Matsya, Mahajanapada

The state Matsya has Viratanagar as its capital. It was situated at the south of Kuru and west of river Yamuna. According to Mahabharata it was conquered by the king of Chedi but later on was merged in Magadha as well. The Kingdom of Matsya was again an important part of the sixteen mahajanapadas. This lay south of the Kurus and west of the Yamuna, which separated them from the Panchalas. The Machcha tribe inhabited this region, which had its capital at Viratanagara. The Matsyas are generally linked up with the Surasenas in Pali literature. The Matsya tribes in comparison to the other janapadas were of not much political eminence during the age of Buddha. Matsyas and the chhedis have a connection here when we see that the same king Sujata once ruled them, and Matsya was a part of the kingdom of Chedi.