Varendra (Bengali:বরেন্দ্র), also known asBarind (Bengali:বারিন্দ), was an ancient and historical territory ofNorthern Bengal, now mostly inBangladesh and a little portion in the Indian state ofWest Bengal andEastern Bihar.[1][2]
It formed part of thePundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom region currently part ofRajshahi andRangpur division of Bangladesh and included the districts ofBogra,Rajshahi,Pabna andDinajpur of Bangladesh andWest Dinajpur andMalda ofWest Bengal, India. According to Cunningham, the boundary of Varendra was theGanges and theKosi river on the west, theKaratoya on the east, thePadma River on the south and the land betweenCooch Behar and included theTerai[2]
According toR. C. Majumdar, the term Varendra-mandala occurs in theRamacharitam, which places it between the Ganges and Karatoya rivers. He writes, "Its inclusion with Pundravardhana is proved by the Silimpur, Tarpandighi and Madhainagar inscriptions. TheTabaquat-i-nasiri mentions Barind as the wing of the territory of Lakhnawati on the eastern side of Ganges".[1]
Historical evidence attests significant presence of Brahmins in Bengal during theMaurya period. TheJainAcharyaBhadrabahu, regarded to be the preceptor ofChandragupta Maurya, is said to have been born in Brahmin family ofPundravardhana (orPuṇḍra, the region north of theGanges and west of Brahmaputra in Bengal, later known as Vārendra).[2] Such evidences suggestPuṇḍra or Vārendra and regions west of Bhagirathi (called Radha in ancient age) to be seats of Brahmins from ancient times.[citation needed]