Janapada of Aśmaka

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 Telangana and Maharashtra 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. 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.