Avanti , kingdom of old India , in the area of today's state Madhya Pradesh . The area was temporarily part of the historical province Malwa . Around 600 v . Chr . War the Avanti capital of Mahismati (probably modern Godarpura on the Narmada River), but was soon after Ujjayini (near present-day Ujjain ). The kingdom was located on the overland trade routes between north and south India and to the port of Bharukaccha (present-day Bharuch ) on Arabian Sea .
During the lifetime of Gautama Buddha (flourished around the 6th to 4th centuries v . Ch. ) War Avanti one of the four powers of North India. it was strong enough at the time under King Pradyota the Fierce to the kingdom of Magadha . There was also an Avanti-Daksinapatha (Sanskrit:"Avanti of the South"; perhaps modern Nimar) of the same period, whose capital may have been Mahismati.
4th century v. Chr . Conquered Chandragupta by Magadha (founder of Moorish dynasty ) Avanti and annexed it to his dominions. Ujjayini , one of the seven holy cities of Hindus, known for its beauty and wealth, became a center of early Buddhism and Jainism.
After 50 v. , In the decline of the Magadha Empire, Avanti was contested by the Shungas, Andhrabhrtyas and Shakas. and in the 2nd century was ce Ujjayini under Rudradaman I, the prosperous capital of the western Shaka satrapy. Over 390 ce Chandra Gupta II (who was also called Vikramaditya, patron of the poet Kalidasa) expelled the Shakas and held court in Ujjayini. Avanti was gradually referred to as Malwa, after the name of the Malwa tribe (Malava) (who had moved to Avanti at an uncertain time).