Skip to content
EntityQ1194906· pop 24· linked from 309 articles

Also known as Kingdom of Assaka

Aśmaka or Assaka was a Mahajanapada in ancient South Asia which existed between 700 BCE and 425 or 345 BCE according to the Buddhist texts and Puranas. It included areas in present-day Maharashtra and Telangana in south-central India. In Gautama Buddha's time, many of the Assakas were located on the banks of the Godavari River (south of the Vindhya mountains).The capital of Aśmaka was the city variously named Podana, Potali, Paudanyapura, and Potana. Most scholars identify it with present-day Bodhan in Telangana, while some correspond it to modern-day Paithan in Maharashtra.

Key facts

Former country.native_name
Aśmaka
Former country.conventional_long_name
Asmaka
Former country.common_name
Assaka
Former country.era
Iron Age
Former country.government_type
Monarchy
Former country.year_start
c. 700 BCE
Former country.year_end
425 or 345 BCE
Former country.s1
Nanda EmpireMagadha
Former country.image_map
Mahajanapadas_(c._500_BCE).png
Former country.image_map_caption
Asmaka and other Mahajanapadas in the Post Vedic period.
Former country.capital
Paithan PotaliPodana
Former country.common_languages
PrakritSanskrit
Former country.religion
Historical Vedic religionJainismBuddhismHinduism
Former country.today
Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Show 2 more facts
inception
0700-00-00
dissolved, abolished or demolished date
0425-00-00
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~6 min read

Article

9 sections
Contents
  • Location
  • History
  • Puranas
  • Jataka tales
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • Sources
  • External links

Aśmaka or Assaka was a Mahajanapada in ancient South Asia which existed between 700 BCE and 425 or 345 BCE according to the Buddhist texts and Puranas. It included areas in present-day Maharashtra and Telangana in south-central India. In Gautama Buddha's time, many of the Assakas were located on the banks of the Godavari River (south of the Vindhya mountains).The capital of Aśmaka was the city variously named Podana, Potali, Paudanyapura, and Potana. Most scholars identify it with present-day Bodhan in Telangana, while some correspond it to modern-day Paithan in Maharashtra.

In ancient India, during the 6th century BCE, there were sixteen Mahajanapadas. Among them, Ashmaka (or Assaka) was the only Mahajanapada located in South India.

Connections

Categories