Editing Vindhya Range (section)

== Cultural significance ==
[[File:Map of Vedic India.png|thumb|right|The Vindhyas are seen as the southern boundary of [[Aryavarta]] in this map. Note that historically, the term "Vindhyas" covered the Satpura range that lies to the south of Narmada.]]

The Vindhyas are regarded as the traditional geographical boundary between northern and southern India,<ref>{{cite book |author=Noboru Karashima |author-link=Noboru Karashima |title=A Concise History of South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpdVoAEACAAJ |year=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-809977-2 |page=xviii }}</ref> and have a distinguished status in both mythology and [[geography of India]].<ref name="HHW_Meghaduta_1843" /> In the ancient Indian texts, the Vindhyas are seen as the demarcating line between the territories of the [[List of Rigvedic tribes|Indo-Aryans]] and that of the others.<ref name="Edward1885" /> The most ancient Hindu texts consider it as the southern boundary of [[Aryavarta]].<ref name="HHW_Meghaduta_1843" /> The [[Mahabharata]] mentions that the [[Nishada Kingdom|Nishadas]] and other [[Mleccha]] tribes reside in the forests of the Vindhyas.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ved Vyasa |others=Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli |title=The Mahabharata (12.58.3211) |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12a058.htm |year=1886 |publisher=Bhārata Press }}</ref> Although the Indo-Aryan languages (such as [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and [[Konkani language|Konkani]]) spread to the south of Vindhyas later, the Vindhyas continued to be seen as the traditional boundary between the north and the south of India.<ref name="HHW_Meghaduta_1843" /><ref name="MSKohli2002" />

Vindhyas appear prominently in the Indian mythological tales. Although the Vindhyas are not very high, historically, they were considered highly inaccessible and dangerous due to dense vegetation and the hostile tribes residing there.<ref name="Stephen1880">{{cite journal | title=Influence of the Aryans upon the Aboriginal speech of India |author=John Avery |journal=The American Antiquarian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E64BAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA122 |volume=3 |year=1880 |publisher=Jameson & Morse |page=122 }}</ref><ref name="Jurgen2012">{{cite book |author=Jürgen Neuß |title=Narmadāparikramā – Circumambulation of the Narmadā River: On the Tradition of a Unique Hindu Pilgrimage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q5TYd6pXmdIC&pg=PA20 |year=2012 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-22857-3 |page=20 }}</ref> In the older Sanskrit texts, such as the [[Ramayana]], they are described as the unknown territory infested with [[Human cannibalism|cannibal]]s and [[demon]]s.<ref name="Brennan2006">{{cite book |author=Stephen Vincent Brennan |title=Classic Legendary Hero Stories: Extraordinary Tales of Honor, Courage, and Valor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JGqD-t83o8AC&pg=PA5 |date=January 2006 |publisher=Globe Pequot Press |isbn=978-1-59228-872-4 |page=5 }}</ref> The later texts describe the Vindhya range as the residence of fierce form of [[Shakti]] (goddess [[Kali]] or [[Durga]]), who has lived there since slaying the demons. She is described as [[Vindhyavasini]] ("Vindhya dweller"), and a temple dedicated to her is located in the [[Vindhyachal]] town of [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref name="Cynthia1998">{{cite book |chapter=Vindhyavasini: Local Goddess yet Great Goddess |author=Cynthia Ann Humes |editor=John Stratton Hawley |editor2=Donna M. Wulff |title=Devī: Goddesses of India |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CZrV3kOpMt0C&pg=PA49 |year=1998 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1491-2 |page=49 |author-link=Cynthia Ann Humes }}</ref><ref name="Vanamali2008">{{cite book |author=Vanamali |title=Shakti: Realm of the Divine Mother |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N5Ju3nWR52UC&pg=PA166 |date=21 July 2008 |publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co |isbn=978-1-59477-785-1 |page=166 }}</ref> The [[Mahabharata]] mentions the Vindhyas as the "eternal abode" of Kali.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ved Vyasa |others=Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli |title=The Mahabharata (4.6.232) |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m04/m04006.htm |year=1886 |publisher=Bhārata Press }}</ref>

According to one legend, the Vindhya mountain once competed with the [[Mount Meru]], growing so high that it obstructed the sun. The sage [[Agastya]] then asked Vindhya to lower itself, in order to facilitate his passage across to the south. In reverence for Agastya, the Vindhya lowered its height and promised not to grow until Agastya returned to the north. Agastya settled in the south, and the Vindhya mountain, true to its word, never grew further.<ref name="Roshen2014">{{cite book |author=Roshen Dalal |title=The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=87k0AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT124 |year=2014 |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |isbn=978-81-8475-396-7 |page=124 }}</ref>

The Kishkindha Kanda of Valmiki's Ramayana mentions that [[Mayasura|Maya]] built a mansion in the Vindhyas.<ref name="Parmesh2001">{{cite book |author=Swami Parmeshwaranand |title=Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QxPCBCk3wVIC&pg=PA871 |year=2001 |publisher=Sarup & Sons |isbn=978-81-7625-226-3 |page=871 }}</ref> In ''[[Dashakumaracharita]]'', the King Rajahamsa of Magadha and his ministers create a new colony in the Vindhya forest, after being forced out of their kingdom following a war defeat.
[[File:Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India (1871) (14596088869).jpg|thumb|right|A map of the "Vindhyan Series" from Geological Survey of India (1871)]]

The Vindhyas are one of the only two mountain ranges mentioned in the [[Jana Gana Mana|national anthem of India]], the other being the Himalayas.<ref name="Edgar2008">{{cite book |author1=Edgar Thorpe |author2=Showick Thorpe |title=Pearson General Knowledge Manual 2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLaKRbzU_bYC&pg=RA1-PA326 |year=2008 |publisher=Pearson Education India |isbn=978-81-317-2300-5 |pages=323–326}}</ref>