Kamyaka Forest
Encyclopedia
Kamyaka Forest was situated on the western boundary of the Kuru Kingdom
(Kuru Proper + Kurujangala), on the banks of the Saraswati River
. It lay to the west of the Kurukshetra
plain. It contained within it a lake called the Kamyaka lake (2,51). Kamyaka forest is mentioned as being situated at the head of the Thar desert
, near the lake Trinavindu (3,256). The Pandavas on their way to exile in the woods, left Pramanakoti on the banks of the Ganga and went towards Kurukshetra
, travelling in a western direction, crossing the rivers Yamuna
and Drishadvati. They finally reached the banks of the Saraswati River
. There they saw the forest of Kamyaka, the favourite haunt of ascetics, situated on a level and wild plain on the banks of the Saraswati (3-5,36) abounding in birds and deer (3,5). There the Pandavas lived in an ascetic asylum (3,10). It took 3 days for Pandavas to reach the Kamyaka forest, setting out from Hastinapura
, on their chariots (3,11).
slew Krimira, a Rakshasa
. Kamyaka forest was easily accessible for the citizens of Kurujangala. So the people of Kurujangala frequently visited their King Yudhisthira
in this forest (3,23). (Their cousins viz. the Yadavas, the Chedis
and the Kekayas also visited them here). In order to avoid such contacts they moved to the Dwaita Forest
(3,24).
who had left for military training in the northern Himalayas
(3,36). They lived thus for 5 years in Kamyaka (3,50). Ghatotkacha
lived with them during this period (7,181). Sage Vyasa
and Sage Lomasa visited them then. From there, they set out for a pilgrimage across India
, guided by Lomasa (3,93). Completing a tour of the whole of India, they came back to the Kurukshetra
region, but without entering the Kamyaka forest, went to the regions north of the Himalayas. They came back from there with Arjuna
among them and entered the Kamyaka woods for a 3rd time (3,181). It was the rainy season then and the Saraswati River
was full of water at that time (3,181). This time the Yadavas and Sage Markandeya
visited them. Sage Markandeya was an inhabitant of the Markanda river, a tributary of the Saraswati River
in the north of Kurukshetra
district in Haryana
Before entering Kamyaka this time, they had also spent one year in the forests of Vishakhayupa to the north of Kamyaka, on the banks of the Yamuna
, up on the mountains from where the river originated. It was in the midst of mountains abounding with water-falls (3,176). While dwelling there Bhima
was afflicted by a snake.
, the king of the Sindhu Kingdom
, on his way to the Salwa Kingdom
passed through the Kamyaka forest (3,262). He tried to abduct Draupadi
, but the Pandavas prevented that attempt. In the 12th year of their exile they left Kamyaka forest forever and went to the Dwaita woods (3,308).
Thus the Pandavas spent their 12 years of forest life by shuttling between the Kamyaka and the Dwaita
forests. There were roads walked by travellers, fields furnished with excellent corn and clear water between Dwaita and Kamyaka (3,256).
Kuru Kingdom
Kuru was the name of an ancient kingdom in Vedic India, and later a republican Mahajanapada state. The kingdom was located in the area of modern Haryana, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh in India. They formed the first political center of the of the Vedic India, with its capital at Hastinapur. It...
(Kuru Proper + Kurujangala), on the banks of the Saraswati River
Saraswati River
Saraswati River can refer to:*Sarasvati River*Saraswati River , a distributary of the Hooghly River which was active till around the 16th century AD*Ghaggar-Hakra River...
. It lay to the west of the Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra is a land of historical and religious importance. Historically the land belonged to Punjab now a district in Haryana state of India. It is a holy place and is also known as Dharmakshetra . According to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and...
plain. It contained within it a lake called the Kamyaka lake (2,51). Kamyaka forest is mentioned as being situated at the head of the Thar desert
Thar Desert
The Thar Desert |Punjab]] province. The Cholistan Desert adjoins the Thar desert spreading into Pakistani Punjab province.-Location and description:...
, near the lake Trinavindu (3,256). The Pandavas on their way to exile in the woods, left Pramanakoti on the banks of the Ganga and went towards Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra is a land of historical and religious importance. Historically the land belonged to Punjab now a district in Haryana state of India. It is a holy place and is also known as Dharmakshetra . According to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and...
, travelling in a western direction, crossing the rivers Yamuna
Yamuna
The Yamuna is the largest tributary river of the Ganges in northern India...
and Drishadvati. They finally reached the banks of the Saraswati River
Saraswati River
Saraswati River can refer to:*Sarasvati River*Saraswati River , a distributary of the Hooghly River which was active till around the 16th century AD*Ghaggar-Hakra River...
. There they saw the forest of Kamyaka, the favourite haunt of ascetics, situated on a level and wild plain on the banks of the Saraswati (3-5,36) abounding in birds and deer (3,5). There the Pandavas lived in an ascetic asylum (3,10). It took 3 days for Pandavas to reach the Kamyaka forest, setting out from Hastinapura
Hastinapura
Hastinapur is a town and a nagar panchayat in Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.-History:Hastinapur was the capital of the kingdom of the Kauravas, belonging to the Kuru dynasty of kings. The throne of this city was the prize over which the Kurukshetra War of the epic...
, on their chariots (3,11).
