Reading and writing brain with light

Light has always been a source of inspiration to humans.

'Let there be light', our prophets have long been commanded as.

'Lead me from darkness to light', 

our seers have asked to higher existence since long ago.

And the 2015 has been proclaimed as the 

'International year of light' 

by UN's 68th general assembly.

Optics and photonics have many positive impact in fields 

as diverse as 
energy, eduction, agriculture and health.

As a child
it was bioluminescence of fireflies
which attracted us.

And as a grown up, 
humanity is just finding 

Quantum teleportation ways, 
transforming Energy into matter, 
New light to illuminate the world.

Now reading and writing brain with light.

Holographic targeting of laser beams to individual neurons in the mouse barrel cortex. 
Photograph: Lloyd Russell/Häusser Lab/UCL 
share source: http://www.theguardian.com/science/neurophilosophy/2014/dec/22/researchers-read-and-write-brain-activity-with-light

This is a case of fields combine of
Neurology and Philosophy i.e.

Neurophilosophy.

Neuroscientists of University College London 

have found out that light could be used 

for simultaneous recording and alteration of neurons impulses 

in the living brain.

The technique, described in the journal Nature Methods, combines two existing state-of-the-art neurotechnologies.

One of them is optogenetics. This involves creating genetically engineered mice expressing algal proteins called Channelrhodopsins in specified groups of neurons. This renders the cells sensitive to light, allowing researchers to switch the cells on or off, depending on which Channelrhodopsin protein they express, and which wavelength of light is used. This can be done on a millisecond-by-millisecond timescale, using pulses of laser light delivered into the animals’ brains via an optical fibre.  

The other is calcium imaging. Calcium signals are crucial for just about every aspect of neuronal function, and nerve cells exhibit a sudden increase in calcium ion concentration when they begin to fire off nervous impulses. Using dyes that give off green fluorescence in response to increases in calcium concentration, combined with two-photon microscopy, researchers can detect this signature to see which cells are activated. In this way, they can effectively ‘read’ the activity of entire cell populations in brain tissue slices or live brains. 

High-speed calcium imaging shows
simultaneous activation of six neurons
arranged in the shape of a smiley face.
Credit: Lloyd Russell, Hausser lab, UCL

To demonstrate the precision of the technique, they used a programmable device called a spatial light modulator that splits the light beam into a hologram consisting of smaller ‘beamlets’, and then simultaneously activated six neurons arranged in the shape of a smiley face.
thankfully shared/cited from:http://www.theguardian.com/science/neurophilosophy/2014/dec/22/researchers-read-and-write-brain-activity-with-light 

“We’re excited about this,” says senior author Michael Häusser. “It unites two revolutions in neuroscience and heralds a new era in which we can abandon electrodes and use light alone to probe neural circuits during behaviour.”
Links:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1214/231214-light-brain/ 
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/346/6216/1506
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/wibr

Abstract of article from Nature Methods in original:
(thankfully shared from: http://www.nature.com/nmeth/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nmeth.3217.html
We describe an all-optical strategy for simultaneously manipulating and recording the activity of multiple neurons with cellular resolution in vivo. We performed simultaneous two-photon optogenetic activation and calcium imaging by coexpression of a red-shifted opsin and a genetically encoded calcium indicator. A spatial light modulator allows tens of user-selected neurons to be targeted for spatiotemporally precise concurrent optogenetic activation, while simultaneous fast calcium imaging provides high-resolution network-wide readout of the manipulation with negligible optical cross-talk. Proof-of-principle experiments in mouse barrel cortex demonstrate interrogation of the same neuronal population during different behavioral states and targeting of neuronal ensembles based on their functional signature. This approach extends the optogenetic toolkit beyond the specificity obtained with genetic or viral approaches, enabling high-throughput, flexible and long-term optical interrogation of functionally defined neural circuits with single-cell and single-spike resolution in the mouse brain in vivo.
http://www.nature.com/nmeth/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nmeth.3217.html 

Figure: Simultaneous fast calcium imaging and concurrent photostimulation of multiple neurons in vivo.thankfully shared from: http://www.nature.com/nmeth/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nmeth.3217.html

Image of pulsing motion of the electron pair in a helium atom.

