Pundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom ( sa, Puṇḍravardhana), was an ancient kingdom during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

period in India with a territory that included parts of present-day

Rajshahi Rajshahi ( bn, রাজশাহী, ) is a metropolitan city and a major urban, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous division and district. Located on the north bank of the P ...

and Rangpur Divisions of Bangladesh as well as the West Dinajpur district of West Bengal,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The capital of the kingdom, then known as ''Pundranagara'' (Pundra city), was located at Mahasthangarh in

Bogra District Bogra District, officially known as Bogura District, is a district in the northern part of Bangladesh, in the Rajshahi Division. Bogra is an industrial city where many small and mid-sized companies are sited. Bogra was a part of the ancient Pun ...

in northern Bangladesh.Hossain, Md. Mosharraf, ''Mahasthan: Anecdote to History'', 2006, pp. 69-73, Dibyaprakash, 38/2 ka Bangla Bazar, Dhaka,

Geography

Mahasthangarh, the ancient capital of Pundravardhana is located 11 km (7 mi) north of

Bogra Bogra ( bn, বগুড়া), officially known as Bogura, is a major city located in Bogra District, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh. The city is a major commercial hub in Northern Bangladesh. It is the second largest city in Rajshahi Divi ...

on the

- Rangpur highway, with a feeder road (running along the eastern side of the ramparts of the citadel for 1.5 km) leading to Jahajghata and site museum.Hossain, Md. Mosharraf, pp. 14-15.

Mention in ''Mahabharata'' and ''puranic'' literature

According to the epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

'' (I.104.53-54) and puranic literature, ''Pundra'' was named after Prince Pundra, the founder of the kingdom, and the son of King Bali. Bali who had no children, requested the sage,

Dirghatamas Dīrghatamas (Sanskrit: दीर्घतमस्) was an ancient Indian sage well known for his philosophical verses in the Rigveda. He was author of Suktas (hymns) 140 to 164 in the first Mandala (section) of the Rigveda. There was another ...

, to bless him with sons. The sage is said to have begotten five sons through his wife, the queen Sudesna. The princes were named Anga,

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 ...

, Kalinga, Pundra and Sumha.

Ancient period

Birth place of Acharya Bhadrabāhu

The spiritual teacher of Chandragupta Maurya, Jain Ācārya Bhadrabahu was born in Pundravardhana.

Execution of ''Ajivikas''

According to ''

Ashokavadana The Ashokavadana ( sa, अशोकावदान; ; "Narrative of Ashoka") is an Indian Sanskrit-language text that describes the birth and reign of the Third Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. It contains legends as well as historical narratives, and ...

'', the Mauryan emperor

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

issued an order to kill all the Ajivikas (follower of nāstika or "heterodox" schools of Indian philosophy) in Pundravardhana after a non-Buddhist there drew a picture showing the

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

bowing at the feet of

Nirgrantha Jnatiputra Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...

. Around 18,000 followers of the Ajivika sect were said to have been executed as a result of this order.

Discovery

Several personalities contributed to the discovery and identification of the ruins at Mahasthangarh. F. Buchanan Hamilton was the first European to locate and visit Mahasthangarh in 1808, C. J. O’Donnell, E. V. Westmacott, and Baveridge followed. Alexander Cunningham was the first to identify the place as the capital of Pundravardhana. He visited the site in 1889.Hossain, Md. Mosharraf, pp. 16-19

References

{{reflist, 2 Historical Indian regions Ancient divisions in Bengal