https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Matsya_KingdomMatsya Kingdom - Revision history2026-11-06T08:20:05ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Matsya_Kingdom&diff=143147&oldid=previmported>Dominus Moravian: + cat.2021-08-06T21:52:39Z<p>+ cat.</p>
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{{Infobox country<br />
|native_name = <br />
|conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Matsya<br />
|common_name = Matsya Kingdom<br />
|era = [[Bronze Age]], [[Iron Age]]<br />
|government_type = [[Monarchy]]<br />
|year_start = c. 700 BCE<br />
|year_end = c. 300 BCE<br />
|s1 = <br />
|image_map = Mahajanapadas_(c._500_BCE).png<br />
| image_map_alt = <br />
|image_map_caption = Matsya Kingdom and other Mahajanapadas in the Post Vedic period.<br />
|leader1 = <br />
|capital = [[Viratnagar|Viratanagari]] (present-day [[Viratnagar]])<br />
|common_languages = [[Sanskrit]]<br />
|religion = [[Hinduism]]<br>[[Buddhism]]<br>[[Jainism]]<br />
|currency = <br />
|title_leader= [[Maharaja]]<br />
|today = [[India]] (in northeast of [[Rajasthan]] state) <br />
}}<br />
[[File:Map of Vedic India.png|thumb|250px|The position of the Matsya kingdom in [[Vedic civilization|Iron Age Vedic India]].]]<br />
[[File:North India in 540 BCE.png|thumb|Map depicting 16 [[mahajanapada]]s kingdoms and other kingdoms of [[vedic era]] India in 540 BCE.]]<br />
{{HistoryOfSouthAsia}}<br />
<br />
'''Matsya Kingdom''' (700–300 BCE) was one of the ''solasa'' (sixteen) [[Mahajanapadas]] (great kingdoms) during the [[Vedic era]] as described in the Hindu epic ''[[Mahabharta]]'' and 6th BCE Buddhist text ''Anguttara Nikaya'', in what is now the modern state of [[India]]. [[Viratnagar]] in the northern part of [[Jaipur district]] in [[Rajasthan]] was its capital. It had [[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru]] and [[Surasena]] mahajanapadas to its north and east respectively.<br />
In the modern era, another [[United States of Matsya]] was a brief union of 4 [[princely state]]s of [[Bharatpur State|Bharatpur]], [[Dholpur State|Dholpur]], [[Alwar State|Alwar]] and [[Karauli State|Karauli]] temporarily put together from 1947 to 1949.<br />
<br />
<ref name=Malik>{{Cite book |last=Malik |first=Dr Malti |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bMg-DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA12 |title=History of India |date=2016 |publisher=New Saraswati House India Pvt Ltd |isbn=978-81-7335-498-4 |page=52-53 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=r2>{{cite web|url=http://rajassembly.nic.in/raj-integration.htm|title=Integration of Rajasthan|publisher=Rajasthan Legislative Assembly website|access-date=2009-06-04}}</ref><br />
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==Etymology==<br />
''Matsya'' is [[Sanskrit]] for "fish". [[Matsya]] is sacred to Hindus as it is one of the [[avatar]] (incarnation) of Hindu deity [[Vishnu]] which has been described in detail in [[Matsya Purana]]. Matsya kingdoms usually have the fish in their state [[emblem]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Dalal|first=Roshen|title=Hinduism and its basic texts|date=2017-07-14|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315545936-11|work=Reading the Sacred Scriptures|pages=250, 157–170|place=1 [edition]. {{!}} New York : Routledge, 2017. {{!}}|publisher=Routledge|doi=10.4324/9781315545936-11|isbn=978-1-315-54593-6|access-date=2020-09-16}}</ref><br />
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==Vedic era Matsya Kingdoms==<br />
''Matsya Kingdom'' was one of the ''solasa'' (sixteen) [[Mahajanapadas]] (great kingdoms). [[Painted Grey Ware culture]] (PGW) chiefdoms in the region were succeeded by [[Northern Black Polished Ware]] (NBPW) from c. 700-500 BCE, associated with the rise of the great [[mahajanapada]] states ([[mahajanapada]] states [[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru]], [[Panchala]], [[Matsya]], [[Surasena]] and [[Vatsa]])<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bhan|first=Suraj|date=2006-12-01|title=North Indian Protohistory and Vedic Aryans|journal=Ancient Asia|volume=1|pages=173|doi=10.5334/aa.06115|issn=2042-5937|doi-access=free}}</ref><br />
