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Gauḍa (region)

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History of Bengal
Ancient Kingdoms Pundravardhana Vanga Gangaridai Samatata Anga Suhma Harikela
Classical Dynasties Bhulua Nandas Mayuras Shungas Guptas Varmanas Gaudiyas Kamarupa Jaintia Gour Laur Mallabhum Bhadras Khadgas Palas Chandras Devas Pratapgarh Taraf
Islamic Bengal Khalji dynasty Delhi Sultanate House of Balban City states: Sonargaon Lakhnauti Satgaon Bengal Sultanate: Ilyas Shahi dynasty House of Ganesha Hussain Shahi dynasty Karrani dynasty Sur Empire Twelve Bhuyan Confederacy Kingdom of Mrauk U Jaintia Kingdom Pratapgarh Kingdom Koch dynasty Kingdom of Tripura Kingdom of Bhurshut Mughal Empire: Bengal Subah Burdwan Raj Rajshahi Raj Nadia Raj Bettiah Raj Nawabs of Bengal Zamindars Maratha expeditions in Bengal
Colonial Bengal Portuguese Chittagong Dutch Bengal French Bengal Danish Bengal Austrian Bengal British Bengal Battle of Plassey Bengal famine of 1770 Santal Revolt Chuar rebellion Indian Mutiny of 1857 Bihar famine of 1873–74 Partition of Bengal (1905) Eastern Bengal and Assam Bengali Renaissance Bengal famine of 1943 Direct Action Day Radcliffe Line Partition of Bengal (1947)
Post-partition era East Bengal/East Pakistan(1947–1971) East Bengali refugees History of East Pakistan 1964 East Pakistan riots Bengali Language Movement Bangladesh Liberation War West Bengal (1947–present) History of West Bengal Left Front Naxalism Marichjhapi massacre Nandigram violence Bangladesh (1971–present) History of Bangladesh History of Bangladesh after independence Military coups 1990 Mass Uprising Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord 2006–08 Bangladeshi political crisis Vision 2021 and Digital Bangladesh Smart Bangladesh
Related Architecture of Bengal Bangamata Bangladesh–India border History of the taka Muslin trade in Bengal Timeline of Bangladeshi history
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Gauda (Sanskrit: गौड Gauḍa; Bengali: গৌড় Gauṛ), was a territory located in Bengal in ancient and medieval times,^[1] as part of the Gauda Kingdom.

The ArthashastraofChanakya (around 350–283 BC) refers to it along with Vanga, 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 at Karnasubarna, 9.6 kilometres (6.0 mi) south-west of Baharampur, 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 of Pundravardhana being part of Gauda in certain ancient records.^[3]

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 and Howrah districts, but the Managoli inscription of the Yadava king Jaitugi I distinguishes Lala (Rarh) from Gaula (Gauda).^[2]

The Pala 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-day Malda district.^[2]

In the early Muslim period the name Gauda came to be applied to Lakhanavati in Malda district.^[2] In the narrower sense Gauda is the territory between the river Padma and Bardhamana region.

Gaur/Gour, 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 districtofWest Bengal, India, while a smaller part is located in Chapainawabganj DistrictofBangladesh. This city was on the east bank of the Ganges river, 40 kilometers (25 mi) downstream from Rajmahal. However, the current course of the Ganges is far away from the ruins.