Prisapura

**Prisapura** is a large country located at the southwest of Esami.

It is surrounded by Dashadesha to the northwest; Mucchiri to the southwest; Tambavanni to the south; Vanga and Pju to the east; Zhang La, Kirticha, and Hmoong Av to the northeast; and Mandala and Tukshara to the north.

## Flag

The Prisapuran flag is purple and orange, with a lion holding a pillar at its left side.

The religious flag of Prisapura, the Dharma Flag (Dharmadhvaja), is an orange banner with a sun of sixteen rays surrounding an *Om* sign.

## History

Prisapura was another ancient civilisation that arose from Dashadesha at roughly the Second Age.

In ancient times, it was divided into the Kauru and the Pandaiva rebels; their tragic conflict was immortalised as the Mahabharata War.

In a later time, Prisapuran culture influenced the other lands to the southeast, from Pju and the Aru islands. A religion from the nearby land of Mandala, Buddhism, also went into parts of Prisapura and as far east as Daizhou, Ragise, and Pinoguni.

Northern Prisapura was once divided into sixteen kingdoms. It was also home to two legendary princesses of the central kingdom of Avantika: Rani Mathuri and Rani Makutha, an archer and a swordswoman. Rani Mathuka married a blacksmith, and they started a dynasty of engineers, the Smithlords.

During the Eighth Age, its kingdoms fought against the two-headed Aspuruk aliens and prevailed. Although it used the technologies of the defeated alien invaders, its rulers preferred to use them only to advanced their peoples and defend their realm from invasion, before agreeing to an alliance with each other and the other powers of the continent. Some Prisapurans also established colonies in outer space, such as the Navagrahan Federation.

The first known republican governments appeared in northern Prisapura, known variously as "ganapadas" (the correct name) or "janapadas". Hmoong Av later developed two proto-republics later: making them the only republics on the continent during the Fifteenth Age.

In the Sixteenth Age, Prisapura became its own superpower to avoid invasion. However, when the Terrans were summoned, its republic summoned the Saffron Front to "guide" the country. Near the end of World War III, Prisapura was divided between pro-Terran factions and nativist factions. The nativists won and protected the country from the ruin of the world, but it still had to deal with attacks from the Terran Saffrons, the Black Pillars, and the Second Red Front (a communist empire). It remained neutral, although it was an ally of the Denlotia, as its people were confident that they were already achieving the efficient infrastructre of the Denlotian alliance.

On 1200 BT, Prisapura was ruled by an atheistic government that intervened during a civil war. The poor administration of it and its predecessors (theocracies, monarchies, and several dictators) became lessons for Porashon to avoid as it converted to Hinduism. Initially, the Porasonids were invited by the Orthodoxy to learn proper Hinduism, but they left as they were unhappy with the repressive attitudes of the atheistic government, the cruelty of the Neo-Theocracy, and the rude behaviour of the Orthodoxy's followers. So they turned to Ajupura, another Hindu nation, to learn the Dharma.

Around 1560 AT, Prisapura was ruled by the Samrath Emperors. One Emperor, Sivajata Mahanagari, unified the land after a civil war. He moved the capital from Padrabas to Surapath due to congestion, sparking more fights between angry knights from the former capital.

In 1734 AT, the House of Mahanagari was deemed unfit to rule due to the current head wasting the national economy on new, lavish palaces. Only three of the hundreds of planned mansions were finished, and this descendant was thrown into prison for life. The rest of the Mahanagaris disowned him and left the palace in protest, and some of the princes hired demolition crews to tear down two of the mansions. A new royal house was elected to govern Prisapura, and in 1737 AT, the two demolished mansions were rebuilt as a university and a hospital.

## Geography and climate

Prisapura is a large country with various climates: arid deserts lie along the northwest between the Sindhu River; a vast grassland lies along the north; and the south and east are dominated by tropical rainforests.