Electronic pas de deux

 

The motion of the two electrons in the helium atom can be imaged and controlled with attosecond-timed laser flashes

Physicists in Heidelberg have filmed the pulsing motion of the electron pair 
in a helium atom.
At 15.3 femtoseconds (fs) the two electrons are close to the nucleus (centre of image) 
and then move away from it. 
The colour indicates the probability of finding one electron at position A (vertical axis) 
and the second electron at position B (horizontal axis) 
on a line drawn through the atom (along the polarisation direction of the laser). 
At 16.3 femtoseconds they arrive back at their original position again; 
they thus move with a beat of around one femtosecond.

(Christian Ott, Andreas Kaldun, Luca Argenti, Philipp Raith, Kristina Meyer, Martin Laux, Yizhu Zhang, Alexander Blättermann, Steffen Hagstotz, Thomas Ding, Robert Heck, Javier Madroñero, Fernando Martín, Thomas Pfeifer. Reconstruction and control of a time-dependent two-electron wave packet.) 

Nature, 2014; 516 (7531): 374 DOI: 10.1038/nature14026

Credit: © MPI for Nuclear Physics

Electrons are hard to get a hold of. Physicists cannot determine their precise location in an atom, but they can narrow down the region where the charge carriers are most probably located. When electrons move, this brings about a change to the regions where the electrons have the highest probability of being located. In some electronic states -- physicists call them superposition states -- this motion manifests itself as a pulsing with a regular beat.

"Although we do not directly image where the electrons are," explains Thomas Pfeifer, "the visible pulse provides us with the relative phase of the superposition state." The phase describes the to and fro of an oscillation, and hence the rhythmic motion of the electron pair. In this case it tells the physicists at which point of their natural pas de deux around the helium atom the electrons are at a given moment.

At this point, at the latest, attosecond physics would create new tools for chemistry as well.

#thankfully shared and cited:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141218103219.htm 

Light of fireflies

Bioluminescence in fireflies: Fireflies used rapid light flashes to communicate. This "bioluminescence" is an intriguing phenomenon that has many potential applications, from drug testing and monitoring water contamination, and even lighting up streets using glow-in-dark trees and plants.

Mechanism: Fireflies emit light when a compound called luciferin breaks down. We know that this reaction needs oxygen, but what we don't know is how fireflies actually supply oxygen to their light-emitting cells.

The firefly's light-producing organ is called the "lantern," and it is located in the insect's abdomen. It looks like a series of tubes progressing into smaller ones and so one, like a tree's branches growing into twigs. The function of these tubes, called, is to supply oxygen to the cells of the lantern, which contain luciferase and can produce light.

Latest studies: Scientists from Switzerland and Taiwan have determined how fireflies control oxygen distribution to light up their cells.

The imaging showed that the firefly diverts oxygen from other cellular functions and puts it into the reaction that breaks up luciferin. Specifically, the researchers found that oxygen consumption in the cell decreased, slowing down energy production. At the same time, oxygen supply switched to light-emission.

This detailed microimage shows 

larger channels branching into smaller ones, 

supplying oxygen for the firefly's light emission. 

The smallest channels are ten thousand times smaller than a millimeter 

and therefore invisible to other experimental probes.

Credit: Giorgio Margaritondo/EPFL

#Yueh-Lin Tsai, Chia-Wei Li, Tzay-Ming Hong, Jen-Zon Ho, En-Cheng Yang, Wen-Yen Wu, G. Margaritondo, Su-Ting Hsu, Edwin B. L. Ong, and Y. Hwu. Firefly light flashing: Oxygen supply mechanism. Physical Review Letters, 2014 [link]
#thankfully cited and shared from:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141217074508.htm

Energy into matter

Science and mythologies: The Latin phrase "creatio ex nihilo" means "creation out of nothing," and it's largely the domain of theology, philosophy and mythology* for a reason.
The first law of thermodynamics, which is actually a conservation of energy equation, is that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. (http://science.howstuffworks.com/)

Vedic hymns: Rig Vedic hymns (of Indus valley civilization* period) are less dogmatic, more a kind of postulate or theories when they talk about matter or life related aspects, while they are thousands of year old in time.
One of the hymn illustrated here in adjoining picture-page is from 'Sukla-Yajur-veda', which says: "All the measures of time have been born from 'illustrious phenomena' (Sanskrit विद्युत, विद्युतः / electric, electricity, electrical). None can comprehend that above, across or in the middle."

