
The movie is a fictional story of two warring brothers vying for control of an ancient Indian kingdom ‘Mahismati’ - : Prabhas & Rana Daggubati with Tamannaah, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, Sathyaraj, Nassar, Tanikella Bharani and Sudeep in other roles. The Soundtrack and background score of Maragathamani Keeravani captivates so also is the cinematography and visual effects.

The Avantis, the ancient people belonging to this realm were described as mahavala (very powerful) in the UdyogaParva oftheMahabharata. There reportedly are some more references in Puranas too. Avanti, was an ancient Indian janapada (realm), roughly corresponded to the present day Malwa region. According to the Buddhist text, the AnguttaraNikaya, the janapada was divided into two parts by the Vindhyas, the northern part had its capital at Ujjayini and the southern part had its center at Mahishmati. By some accounts, the Haihayas were the earliest rulers of Avanti, who captured the region from the Nagas. Initially, they ruled from Mahishmati. The Haihayas were a confederation of five clans. KaarthaveeryaArjuna was the foremost ruler. Mahismati, the most important city in the southern part of the Avanti kingdom, which later served as the capital of the Anupa Kingdom, was located in present-day Madhya Pradesh, on the banks of Narmada River, although its exact location is uncertain. Several cities in Madhya Pradesh, located along the Narmada river, are claimed to be the ancient Mahishmati. These include:-Maheswar, Mandla, Mandhata…..the Kalachuris who are credited with famous cave temples of Elephanta island ruled from Mahismati. AdiShankaracharya is said to have defeated Mandana Mishra in a debate at Mahishmati. Mandana Mishra became disciple of AdiShankaracharya after the defeat. It is this name that is used as the land of fictional Kingdom for the film ‘ Baahubali’. With regards – S. Sampathkumar
2nd Nov. 2015.