Pāryātra is a mountain range. The nishāda robber-chief Kāyavya made his territory there. It is described in the Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Āpaddharma Parva, chapter 135. The range is the forested highland where the narrative of Kāyavya, the Kāyavyacaritam, is set. Kāyavya was an outcast leader of dasyus (robbers). Even so, he kept a strict code that protected brāhmaṇas, women, children and his blind, aged parents, and in the end he attained siddhi (spiritual perfection).

In the narrative

The Pāryātra mountains are the region where Kāyavya built his base as a dasyu leader. The land was forested highland with deep forest, and it suited an armed band that lived off the land.

The Mahābhārata names Kāyavya’s mastery of this mountain land as the root of his strength in battle. He knew its animals, its seasons and its peoples. Through his close knowledge of the Pāryātra forests he could defeat armies of hundreds single-handedly.

Sources

Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Āpaddharma Parva, chapter 135