Kekaya City

Kekaya is the old name of Indian city Punjab. However, according to some scholars, Kekaya is an ancient Indian Kingdom (Bharata Varsha). The location of this ancient kingdom is approximately near Toba Tek Singh in modern Pakistan. The other names of Kekaya are Kaikaya, Kaikeya etc.

Mythological Significance of Kekaya
The existence of Kekaya is mentioned in the epic Ramayana. The Ramayana mentions Kekeya as a western kingdom. Kekayi, the Kekaya princess was married to King Dasaratha, ruler of Ayodhya. The inhabitants of Kekaya were known as Kekayas or the Kaikeyas. The Rig Veda affirms that the ruler of Kekaya at the time of Janaka of Videha was Ashvapati or the lord of horses. It is believed that Kekeya"s son Bharata occupied the neighbouring kingdom of Gandhara and built the city of Takshasila. Later, the sons and descendants of Bharata ruled this region from Takshasila.

Mahabharata mentions that five Kekaya princes joined the Pandavas in Kurukshetra War. The Kekaya brothers were also evicted from their kingdom by their own kinsmen, like the Pandavas who were evicted from their Kingdom, by their cousin brothers, Kauravas. This circumstance brought the Kekayas closer to the Pandavas. In Kurukshetra War, the Kekaya brothers fought against their own kinsmen.

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