Vindhya - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

VINDHYA, a range of mountains in Central India. It forms a well-marked, though not quite continuous, chain across India, separating the Ganges basin from the Deccan. Starting on the west in Gujarat, the Vindhyas cross Malwa and the central portions of India, until their easternmost spurs abut on the valley of the Ganges at Rajmahal. They thus roughly form the northern side of the triangle, of which the other two sides are the Eastern and Western Ghats. They have an elevation of 150o to 4500 ft., nowhere exceeding 5000 ft. Geologically they give their name to the "Vindhyan formation," one of the recognized rock systems of India. In legendary tradition they formed the demarcating line between the Madyadesha or middle land of the Sanskrit invaders and the nonAryan Deccan, and they are still largely inhabited by aboriginal races such as the Bhils.