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Gauda (Sanskrit:गौडGauḍa;Bengali:গৌড়Gauṛ), was a territory located inBengal in ancient and medieval times,[1] as part of theGauda Kingdom.
TheArthashastra ofChanakya (around 350–283 BC) refers to it along withVanga,Pundra. This geographical idea continues with some of the ancient texts.[1] Gauda and Vanga are sometimes used side by side.[2]
Shashanka, the first important king of ancient Bengal who is believed to have ruled between 590 AD to 625 AD, had his capital atKarnasubarna, 9.6 kilometres (6.0 mi) south-west ofBaharampur, headquarters of Murshidabad district.[2] The Chinese monk,Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) travelled from the country of Karnasubarna to a region in Orissa ruled by Shashanka.[1] There is mention ofPundravardhana being part of Gauda in certain ancient records.[3]
Evidence seems to be discrepant regarding links of Gauda with theRarh region. WhileKrishna Mishra (eleventh or twelfth century AD), in hisPrabodha-chandrodaya, mentions that Gauda rashtra includes Rarh (or Rarhpuri) and Bhurishreshthika, identified withBhurshut, inHooghly andHowrah districts, but the Managoli inscription of theYadava kingJaitugi I distinguishes Lala (Rarh) from Gaula (Gauda).[2]
ThePala 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.[2]
According to Jain writers of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Gauda included Lakshmanavati in present-dayMalda district.[2]
In the early Muslim period the name Gauda came to be applied toLakhanavati in Malda district.[2]In the narrower sense Gauda is the territory between the river Padma and Bardhamana region.
Gauda or Gaur, as it is spelled mostly in modern times, refers toLakhnauti the ruined city located on the India-Bangladesh border. Most of the former citadel is located in present-day theMalda district ofWest Bengal, India, while a smaller part is located inChapainawabganj District ofBangladesh. This city was on the east bank of theGanges river, 40 kilometers (25 mi) downstream from Rajmahal. However, the current course of the Ganges is far away from the ruins.