Gauda ( bn, গৌড়), was a territory located in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

in ancient and medieval times, as part of the

Gauda Kingdom The Gauḍa Kingdom (Gāuṛ Rājya) or Shashankas, was a classic kingdom during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal (modern-day West Bengal and Bangladesh) in 4th century CE or possibly ea ...

Location and extent

The ''

Arthashastra The ''Arthashastra'' ( sa, अर्थशास्त्रम्, ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy. Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is ...

'' of

Chanakya Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य; IAST: ', ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya o ...

(around 350–283 BC) refers to it along with

Vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family ...

Pundra Pundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom ( sa, Puṇḍravardhana), was an ancient kingdom during the Iron Age period in India with a territory that included parts of present-day Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions of Bangladesh as well as the West Dina ...

. This geographical idea continues with some of the ancient texts. Gauda and Vanga are sometimes used side by side..

Shashanka Shashanka (IAST: Śaśāṃka) was the first independent king of a unified polity in the Bengal region, called the Gauda Kingdom and is a major figure in Bengali history. He reigned in the 7th century, some historians place his rule between circ ...

, the first important king of ancient Bengal who is believed to have ruled between 590 AD to 625 AD, had his capital at

Karnasubarna Karnasuvarna or Karnasubarna was an ancient city, located in the present day Berhampore CD block in the Berhampore subdivision of Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India. Geography Location Karnasuvarna is located at . Area overview The a ...

, south-west of

Baharampur Berhampore (, ) is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. As of 2011 census, Berhampore urban agglomeration had a population of 305,609 and is the seventh largest city in West Bengal (after Kolkata, Asansol, Siliguri, ...

, headquarters of Murshidabad district. The Chinese monk,

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

(Hiuen Tsang) travelled from the country of Karnasubarna to a region in Orissa ruled by Shashanka. There is mention of

Pundravardhana Pundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom ( sa, Puṇḍravardhana), was an ancient kingdom during the Iron Age period in India with a territory that included parts of present-day Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions of Bangladesh as well as the West Dinaj ...

being part of Gauda in certain ancient records.Bandopadhyay, Rakhaldas, ''Bangalar Itihas'', , first published 1928, revised edition 1971, vol I, p 101, Nababharat Publishers, 72 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kolkata. Evidence seems to be discrepant regarding links of Gauda with the

Rarh region Rarh region () is a toponym for an area in the Indian subcontinent that lies between the Chota Nagpur Plateau on the West and the Ganges Delta on the East. Although the boundaries of the region have been defined differently according to various ...

. While

Krishna Mishra Krishna Mishra (known as krishna guruji is International social activist humanterian yoga instructor On international yoga day 2023 he perform yoga in vande bharat moving train from Bhopal to Delhi to bhopal train 2022 international yoga d ...

(eleventh or twelfth century AD), in his ''Prabodha-chandrodaya'', mentions that Gauda rashtra includes Rarh (or Rarhpuri) and Bhurishreshthika, identified with

Bhurshut Bhurshut ( bn, ভুরশুট, Bhurśut) or Bhurishreshtha ( bn, ভূরিশ্রেষ্ঠ, Bhūriśreṣṭha) was a medieval Hindu kingdom spread across what is now Howrah and Hooghly districts in the Indian state of West Bengal ...

, in Hooghly and

Howrah Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...

districts, but the Managoli inscription of the

Yadava The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and Sat ...

king

Jaitugi I Jaitugi (r. c. 1191-1200), also known as Jaitrapala, was a ruler of the Seuna (Yadava) dynasty of Deccan region in India. Early life Jaitugi was the son of his predecessor Bhillama V, who overthrew the Chalukya suzerainty to become independent ...

distinguishes Lala (Rarh) from Gaula (Gauda). The

Pala Pala may refer to: Places Chad *Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Estonia * Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County * Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County *Pala, Järva County, vi ...

emperors were referred to as Vangapati (Lord of Vanga) and Gaudesvara (Lord of Gauda). Sena kings also called themselves Gaudesvara. From then Gauda and Vanga seem to be interchangeable names for the whole of Bengal. According to Jain writers of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Gauda included Lakshmanavati in present-day

Malda district Malda district, also spelt Maldah or Maldaha (, , often ), is a district in West Bengal, India. It lies 347 km (215 miles) north of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. Mango, jute and silk are the most notable products of this district. T ...

In the early Muslim period the name Gauda came to be applied to Lakhanavati in Malda district. In the narrower sense Gauda is the territory between the river Padma and Bardhamana region.

Gour, ruined city

Gaur/Gour, as it is spelled mostly in modern times, refers to Lakhnauti the ruined city located on the India-Bangladesh border. Most of the former citadel is located in present-day the

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

, India, while a smaller part is located in

Nawabganj District Chapainawabganj (Bengali: চাঁপাইনবাবগঞ্জ) is located in the north-western part of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rajshahi Division, and was formerly a sub-division of Malda district. The north and west part of Chap ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. This city was on the east bank of the Ganges river, 40 kilometers (25 mi) downstream from Rajmahal. Howeverver, the current course of the Ganges is far away from the ruins.

References

{{Malda topics Historical Indian regions Ancient divisions in Bengal