The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India c5.s11.83

c5.s11.83

Mâlava—1. Malwa (*Brahmâṇḍa P.*, Pûrva, ch. 48); its capital was Dhârâ-nagara at the time of Râjâ Bhoja. Its former capital was Avantî or Ujjayinî (*Brahma P.*, ch. 43). Before the seventh or eighth century, the country was called Avantî (see Avantî). Halâyudha flourished in the court of Muñja (974—1010 A.D.); Bâgbhaṭa, the author of the celebrated medical treatise called after his name, flourished in the court of Râjâ Bhoja (Tawney’s *Prabandhachintamaṇi*, p. 198), and Mayura, the father-in-law of Bâṇabhaṭṭa, flourished in the court of the elder Bhoja (*Ind. Ant.*, I, pp. 113, 114). For the origin of the name (see *Skanda P.*, Maheśvara, Kedâra Kh., ch. 17). 2. The country of the Mâlavas or Mallas (the Mallis of Alexander’s historians) the capital of which was Multan (*Mbh.*, Sabhâ P., ch. 32; *Cunningham’s Arch. S. Rep.*, V, p. 129; *Bṛihat-saṃhitâ*, ch. 14). The “Mâlavarâja” mentioned in the *Harshacharita* (ch. 4) was perhaps the king of the Mallas of Multan (see *Ep. Ind.*, vol. I, p. 70). See Malla-deśa.