* Surapath Mahanagar (capital) - the current capital of Prisapura after one of the Samraths relocated it from congested Padrabas.
* Varanasi Shuchipur - the holiest city in all of Prisapura, along the banks of the sacred river Ganga.
	+ Its people placed filters to clean the river's water, making it drinkable on certain days and viable for fish, ducks, and cranes.
	+ Many years ago, Varanasi was a polluted city, and only by the cooperation of several protest movements was the city and its holy river cleansed.
* Vishrakha - a city built as a shrine to Ravana, the titan-king of Lanka. Many years ago, the Porasonids built libraries and universities in honour of their god of war and science. Located at eastern Prisapura.
* Pir Khoh, Prothakhoha, Proth Khoh - revered as a shrine to Jambavan, the bear god and guardian of children. Located at northern Prisapura.
* Rishi Vari - a valley venerated as the home of the Saptarishi, the Seven Sages of antiquity. Located at northwestern Prisapura.
* Saptarpura - a city in southeastern Prisapura known for being the headquarters of the region's jousting association, the "jousting capital of (West) Esami". Its name means "city of the seven stars".
	+ The rival of the city of Ok-gol in northern Ragise, and Padrabas to the southwest.
* Sakhyu - the capital of the northerly mountainous province of Ruthog. It is known for its grandiose Buddhist monastery and the gold mine of Thodjalung, out of which was built the provincial symbol, the Thirty-Six Golden Lions. These gold beasts surround the centrepiece of the Sakhyu Monastery, the Icon of Jampalyang Enthroned (Manjushri).
* Hastinapura - a city in northern Prisapura known for its many temples. It was the capital of the ancient Kauru Kingdom, ruled by a hundred arrogant princes.
* Vajrapur - a major city to the east of Sakhyu and its gold mine. According to legend, it was the home of a thunder god or a son of Indra. The former royal palace of Ruthog until its king was deposed in a coup in 1789, after which it was annexed as a protectorate of Prisapura in 1934 to fight ten warlords.
* Gandhara - to the south of Ruthog is the ancient realm of Gandhara, known for its scholars and treatises. Its major cities are Parupashna and Vaikreta, which boast splendid universities and labratories.
* Gvarika - a port along the western shores that was supposedly built by a god.
* Artarashtra, Irtastha - a province along the western coast. Home to many noble clans and arrogant knights.
* Pradarpas, Padrabas - a bustling port along the centre of Artarashtra's coast, its name means "City of Arrogance". Home to one of the most prestigious jousting clubs, complete with snobbish arrogance that gave the city its name. It used to be the capital until Emperor Sivajata the Unifier moved the capital north due to overcrowding and congestion, leading to brawls between knights and proponents of the relocated capital.

## Government

Prisapura's government is a monarchy. The current royal house overtook the House of Mahanagari after a descendant was deemed unfit to rule due to wasting his funds on lavish palaces.

## Military

Prisapura's military is among the strongest militaries in all of Jerde. It is one of the most powerful members of the Jerde Alliance, responsible for protecting the solar system from interstellar threats.

## Economy

Prisapura's economy is an advanced economy, though not as powerful as Daizhou's. Its primary industries include agriculture and manufacturing.

## Culture

Writing systems derived from Prisapura's Paramalipi ("high writing") script, such as the Samprati abugida used in Modern Prisapuran, are known as "Lippic", after the Sanskrit word "lipi" which means "writing".

For example, Pallava, the sacred script used in Porashon to write Sanskrit texts and Sandharmin prayers and hymns, was derived from a southern variant of Paramalipi. Siddham (Xikdam, Bonzi, Siddhan); a script used in Daizhou, Pinoguni, and Tukshara for Buddhist prayers; was derived from a northern variant of Paramalipi.

The city of Padrabas is home to many knighthoods known as kishatri (or kshatriya in classical Sanskrit), notorious for their arrogance.

## Religion

See also: Hindu divine beings

Prisapura is the homeland and birthplace of the religion of Sandharma, also known as "Sanatana Dharma" or (in Earth parlance) "Hinduism". Two other popular religions in Prisapura include Buddhism ("Buddha Dharma", from Mandala) and Jainism ("Jain Dharma"). Most Buddhists in Prisapura follow the Theravada standard, like their brethren to the east. The indigenous peoples have their own polytheistic faiths, such as Mundu Ki, Saancha, Haljong, and Meenari; some of them were also influenced by Sandharma.

Sandharma, or Hinduism, is the state religion of Prisapura, but freedom of religion is guaranteed.

Although its most sacred site is the riverside city of Varanasi at its centre, the town of Vishrakha attracts pilgrims from the distant land of Porashon in the far east for being the birthplace of Ravana, their god of war and science. The Porasonid pilgrims also sponsored the construction of an elaborate temple to Ravana and several nearby universities and schools to honour Ravana's written literature.

Another popular pilgrimage site is Pir Khoh, the supposed abode of Jambavan, the patron god of children: the Porasonids call it Mount Pirakko. They also built schools and hospitals to honour Jambavan.

Forty-nine temples all over Prisapura are restricted only to Hindus or people from Dharmic religions, either due to the extreme holiness of those sites or historical grievances. In response, the Porasonids refuse to enter those temples as the most holiest sites of the country, and in protest to an Orthodoxy's rude behaviour and party politics.

## Trivia

* Prisapura was based on India (specifically the Mahabharata and Maratha eras); Mandala was based on Nepal, Dashadesha was based on the Indus Valley River, and Mucchiri was based on the Cholas and Pandyas.
	+ Sivajata, the Emperor who unified Prisapura from a civil war, was based on Shivaji and Chandragupta.
	+ Before 2023, Prisapura was depicted as a republic, but in present lore it has been changed to a monarchy.