Gauda ( ''Gauḍa''; ''Gauṛ''), was a territory located in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

in ancient and medieval times, as part of the Gauda Kingdom.

Location and extent

The ''

Arthashastra ''Kautilya's Arthashastra'' (, ; ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, politics, economic policy and military strategy. The text is likely the work of several authors over centuries, starting as a compilation of ''Arthashas ...

'' of

Chanakya Chanakya (ISO 15919, ISO: ', चाणक्य, ), according to legendary narratives preserved in various traditions dating from the 4th to 11th century CE, was a Brahmin who assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya, Chandragup ...

(around 350–283 BC) refers to it along with Vanga, Pundra. This geographical idea continues with some of the ancient texts. Gauda and Vanga are sometimes used side by side.. Shashanka, the first important king of ancient Bengal who is believed to have ruled between 590 AD to 625 AD, had his capital at Karnasubarna, south-west of Baharampur, headquarters of Murshidabad district. The Chinese monk,

Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...

(Hiuen Tsang) travelled from the country of Karnasubarna to a region in Orissa ruled by Shashanka. There is mention of Pundravardhana 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. While Krishna Mishra (eleventh or twelfth century AD), in his ''Prabodha-chandrodaya'', mentions that Gauda rashtra includes Rarh (or Rarhpuri) and Bhurishreshthika, identified with Bhurshut, in Hooghly and

Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...

districts, but the Managoli inscription of the

Yadava The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu (legendary king), Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the #T ...

king Jaitugi I distinguishes Lala (Rarh) from Gaula (Gauda). The Pala 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. The capital of the Bengal Sultanate, Gauda and Pandua, was situated in this district. Mango, jute and silk are the most notable products of this ...

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 language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, India, while a smaller part is located in Chapainawabganj District of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

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

References

{{Malda topics Historical Indian regions Ancient divisions in Bengal