Haihaya kingdom
The Haihayas (Sanskrit: हैहय) were an ancient confederacy of five ganas (clans), who claimed their common ancestry from Yadu.
[3] In the Harivamsha (33.1847), the honour of founding their future capital city of Mahishmati (in present-day Madhya Pradesh) was attributed to king Mahishmant, son of Sahanja and a descendant of Yadu through Haihaya.
[2] The Haihaya territory expanded northward to the mid-Ganges valley under the Vitihotra rulers until they were stopped by the Ikshvaku king Sagara.
[10] The Mahagovindasuttanta of the Dighanikaya mentions an Avanti king Vessabhu (Vishvabhu) and his capital Mahissati (Mahishmati); probably he was a Vitihotra ruler.
[11] Probably, during the rule of the later Vitihotras, the whole Avanti region developed into two realms, divided by the Vindhyas, having principal cities at Mahishmati and Ujjayini (present day Ujjain).
[13] A number of early medieval dynasties, which include the Kalachuris and the Mushakavamsha Mushika kingdom of Kerala, claimed their descent from the Haihayas.
Advancing into that country that lies between the rivers Ganges and Yamuna, he fought a battle with King Haryyaswa, slaying him there.
That righteous-souled prince ruled his kingdom for some time before the hundred sons of Vitahavya once more invaded his dominions and defeated him in battle.
Realising the prowess of those high-souled princes, the sons of Vitahavya, King Divodasa, endued with great energy, rebuilt and fortified the city of Baranasi (Varanasi or Banaras) at Indra's command.
King Divodasa fought the enemy for a thousand days but at the end, having lost a number of followers and animals, he became exceedingly distressed.
The Haihaya king Vitahavya then, all his sons and kinsmen dead, sought protection of his priest Bhrigu.
Sage Saunaka, later receiver of the entire Mahabharata narrative from Ugrasrava Sauti, was born from the line of this Vitahavya.
Of impossible prowess, that chief of the Haihaya race of yadav Kshatriyas swayed the whole earth with her belt of seas, together with all her islands and all her precious mines of gold and gems.
Keeping before him the duties of the Kshatriya order, as also humility and Vedic knowledge, the king made large gifts of wealth unto the Lord Dattatreya (MBh 13,152).
The leader of the Bhargavas, Parasurama, son of Jamadagni, is said to kill the Haihaya king Kartavirya Arjuna.
Meanwhile, the mighty son of Kritavirya, Arjuna of the Kshatriya order and ruler of the Haihayas, imbued with great energy, highly virtuous in behaviour, and possessing a thousand arms through the grace of the great sage Dattatreya, and having subjugated in battle by the might of his own arms the whole earth with her mountains and seven islands, became a very powerful emperor.
(MBh 3,115) "Even though only the leaders Bhargava Rama and Kartavirya Arjuna are mentioned in most places, there is evidence that many people were involved in this dispute.
"[citation needed] Once upon a time the Brahmins, raising a standard of Kusa grass, encountered in battle the Kshatriyas of the Haihaya clan imbued with immeasurable energy.
The Kshatriyas told them, "In battle we obey the orders of one person imbued with great intelligence, while you are disunited from one another and act according to your individual understanding."
(MBh 5,157) Bhargava Rama, having his father Jamadagni slain and his calf stolen by the Kshatriyas, slew Kartaviryas who had never been vanquished before by foes.
And when many foremost of Brahmans uttered exclamations, mentioning the name of Rama of Bhrigu’s race, he proceeding against the Kashmiras, the Daradas, the Kuntis, the Kshudrakas, the Malavas, the Angas, the Vangas, the Kalingas, the Videhas, the Tamraliptakas, the Rakshovahas, the Vitahotras, the Trigartas, the Martikavatas, counting by thousand, slew them all by means of his whetted shafts.