First time visit
During their first time stay at Kamyaka, BhimaBhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
slew Krimira, a Rakshasa
Rakshasa Kingdom
Rakshasa Kingdom refers to the territory of Rakshasas who were a tribe, mentioned along with others like Devas , Asuras , Pisachas, Gandharvas, Kimpurushas, Vanaras, Suparnas, Kinnaras, Bhutas and Yakshas...
. Kamyaka forest was easily accessible for the citizens of Kurujangala. So the people of Kurujangala frequently visited their King Yudhisthira
Yudhisthira
In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira , the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, was king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura. He was the leader of the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War...
in this forest (3,23). (Their cousins viz. the Yadavas, the Chedis
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...
and the Kekayas also visited them here). In order to avoid such contacts they moved to the Dwaita Forest
Dwaita Forest
Dvaita Forest or Dvaitavana was situated to the south of the Kamyaka Forest. It contained within it a lake called the Dwaita lake, abounding with flowers, and delightful to look at, and inhabited by many species of birds, elephants and many trees . It was on the south-western outskirts of...
(3,24).
Second and Third time Stay
The Pandavas came back from the Dwaita woods to Kamyaka again for a 2nd time. This time they lived without ArjunaArjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
who had left for military training in the northern Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
(3,36). They lived thus for 5 years in Kamyaka (3,50). Ghatotkacha
Ghatotkacha
Ghatotkacha , is a character in the Mahabharata, the son of Bhima and the giantess Hidimbi . His maternal parentage made him half-rakshasa and gave him many magical powers that made him an important fighter in the Kurukshetra war, the climax of the epic...
lived with them during this period (7,181). Sage Vyasa
Vyasa
Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...
and Sage Lomasa visited them then. From there, they set out for a pilgrimage across India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, guided by Lomasa (3,93). Completing a tour of the whole of India, they came back to the Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra is a land of historical and religious importance. Historically the land belonged to Punjab now a district in Haryana state of India. It is a holy place and is also known as Dharmakshetra . According to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and...
region, but without entering the Kamyaka forest, went to the regions north of the Himalayas. They came back from there with Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
among them and entered the Kamyaka woods for a 3rd time (3,181). It was the rainy season then and the Saraswati River
Saraswati River
Saraswati River can refer to:*Sarasvati River*Saraswati River , a distributary of the Hooghly River which was active till around the 16th century AD*Ghaggar-Hakra River...
was full of water at that time (3,181). This time the Yadavas and Sage Markandeya
Markandeya
Markandeya is an ancient rishi from the Hindu tradition, born in the clan of Bhrigu Rishi. He is celebrated as a devotee of both Shiva and Vishnu and is mentioned in a number of stories from the Puranas...
visited them. Sage Markandeya was an inhabitant of the Markanda river, a tributary of the Saraswati River
Saraswati River
Saraswati River can refer to:*Sarasvati River*Saraswati River , a distributary of the Hooghly River which was active till around the 16th century AD*Ghaggar-Hakra River...
in the north of Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra is a land of historical and religious importance. Historically the land belonged to Punjab now a district in Haryana state of India. It is a holy place and is also known as Dharmakshetra . According to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and...
district in Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
Before entering Kamyaka this time, they had also spent one year in the forests of Vishakhayupa to the north of Kamyaka, on the banks of the Yamuna
Yamuna
The Yamuna is the largest tributary river of the Ganges in northern India...
, up on the mountains from where the river originated. It was in the midst of mountains abounding with water-falls (3,176). While dwelling there Bhima
Bhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
was afflicted by a snake.
Fourth time Stay
The Pandavas again shifted to the Dwaita forest (3,176) and came back to Kamyaka for the 4th time after 1 year and 8 months, seeing that the deer population near the Dwaita lake was declining due to their presence there (3,256). During this time JayadrathaJayadratha
In the epic Mahābhārata, Jayadratha was the king of Sindhu Kingdom . He was married to Dushala, the only sister of the 100 Kaurava brothers. He was the son of the sinful king Vridhakshtra.- Abduction of Draupadi:...
, the king of the Sindhu Kingdom
Sindhu Kingdom
Sindhu&sandhu was a kingdom mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. It stretched along the banks of river Sindhu in the Ancient Greater India, which is now Pakistan. It is believed that Sindhu kingdom was founded by Vrsadarbh, one of sons of Sivi...
, on his way to the Salwa Kingdom
Salwa Kingdom
Salwa is a kingdom grouped among the western kingdoms in the epic Mahabharata. It is close to Madra Kingdom as both are mentioned together in many places. Saubha is its capital. Martikavati also is mentioned as the capital of Salwa kingdom. The famous prince Satyavan was from Salwa...
passed through the Kamyaka forest (3,262). He tried to abduct Draupadi
Draupadi
In the epic Mahābhārata, Draupadi, also known as ' is the "emerged" daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes the queen of Indraprastha...
, but the Pandavas prevented that attempt. In the 12th year of their exile they left Kamyaka forest forever and went to the Dwaita woods (3,308).
Thus the Pandavas spent their 12 years of forest life by shuttling between the Kamyaka and the Dwaita
Dwaita Forest
Dvaita Forest or Dvaitavana was situated to the south of the Kamyaka Forest. It contained within it a lake called the Dwaita lake, abounding with flowers, and delightful to look at, and inhabited by many species of birds, elephants and many trees . It was on the south-western outskirts of...
forests. There were roads walked by travellers, fields furnished with excellent corn and clear water between Dwaita and Kamyaka (3,256).