INDRAPRASTHA Capital city of the Pāṇḍavas. It is the same as Delhi, the capital of modern India.
1)
Construction. As ordained by Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Dharmaputra, claimant to half of the kingdom, went to the forest Khāṇḍavaprastha with his brothers. Śrī Kṛṣṇa stood by them; great sages like Vyāsa helped them. There, in the forest, they built a city called Indraprastha as beautiful as Indraloka.
[M.B. Sabhā Parva, Chapter 211] .
2)
Reconstruction. Once Agni burned down the Khāṇḍava forest. (See under Khāṇḍavadāha). Arjuna saved Maya and five others from the fire. Maya asked Arjuna what he should do in return for saving his life. Arjuna replied that it was not proper to expect any reward for saving one's life and that, if Maya was very keen about doing something in return, it might be done for Kṛṣṇa. Then Kṛṣṇa asked Maya to build for the Pāṇḍavas a palace, the most beautiful one in the world at Indraprastha. And, accordingly, after getting the Brahmins duly feasted, Maya marked the ground ten thousand Kiṣkus in extent. Then Maya went to the mountain Maināka to the west of Mount Kailāsa, where in the pool called Bindu he had stored a large quantity of gold and gems. Maya brought those materials as also a conch called Devadatta from there and built the most beautiful palace in the world at Indraprastha. Within the palace were made many a beautiful pool and various patterns with galleries etc. in glass. It was built so beautifully and in such a manner as to create, at the very sight, the illusion that there was water where there was really no water and vice versa. It took fourteen months to complete the construction of that most beautiful model of architecture.
[M.B. Sabhā Parva, Chapters 1-3] . 3) Vajra, son of Aniruddha of the Yādava dynasty was made master of Indraprastha after the time of the Pāṇḍavas.
[M.B. Mausala Parva, Chapter 7, Verse 11] .
Note: 1) Kiṣku means a cubit. “Kiṣkur haste” (Amara).]