In the Indian epic Mahabharata, Hastinapura is the capital and the kingdom of the Kauravas, the desendents of Kuru, which include the Pandavas. The throne of this city is the prize over which the great war of the epic is fought.

In the present day Hastinapura is a small town in the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh, called Hastinapur, 37km from Meerut and 120km from Delhi.