Awadhi (; ), also known as Audhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern India and Nepal. It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. The name Awadh is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city, which is regarded as the homeland of the Hindu god Rama. See also, the Oudh state which was settled in North India during the Mughal rule. It was, along with Braj Bhasha, used widely as a literary vehicle before being displaced by Hindustani in the 19th century. Linguistically, Awadhi is a language at par with Hindustani. However, it is regarded by the state to be a dialect of the Central Indo-Aryan (Hindi) languages, and the area where Awadhi is spoken to be a part of the Hindi-language area owing to their cultural proximity. As a result, Modern Standard Hindi, rather than Awadhi, is used for school instructions as well as administrative and official purposes; and its literature falls within the scope of Hindi literature. Alternative names of Awadhi include Baiswāri (after the subregion of Baiswara), as well as the sometimes ambiguous Pūrbī, literally meaning "eastern", and Kōsalī (named after the ancient Kosala Kingdom). Geographic distribution In India Awadhi is predominantly spoken in the Awadh region encompassing central Uttar Pradesh, along with the lower part of the Ganga-Yamuna doab. In the west, it is bounded by Western Hindi, specifically Kannauji and Bundeli, while in the east, Bhojpuri from the Bihari group of Eastern Indo-Aryan languages is spoken. In the north, it is bounded by the country of Nepal and in the south by Bagheli, which shares a great resemblance with Awadhi. The following districts of North and Central UP speak Awadhi- Lakhimpur Kheri Sitapur Hardoi Unnao Fatehpur Barabanki Lucknow Rae Bareli Amethi Baharich. In eastern parts of UP the Awadhi language changes it's form to a special dialect called "Eastern Standard Awadhi." This region makes boundary with bhojpuri speaking districts of Purvanchal. This part include districts of- Ayodhya Ambedkar Nagar Prayagraj Jaunpur Mirzapur Bhadohi Sultanpur Pratapgarh Gonda Basti Siddharthnagar Kaushambi In Nepal Awadhi is spoken in two provinces in Nepal: Lumbini Province Banke District Bardiya District Dang District Kapilvastu District Parasi District Rupandehi District Sudurpashchim Province Kailali District Kanchanpur District Outside South Asia A language influenced by Awadhi (as well as other languages) is also spoken as a lingua franca for Indians in Fiji and is referred to as Fijian