Dasharna (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

:दशार्ण ) was an

ancient Indian The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to ancient India: Ancient India is the Indian subcontinent from prehistoric times to the start of Medieval India, which is typically dated (when the term is still used) to th ...

janapada The Janapadas () (c. 1500–600 BCE) were the realms, republics (ganapada) and kingdoms (saamarajya) of the Vedic period on the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic period reaches from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age: from about 1500 BCE to th ...

(realm) in eastern

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...

region between the

Dhasan River The Dhasan River is a river in central India. A right bank tributary of the Betwa River, it originates in Begumganj tehsil (Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh). The river forms the southeastern boundary of the Lalitpur District of Uttar Pradesh s ...

and the

Betwa River The Betwa (Hindi: बेतवा, Sanskrit: वेत्रवती) is a river in Central and Northern India, and a tributary of the Yamuna. It rises in the Vindhya Range (Raisen) just north of Narmadapuram in Madhya Pradesh and flows north ...

. The name of the janapada was derived from the , the ancient name of the Dhasan River. The janapada was also known as ''Akara'' and

Rudradaman I Rudradāman I (r. 130–150) was a Śaka ruler from the Western Kshatrapas dynasty. He was the grandson of the king Caṣṭana. Rudradāman I was instrumental in the decline of the Sātavāhana Empire. Rudradāman I took up the title of '' Ma ...

in his Junagarh rock inscription referred to this region by this name.

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...

in his Meghaduta (''Purvamegha'', 24-25) mentioned the city of

Vidisha Vidisha (विदिशा, formerly known as Bhelsa and known as Besnagar in ancient times) is a city in central Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located 62.5 km northeast of the state capital, Bhopal. The name "Vidisha" is derived from th ...

as the capital of Dasharna. Other important cities of this janapada were Erakina and Erikachha. According to the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

, the queen of king Virabahu or Subahu of Chedi kingdom and the queen of king Bhima of

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a Proposed states and union territories of India#Maharashtra, proposed state of central India, comprising th ...

(the mother of

Damayanti ''Damayanti'' (Sanskrit: दमयंती) is a character in a love story found in the Vana Parva book of the Mahabharata. She was the daughter of Bhima (not the Pandava one) and a princess of the Vidarbha Kingdom, who married King Nala of th ...

) were daughters of the king of Dasharna. Dasharna historical region

King Ashadhamitra of Dasharna

A brick inscription from

Erich The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

, which commemorates the excavation of a tank, informs us about a king of Dasharna, Ashadhamitra as well as his ancestors. In this inscription, Ashadhamitra, who styled himself as a ''Senapati'' is named as the son of ''Senapati'' Mulamitra (who was also the king of Dasharna), the grandson of ''Senapati'' Aditamitra and the great-grandson of Senapati ''Shatanika''. Recently, a coin of Ashadhamitra has been discovered where he described himself as an ''Amatya'' and the king of Dasharna.Bhandare, S. (2006). ''Numismatics and History: The Maurya-Gupta Interlude in the Gangetic Plain'' in P. Olivelle ed. ''Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE'', New York: Oxford University Press, , pp.77,90

King Ashadhamitra of Dasharna

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