Avanti (India) in the context of "Ujjain"

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⭐ Core Definition: Avanti (India)

Avanti was an ancient Indian Mahajanapada (Great Janapada), roughly corresponding to the present-day Malwa region. According to the Buddhist texts, the Anguttara Nikaya, Avanti was one of the solasa mahajanapadas (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.

The Avantis, the ancient people belonging to this realm, were described as mahavala (very powerful) in the Udyoga Parva (19.24) of the Mahabharata. According to the Vishnu Purana (II.3), the Bhagavata Purana (XII.I.36) and the Brahma Purana (XIX.17), the Avantis were associated with the Malava, the Saurashtras, the Abhiras/Yadavas, the Suras, the Karushas and the Arbudas and were described as dwelling along the Pariyatra (or Paripatra) mountains (a western branch of the Vindhyas).

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👉 Avanti (India) in the context of Ujjain

Ujjain (/ˈn/ , Hindi: [ʊd͡ːʒɛːn̪], Hindi: [əʋən̪t̪ɪkaː]), also known as Ujjayini, is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative as well as religious centre of Ujjain district and Ujjain division. It is one of the Hindu pilgrimage centres of Sapta Puri famous for the Kumbh Mela (Simhastha) held there every 12 years. The ancient and world famous temple of Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is located in the center of the city. The city has been one of the most prominent trade and political centres of the Indian subcontinent from the time of the ancient Mahājanapadas until the British colonisation of India.

An ancient city situated on the eastern bank of the Shipra River, then known as Avantika,, it was the most prominent city on the Malwa plateau of central India for much of its history. It emerged as the political centre of central India around 600 BCE. It was the capital of the ancient Avanti kingdom, one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas. During the 18th century, the city briefly became the capital of the Scindia state of the Maratha Confederacy, when Ranoji Scindia established his capital at Ujjain in 1731. It remained an important political, commercial, and cultural centre of Central India until the early 19th century, when the British administrators decided to develop Indore as an alternative to it. Ujjain continues to be an important place of pilgrimage for Shaivites, Vaishnavites and Shaktas. Bathing in the holy Shipra river of Ujjain liberates one from sins. Therefore, Ujjain is also called the 'Mokshadayini city'. The name of this river is taken among the holy rivers like Kaveri, Narmada, Godavari and Krishna.

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Avanti (India) in the context of Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh (/ˌmɑːdjə prəˈdɛʃ/; Hindi: [ˈmədʱjə pɾəˈðeːʃ] ; lit.'Central Province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal. Other major cities includes Indore, Gwalior, Ujjain, Jabalpur and Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the second largest Indian state by area and the fifth largest state by population with over 72 million residents. It borders the states of Rajasthan to the northwest, Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the east, Maharashtra to the south, Gujarat to the west.

The area covered by the present-day Madhya Pradesh includes the area of the ancient Avanti Mahajanapada, whose capital Ujjain (also known as Avantika) arose as a major city during the second wave of Indian urbanisation in the sixth century BCE. Subsequently, the region was ruled by the major dynasties of India. The Maratha Empire dominated the majority of the 18th century. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War in the 19th century, the region was divided into several princely states under the British and incorporated into Central Provinces and Berar and the Central India Agency. After India's independence, the Central Provinces and Berar was renamed as Madhya Pradesh with Nagpur as its capital, this state included the southern parts of the present-day Madhya Pradesh and northeastern portion of today's Maharashtra while Central India Agency was renamed as Madhya Bharat which includes parts of present day north western Madhya Pradesh became a separate state with Gwalior as its capital and Jiwajirao Scindia as Rajpramukh (Governor). In 1956, these states were reorganised and its parts were combined with the states of Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal to form the new Madhya Pradesh state, the Marathi-speaking Vidarbha region was removed and merged with the Bombay State. This state was the largest in India by area until 2000, when its southeastern Chhattisgarh region was designated a separate state.

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Avanti (India) in the context of Swapnavāsavadattam

Svapnavasavadattam (Sanskrit: स्वप्नवासवदत्तम्, Svapnavāsavadattam) (English: The dream of Vasavadatta) is a Sanskrit play in six acts written by the ancient Indian poet Bhāsa.

The plot of the drama is drawn from the romantic narratives about the kaushambi king Udayana and Vasavadatta, the daughter of Pradyota, the ruler of Avanti, which were current in the poet's time and which seem to have captivated popular imagination. The main theme of the drama is the sorrow of Udayana for his queen Vasavadatta, believed by him to have perished in a fire, which was actually a rumour spread by Yaugandharayana, a minister of Udayana to compel his king to marry Padmavati, the daughter of the king of Magadha. It forms, in context, a continuation of his another drama, Pratijnayaugandharayana.

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