Avanti was an

ancient India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...

n Mahajanapada (''Great Janapada''), roughly corresponding to the present-day

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

region. According to the

Buddhist texts Buddhist texts are religious texts that belong to, or are associated with, Buddhism and Schools of Buddhism, its traditions. There is no single textual collection for all of Buddhism. Instead, there are three main Buddhist Canons: the Pāli C ...

, the ''Anguttara Nikaya'', Avanti was one of the ''solasa

mahajanapadas The Mahājanapadas were sixteen Realm, kingdoms and aristocracy, aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the History of India#Second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE), second urbanis ...

'' (sixteen great realms) of the 6th century BCE. The ''janapada'' was divided into two parts by the Vindhyas, the northern part had its capital at Ujjayini and the southern part had its centre at

Mahishmati Mahishmati () was an ancient city and the capital of Haihayas in the present-day central India on the banks of Narmada River (in Madhya Pradesh), although its exact location is uncertain. The city may have flourished as late as until 13th centu ...

. The Avantis, the ancient people belonging to this realm, were described as ''mahavala'' (very powerful) in the Udyoga Parva (19.24) of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

.Law, B.C. (1973). ''Tribes in Ancient India'', Bhandarkar Oriental Series No.4, Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pp.337-43 According to the

Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana () is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus. The manuscripts of ''Vishnu Purana'' have survived into ...

(II.3), the

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...

(XII.I.36) and the Brahma Purana (XIX.17), the Avantis were associated with the Malava, the Saurashtras, the Abhiras/

Yadav Yadavs are a grouping of non-elite, peasant-pastoral Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states l ...

as, the Suras, the Karushas and the Arbudas and were described as dwelling along the ''Pariyatra'' (or ''Paripatra'') mountainsLaw, B.C. (1973). ''Tribes in Ancient India'', Bhandarkar Oriental Series No.4, Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, p.63 (a western branch of the Vindhyas).

Location

The kingdom of Avanti covered a territory which included the region around the city of Ujjayini and the section of the Narmadā river valley between Māhissatī and Maheshwar, as well as some nearby areas. Avanti was divided into a northern and a southern part by the Vindhya mountains, with the northern section, which had its capital at Ujjenī, being drained by the Sipra river as well as other streams, while the southern section was drained by the Narmadā and had its capital at Māhissatī or Māhiṣmatī.

History

The Haihayas of Mahishmati

According to the Puranic accounts, the Haihayas were the earliest rulers of Avanti, who captured the region from the Nagas. Initially, they ruled from Mahishmati. Some accounts place Ujjayini as the capital of Avanti. Later, the whole janapada was divided into two parts with the capitals at Mahishmati and Ujjayini. The Haihayas were a confederation of five clans, the Vitihotras, the Bhojas, the Avantis, the Tundikeras and the Sharyatas. Later, the Haihayas were better known by their dominant clan - the Vitihotras. Ripunjaya, the last Vitihotra ruler of Ujjayini was overthrown by his ''amatya'' (minister) Pulika, who placed his son, Pradyota on the throne. The ''Mahagovindasuttanta'' of the '' Dighanikaya'' mentions an Avanti king Vessabhu (Vishvabhu) and his capital Mahissati (Mahishmati). Probably he was a Vitihotra ruler. writer( sp ananth)

Pradyota dynasty

Pradyota was contemporary to

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

. He was also known as ''Chandapradyota Mahasena''. Pradyota captured the Vatsa king Udayana but later he married his daughter Vasavadatta to Udayana. The ''Mahavagga'' described him as cruel and according to the Majjhima Nikaya, Ajātasattu, the king of Magadha fortified

Rajagriha Rajgir, old name Rajagriha, meaning "The City of Kings," is an ancient city and university town in the Nalanda district of Bihar, India. It was the capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty, the Mauryan Em ...

to protect it from an invasion led by Pradyota. He also waged war on Pushkarasarin, king of Takshashila Pradyota's chief queen Gopalamata (mother of prince Gopala) was a disciple of Buddhist monk Mahakatyayana and constructed a

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

in Ujjayini. Pradyota had two sons, Gopala and Palaka. He was succeeded by Palaka. According to Jaina accounts Palaka ascended to the throne on the day of passing away of

Mahavira Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...

. According to the Kathasaritsagara and the ''Avashyaka Kathanaka'', the kingdom of Vatsa was already a part of Avanti during the reign of Palaka and a prince of the royal family was the governor of Kaushambi. In the Mricchakatika, Palaka was described as a tyrant who was overthrown by a popular revolt. This revolt placed Aryaka on the throne of Ujjayini. The Puranas place Nadivardhana or Vartivardhana after Aryaka. But these names are probably corruptions of Avantivardhana, the name of the son of Palaka according to the ''Kathasaritsagara'' or the son of Gopala according to the Nepali ''Brihatkatha''. He was defeated by Shishunaga, the king of Magadha.

Avanti under Magadhan rule

Avanti was a part of the Magadha empire during the rule of the Shaishunaga and the Nanda dynasties. During the Nanda Empire rule, Avanti became the or the western province of the empire, with its capital at Ujjayini. The Junagarh Rock inscription of Rudradaman I (150 CE) mentions Pushyagupta as the governor of the western province during the reign of

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (Sanskrit: elp:IPA/Sanskrit, t̪͡ɕɐn̪d̪ɾɐgupt̪ɐ mɐʊɾjɐ (reigned 320 BCE – c. 298 BCE) was the founder and the first emperor of the Maurya Empire, based in Magadha (present-day Bihar) in the Indian ...

. During the reign of the next ruler

Bindusara Bindusara (320 BCE – 273 BCE) () was the second Mauryan emperor of Magadha in Ancient India. The ancient Greco-Roman writers called him Amitrochates, a name likely derived from his Sanskrit title ''Amitraghāta'' ("slayer of enemies"). ...

, prince

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

was the provincial governor. After the fall of the Mauryas, at the time of Pushyamitra Shunga, his son Agnimitra was the Magadhan viceroy at Vidisha, but he ruled independent of Magadha for all practical purposes.

Malava Kingdom

The ''Malava kingdom'' is one of the many kingdoms ruled by the

Yadava The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu (legendary king), Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the #T ...

kings in the central and western India

region that are mentioned in the

. Kisari Mohan Ganguli, ''The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose'', 1883-1896. Sometimes, Avanti and Malava were described to be the same country. They were originally a western tribe, located in the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

region of North-west India. Later, they migrated to the

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

states of India. In the

recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world h ...

of India, there was a royal tribe called Malavas that were believed to be the descendants of the Malavas.

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{Authority control * History of Malwa Mahajanapadas Yadava kingdoms History of Ujjain