Vindhya Mountains

   The Vindhya Mountains, 1,000 to 3,500 feet in elevation, are a range of hills forming a natural barrier between northern and southern India. They mark the northern edge of the central Indian or Deccan plateau. From Gujarat state on the west, they extend about 675 miles across Madhya Pradesh state to touch on the GANGES River valley near BENARES (Varanasi) in Uttar Pradesh. These mountains are mentioned in the Indian epics and are mythologically associated with numerous per-sonages including AGASTYA, who is said to have caused them to bow down permanently in his travels to South India. DURGA is sometimes said to have her home in the Vindhyas in the form of the goddess VINDHYAVASINI.

   Further reading: John Dowson, A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology (New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint, 1973); History to Prehistory: Contribution of the Depart-ment to the Archaeology of the Ganga Valley and the Vind-hyas (Allahabad: Department of Ancient History, Culture, and Archaeology, University of Allahabad, 1980).