PANDAVAS IN KALACHURI ART OF CHHATTISGARH

THE Chhattisgarh region is traditionally connected with various episodes of the Mahabharata.

- SAURABH SAXENA

The Bastar region was known as Mahakantara during this period. The Lakshagraha (house of lac) where the Kauravas planned the Pandavas’ assassination was apparently situated here. After the Mahabharata war, the Pandavas’ successors occupied the Chhattisgarh region. Sirpur, an important ancient archaeological site, is believed to have been the capital of Bhabrubahana, Arjuna’s son with Chitrangada. The Panduvamshi dynasties of Mekala and Kosala that ruled the region during the sixth-eighth century CE claim their descent from the Pandavas.

The depiction of the Pandavas and the Mahabharata scenes are not very frequent in Indian art. Whereas several places across India are associated with the Mahabharata, there is a lack of tangible evidence to confirm whether these associations are recent fabrications or part of the tradition in early and medieval Indian history. We are fortunate to have some evidence from Chhattisgarh suggesting that the association of the region with the Mahabharata was also in vogue during the medieval period.