Kundinapuri was the capital of Vidarbha kingdom,Pimpri–Chinchiwad History
{{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928120244/http://www.pimpri.in/pimpri-chinchiwad-history/ , date=28 September 2008 ruled by king Bhima. It was also ruled by king Bhishmaka and his son Rukmi, a Bhoja-Yadava. However, king Rukmi created another capital for Vidarbha called Bhojakata. Two famous ladies mentioned in the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

epic,

Damayanti Damayanti () is a heroine in ancient Indian literature, primarily known for her role in the episode of ''Nala and Damayanti, Nalopakhyana'', which is embedded within the ''Vana Parva'' (the third book) of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c. 400 BCE – ...

and

Rukmini Rukmini (, ) is a Devi, Hindu goddess and the first queen of Krishna. She is described as the chief of Krishna's wives in Dvārakā. Rukmini is revered as the avatar of Lakshmi and is venerated primarily in Warkari, and Haridasa tradition, and ...

, lived here. They were both well known Vidarbha princesses. Damayanti was the daughter of king Bhima and the wife of the Nishadha prince

Nala Nala () is a legendary king of ancient Nishadha kingdom and the central protagonist of the '' Nalopakhyana'', a sub-narrative within the Indian epic '' Mahabharata'', found in its third book, '' Vana Parva'' (Book of the Forest). He is renown ...

. Rukmini was the daughter of Bhishmaka and the sister of Rukmi. She was the first wife of Vasudeva Krishna of Dwaraka. Kundinapuri was the gateway for the ancient travellers from north India to southern India. It was well connected to northern cities of ancient India like

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

. This ancient route is mentioned in

. It was also connected to kingdoms like Avanti and Nishadha. Kundinapuri is identified to be the modern day town of

Kaundinyapur Kaundanyapur is a village in Amravati District in the state of Maharashtra, India, thought to be the site of Kundinapuri, ancient capital of the legendary Vidarbha Kingdom. History Kaundanyapur is the capita ...

(also spelt Kaundanyapur) in

Amravati Amravati (/Marathi phonology, əmᵊɾɑʋᵊt̪iː/) is a city in Maharashtra located in the Vidarbha region. It is the ninth largest city in Maharashtra, India & second largest city in the Vidarbha region in terms of population. It is the ...

district in

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

state of India.

References

Ancient Indian cities History of Maharashtra