Avanti was divided into two parts and it was in the province of Malva. Ujjain and Mahishamati were the capital of Northern and Southern Avanti respectively. Its king Pradyota or Chanda Pradyota was a contemporary of lord Buddha. He married the daughter to king Udayana. In his later life, Pradyota became a follower of lord Buddha as well.

Avanti was an important kingdom of the sixteen mahajanapadas, and it lay in the western part of India. Buddhism rose to its prominence in this kingdom and and this was one of the other kingdoms which initiated Buddhism in a larger manner. The kingdom was divided as north and south Avanti and the north had its capital at Ujjaini. Mahissati was the capital of Avanti in the beginning, which was integrated into Ujjaini during the period of Mahavira and Buddha. Avanti in the later stages of historu was amalgamated into the Magadha Empire under the reign of Shishunaga.