Hataka

India during the Mahabharata

Hataka(हाटक) (or Harataka in some translated editions) is a country mentioned in the Mahabharata. It is the stated country of Yaksha(Guhaka), a class of nature spirits.

• At the time of the Mahabharata, Arjuna conquered the north land (had conquered or was conquering?) in the context - "तं जित्वा हाटकं नाम देशं गुह्मकरक्षितम्, पाकशासनिरव्यग्रः सहसैन्यः सभसदत्।"

• It is possible that the location of the poet Kālidāsa 'Meghadūta' and the 'Alka' will be located near Hataka.
• Hataka was stated to be near Mansarovar(Lake Manasa) - "सरोमानसामासाद्यहाटकानभितः प्रभु, गंधर्वरक्षितं देशमजयत् पंडवस्ततः".

In Mahajanapada Period (600BC-325BC), Kambojas (Sanskrit:- कम्बोज)(Assamese/Banglaকম্বোজ), which is a Mahajanapadas, Capital was Hataka.

Aitihasik Sthanavali

According to the 1969 book Aitihasik Sthanavali(ऐतिहासिक स्थानावली,directly translated as 'historical sites', Publisher: Vaigyanik Tatha Takaniki Shabdawali Ayog, Government of India, 1969. Reprint by Rajasthan Hindi Granth Akadami, Jaipur, 1990) by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, the following was the info given about the kingdom.

• The current state of Hataka was nearby Mansarovar and Kailash in Tibet, inhabited by Yaksha's and Gandharva.

• In the opinion of Mr. C. V. Law, Hataka is the current Attock city in the Punjab province of Pakistan.

• According to N.L. De, Hataka is the name of Huna Kingdom.