of Arrows
Both armies lay down their weapons for one evening
What Krishna Had Already Done
Arjuna asks, and gets a list he did not expect
Balarama Returns to the Sea
The Serpent Leaves by the Mouth It Came From
The Death of Vasudeva
Krishna's Father Outlives Everyone
The Lake Called Bindu
Where Maya found Bhima's club and Arjuna's conch
The Hundred Questions of Narada
A sage audits an emperor before he lets him boast
The King Made of Two Halves
A mango, two queens, and the demoness who put a child together
The Fire That Loved a Princess
Why no army could take Mahishmati
The Vow of the Soft Tongue
Vyasa's warning, and the promise Yudhishthira made instead
What the Blind King Was Told
Duryodhana's inventory of the rajasuya, and the quarrel it started
The Blind King Counts the Odds
A father adds up his enemies and hears whose fault it was
The Hands Marked With Corns
A night in the kitchen, and everything she had not said
The Quarrel Before the Cattle
Ashwatthama tells Duryodhana what his kingdom is made of
The Rewards of the Eighteen Parvas
Vaishampayana prices each stage of hearing the Bharata against a sacrifice, from the Agnishtoma to twenty-one thousand years with Indra
The Errand Vidura Did Not Want
Carrying the invitation to the dice game he had begged the king not to send
The Kingdom Given Back
Dhritarashtra releases the Pandavas and returns everything they lost
The Adhwaryu and the Yati
A wandering ascetic stops at a sacrifice and asks the priest who gave the goat his consent
Arjuna Empties Dwaraka
One bowman escorts a dead city inland, and the sea walks behind him
Krishna Takes Leave of Indraprastha
The farewell on the road to Dwaraka, and the promise to return
The Secret of the Gods
Vyasa tells the blind king why the war was ordained before his eldest son was born
Arjuna's Hymn at Parting
On the road to Hastinapur, Arjuna praises Krishna and gives him leave to go home