KIṢKINDHĀ An ancient kingdom of the monkeys in South India. This kingdom is mentioned both in the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata. During the Rāmāyaṇa period a monkey King called Ṛkṣarāja was the ruler of Kiṣkindhā. He was childless. Once upon a time a son called Bāli was born to Aruṇīdevī by Indra, and another son called Sugrīva was born to her by Sūrya. (See under Aruṇa). Both the boys were brought up in the Āśrama of sage Gautama. When they grew up, Indra handed them over to Ṛkṣarāja, and thus Bāli and Sugrīva came to Kiskindhā. After the death of Ṛkṣarāja, Bāli became King of Kiṣkindhā and Sugrīva lived in the service of his brother. At that time there was a very mighty Asura called Dundubhi. Finding no one fit to fight with, he challenged Varuṇa. Varuṇa directed him to Himavān, whose peaks he rent asunder, and played with. Then Himavān told Dundubhi that he was of a peaceful nature and that Bāli would be a match for him (Dundubhi). Accordingly Dundubhi fought with Bāli and got killed. Bāli cast away the corpse of Dundubhi. The blood oozing out from the nose of Dundubhi fell on the body of sage Mataṅga who was engaged in penance on the peak Ṛṣyamūka. Bymeans of his divine powers, the sage found out the origin of the blood contaminating his body, and cursed that Bāli would die the moment he set foot on the mountain. Dundubhi's son Māyāvī was enraged at the death of his father. He went to Kiṣkindhā to take revenge on Bāli, but got defeated by the latter in fighting. Māyāvī took to his heels; Bāli followed him, and Sugrīva followed his brother. Māyāvī took refuge in a cave followed by Bāli, and Sugrīva waited at the mouth of cave. Even after one year neither Bāli nor Māyāvī emerged out of the cave, but Sugrīva saw blood coming out of the cave and heard Māyāvī roaring. Taking it for granted that Bāli was killed, Sugrīva closed the mouth of the cave, returned to Kiṣkindhā, and at the instance of his subjects assumed kingship. But, Bāli forced open the cave, hurried back to his kingdom, and interpreting the action of Sugrīva as one purposely done to usurp the throne, drove Sugrīva away and took for himself Sugrīva's wife. Thus Bāli became again King of Kiṣkindhā. There is a mountain called “Bāli-kerā-mala”--mountain prohibited to Bāli--in the eastern region of the former princely kingdom of Travancore. Is it in any way connected with Ṛṣyamūkācala? Sugrīva founded a new kingdom at Ṛṣyamūka mountain. Mainda, Dvivida, Hanūmān and Jāmbavān were the ministers of Sugrīva. It was while Sugrīva was thus living on Ṛṣyamūkācala that Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa came that way in the course of their search for Sītā. In accordance with the agreement made between Sugrīva and Rāma, the latter killed Bāli and crowned Sugrīva as the King of Kiṣkindhā.
[Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa,] ;
[Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 280] . During the triumphal tour of Sahadeva in the South he fought against Kiṣkindhā, and after seven days' fighting the monkeys saw Sahadeva off with a present of costly gems. “Sahadeva fought against the monkey chiefs like Mainda, Dvivida etc. for seven days, but neither of them got exhausted, and the monkey chiefs, with affection and gratitude asked Sahadeva to depart with gems.”
[Sabhā Parva, Chapter 31] . During this period nothing was heard of Sugrīva, Hanūmān and Jāmbavān in Kiṣkindhā. Might be Sugrīva was no more. Hanūmān, after the death of Śrī Rāma, lived in Gandhamādana in Kimpuruṣavarṣa. Bhārata ;
[Bhāgavata, 10th Skandha] . From the story of Prasena it may be seen that Jāmbavan left Kiṣkindhā and lived in another cave with his sons and other relations. It was the other two ministers of Sugrīva, Mainda and Dvivida, who were ruling Kiṣkindhā when Sahadeva went there. The power and prestige of Kiṣkindhā had begun to set by then, and in course of time Kiṣkindhā ceased to exist but in name.