Location – Madhya Desha comprising of about eight districts of district of UP and Uttrakhand.
Ancient Boundaries - Panchala extended from Himalayas in the north to the river Charmanwati in the south during the period of the Mahabharata Itihasa. It has Mahajanapadas of Kuru, Surasena and Matsya kingdoms to the west and the forest of Naimisha to the east. It occupied territories on the then Ganga banks spreading up to town hall at the district headquarters, tehsil Kainmganj, village areas of Shamshabad, Dhoumpura, Raipur, Patiali, Rudaiyain, Meenpur, Nizamuddinpur, Jhajhota etc.
Current Boundaries – Erstwhile Panchala Mahajanapada approximately consists of current Districts of Etawah, Shahjahanpur, Brailey, Badaun, Mainpuri, Eta, Farrukhabad and Kanpur. Though currently most limit it to only two ancient cities of Kampilya and Ahichhetra areas, due to lack of historical knowledge.
History
It is mentioned in texts that Drupada the king of Panchala, and his sons, fought for the Pandavas at the Kurukshetra Dharma Yuddh as he was their father-in-law and also wanted to avenge his daughter’s insult. He provided 3 Akshauhinis armies to the Pandavas.
In most ancient times there was a massive kingdom referred in texts as Kuru-Panchala, but later in Vedic era itself there was a separation. In ancient times Panchala was formed as home to five Vedic tribes, viz. Krivis, Turvasas, Keshins, Shrinjayas and Somakas who merged into one under Krivis. Panchala became centre of Vedic learning and culture. It existed from the times of Purus, being a formidable kingdom during Dwapar and even till 10th century it finds prominent mention in history texts. Several rulers of Indraprastha have origins from Panchala or ancient Kampilya kingdoms.
The Panchala Mahajanapada was formed by multiple janas or tribes. King Drupada, whose daughter Draupadi was married to the Pandavas, belonged to the Somaka clan.
The Mahabharata text mentions that the Panchala country was divided into two territories due to a fight between two childhood Gurukul friends Drupada and Dronacharya. The fight resulted in Panchala division into two kingdoms: the northern Panchala with its capital at Ahichchhatra, and the southern Panchala with its capital at Kampilya.
Significance/ Itihasa - Important Events
• Division of Panchaladesha into South & North
• As Drupad becomes King of Panchala Mahajanapada, there is division of this great empire due to his disrespect towards his ‘Gurukul’ friend Dronacharya. Dronacharya falls in difficult times and asks Drupad to give him financial assistance but Drupad mocks childhood friendship and refuses to help the needy Brahmin. Dronacharya, as Guru of Princes of Kuru Empire, sons of Dhritarashtra and Pandu, asks his pupils for Drupad’s captivity as ‘Guru-Dakshina’. The captured Drupad is returned half Kingdom of Panchala- South Panchala with Kampilya as capital, and Dronacharya takes North Panchala with Ahichhetra as his capital.
• According to Mahabharata the division of the kingdom of Panchala into two was effected by a Treaty entered into by the Brahmin teacher Drona with Drupada the then king of Panchala, after the latter had been defeated by the young Kuru pupils of the former and seized and carried as a captive.
• Drona took northern half of the kingdom which became known by the name of Ahichchhatra or Uttara Panchala while Drupad continued to rule over the remaining half of his kingdom distinguished as Southern Panchala.
• It was one of the most powerful kingdoms of the Ancient India, closely allied with the Kuru Kingdom. It had become an oligarchic confederacy, considered one of the solasa or sixteen Mahajanapadas (major states) of the Indian subcontinent. After being absorbed into the Mauryan Empire, Panchala regained its independence until it was annexed by the Gupta Empire.
• The Mahabharata too credits Galava, a Panchala of the Babhravyagotra, with the authorship of the Kramapatha.
Places of Interest
Angadesh, Barsana, Gikul, Vrindavana, Lakshagraha Varnavat.
Important local crafts, cuisine
As Panchala consisted of several districts of current times the regions has the repository of variety of craft, cuisine of these regions and reflect a north Indian flavor.
Zardozi Embroidery of gold/ silver thread, block -printing, wood embedded artifacts products.
Cuisine: variety of milk products like ‘rabri’, flavored lassi, barfi of Loki (white gourd) Sweet are delicacies. Typical street food includes ‘Paparia (crisp fried large sizepuri) with dressings of boiled grated carrots, potato, capsicum, or seasonal veggies, boiled gram with sprinkled with chaat masala. Variety of ‘namkeen. Food adjuncts are also very popular. Most famous being ‘sem ka beej’ and many potatoes as this region has good quality and quantity of potato cultivation.
