Hastinapura

Capital city

Hastinapura

Hastināpura

Location
Traditional site Hastinapur, Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh
Capital of
Kuru
Note
Capital of the Kuru kingdom under Dhritarashtra. Identification with modern Hastinapur on the old Ganga course is traditional and supported by excavation of an early settlement, but not proven.

In the story

  1. 1Shantanu, Ganga and the boy DevavrataA king marries a river goddess; the eighth son survives and returns as the finest warrior of his age
  2. 2Bhishma's vowTo win his father a bride, Devavrata gives up the throne and marriage for ever
  3. 3The princesses of KashiBhishma carries off three brides for his brother; Amba is refused by everyone and swears revenge
  4. 4Vyasa fathers the next generationA blind son, a pale son and a wise son born of a servant: Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura
  5. 5Pandu, Kunti and MadriPandu is crowned, marries Kunti and Madri, conquers, and is cursed to a childless life in the mountains
  6. 6The birth of the Pandavas and the KauravasFive sons by five gods on a mountain; a hundred sons from a ball of flesh; Pandu's death
  7. 7Drona, the tournament and KarnaA teacher of arms, the finest pupil, a stranger who matches him, and a fee paid in a kingdom
  8. 8The house of lacA palace built to burn; the Pandavas escape by tunnel into the forest and live in hiding
  9. 9Draupadi's svayamvaraOn a journey's route · A bow no king can string, a target hit by a brahmana, and one bride for five brothers
  10. 10Half a kingdom: IndraprasthaThe Pandavas are given the Khandava wilderness and build a city; Arjuna's pilgrimage and Subhadra; the burning of the forest
  11. 11Two Kuru courtsYudhishthira's rajasuya makes Indraprastha a rival to Hastinapura
  12. 12The dice gameYudhishthira stakes and loses everything at Hastinapura; Draupadi's question
  13. 13The second game and the exileTwelve years in the forest and a thirteenth in hiding; the Pandavas go to Kamyaka
  14. 15Duryodhana's cattle expedition and Draupadi's abductionDuryodhana is captured by gandharvas and freed by the Pandavas; Jayadratha seizes Draupadi
  15. 16The year in hiding at Virata's courtDisguises in Matsya, Kichaka's death, the cattle raid, and a marriage that seals an alliance
  16. 17The council at Upaplavya and the levy of armiesBoth sides summon allies; Krishna or Krishna's army; Shalya is won over
  17. 18Embassies and the last offersSanjaya to Upaplavya, Krishna to Hastinapura; five villages refused; Karna refuses his mother
  18. 19The march to KurukshetraSeven akshauhinis against eleven; commanders chosen; Bhishma's vow about Shikhandi
  19. 20The Bhagavad GitaArjuna lays down his bow between the two armies, and Krishna answers him
  20. 21The first day at KurukshetraThe rules of war, Yuyutsu crosses over, and Bhishma kills Shveta
  21. 22Day two: the crane and the KalingasDhrishtadyumna's crane formation, Arjuna holds Bhishma, Bhima breaks the Kalinga army
  22. 23Day three: Krishna leaps from the chariotThe eagle and the half-moon, Duryodhana faints, Bhishma's fury, and Krishna goes for Bhishma with the discus
  23. 24Day four: Bhima among the elephantsBhima's mace against the Kaurava elephants, Dhritarashtra's sons fall, and a blind king's question
  24. 25Day five: the sea-monster and the hawkBhishma's slaughter, Satyaki against Bhurishravas, Arjuna and Bhishma again
  25. 26Day six: Bhima cut offBhima goes too deep into the Kaurava army and Dhrishtadyumna goes in after him
  26. 27Day seven: the circle and the thunderboltBhishma's circle formation, a day of duels, and Duryodhana grieving his brothers
  27. 28Day eight: Iravan fallsArjuna's son by Ulupi is killed, Ghatotkacha routs Duryodhana, and Duryodhana turns on Bhishma at night
  28. 29Day nine: how can Bhishma be killed?Bhishma's greatest slaughter, Krishna charges him with a whip, and the Pandavas visit his tent by night
  29. 30Day ten: the bed of arrowsShikhandi in front, Arjuna behind him, and Bhishma falls at sunset
  30. 31Day eleven: Drona's promiseDrona takes command and promises to capture Yudhishthira alive
  31. 32Day twelve: the elephant kingThe sworn warriors draw Arjuna away, and Arjuna kills Bhagadatta on his elephant
  32. 33Day thirteen: the wheel and the boyAbhimanyu breaks into Drona's wheel formation and is killed by six warriors together
  33. 34Day fourteen: before the sun setsArjuna cuts through the whole Kaurava army to reach Jayadratha and kills him at sunset
  34. 35The night of the fourteenth dayThe battle goes on by torchlight, and Karna's spear kills Ghatotkacha
  35. 36Day fifteen: Ashvatthama is deadDrona kills Drupada and Virata, Yudhishthira tells a half-lie, and Dhrishtadyumna takes Drona's head
  36. 37Day sixteen: Karna in commandKarna leads the Kaurava army at last, spares Nakula, and fights Arjuna to a draw
  37. 38Day seventeen: the wheel in the earthBhima keeps his promise on Duhshasana, and Karna's chariot wheel sinks
  38. 39Day eighteen: the lake and the maceShalya and Shakuni fall, Duryodhana hides in a lake, and Bhima breaks his thighs
  39. 41The women come to the fieldDhritarashtra, Gandhari and Kunti walk among the dead, Gandhari curses Krishna, and Kunti tells the truth about Karna
  40. 42Yudhishthira is crownedGrief over Karna, a king who wants to give it all up, the entry into Hastinapura and the consecration
  41. 43Bhishma teaches from the bed of arrowsKrishna brings the new king to the dying grandsire, who teaches the duties of kings, of hard times and of release
  42. 44Bhishma lets goThe teaching on gifts and conduct; when the sun turns north Bhishma releases his life, and Ganga rises from the river to mourn him
  43. 45The horse sacrificeParikshit is born dead and revived; Arjuna follows the horse round the land and is killed by his own son; a mongoose mocks the sacrifice
  44. 46The elders go to the forestAfter fifteen years at court Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and Kunti leave for the forest; Vidura dies
  45. 47The dead come out of the riverVyasa calls the dead up from the Ganga for one night; two years later a forest fire takes Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and Kunti
  46. 48The iron boltThirty-six years after the war Gandhari's curse comes due: the Vrishnis kill each other at Prabhasa, Krishna and Balarama die, and the sea takes Dvaraka
  47. 49The great departureParikshit is crowned; the five brothers and Draupadi walk out of the world and fall one by one on the way to Meru
  48. 51How the story was toldVyasa composes it, Vaishampayana recites it at the snake sacrifice, and a bard carries it to Naimisha

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Positions on the atlas are approximate. A location marked traditional follows the identification most often given in the references on the Sources page; approximate and disputed mean what they say.