The early history of Ujjain is lost in the midst of antiquity. As early as the time of the Aryan settlers, Ujjain seems to have acquired importance. In the 6th century B.C. Avanti with its capital at Ujjaini, was mentioned in Buddhist literature as one of the four great powers along with Vatsa, Kosala and Magadha.
The history of ujjain dates back to the times of Ramayan and Mahabharat. Lord Ram visited with goddess Sita mata. Lord Ram performed “Pind-daan” for his father Dashrath at Ramghat. Shashth Ganesh placed here is said to have been settled by Sita mata. It is also said that Krishna, Balram and Sudama studied in the ashram of guru Sandipani at Ujjain. In the battle of Mahabharat, the ruler of Ujjaiyini, Vind and Anuvind took part with much bigger army of two Akshohini army. Vind and Anuvind were the two brothers of Duryodhan among the 100 sons of Dhritarashtra. After the Mahabharat, the history of Ujjain went in to the dark but archaeological prints indicated that there was a technology and industry ( bhatti etc.) of making “Iron” available at Ujjain in BC 800.
Ujjain used to lay on the main trade route between north India and Deccan going from Mathura via Ujjain to Mahishmati ( Maheshwar) on the Narmada river and to Paithan on the river Godavari, western Asia and the West. The northern black polished ware, the NBP as it is often called which is technically the finest pottery of the time, with a brilliantly burnished dressing almost of the quality of a glaze in colour from jet black to a deep grey or metallic blue and iron, found their way to the northern Deccan from the Gangetic plains through Ujjain. The articles of export to the western Asia such as precious stones and pearls, scents and spices, perfumes, silks and muslin, reached the port of Brighukachcha from the remote north through Ujjain. All this finds a detailed and interesting description in the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea. prevnext
There is an account of an unknown Greek merchant who made a voyage to India in the second half of the first century AD. The Periplus talks of a city called Ozene to the east of Barygaza ( Broach) which fed all commodities to trade like onyx, porcelain, fine muslin and quantities of ordinary cottons, spikenard , costus bodellium to this important port and to other parts of India.
The earliest known epigraphic record of the Paramaras, the Harsola Granth, issued at the beginning of the 10th century AD, maintains that the kings of the Paramara dynasty were born in the family of the Rastrakutas in the Deccan. The early Paramara chiefs of Malwa were probably vassals of the Rastrakutas. The Udaypur Prasati, mentions Vakpati Vakpati I as the king of Avanti and it was probably in his region that the Rastrakuta Indra III halted at Ujjain while advancing with his army against the Pratihara Mahipala I. Malwa was lost in the time of Vakpati’s successor, Vairisimha II, to the invading forces of Mahipala I who avenged his defeat at the hands of Indra III by invading the empire of Rastrakuta. Mahipala and his Kalachuri confederate Bhamanadeva are said to have conquered the territory up to the banks of the Narmada including Ujjain and Dhar. The Paramara sovereignty in the Malwa remained ceased until AD 946 when Vairsimha II became dominant in the area. It was in his son Siyaka II’s reign that the independent Paramara rule in Malwa began. It is believed that it was this time that the capital was shifted to the area of the Mahakala Vana in Ujjain.
From the 9th to the 12th centuries, the Paramaras became so identified with Ujjain that subsequent tradition converted Vikramaditya into a Paramara. The last Paramara ruler, Siladitya, was captured alive by the Sultans of Mandu, and Ujjain passed into the hands of the Muslims.
Thus began a long era of misfortune and decay and the ancient glory of Ujjayini was lost in a morass of repeated inroads of attacking hordes. The invasion of Ujjain by Iltutmish in 1234 triggered off a systematic de
