Ujjayinī (Ujjain)

Ujjayinī, modern Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, India, is an ancient city on the Shipra river, once capital of the kingdom of Avanti and today a major Hindu pilgrimage centre with the Mahakaleshwar temple and a twelve-yearly Kumbh Mela. Ashoka served as viceroy there. It was long a centre of Indian astronomy: Brahmagupta worked there, Varahamihira is associated with the Avanti region, and its meridian served as the reference longitude of classical Indian astronomical texts. It is also given as the home of the sixth-century monk Paramārtha, who reached China in 546 and became a principal transmitter of Yogācāra teachings there.