Ujjain

Ujjain is a city in the Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhya_Pradesh">Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative center of Ujjain district and Ujjain division It is a famous Hindu pilgrimage center with the Kumbh Mela held here every 12 years The city is also a part of the Indore Metropolitan Region, as notified by the State Government under Indore Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

An ancient city situated on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River, Ujjain was the most prominent city on the Malwa plateau of central India for much of its history. It emerged as the political center of central India around 600 BC. It was the capital of the ancient Avanti kingdom, one of the sixteen mahajanapadas. It remained an important political, commercial and cultural center of central India until the early 19th century when the British administrators decided to develop Indore as an alternative to it. Ujjain continues to be an important place of pilgrimage for Shaivites, Vaishnavites, and followers of Shakta.

Ujjain has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under PM Narendra Modi's Smart Cities Mission. Excavations at Kayastha (around 26 km from Ujjain) have revealed chalcolithic agricultural settlements to around 2000 BCE. Chalcolithic sites have also been discovered at other areas around Ujjain, including Nagda" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagda">Nagda, but excavations at Ujjain itself have not revealed any chalcolithic settlements. Archaeologist H. D. Sankalia theorized that the chalcolithic settlements at Ujjain were probably destroyed by the Iron Age settlers.

According to Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund, Avanti, whose capital was Ujjain, "was one of the earliest outposts in central India" and showed signs of early incipient urbanization around 700 BCE. Around 600 BCE, Ujjain emerged as the political, commercial, and cultural center of Malwa plateau.

The ancient walled city of Ujjain was located around the Garh Kalika hill on the bank of river Kshipra, in the present-day suburban areas of the Ujjain city. This city covered an irregular area. It was surrounded by a 12 m high mud rampart. The archaeological investigations have also indicated the presence of a 45 m wide and 6.6 m deep moat around the city. According to Raymond Allchin" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Allchin">F. R. Allchin and George Erdosy, these city defenses were constructed between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. Dieter Schlingloff believes that these were built before 600 BCE. This period is characterized by structures made of stone and burnt-brick, tools and weapons made of iron, and black and red burnished ware. According to the Puranic texts, a branch of the legendary Haihaya dynasty ruled over Ujjain.

Ujjain is located in the west-central part of India and is north of the upper limit of the Vindhya mountain ranges. Located on the Malwa plateau, it is higher than the north Indian plains and the land rises towards the Vindhya Range to the south. Ujjain's co-ordinates are with an average elevation of 494 m. The region is an extension of the Deccan Traps, formed between 60 and 68 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period. The city is on the bank of the river Shipra which flows into the nearby Chambal. The tropic of cancer also passes through a temple named Karkoteshwar, located near Harsiddhi Mandir in Ujjain. The climate of the city features a typical version of the humid subtropical climate. Summers usually start by the middle of March which lasts up until late June. During which temperatures normally reach up to 45 °C, with average maximum peaking in May with 41 °C. Monsoon starts in late June and ends in late September. These months see about 36 inches (914 mm) of precipitation, frequent thunderstorms, and flooding. This season usually features a wet phase of comfortable with average temperatures around 24 °C but this is accompanied by frequent downpours. This wet phase is followed by a dry phase which results in humid weather with high temperatures. Temperatures rise again up to late October when winter starts, which lasts up to early March. Winters are cool, dry, and sunny with occasional cold snaps during which temperature may drop to close to freezing. Otherwise, temperatures are very much comfortable, with average daily temperatures around 16 °C.