Matter: Matter takes up space, has mass and composes most of the visible universe around you.

Energy: Energy takes multiple forms and is essentially the force that causes things to happen in the universe.
Energy can neither be created nor destroyed as per the first law of thermodynamics, which is actually a conservation of energy equation.

Matter and energy interchangeable: Albert Einstein theorized that matter and energy are interchangeable. Both matter and energy are variations of the same thing. Each can convert into the other. As per Einstein and the first law of thermodynamics, a fixed quantity of energy and matter exist in the universe.

pic credit:http://science.howstuffworks.com/

Annihilation: When two protons collide in the Large Hadron Collider, they may break apart into subatomic particles called quarks and a mitigating particle force called a gluon. Even when matter and antimatter annihilate each other, they produce energy, in the form of photons, which are quantum units of light.

Manufacturing matter: In the lab, creating matter entails a reaction called pair production, so called because it converts a photon into a pair of particles: one matter, one antimatter (the reverse of the matter-antimatter annihilation).

We can turn light into subatomic particles: Brookhaven National Lab, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and Fermilab have all generated this reaction by firing a photon into a heavy atomic nucleus. The nucleus shares the energy and allows the photon to disintegrate into an electron and a positron, the antimatter opposite of an electron. The positron inevitably turns back into a photon when it collides with an electron.(credit:http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/can-we-manufacture-matter.htm) 
* blog post of the author

Quantum teleportation: from light into matter

Science fiction dream: Sci-fi enthusiasts have dreamt of being able to teleport from one location to another since Gene Roddenberry popularised the idea in Star Trek.

Beam me up, Scotty
pic:http://www.gizmag.com

Researchers advance 'Quantum Teleportation'

This image shows crystals used for storing entangled photons, which behave as though they are part of the same whole. Scientists used these crystals in their process of teleporting the state of a photon across more than 15 miles (25 kilometers) of optical fiber. 
Credit: Félix Bussières/University of Geneva
credit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4384

From light into matter: Physicists can't instantly transport matter, but they can instantly transport information through quantum teleportation. This works thanks to a bizarre quantum mechanics property called entanglement.

Teleporting over 25 kilometres: Researchers from the University of Geneva, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology used a superfast laser to pump out photons. Every once in a while, two photons would become entangled. Once the researchers had an entangled pair, they sent one down the optical fiber and stored the other in a crystal at the end of the cable. Then, the researchers shot a third particle of light at the photon traveling down the cable. When the two collided, they obliterated each other.


Memory After Triangulation: Though both photons vanished, the quantum information from the collision appeared in the crystal that held the second entangled photon.

Physicists think quantum teleportation will lead to secure wireless communication — something that is extremely difficult but important in an increasingly digital world. Advances in quantum teleportation could also help make online banking more secure.

The research was published in Nature Photonics. (Quantum teleportation from a telecom-wavelength photon to a solid-state quantum memory)

Date:

September 21, 2014

Source:

Université de Genève

Summary:

Physicists have succeeded in teleporting the quantum state of a photon to a crystal over 25 kilometers of optical fiber. The experiment constitutes a first, and simply pulverizes the previous record of 6 kilometers achieved ten years ago by the same team. Passing from light into matter, using teleportation of a photon to a crystal, shows that, in quantum physics, it is not the composition of a particle which is important, but rather its state, since this can exist and persist outside such extreme differences as those which distinguish light from matter. (http://www.sciencedaily.com)  

International Year of Light 2015

Let there be light

The UN’s 68th general assembly proclaimed an official “International Year” that will focus on the science and applications of light, and seek to raise global awareness of how optics and photonics can have a positive impact in fields as diverse as energy, education, agriculture and health.(courtesy:http://optics.org/)

The Year was endorsed by UNESCO’s Executive Board in 2012 before being proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2013.
The International Year will be marked by the commemoration of a series of important milestones in the history of the science of light dating back 1,000, 200, 150, 100 and 50 years:

