Mārtikāvata is a city named in the Mausala Parva of the Mahābhārata. Arjuna brought the remaining household and followers of the Bhoja king, together with the son of Kṛtavarmā, to this city and settled them there. It was one of the places where the scattered remnant of the Vṛshṇi and Bhoja peoples was given a new home after the end of their race.

Arjuna and the survivors of Dvārakā

The Vṛshṇis, Bhojas and Andhakas had destroyed one another in battle, and Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and Balarāma had departed. Arjuna then took on the task of leading away the surviving women, elders and children from Dvārakā, which the sea had swallowed.

Arjuna placed the survivors in different dwellings. He brought the remaining household and followers of the Bhoja king, together with the son of Kṛtavarmā, to the city of Mārtikāvata and settled them there.

A refuge for the Bhoja line

Mārtikāvata is honoured as a refuge for the surviving Bhoja line. The Vṛshṇis had come to ruin through the Brāhmaṇa-śāpa (the curse of the brāhmaṇas). Vajra, the grandson of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, was set up at Indraprastha, and other survivors were settled along the Sarasvatī and elsewhere. The people of Kṛtavarmā found their new home at Mārtikāvata. In this way a part of the Yādava line was kept alive through the working of Kāla (Time).

Sources

Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva, Chapter 7