The Pulindas were an ancient tribe of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, likely resident in the environs of the Vindhya Range

Vindhya Range

The Vindhya Range is a range of older rounded mountains and hills in the west-central Indian subcontinent, which geographically separates the Indian subcontinent into northern India and Southern India.- Introduction :...

 of Central India. The Rock Edicts of Ashoka

Edicts of Ashoka

The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of 33 inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, made by the Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan dynasty during his reign from 269 BCE to 231 BCE. These inscriptions are dispersed throughout the areas of modern-day Bangladesh, India,...

 (269 BCE - 231 BCE) mention the Pulindas, their capital Pulinda-nagara, and their neighboring tribes, based on which their capital is sometimes located in present-day Jabalpur District

Jabalpur District

Jabalpur District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The city of Jabalpur is the administrative headquarters of the district.The area of the district is 10,160 km² with of population 2,167,469...

 of Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....

 state. Though debated, it has been hypothesized that Pulinda may have been the word from which modern-day Bundelkhand

Bundelkhand

Bundelkhand anciently known as Chedi Kingdom is a geographic region of central India...

 derives its name.

Though clearly associated with the Vindhyan region, the Pulindas are sometimes believed to have had multiple tribal branches that ranged up to the Himalayan region and Assam

Assam

Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

. In the Himalayan region, ancient Indian literature often mentions them in conjunction with the Kiratas

Kirata Kingdom

Kirata Kingdom in Sanskrit literature and Hindu mythology refers to any kingdom of the Kirata people, who were dwellers mostly in the Himalayas and North-East India. They took part in the Kurukshetra War along with Parvatas and other Himalayan tribes...

.