• In 2015, it will be 1000 years since Ibn al-Haytham published his seminal work on optics, during a period of heightened creativity and innovation known as the Islamic Golden Age. (Read the article on The Miracle of Light);
• Leaping forward to 1815, the next milestone is Augustin-Jean Fresnel’s theory of light as a wave;
• Then comes James Clerk Maxwell’s description of the electromagnetic theory of light, in 1865;
• Albert Einstein joins the Hall of Fame for his general theory of relativity in 1916, which confirmed the centrality of light in both space and time;
• Last but not least, we shall pay tribute to Arno Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson for their 1965 discovery of Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, an echo of the origin of the Universe which enables us to ‘map’ the Universe as it would have appeared shortly after the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago, using sophisticated technologies.(courtesy:http://www.unesco.org)

Old fold mountains of India

Young growing Sivalik hills 
(of the outer Himalayas)

&

 worn down old fold mountains 
(of Indian peninsular plateau)

1. Sivalik range are the hills, where one can see the geologically young tectonic activity, 

rise of the fragile hills of the outer Himalayan range year by year, 

2. And to it's south are the 'northern fertile plains of Ganges. 

3. At the southern end of these plains are the region where Indian peninsular plateau starts with 

a. it's 5 old fold mountains mostly Archian in age, 

b. worn down due to weathering with no tectonic plate activity underneath.

The Sivalik hills are the southernmost and geologically youngest mountain range of the outer Himalayas
The tectonically active zone of the Himalaya, are considered as the most dynamic formation where they annually rise up by 3 to 4mm. As being very young in geological formation and tectonically active, the hills exhibit a very conspicuous fragile terrain, they are bounded on the south by a fault system called the Main Frontal Thrust.

Old fold mountains

(5 hill ranges of Indian peninsular plateau)

1. Old fold mountains are characterized by having stopped growing higher 

due to the cessation of upward thrust caused by the stopping of movement of the tectonic plates 

in the Earth's crust below them. 

2. In ancient times they were extremely high 

but since have worn down almost completely by millions of years of weathering.

3. The cratons are mostly Archaean in age and are generally composed of 

low-grade greenstones. (Dharwar, Eastern Ghat, Aravalli and Satpura)

1. Aravalli range Literally meaning 'line of peaks', a range of mountains in western India running approximately 800 km in a northeastern direction, are the oldest fold mountains in India. The northern end of the range continues as isolated hills and rocky ridges into Haryana state, ending in Delhi. The famous Delhi Ridge is the last leg of the Aravalli Range, which traverses through South Delhi and terminates into Central Delhi where Raisina hill is its last extension. It is one of the world's oldest mountain ranges. It dates back to a pre-Indian subcontinental collision with the mainland Eurasian Plate. The southern end is at Palanpur near Ahmedabad, Gujarat.(text credit:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aravalli_Range)
The system is divided into two sections: the Sambhar-Sirohi ranges, taller and including Guru Peak on Mount Abu, the highest peak in the Aravalli Range (5,650 feet [1,722 metres])(text credit:http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/32222/Aravalli-Range)

2. Satpura Range The name of which means 'Seven Folds', range of hills, part of the Deccan plateau, western India. The hills stretch for some 560 miles (900 km) across the widest part of peninsular India, through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh states. The Satpura Range includes the Mahadeo Hills to the north, the Maikala Range to the east, and the Rajpipla Hills to the west. Highest point of satpura range Dhupgarh is located in Pachmarhi.(text credit:http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/525030/Satpura-Range)

The range rises in eastern Gujarat state near the Arabian Sea coast, running east through the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to the east till Chhattisgarh. The range parallels the Vindhya Range to the north, and these two east-west ranges divide Indian Subcontinent into the Indo-Gangetic plain of northern India and the Deccan Plateau of the south. The Narmada River originates from north-eastern end of Satpura & runs in the depression between the Satpura and Vindhya ranges, draining the northern slope of the Satpura range, running west towards the Arabian Sea. The Tapti River originates from eastern-central part of Satpura, crosses the range in the center & further runs at the southern slopes of Satpura towards west meeting the Arabian Sea at Surat, draining central & the southern slopes of the Satpura Range. The Godavari River and its tributaries drain the Deccan plateau, which lies south of the range, and the Mahanadi River drains the easternmost portion of the range. The Godavari and Mahanadi rivers flow into the Bay of Bengal. At its eastern end, the Satpura range meets the hills of the Chota Nagpur Plateau.(text credit:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satpura_Range)

