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{{Short description|Territory located in Bengal in ancient and medieval time}}
{{about|the territory in ancient and medieval Bengal|the historical town with same name|Gauḍa (city)|other uses|Gauda (disambiguation){{!}}Gauda}}
{{History of Bengal}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2017}}
'''Gauda''' ({{langx|bn|গৌড়}} ''Gauṛ''), was a territory located in [[Bengal]] in ancient and medieval times,<ref name = Banglapedia>{{cite web | url = http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Gauda,_Janapada
| title = Gauda| access-date = 2009-08-22 | last = Ghosh | first = Suchandra | work = [[Banglapedia]] | publisher = Asiatic Society of Bangladesh}}</ref> as part of the [[Gauda Kingdom]].

==Location and extent==
The ''[[Arthashastra]]'' of [[Chanakya]] (around 350–283 BC) refers to it along with [[Vanga Kingdom|Vanga]], [[Pundravardhana|Pundra]]. This geographical idea continues with some of the ancient texts.<ref name = Banglapedia/> Gauda and Vanga are sometimes used side by side.<ref name = Majumdar>{{cite book |last=Majumdar |first=R. C. |author-link=R. C. Majumdar |year=1971 |title=History of Ancient Bengal |location=Calcutta |publisher=G. Bhardwaj & Co. |pages=6–8 |oclc=961157849}}.</ref> In the Sanskrit text [[Manasollasa]] (1129 CE), the name ''Gauda-Vangala'' was used to denote the whole of [[Bengal region]].

[[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]], {{convert|9.6|km}} south-west of [[Baharampur]], headquarters of Murshidabad district.<ref name = Majumdar/> The Chinese monk, [[Xuanzang]] (Hiuen Tsang) travelled from the country of Karnasubarna to a region in Orissa ruled by Shashanka.<ref name = Banglapedia/> There is mention of [[Pundravardhana]] being part of Gauda in certain ancient records.<ref>[[R. D. Banerji|Bandopadhyay, Rakhaldas]], ''Bangalar Itihas'', {{in lang|bn}}, first published 1928, revised edition 1971, vol I, p 101, Nababharat Publishers, 72 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kolkata.</ref>

Evidence seems to be discrepant regarding links of Gauda with the [[Rarh region]]. While [[Krishna Mishra]] (eleventh or twelfth century AD), in his ''Prabodha-chandrodaya'', mentions that Gauda rashtra includes Rarh (or Rarhpuri) and Bhurishreshthika, identified with [[Bhurshut]], in [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]] and [[Howrah district|Howrah]] districts, but the Managoli inscription of the [[Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri|Yadava]] king [[Jaitugi I]] distinguishes Lala (Rarh) from Gaula (Gauda).<ref name = Majumdar/>

The [[Pala Empire|Pala]] emperors were referred to as Vangapati (Lord of Vanga) and Gaudesvara (Lord of Gauda). [[Sena dynasty|Sena]] kings also called themselves Gaudesvara. From then Gauda and Vanga seem to be interchangeable names for the whole of Bengal.<ref name = Majumdar/>

According to Jain writers of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Gauda included Lakshmanavati in present-day [[Malda district]].<ref name = Majumdar/>

[[File:Gourruins.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Early 19th century [[lithograph]] of the Muslim ruins of [[Dakhil Darwaza]] at [[Gaur, West Bengal]].]]
In the early Muslim period the name Gauda came to be applied to [[Gaur, West Bengal|Lakhanavati]] in Malda district.<ref name = Majumdar/>
In the narrower sense Gauda is the territory between the river Padma and Bardhamana region.

==City of Gauda==
{{Main|Gauḍa (city)}}
[[Gauḍa (city)|Gauda]] or Gaur, 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]], India, while a smaller part is located in [[Chapainawabganj District]] of [[Bangladesh]]. This city was on the east bank of the [[Ganges|Ganges river]], 40 kilometers (25 mi) downstream from Rajmahal. However, the current course of the Ganges is far away from the ruins.
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Malda topics}}

[[Category:Historical regions in India]]
[[Category:Ancient divisions in Bengal]]

Gauḍa region - Revision history

Accuntpayable1 at 18:56, 1 March 2026