Dasharna was an ancient Indian janapada (realm) in eastern Malwa region between the Dhasan River

Dhasan River

The Dhasan River is a right bank tributary of the Betwa River. The river originates in Begumganj tehsil of Raisen district in Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The river forms the southeastern boundary of the Lalitpur District of Uttar Pradesh state...

 and the Betwa River

Betwa River

The Betwa is a river in Northern India, and a tributary of the Yamuna. Also known as the Vetravati, the Betwa rises in the Vindhya Range just north of Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh and flows north-east through Madhya Pradesh and flow through Orchha to Uttar Pradesh. Nearly one-half of its course,...

. The name of the janapada was derived from the , the ancient name of the Dhasan River. The janapada was also known as Akara and Rudradaman I

Rudradaman I

Rudradaman I was a Saka ruler from the Western Kshatrapas dynasty. He was the grandson of the celebrated Sah king Chastana. Rudradaman I was instrumental in the decline of the Satavahana Empire.- Mahakshatrapa :...

 in his Junagarh rock inscription referred to this region by this name. Kalidasa

Kalidasa

Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...

 in his Meghaduta

Meghaduta

Meghadūta is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa, considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets.A short poem of 111 stanzas, it is one of Kālidāsa's most famous works...

 (Purvamegha,24-25) mentioned the city of Vidisha

Vidisha

Vidisha is a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, located near the state capital Bhopal. Vidishā is the administrative headquarters of Vidisha District. The city was also known as Bhilsa during the medieval period.-Geography:...

 as the capital of Dasharna. Other important cities of this janapada were Erakina

Eran

Eran is an ancient Indian historical city in Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh state. It can be called to be the oldest historical town of Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh. In earlier coins and inscriptions its name appears as Airikiṇa . From an early inscription at Sanchi we know that the...

 and Erikachha. According to the Mahabharata

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

, the queen of king Virabahu or Subahu of Chedi

Chedi Kingdom

Chedi kingdom was one among the many kingdoms ruled during early periods by Paurava kings and later by Yaduvanshi Rajput kings in the central and western India. It falls roughly in the Bundelkhand division of Madhya Pradesh regions to the south of river Yamuna and along river Betwa or Vetravati...

 kingdom and the queen of king Bhima of Vidarbha

Vidarbha

Vidarbha is the eastern region of Maharashtra state made up of Nagpur Division and Amravati Division. Its former name is Berar . It occupies 31.6% of total area and holds 21.3% of total population of Maharashtra...

 (the mother of Damayanti

Damayanti

Damayanti , a character in Hindu mythology, was the princess of Vidarbha Kingdom, who married king Nala, of Nishadha Kingdom, and their story is told in the Mahabharata.-The story:...

) were daughters of the king of Dasharna.

King Ashadhamitra of Dasharna

A brick inscription from Erich, which commemorates the excavation of a tank, informs us about a king of Dasharna, Ashadhamitra as well as his ancestors. In this inscription, Ashadhamitra, who styled himself as a Senapati is named as the son of Senapati Mulamitra (who was also the king of Dasharna), the grandson of Senapati Aditamitra and the great-grandson of Senapati Shatanika. Recently, a coin of Ashadhamitra has been discovered where he described himself as an Amatya and the king of Dasharna.