Panini who lived in about the seventh century B.C. makes mention of Asmaka which was in the interior of the Deccan watered by the Godavari, which is identified with modern
Nizamabad district. Aśmaka annexed the small kingdom of Mūlaka located to its west during the
Mahajanapada period, after which it became the southern neighbour of the kingdom of
Avanti. The
Hathigumpha inscription of
Kharavela (2nd century BCE) mentions Kharavela's threat to a city variously interpreted as "Masika" (Masikanagara), "Musika" (Musikanagara) or "Asika" (Asikanagara). N. K. Sahu identifies Asika as the capital of Asmaka. According to
Ajay Mitra Shastri, "Asika-nagara" was located in the present-day village of Adam in
Nagpur district (on the
Wainganga River). A terracotta seal excavated in the village mentions the Asmaka
janapada. Asmaka also included Mulaka area around
Paithan known in ancient times as
Pratishthana. According to
Sutta Nipata Saketa or
Ayodhya was first halting place on the southward road (
Dakshinapatha) from
Shravasti to Pratishthana.
Anguttara Nikaya like the Puranas tells that Assaka was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas of
Jambudvīpa. It had abundance of food and gems. It was wealthy and prosperous. One of the oldest works of the Pali-Buddhist literature, the
Sutta-Nipata (verses 976-7) speak of a Brahman guru called Bavarl, as having left the
Kosala country and settled near a village on the Godavari in the Assaka territory in the Dakshinapatha. == Puranas ==