Hataka

Hataka, हाटक or Harataka is a state mentioned in some translations of the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism. The epic, which narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins which culminates in the Kurukshetra War, mentions Hataka as a northern land conquered by (or being conquered by) Arjuna, a Pandava prince and one of the major protagonists of the Mahabharata.

India during the Mahabharata

According to a translation by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, it is the state inhabited Yaksha (Guhaka),[1] a class of nature spirits in the epic.

  • At the time of the Mahabharata, Arjuna conquered the north land[2] (had conquered or was conquering?) in the context - "तं जित्वा हाटकं नाम देशं गुह्मकरक्षितम्, पाकशासनिरव्यग्रः सहसैन्यः सभसदत्।"
  • It is possible that the location of the poet Kālidāsa 'Meghadūta' and the 'Alka' will be located near Hataka.
  • Hataka was stated to be near Mansarovar(Lake Manasa) - "सरोमानसामासाद्यहाटकानभितः प्रभु, गंधर्वरक्षितं देशमजयत् पंडवस्ततः".[3][4]

In Mahajanapada Period (600BC-325BC), Kambojas (Sanskrit:- कम्बोज)(Assamese/Banglaকম্বোজ), which is a Mahajanapadas, Capital was Hataka.

Aitihasik Sthanavali

According to the 1969 book Aitihasik Sthanavali [5] by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, the following was the info given about the kingdom.

  • The current state of Hataka was nearby Mansarovar and Kailash in Tibet, inhabited by Yakshas and Gandharva.[6]
  • In the opinion of Mr. C. V. Law, Hataka is the current Attock city in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
  • According to N.L. De, Hataka is the name of Huna Kingdom.

References
  1. Sabhaparva 27,3(in the english wikisource translated edition by Kisari Mohan Ganguli), 29,3(in the wikisource official sanskrit version)
  2. Rönnow, Kasten (1929). "Some Remarks on Śvetadvīpa". Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London. 5 (2): 256. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00122682. JSTOR 607695. S2CID 173972600 – via JSTOR.
  3. Sabhaparva 27,5(in the english wikisource translated edition by Kisari Mohan Ganguli), 29,5(in the wikisource official sanskrit version)
  4. Ghosh, Jogendra Chandra (1935–36). "ŚRĪHAṬṬA-NĀGARA AND THE ŚRĪ-GAUḌA BRĀHMAṆAS". Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. 17 (4): 386. JSTOR 41694128 – via JSTOR.
  5. Mathur, Vijayendra Kumar (1969). Etihasik Sthanavali.
  6. Hopkins, E. Washburn (September 1910). "Mythological Aspects of Trees and Mountains in the Great Epic". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 30 (4): 364. doi:10.2307/3087578. JSTOR 3087578 – via JSTOR.
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