Pundravardhana or Pundra kingdom (), was an ancient kingdom of
Iron Age India located in the
Bengal region of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
with a territory that included parts of present-day
Rajshahi
Rajshahi (, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major Urban area, urban, administrative, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi Distr ...
and parts of
Rangpur Division
Rangpur Division (; ;
) is a first-level Divisions of Bangladesh, administrative division of Bangladesh. It covers the northernmost part of the country with a population of about 18 million inhabitants within an area of . Rangpur Division shar ...
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 ...
as well as the
West Dinajpur district of
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
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
The capital of the kingdom, then known as ''Pundranagara'' (Pundra city), was located at Mahasthangarh in
Bogra District of northern Bangladesh.
Geography
Mahasthangarh, the ancient capital of Pundravardhana is located 11 km (7 mi) north of
Bogra on the
Bogra-
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'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
'' (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 (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
. Bali who had no children, requested the sage,
Dirghatamas, 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
Anga was an ancient Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age in India, Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas.
Counted among the "sixteen great na ...
,
Vanga,
Kalinga, Pundra and
Sumha.
Ancient period
Birthplace of Acharya Bhadrabāhu
The spiritual teacher of
,
Jain Ācārya
Bhadrabahu was born in Pundravardhana to a
Brahmin
Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
family.
Execution of ''Ajivikas''
According to 5th century legendary text ''
Ashokavadana'', the Mauryan emperor
Ashoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
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 śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
bowing at the feet of
Nirgrantha Jnatiputra(Mahavira). Around 18,000 followers of the Ajivika sect were said to have been executed as a result of this order.
According to
K. T. S. Sarao and
Benimadhab Barua, stories of persecutions of rival sects by Ashoka appear to be a clear fabrication arising out of sectarian propaganda.
Ashoka's own inscriptions
Barabar Caves record his generous donations and patronage to Ajivikas.
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