Real-World Places

The stories of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and Krishna happened in places you can still find on a map. This series visits ten of them, one each day from Dussehra, October 20, to October 29. Every guide tells you what the story says, shows you the place on a map, and then separates out what we actually know, in words kids can follow.

Ayodhya

Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh is the city the Ramayana calls the birthplace of Rama. Here is what the story says, and what we know about the real city.

Chitrakoot

Chitrakoot, on the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh border, is the forest region where Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana spent their exile.

Dwarka

Dwarka in Gujarat is the coastal city Krishna is said to have built, and the sea is said to have swallowed.

Hastinapur

Hastinapur in Uttar Pradesh is the city the Mahabharata calls the capital of the Kuru kingdom, the throne the Pandavas and Kauravas fought over.

Janakpur, Nepal

Janakpur in Nepal is the city tradition calls the capital of King Janaka’s Mithila, where Sita grew up and married Rama.

Kishkindha (Hampi)

The boulder-covered hills around Hampi in Karnataka are traditionally linked to Kishkindha, the monkey kingdom of Sugriva and Hanuman.

Kurukshetra

Kurukshetra in Haryana is the field where the Mahabharata’s great war was fought and the Bhagavad Gita was spoken.

Mathura

Mathura in Uttar Pradesh is the city Hindu tradition calls the birthplace of Krishna. Story, map, video, and what history says.

Rameshwaram

Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu is the island town from which Rama’s army is said to have built the Rama Setu bridge to Lanka.

Vrindavan

Vrindavan, near Mathura, is the town where Hindus believe Krishna spent his childhood among cowherds, friends, and mischief.