Gauda was a territory located in Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

 in ancient and mediaeval times.

Location and extent

The Arthashastra

Arthashastra

The Arthashastra is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy which identifies its author by the names Kautilya and , who are traditionally identified with The Arthashastra (IAST: Arthaśāstra) is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and...

of Chanakya

Chanakya

Chānakya was a teacher to the first Maurya Emperor Chandragupta , and the first Indian emperor generally considered to be the architect of his rise to power. Traditionally, Chanakya is also identified by the names Kautilya and VishnuGupta, who authored the ancient Indian political treatise...

 (around 350–-283 BC) refers to it along with Vanga

Vanga Kingdom

Vanga orBengal was a kingdom located in the eastern part of the Indian Subcontinent, comprising part of West Bengal, India and present-day modern Bangladesh. It was a seafaring nation of Ancient India.- References in Mahabharata :...

, Pundra

Pundravardhana

This article is about the historical territory. For the Mahabharata kingdom see Pundra KingdomPundravardhana , was a territory located in North Bengal in ancient times, home of the Pundra, a group of people speaking languages not of the Indo-European family.-Etymology:There are several theories...

 and Kamarupa. This geographical idea continues with some of the ancient texts. Varahamihira

Varahamihira

Varāhamihira , also called Varaha or Mihira, was an Indian astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer who lived in Ujjain...

 (around 6th century AD), in his Brhat Sanghita mentions six distinct janapadas viz: Gaudaka, Paundra, Vanga

Vanga

The vangas are a group of little-known small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to Madagascar and the Comoros. They are usually classified as the family Vangidae. There are about 22 species, depending on taxonomy...

, Samatata

Samatata

The Kingdom of Samatata was a kingdom in ancient Bengal, located at the mouth of the Brahmaputra river in the south east of Bengal. It was a vassal to the Gupta Empire....

, Vardhamana

Bardhaman

'Bardhaman or Burdwan , is a city of West Bengal state in eastern India. It is the headquarters of Bardhaman District....

 and Tamralipta

Tamralipta

Tamralipta or Tamralipti was the name of an ancient city on the Bay of Bengal believed by scholars to be on the site of Tamluk in modern-day India.-References:...

. It appears from his narration that Murshidabad district

Murshidabad district

Murshidabad district is a district of West Bengal in eastern India. Situated on the left bank of the river Ganges, the district is very fertile. Covering an area of 5,341 km² and having a population 5.863m it is a densely populated district and the ninth most populous in India...

, Birbhum district

Birbhum district

Birbhum district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the three administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is located at Suri...

, and western parts of Bardhaman district

Bardhaman District

'Bardhaman district is a district in West Bengal. The headquarter of the district is Bardhaman, though it houses other important industrial towns like Durgapur and Asansol...

 formed the territory of ancient Gauda. Gauda and Vanga are sometimes used side by side.

Shashanka

Shashanka

Shashanka is often attributed with creating the first separate political entity in a unified Bengal called Gauda and as such is a major figure in Bengali history. He reigned in 7th century AD, and some historians place his rule approximately between 590 AD and 625 AD. He is the contemporary of...

, the first important king of ancient Bengal who is believed to have ruled between 590 AD to 625 AD, had his capital at Karnasubarna

Karnasubarna

Karnasubarna was the capital of Shashanka, the first important king of ancient Bengal who ruled in the 7th century. After Shashanka's death it was the jayaskandhavara of Bhaskaravarman, the king of Kamarupa probably for a short period. This is evident from his Nidhanpur copper-plate grant...

, 9.6 kilometres (6 mi) south-west of Baharampur

Baharampur

Baharampur is a city in the West Bengal state of India. Baharampur is the sixth largest city in West Bengal and situated in central part of West Bengal. Baharampur is nominated for becoming the municipal corporation...

, headquarters of Murshidabad district. The Chinese monk, Xuanzang

Xuanzang

Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...

 (Hiuen Tsang) travelled from the country of Karnasubarna to a region in coastal Orissa, and the area was ruled by Shashanka. There is mention of Pundravardhana

Pundravardhana

This article is about the historical territory. For the Mahabharata kingdom see Pundra KingdomPundravardhana , was a territory located in North Bengal in ancient times, home of the Pundra, a group of people speaking languages not of the Indo-European family.-Etymology:There are several theories...

 being part of Gauda in certain ancient records.

Evidence seems to be discrepant regarding links of Gauda with the Rarh region

Rarh region

Rarh region of West Bengal is the region that lies between the Western plateau and high lands and the Ganges Delta...

. 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

Bhurshut

Bhurshut was an ancient and medieval kingdom spread across what are now Howrah and Hooghly districts in the Indian state of West Bengal.Bhurshut kingdom grew up in the southern parts of Rarh region. It had a high concentration of Bhurisresthis, a community of traders and as such came to be called...

, in Hooghly

Hooghly District

Hooghly district is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal in India. It can alternatively be spelt Hoogli or Hugli. The district is named after the Hooghly River.The headquarters of the district are at Chinsura...

 and Howrah

Howrah District

Howrah district is a district of the West Bengal state in eastern India. It has thousands of years of rich heritage in the form of the great Bengali kingdom of Bhurshut. The district is named after its headquarters, the city of Howrah.-Geography:...

 districts, but the Managoli inscription of the Yadava king Jaitugi I distinguishes Lala (Rarh) from Gaula (Gauda).

According to Jain writers of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Gauda included Lakshmanavati in present day Malda district

Malda district

Malda district is a district of West Bengal, India. It lies 347 km north of Kolkata, the state capital. Mango and silk are notable products of this district. The special variety of mango produced in this region, popularly known by the name of the district, is exported across the world and...

.

The Pala

Pala Empire

The Pāla Empire was one of the major middle kingdoms of India existed from 750–1174 CE. It was ruled by a Buddhist dynasty from Bengal in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, all the rulers bearing names ending with the suffix Pala , which means protector. The Palas were often described...

 emperors were referred to as Vangapati (Lord of Vanga) and Gaudesvara (Lord of Gauda). Sena

Sena dynasty

The Sena Empire was a Hindu dynasty that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. At its peak the empire covered much of the north-eastern region in the Indian Subcontinent. They were called Brahma-Kshatriyas, as evidenced through their surname, which is derived from the Sanskrit,...

 kings also called themselves Gaudesvara. From then Gauda and Vanga seem to be interchangeable names for whole of Bengal.

In the early Muslim period the name Gauda came to be applied to Lakhanavati

Gaur, West Bengal

Gour, or Gaur , as it is spelt mostly in modern times, or Lakhnauti is a ruined city, in the Malda district of West Bengal, India, on the west bank of the Ganges river, 40 kilometers downstream from Rajmahal.-History:...

 in Malda district.

Gour, ruined city

Gaur/Gour , as it is spelled mostly in modern times refers to Lakhnauti the ruined city, in Malda district

Malda district

Malda district is a district of West Bengal, India. It lies 347 km north of Kolkata, the state capital. Mango and silk are notable products of this district. The special variety of mango produced in this region, popularly known by the name of the district, is exported across the world and...

 of West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, on the west bank of the Ganges river, 40 kilometers downstream from Rajmahal

Rajmahal

Rajmahal is a city and a notified area in Sahibganj district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Rajmahal is the only sub-divisional town in Sahibganj district. It is one of the most historic place in Jharkhand...

.