<Table> State symbols of Madhya Pradesh <Tr> <Th> Fish </Th> <Td> Mahseer </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Fish </Th> <Td> Mahseer </Td> </Tr> <P> Madhya Pradesh (MP) (/ ˈmɑːdjə prəˈdɛʃ /, (help info), meaning Central Province) is a state in central India . Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore with Gwalior and Jabalpur being the other major cities . Nicknamed the "heart of India" due to its geographical location in India, Madhya Pradesh is the second - largest state in the country by area . With over 75 million inhabitants, it is the fifth - largest state in India by population . It borders the states of Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the southeast, Maharashtra to the south, Gujarat to the west, and Rajasthan to the northwest . Its total area is 308,252 km . Before 2000, when Chhattisgarh was a part of Madhya Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh was the largest state in India and the distance between the two furthest points inside the state, Singoli and Konta, was 1500 km . </P> <P> The area covered by the present - day Madhya Pradesh includes the area of the ancient Avanti Mahajanapada, whose capital Ujjain (also known as Avantika) arose as a major city during the second wave of Indian urbanisation in the sixth century BCE . Subsequently, the region was ruled by the major dynasties of India . By the early 18th century, the region was divided into several small kingdoms which were captured by the British and incorporated into Central Provinces and Berar and the Central India Agency . After India's independence, Madhya Pradesh state was created with Nagpur as its capital: this state included the southern parts of the present - day Madhya Pradesh and northeastern portion of today's Maharashtra . In 1956, this state was reorganised and its parts were combined with the states of Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal to form the new Madhya Pradesh state, the Marathi - speaking Vidarbha region was removed and merged with the then Bombay State . This state was the largest in India by area until 2000, when its southeastern Chhattisgarh region was made a separate state . </P>

How many states touches the boundary of madhya pradesh
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