| Aryavarta | North India between Himalayas & Vindhyas | Core Vedic cultural region | Vedic Civilization |
| Brahmavarta | Saraswati–Drishadvati region | Earliest sacred Vedic land | Early Vedic culture |
| Sapta-Sindhu | Punjab region | Land of Seven Rivers | Rigvedic region |
| Madhyadesha | Ganga-Yamuna Doab | Political-cultural heartland | Later Vedic age |
| Uttarapatha | Northwest India to Central Asia | Northern trade route | Gandhara trade |
| Dakshinapatha | Deccan & South India | Southern trade route | Satavahanas |
| Kuru | Haryana-Delhi | Mahabharata region | Kuru kingdom |
| Panchala | Western Uttar Pradesh | Centre of Vedic learning | Mahajanapada |
| Kosala | Eastern Uttar Pradesh | Associated with Ramayana | Ikshvaku dynasty |
| Matsya | Rajasthan | Mahajanapada | Viratanagara |
| Surasena | Mathura region | Krishna tradition | Mahajanapada |
| Gandhara | Pakistan-Afghanistan | Buddhist learning centre | Taxila |
| Kamboja | Afghanistan borderlands | Frontier kingdom | Mahabharata mention |
| Kashmir (Kashmira) | Kashmir Valley | Shaivism & Buddhism | Rajatarangini |
| Anga | Bihar | Mahajanapada | Champa |
| Magadha | South Bihar | Rise of empires | Maurya & Gupta |
| Vajji / Vrijji | North Bihar | Republican confederacy | Vaishali |
| Chedi | Bundelkhand | Mahajanapada | Chedi rulers |
| Avanti | Malwa | Trade & political centre | Ujjain |
| Ashmaka (Assaka) | Godavari valley | Only southern Mahajanapada | Deccan polity |
| Kalinga | Odisha-Andhra coast | Ashoka’s Kalinga War | Kharavela |
| Utkala | Northern Odisha | Ancient Odisha region | Eastern India |
| Odra | Interior Odisha | Origin of Odisha name | Odra people |
| Vanga | Southern Bengal | Maritime trade | Bengal region |
| Gauda | Bengal | Medieval Bengal polity | Pala-Sena |
| Pundravardhana | North Bengal | Gupta-Pala administration | Bengal history |
| Kamarupa | Assam | Ancient Assam kingdom | Bhaskaravarman |
| Pragjyotisha | Assam | Mythological-political region | Naraka tradition |
| Anarta | North Gujarat | Krishna tradition | Western India |
| Saurashtra | Kathiawar Peninsula | Maritime trade | Maitrakas |
| Lata | South Gujarat | Trade region | Western ports |
| Aparanta | Konkan coast | Mentioned in Ashokan records | Western coast |
| Gurjaratra | Gujarat-Rajasthan | Gurjara region | Gurjara-Pratiharas |
| Maru | Rajasthan desert | Rajput region | Rajputana |
| Malwa | Western Madhya Pradesh | Trade & culture | Paramaras |
| Jejakabhukti | Bundelkhand | Chandela territory | Khajuraho |
| Dakshina Kosala | Chhattisgarh | Ancient South Kosala | Panduvamshis |
| Maharashtra | Maharashtra region | Deccan power centre | Satavahanas |
| Vidarbha | Eastern Maharashtra | Epic & Puranic references | Vakatakas |
| Kuntala | Karnataka | Chalukya territory | Badami Chalukyas |
| Trilinga / Telingana | Telangana-Andhra | Telugu cultural region | Kakatiyas |
| Tamilakam | Tamil-speaking South India | Sangam cultural region | Chola-Chera-Pandya |
| Chola Mandalam | Cauvery delta | Chola Empire | Rajaraja Chola |
| Pandya Nadu | Southern Tamil Nadu | Sangam kingdom | Pandyas |
| Chera / Kerala | Kerala | Spice trade | Cheras |
| Kongu Nadu | Western Tamil Nadu | Agriculture & trade | Tamil region |
| Tondaimandalam | Northern Tamil Nadu | Pallava territory | Pallavas |
| Venad | Southern Kerala | Later Travancore region | Kerala polity |
| Nepal Mandala | Kathmandu Valley | Himalayan trade | Nepal kingdoms |
| Ladakh | Ladakh region | Silk Route trade | Tibetan interaction |
| Bhot / Tibet | Tibetan Plateau | Buddhist interaction zone | Himalayan trade |
| Janapada | Various regions | Tribal territorial unit | Early states |
| Mahajanapada | North India | Large territorial states | 6th century BCE |
| Vishaya | Various | District administration | Gupta administration |
| Bhukti | Various | Provincial division | Gupta Empire |
| Nadu | South India | Administrative unit | Cholas |
| Mandala | Various | Political-territorial division | Medieval kingdoms |
| Desa | Various | Country/region | Administrative usage |
| Rashtra | Various | Territorial division | Rashtrakutas |