Ancient Indian geography

The Mahājanapadas were sixteen kingdoms and aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation period.

thumb|The approximate extent of Āryāvarta during the late Vedic period (ca. 1100-500 BCE). Aryavarta was limited to northwest India and the western Ganges plain, while [[Greater Magadha in the east was habitated by non-Vedic Indo-Aryans and other people, who gave rise to Jainism and Buddhism.]] thumb|Vedic India alt=|thumb|Cemetery H, Late Harappan, OCP, Copper Hoard and Painted Grey ware sites.

''' (, ; Pali: ', ; ) is a toponym that appears in many ancient Indian literary sources and Buddhist texts such as the Mahavamsa, some of the Jataka tales, the Milinda Panha and the Ramayana.

thumb|300px|Tamilakam in the Sangam Period. thumb|300px|Tamilakam comprised that part of India south of the Maurya Empire .

The Janapadas () () (c. 1100–600 BCE) were the realms, aristocratic republics (Gaṇasaṅgha) and kingdoms (sāmarājya) of the Vedic period in the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic period reaches from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age: from about 1500 BCE to the 6th century BCE. With the rise of sixteen Mahajanapadas ("great janapadas"), most of the states were annexed by more powerful neighbours, although some remained independent.

Madhyadesha or the "middle country" was one of the five sub-divisions of ancient India that extended from the upper reaches of the Ganga and the Yamuna to the confluence of the two rivers at Prayaga. The territory of middle region constitutes a cogent entity — geographically as well as culturally. Inside northern India (ancient Aryavarta) this region has been instrumental in guiding the main currents of history and the spread of civilization from a very early age.

Uttarapatha (Hindi: ) is the name used by ancient Buddhist and Hindu texts to describe the Northern part of Jambudvipa (equivalent of present-day Afro - Eurasia), one of the "continents" in Vedic belief. In modern times, the Sanskrit word uttarapatha is sometimes used to denote the geographical regions of North India, Western India, Central India, Eastern India, Northeast India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal in just one term. The pronunciation of the word varies depending on the regional language of the speaker.

kingdom of Gondwana

Aparanta or Aparantaka (meaning 'Western border') was a geographical region of ancient India. It corresponded to the northern part of the Konkan region on the western coast of India. English civil servant-turned-historian J. F. Fleet believed that the Aparanta region included Kathiawad, Kutch, and Sindh, beside Konkan. However, historical records make it clear that the extent of Aparanta was much smaller.