Aśmaka (Skt. अश्मक), or Pali Assaka, was a kingdom among the 16 Mahajanapadas mentioned in Buddhist literature, in inscriptions including the Ajāntā Caves, and in Sanskrit epic and Purānic literature.[1] All other kingdoms were in the north, from Anga to Gandhara. An alternative theory states that Asmaka was not an independent southern kingdom, but referred instead to Asvaka—a nation in the north ruled by the Kambojas. The epic Mahabharata mentions that the king of the name Asmaka was the adopted son of Saudasa a king of Kosala and an Ikshwaku ruler.