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 ...

Location and extent

The '' Arthashastra'' 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 Kauṭil ...

(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. 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 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 Din ...

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 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, in Hooghly and Howrah 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 ...

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. Gourruins

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 Malda district of

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 fou ...

, 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