Nisadhas were a different race from the Nisadas with whom they are often confounded; and it may well be concluded that they belonged to the Aryan fold. According to the epic and Pauranic tradition, the Nisadhas are said to have sprung from the primeval King Prithu, son of Vena. The tribe seems to have derived its name from Nisadha who is described in the Puranas and Bhagavad Gita to have been the son of Atithi, grandson of Kusa, and father of Nala. According to the Vishnu Purana , the ten kings of the Mekala country and nine of the Sapta Kosala country are said to have been succeeded by the nine kings of the Nisadhas, while, according to the Vayu Purana, the kings of the Nisadha country held sway till the end of the days of Manu. They were all descendants of King Nala, and lived in the country of Nisadha. This King Nala of the Puranas must be identical with the Nala whose story is referred to in the Mahabharata.

As per as the location of the kingdom of Nisadha is concerned it can be said that it was not very far from Vidarbha, the country of Nala`s queen, Damayanti. The Puranas say that the kingdom of Nisadhas is located in the upper and lower regions of the Vindhyan Mountain Range. According to the Mahabharata, the capital of the Nisadhas was Giriprastha.

History says that the Nisadhas seem to have played a prominent part in the Kurukshetra war in which they ranged themselves on the side of the Pandavas, along with the Mekalas, Kosalas, Madras and Dasarnas. They were at one time defeated by Karna.

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