3. Vindhya range 'Vaindh' (to obstruct) or 'Vindhya' means 'hunter' in Sanskrit, and may refer to the adivasi (tribal) hunter-gatherers inhabiting the region, refers to a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India, located to the north of the Narmada River.
A series of hills connects the Vindhya extension to the Aravalli Range near Champaner.
A southern chain of runs between the upper reaches of the Son and Narmada rivers to meet the Satpura Range in the Maikal Hills near Amarkantak.

4. Western Ghats( the Sahyadris) Forming the western edge of the Deccan tableland, the Western Ghats run in north-south direction, parallel and close to the Arabian Sea coast, from the Tapi valley to a little north of Kanniyakumari for a distance of 1,600 km. यह वास्तविक पर्वतश्रेणी नहीं है वरन प्रायद्वीपीय पठार का ही एक भ्रंश कगार है। यह उस भ्रंश का द्योतक है जो अफ्रीका से भारत के अलग होते समय उत्पन्न हुआ था।

5. Eastern Ghats Bordering the eastern edge of the Deccan Plateau, the Eastern Ghats run almost parallel to the east coast of India leaving broad plains between their base and the coast. In striking contrast to the continuous eminence of the Western Ghats, it is a chain of highly broken and detached hills starting from the Mahanadi in Orissa to the Vagai in Tamil Nadu.
#author wishes thanks to Ms Padmavati Pandey for her extensive support during researching this topic.  
#reference cited links are thankfully quoted at appropriate place.

Mahabharat period and Chhattisgarh

Mahabharat period

There are astrological, natural, geographical, physical, inscriptional and scriptural evidences that unquestionably establish the date of epic Mahabharat war as 3139 BC

“Vishva Panchangam”, established in 1925 and published by  
Kashi Hindu Vishvavidyalaya (Benares Hindu University), Varanasi. 
It gives all the three eras: Kali era, Vikram era and (Shalivahan) Shak era.
It says on page 3 that 5,100 years have already elapsed before 2056 
Vikram year which is 1999 AD. It means that the existing Kali era is 5101 
in 1999 AD, which comes to (5101 - 1999) 3102 BC.
credit: http://www.thevedicfoundation.org/bhartiya_history/mahabharat.htm

छत्तीसगढ़ की जातीय एवं सांस्कृतिक परम्पराओं में महाभारतकालीन इतिहास की एक झलक  
1.छत्तीसगढ़ में सदियों पुरानी महाभारत के पांडव नायकों की जोश और ओज़ पूर्ण साहसिक-गौरव-इतिहास के प्रस्तुति की सांस्कृतिक-परम्परा का पंडवानी गायन, 2.महानदी तट  के राजाओं का पाण्डव वंशी इतिहास, 3.सिरपुर-चित्रांगदपुर-चेदि देश और कालांतर में छत्तीसगढ़ के पाण्डव वंशी सम्बन्ध, 4.'पहाड़ी कोरवा 'और  'पंडो 'आदिम जनजातियों का महाभारत कालीन  'कौरव 'और  'पांडव' से जुड़ी उनकी मान्यताएं ....

Tribes of Bastar

यह सभी पौराणिक लिंक एवं संकेत, छत्तीसगढ़ के इतिहास को और समझने तथा लिखने के लिए दिशा-निर्देश का काम करते हैं !!  

'Panduvanshi' history of Chhattisgarh 
History of Chhattisgarh or South Kosala can be traced back only from the 4th century AD. Between the 6th and 12th centuries AD the Sarabhpurias, Panduvanshi, Somvanshi, Kalchuri, and Nagvanshi rulers dominated this region.    

More historical links of Mahabharat period
As Pandvas spent their 'hiding-period' (अज्ञातवास) in these hills of south Koshal, while staying all along the banks of Mahanadi river.

courtesy:http://www.oocities.org/siliconvalley/screen/3299/history/maps.htm

So various places of Chhattisgarh have found reference in the epic book of Mahabharat; as states won by Sahdev named Prakkosal, Aranya (अरण्य ) areas of Bastar were referred as Kantar state and places won by Karan (करण) is called Kosal janapad (कौसल जनपद).
Chitrangada's father Chitravas was the king of Chitrangadpur (Sirpur). Vabhruvahan, son of Arjun and Chitrangada was the king of Chedi.