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By the late Vedic period, they ruled a kingdom located south of the [[Kuru (kingdom)|Kuru]]s, and west of the [[Yamuna]] river which separated it from the kingdom of the [[Panchala]]s. It roughly corresponded to [[Jaipur]] in [[Rajasthan]], and included the whole of [[Hindaun Block|Hindaun]], [[Alwar]] with portions of [[Bharatpur, India|Bharatpur]] as well as [[South Haryana]]. The capital of Matsya was at [[Bairat|Viratanagari]] (present-day [[Bairat]]) which is said to have been named after its founder king, Virata.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ratnawat, Shyam Singh. Sharma, Krishna Gopal.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/606486051|title=History and culture of Rajasthan : from earliest times upto 1956 A.D.|date=1999|publisher=Centre for Rajasthan Studies, University of Rajasthan|pages=7|oclc=606486051}}</ref> In [[Pali literature]], the Matsya tribe is usually associated with the [[Surasena]]. The western Matsya was the hill tract on the north bank of the [[Chambal River]]. Matsya kingdom was founded by king Matsya who was the twin brother of [[Satyavati]] and who was contemporary to [[Bhishma]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bender|first1=Ernest|last2=Jain|first2=Kailash Chand|date=1978|title=Lord Mahāvīra and His Times|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/598811|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=98|issue=3|pages=209|doi=10.2307/598811|jstor=598811|issn=0003-0279}}</ref><br />
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In the early 6th century BCE, Matsya was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas mentioned in the [[Buddhist]] text ''Anguttara Nikaya'', but its power had greatly dwindled and it was of little political importance by the time of [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]. The ''[[Mahabharata]]'' (V.74.16) refers to a King Sahaja, who ruled over both the Chedis and the Matsyas, which implies that Matsya once formed a part of the [[Chedi Kingdom]].<br />
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Other than the Matsya kingdom to the south of Kuru Kingdom, which falls in the [[Hindaun Block|Hindaun]] and [[Alwar district|Alwar]], [[Bharatpur district|Bharatpur]] districts of Rajasthan, the epic refers to as many as six other Matsya kingdoms. [[Upaplavya]] was a notable city of the kingdom. On the 13th year of [[Pandavas]]'s exile, pandavas and [[Draupadi]] stay in matsya kingdom of King [[Virata]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Agarwal|first1=Ramlal|last2=Gokhale|first2=Namita|date=1995|title=Gods, Graves and Grandmother|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/40151816|journal=World Literature Today|volume=69|issue=4|pages=873|doi=10.2307/40151816|jstor=40151816|issn=0196-3570}}</ref><br />
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==Modern era United States of Matsya==<br />
After the [[Independence Day (India)|Indian independence]] in 1947, the [[princely state]]s of [[Bharatpur State|Bharatpur]], [[Dholpur State|Dholpur]], [[Alwar State|Alwar]] and [[Karauli State|Karauli]] were temporarily put together from 1947 to 1949 as the ''"United States of Matsya"'', and later in March 1949 after these princely states signed the [[Instrument of Accession]] they were merged with the present state of [[Rajasthan]].<ref>[https://nwr.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1416202359797-Tourist%20Places.pdf NWR tourist places]</ref> '''Matsya Festival''' is held in [[Alwar]] every year in the last week of November to celebrate culture and adventure.<ref>[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/all-about-alwar-matsya-festival-2018/as66707230.cms All about Alwar Matsya Festival 2018], [[Times of India]], November 2018.</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
; Matsya related<br />
* [[Matsya Purana]]<br />
<br />
; Vedic era related<br />
* [[Vedic period]]<br />
* [[Janpadas]]<br />
* [[Mahajanapadas]]<br />
* [[Parikshit]], [[Janamejaya]]<br />
<br />
; Neighbors in Mahabharta<br />
* [[Kuru Kingdom]]: [[King Kuru]], [[Uttara Kurus]], [[Uttara Kuru Kingdom]]<br />
* [[Surasena]]<br />
* [[Panchala]], <br />
* [[Magadha]], <br />
* [[Nishada Kingdom|Nishada]]<br />
<br />
; Modern archaeology of Vedic era<br />
* [[Cemetery H culture]]<br />
* [[Painted Grey Ware culture]]<br />
* [[Kingdoms of Ancient India]]<br />
<br />
; Present day regions<br />
* [[Administrative divisions of Haryana|Regions of Haryana]]<br />
* [[:Category:Regions of Rajasthan|Regions of Rajasthan]]<br />
* [[Administrative divisions of Uttar Pradesh|Regions of Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
* [https://hindumythologysite.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/matsya-kingdom/ Hindu Mythology]<br />
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{{Mahajanapada}}<br />
{{Tribes and kingdoms of the Mahabharata}}<br />
{{Mahabharata}}<br />
{{Historical regions of North India}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:8th-century BC establishments in India]]<br />
[[Category:4th-century BC disestablishments]]<br />
[[Category:Mahabharata]]<br />
[[Category:Rigvedic tribes]]<br />
[[Category:Mahajanapadas]]<br />
[[Category:Princely states of India]]<br />
[[Category:Locations in Hindu mythology]]<br />
[[Category:Regions of Haryana]]<br />
[[Category:Regions of Rajasthan]]</div>imported>Dominus Moravian