India: The city of Kishkindha, now Hampi, as the Monkey Kingdom King Sugriva, in an 18th century painting

India: The city of Kishkindha, now Hampi, as the Monkey Kingdom King Sugriva, in an 18th century painting

Kishkindha was the Monkey Kingdom of the Vanara (monkey) King Sugriva, the younger brother of Bali, in the Indian epic the Ramayana. This was the kingdom where he ruled with the assistance of his minister, Hanuman. This kingdom is identified to be the regions around the Tungabhadra river (then known as Pampa Saras) near Hampi in Karnataka. During the time of Ramayana the whole region was covered by the dense Dandaka Forest extending from the Vindhya range to the South Indian peninsula. Hence this kingdom was considered to be the kingdom of Vanaras which in Sanskrit means 'apes', 'monkeys' or 'forest-animals'. Kishkindha is mentioned in the epic Ramayana in great detail; there are also a few mentions of thie kingdom in the epic Mahabharata.

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5575 x 3242 px | 51.7 MB

47.2 x 27.4 cm | 18.6 x 10.8 in (300 dpi)