Gaibandha ( bn, গাইবান্ধা) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and district headquarters of

Gaibandha District Gaibandha ( bn, গাইবান্ধা জেলা, ''Gaibandha Jela'' or ''Gaibandha Zila'') is a district in Northern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rangpur Division. Gaibandha subdivision was established in 1875. Gaibandha was previously ...

in northern Bangladesh. It is a centre of commerce and trade of the Gaibandha District and is located under the

Rangpur Division Rangpur Division ( bn, রংপুর বিভাগ) is one of the Divisions in Bangladesh. It was formed on 25 January 2010, as Bangladesh's 7th division. Before that, it was under Rajshahi Division. The Rangpur division consists of eight di ...

. The area of the city is approximately 10.54 square kilometres. It consists of nine

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

. It is certified as a "ka" (A) category Paurasava(

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Name

The city is named after its eponymous district. There are two opinions about the name of Gaibandha. The most famous opinion is: around five thousand years ago, capital of

Matsya Kingdom Matsya ( sa, मत्स्य) was a Vedic kingdom and later became a part of sixteen Mahajanapadas, which also appears in Hindu Epic literature. The capital of Matsya was at Viratanagari (present-day Bairat, in Rajasthan) which is said to h ...

of King Birat was in Gobindaganj area. "Matsa" means fish and "desh" means country(মাছের দেশ). Fishes were abundant in his kingdom so the term "Matsa Desh" was created. According to

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

, king Birat had 60,000 cows which were frequently robbed by robbers. To protect his cattle from robbers, king Birat established a huge cattle-shed. The cattle were tied up alongside the rivers of this area. "Gai" means "

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

" and "Bandha" means "to tie up". From this reason the area was called Gaibandha.

Nearby sites

* Shah Sultan Gazi's Mosque * Balashi Ghat * Mirer Bagan Zam-E Mosque * Bardhan Kuthi * Varatkhali Kastho Mandir * Naldanga Zamindar Bari

References

Towns in Bangladesh Populated places in Rangpur Division {{Rangpur-geo-stub