Maikal mountain ranges of Satpura

temple at Kawardha (1349, Fadinagvanshi king Ramchandra)

Stone inscriptions (शिलालेख) found from different places on the banks of Mahanadi river as in Sirpur, Rajim, Aarang states that kings of this region called them self Pandav and regarded Vabhruvahan as their ancestor. It is believed that Chedidesh state of Vabhruvahan was later called Chedigarh and then on Chhattisgarh.
http://sciencedoing.blogspot.in/2014/11/history-of-chhattisgarh-in-nutshell.html

Mahabharat-period link of 'Pando' and 'Pahadi Korwa' tribes of Chhattisgarh
Major population in Chhattisgarh comprises tribal population. Among the primitive tribes are Pando and Korwa, who still live in forest. The Pando tribe believe themselves as the member of "Pandav" clan of epic Mahabharata. The Korwa tribe believe themselves to be the member of "Kauravs" of Mahabharata.
^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surguja_district}
 
The main concentration of Hill-Korwa tribe is in Jashpur, Sarguja & Raigarh. According to Anthropological description of family they belongs to Austro-Asiatic family.
http://cjtdp.cg.gov.in/tribes.htm
http://www.ethnologue.com/language/kfp 

#reference cited links are thankfully quoted at appropriate place.
#author wishes thanks to Ms Padmavati Pandey for her extensive support during researching this topic. 

History of Chhattisgarh in a nutshell

Though a separate state of Chhattisgarh became reality, 

when it was declared the 26th state of India on 1st November 2000;

but the history of Chhattisgarh 
goes back to tens of thousands of years !!

Anthropological evidences
The anthropologists have found evidences of some of the earliest human habitations in the rocks and cave of this ancient land.

pic courtesy:http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/india/pachmarhi/

Hstorical evidence of rich human habitation starts from the 'Stone Age', as Singhanpur caves of Raigarh district and Kabra hill rock painting are about 30 to 50 thousands years old.
*http://www.cgculture.in/archaeology/Rock%20Art%20Site%20In%20Chhattisgarh.htm
*http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/india/pachmarhi/
*http://www.indiamike.com/india/chhattisgarh-f148/trip-report-to-singhanpur-caves-raigarh-t179119/
*http://wikimapia.org/13583821/Singhanpur-Caves 

Mythological history:
The mythological history of Chhattisgarh region stretches back to the period of Ramayana and Mahabharata. According to legends the deep Sal forest regions are Dandakaranya itself, where Lord Rama spent much of his fourteen-year exile from Ayodhya.

Ramgarh hill site where caves are caves and paintings are ound

bill board depicting possible route of Rama,s travel through these places

South Kosal or Maha Kosal was an old name of Chhattisgarh, which differentiated it from Kosal of north i.e. Ayodhya and Shrawasti. 
Bastar region of Chhattisgarh also named as Kantar or Mahakantar or Dandakaranya.

As per reference in Ramayana, Koshilya the mother of Rama was the daughter of King Bhanumant, who belonged to the family of a powerful king dynasty Kosal, south of Vindhyan mountain near Nagpattan. As Bhanumant had no sons, after marriage of his daughter to Ayodhya king Dashrath, this Kosal state was annexed to his state.

As Rama, Laxman and Sita spent much of their 14 year exile in Dandakaranya, there are many places related to their sojourn and stay. Ram devotee Bhil lady Shabri was born in Shivarinarayan.

Various places of Chhattisgarh have been referred in Mahabharat. 
States won by Sahdev named Prakkosal, Arany areas of Bastar were referredf as Kantar state. Places won by Karn is called Kosal janapad.

Chitrangada's father Chitravas was the king of Chitrangadpur (Sirpur). Vabhruvahan, son of Arjun and Chitrangada was the king of Chedi.

