Chhattisgarh State largely consists of plateaus
streaked with high range of Satpuras in the North, the river Mahanadi and its
tributaries in the Central Plains and the Bastar Plateau in the South. The Past
(Hills) give rises to the main river systems- Mahanadi, Hasdo, Sheonath and
Indravati.
Intersected by these meandering rivers and dotted with hills and plateaus, the
state has varied natural settings of great beauty. To the north of river Shivnath
there were 18 garhs belonging to the Kalchuris and to the South there were another
18 garhs belonging to the Kalchuris of Raipur. Hence, the total of these 36
Garhs (Forts) formed the basis of naming this region as Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh
lies between 17 - 46' to 24 - 5' North and 80 - 15' to 84 - 20' East. It covers
an area of 1,35,133 Sq. kms. bordering six other states - Uttar Pradesh and
Jharkhand in the North, Orissa in the East, Andhra Pradesh in the South, Maharashtra
in the South West and Madhya Pradesh in the North West.
Although the newly formed state came into existence on 1st November 2000, its
cultural heritage is as ancient as Stone age. In ancient times Chhattisgarh
was known as Dakshin Koshal. Geographical evidence of the place is found in
the Ramayana and the Mahabharat. Lord Rama entered Dandkarnaya from North-East
of Koshal and spent some of his exile (forest-living) period here. In Mahabharat's
Rajsoo Yagya episode the description of Dakshin Koshal has been found. In historical
records in Samudragupta Prayag eulogy, description of Kosal has been found.
After the sixth century evidence of political insurgence of Dakshin Koshal has
been found.
From Sixth Century to mid-twelve century Sarabhpurnima, Panduvanshi, Somvanshi,
Kalchuri and Nagwanshi rulers dominated the region. The various documents, Copper
plaques, coins, and archeological goods apprise us about the cultural heritage
and political development of that time. In contemporary history evidence of
ancient people has been found in the hills of Raigarh, Singhanpur, Kabra, Basnajhar,
Boslada and Ongana mountains at "Chitwandongri" in Rajnandgaon district.
The stone equipment made and used by ancient people have been found from the
coasts of Mahanadi, Mand, Kanhar, Manihari, and Kelo River.
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