Aśmaka (Skt. अश्मक), or Pali Assaka, was a kingdom among the 16 Mahajanapadas mentioned in

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

literature, in inscriptions including the Ajāntā Caves, and in Sanskrit epic and Purānic literature. All other kingdoms were in the north, from

Anga Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...

to Gandhara. An alternative theory states that Asmaka was not an independent southern kingdom, but referred instead to Asvaka—a nation in the north ruled by the

Kambojas Kamboja ( sa, कम्बोज) was a kingdom of Iron Age India that spanned parts of South and Central Asia, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. Eponymous with the kingdom name, the Kambojas were an Indo-Iranian people o ...

. The epic

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

mentions that the

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of the name ''Asmaka'' was the adopted son of Saudasa a king of Kosala and an

Ikshwaku The Solar dynasty (IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty is ...

ruler.

References in the Mahābhārata

Asmaka the adopted son of Saudasa

Madayanti, the wife of Saudasa, commanded by her husband to raise offspring went unto Rishi Vasishtha. And on going in unto him, the beautiful Madayanti obtained a son named

Asmaka Ashmaka (Sanskrit: ) or Assaka (Pali: ) was a Mahajanapadas, Mahajanapada in ancient India which existed between 700 BCE and 425 or 345 BCE according to the Buddhist texts ''Aṅguttara Nikāya, Anguttara Nikaya'' and ''Puranas''. It was loc ...

. (1,122). This history is repeated at (1,197), where it adds that the queen bore the embryo in her womb for a long time. She being impatient upon her pregnancy, hit her stomach by stone (''Aśma''n, अश्मन्, in

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 ...

), hence the son thus born was named

. He became a great king and founded the city of Paudanya.

Asmakas in Kurukshetra War

On Pandava Side

Asmakas were mentioned to be on the side of

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

, with

Dhristadyumna Dhrishtadyumna ( sa, धृष्टद्युम्न, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the courageous and splendid one) is the son of Drupada—the king of the Panchala kingdom—and the twin brother of Draupadi in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. Dhri ...

, at (7.83)

On Kaurava Side

Borne by his well-broken steeds Abhimanyu quickly checked the son of Asmaka. Staying before him, the handsome son of Asmaka pierced him with ten shafts and addressing him, said, ‘Wait, Wait.’ Abhimanyu then, with ten shafts, cut off the former’s steeds and charioteer and standard and two arms and bow and head, and caused them to fall down on the earth, smiling the while. After the heroic ruler of the Asmakas had thus been slain by the son of Subhadra, the whole of his force wavered and began to fly away from the field. (7,35)

Karna's conquests

Dhritarashtra Dhritarashtra ( sa, धृतराष्ट्र, ISO-15919: Dhr̥tarāṣṭra) was a Kuru king, and the father of the Kauravas in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the King of the Kuru Kingdom, with its capital at Hastinapura. He was ...

talks of

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...

having conquered the mighty foes----the Gandharas, the

Madra Madra (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western South Asia whose existence is attested since the Vedic period. The members of the Madra tribe were called the Madrakas. Location The Madras were divided into -Madra ("northe ...

kas, the Matsyas, the Trigartas, the Tanganas, the

Khasas Khasas (Devanāgarī: खश; ') were an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe and a late Janapada kingdom from Himalayan regions of northern Indian subcontinent mentioned in the various historical Indian inscriptions and ancient Indian Hindu and Tibetan lite ...

, the Pancalas, the Videhas, the Kulindas, the Kasi-kosalas, the Suhmas, the Angas, the Nishadhas, the

Pundras Pundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom ( sa, Puṇḍravardhana), was an ancient kingdom during the Iron Age period in India with a territory that included parts of present-day Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions of Bangladesh as well as the West Dinaj ...

, the Kichakas, the Vatsas, the

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

s, the Taralas, the Asmakas, and the

Rishikas The Rishikas (also ''Rshika'' and ''Ṛṣika'') was an ancient Kingdom of Central Asia and South Asia, who are mentioned in Hindu and Sanskrit literary texts, including the ''Mahabharata'', the ''Ramayana'', the '' Brhat-Samhita'', the '' Markend ...

(i.e. south-western Rishikas located in Maharashtra) (8.8) and numerous other tribes including the Kaikeyas,

, Ambasthas and Videhas, etc.

Asmaka Sumantu, a sage

Asmaka Sumantu was a sage among the sages who assembled in Kurukshetra, during the last days of Kuru hero Bhishma. (12,47)

References

Sources

Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...

, translated to English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli

External links

{{Tribes and kingdoms of the Mahabharata Kingdoms in the Mahabharata Former kingdoms