Temples at Rajim, called Triveni of Chhattisgarh

Ballabhachary birth place, Champaran near Rajim

Stone inscriptions (शिलालेख) from places on the banks of Mahanadi river; Sirpur, Rajim, Aarang states that Kings of this region called them self Pandav and regarded Vabhruvahan as their ancestor. It is believed that Chedidesh state of Vabhruvahan was later called Chedigarh and then on Chhattisgarh.

Ramgarh range of hills

Ramgarh hill

Cave painting in Ramgarh hill

Cave writing in Ramgarh hill

Drama stage at the cave site of Ramgarh hill

Caves of Ramgarh hills in Surguja have two stone inscriptions in Pali script of Buddha period. These two stone inscriptions of Sita Bengra and Jogimogra are believed to be of Ashoka period. 
This inscription refers to Sutanuka (a देवदासी) and her lover Devdeen. 
Sita Bengra cave have an amphitheatre of Buddha period.

Kotadola, a place west to Ambikapur, there is a Ashoka's three lion emblem inscribed on a stony structure, which supports the idea that Ashoka's kingdom was all up to this place

Like that in the north east of Kawardha, a Rishabhdev's beautiful statue believed to be of Mahavir period.

Jain Teerhankar idol found at Maheshpur

Unbroken history chain of Chhattisgarh
History of Chhattisgarh or South Kosala can be traced back only from the 4th century AD. Between the 6th and 12th centuries AD the Sarabhpurias, Panduvanshi, Somvanshi, Kalchuri, and Nagvanshi rulers dominated this region. 

The medieval period
This region came to be known as Gondwana and became the part of the kingdom of the Kalchuris who ruled the region till the end of the 18th century AD.
*http://throughpicture.blogspot.in/2012/10/culture-embeded-in-stone-maheshpur.html
*http://throughpicture.blogspot.in/2012/11/stony-emotions-from-maheshpur-india.html

Excavation site at Maheshpur

Vishnu and other idols found in Maheshpur

Shivling found in Maheshpur

Madwa Mahal temple at Kawardha (1349, Fadinagvanshi king Ramchandra)

Bhoramdev temple, Kawardha, called Khajuraho of Chhattisgarh, belongs 1349, Fadinagvanshi king Ramchandra

The Mughal period
The Muslim chroniclers of the 14th century AD have described well about the dynasties that ruled over the region. The region also came under the suzerainty of the Mughal Empire around the 16th century and later to the Marathas in 1745. By the year 1758, the whole region of Chhattisgarh was annexed by the Marathas. Also the word 'Chhattisgarh' was popularized during the Maratha period and was first used in an official document in 1795.

Colonial era
With the British entry in the early 19th century, much of the territory was subsumed into the Central Provinces. From 1854 onwards the British administered the region as a deputy commissionership with its headquarters at Raipur. 

#Chhattisgarh also took part in the 1857 Revolution when Vir Narayan Singh, a landlord of Sonakhan, grew up to challenge the injustices of British rule in the region. After a prolonged battle with the British forces, Vir Narain Singh was finally arrested and later hanged on the 10th December 1857. 

#In the year 1904 British reorganized the region and transferred Sambalpur to Orissa and added the estates of Surguja to Chhattisgarh.
*http://throughpicture.blogspot.in/2013/03/architecture-with-endemic-flavour.html

Emblem of Surguja state

Revenue stamp of Surguja state

Kothi Ghar, The Palace, traditiopnal seat of governance of Surguja state

T S Singhdeo, Maharaja of Surguja state, now MLA from Ambikapur

Note of thanks for share and citation courtesies:
*For the family tree of Ratanpur king Mayurdhwaj, refer to A.Cunningham, Archaeological Survey of India 
 https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Archaeological%20Survey%20of%20India%22
*Refer to Nelson and Dr. Heeralal for Bilaspur gazetteer for the family tree of Kalchuri kings of Ratanpur and Raipur branch
*some text references thankfully consulted from a book, Chhattisgarh (2003 edition) by Dr.Kaushlendra Tripathi and Dr.Purushottam Chandrakar
*some text reference thankfully shared from:http://www.tourismofchhattisgarh.com/tourism-of-chhattisgarh/history-of-chhattisgarh.html
*author extends thanks to Ms Padmavati Pandey for her valuable input and meaningful discussions during the preparation of this post.