Vindhya Range

The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) (pronounced [ʋɪnd̪ʱjə]) is a complex, discontinuous <a href="/facts/Mountain_chain/yRvUbXLE">chain of mountain</a> <a href="/facts/Ridge/vd9Waeml">ridges</a>, hill ranges, highlands and plateau <a href="/facts/Escarpment/apJ1d2XB">escarpments</a> in west-central <a href="/facts/India/1kKHcnxM">India</a>.
Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the geological sense. The exact extent of the Vindhyas is loosely defined, and historically, the term covered a number of distinct hill systems in <a href="/facts/Central_India/LqI923yw">central India</a>, including the one that is now known as the <a href="/facts/Satpura_Range/YILeDBuo">Satpura Range</a>. Today, the term principally refers to the <a href="/facts/Escarpment/apJ1d2XB">escarpment</a> and its hilly extensions that runs north of and roughly parallel to the <a href="/facts/Narmada_River/DEYrkEGx">Narmada River</a> in <a href="/facts/Madhya_Pradesh/h8GnUBv6">Madhya Pradesh</a>. Depending on the definition, the range extends up to <a href="/facts/Gujarat/HwmVfMwr">Gujarat</a> in the west, <a href="/facts/Uttar_Pradesh/vXDwM9Df">Uttar Pradesh</a> and <a href="/facts/Bihar/T5Ga9JF8">Bihar</a> in the north, and <a href="/facts/Chhattisgarh/zUPy1wyT">Chhattisgarh</a> in the east. The average elevation of the Vindhyas is also dependent on different sources.
The word Vindhya is derived from the <a href="/facts/Sanskrit/ychfjhlx">Sanskrit</a> word vaindh (to obstruct) and is in reference to a mythological story. The Vindhya range is also known as "Vindhyachala" or "Vindhyachal"; the suffix achala (Sanskrit) or achal (<a href="/facts/Hindi/n1QIEeCC">Hindi</a>) refers to a mountain.
The Vindhyas have a great significance in <a href="/facts/Hindu_mythology/IcSsm5Aw">Indian mythology</a> and <a href="/facts/History_of_India/ntYkAYDQ">history</a>. Several ancient texts mention the Vindhyas as the southern boundary of the <a href="/facts/%25C4%2580ry%25C4%2581varta/T2ovd5SP">Āryāvarta</a>, the territory of the ancient <a href="/facts/Indo-Aryan_peoples/Tjrybz3d">Indo-Aryan peoples</a>. Although today <a href="/facts/Indo-Aryan_languages/hm2N7fYp">Indo-Aryan languages</a> are also spoken south of the Vindhyas, the range continues to be considered as the traditional boundary between <a href="/facts/North_India/tIUqMm15">north</a> and <a href="/facts/South_India/XqkE3NdU">south India</a>. The former <a href="/facts/Vindhya_Pradesh/ECB09AfP">Vindhya Pradesh</a> was named after the Vindhya Range.

Vindhya Range open-in-new

Vindhya Range