Gauda (also known as Gaur, Gour, Lakhnauti, and Jannatabad) is a historic city of Bengal in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, and one of the most prominent capitals of classical and medieval India. Located on the border between India and Bangladesh, with most of its ruins on the Indian side and a few structures on the Bangladeshi side, it was once one of the most populous cities in the world. The ruins of this former city now straddle the international border and are divided between the Malda district of West Bengal and Chapai Nawabganj District of Rajshahi Division. The Kotwali Gate, formerly part of the citadel, now marks the border checkpoint between the two countries.
Gauda was the capital city of Bengal under several kingdoms. The Gauda region was also a province of several pan-Indian empires. During the 7th century, the Gauda Kingdom was founded by King Shashanka, whose reign corresponds with the beginning of the Bengali calendar. The Pala Empire, which ruled large parts of the northern Indian subcontinent, was founded in Gauda during the 8th century. Gauda became known as Lakhnauti during the Sena dynasty. Gauda gradually became synonymous with Bengal and Bengalis. It was conquered by the Delhi Sultanate in 1204.
For a period of 115 years, between 1450 and 1565, Gauda was the capital of the Bengal Sultanate. In 1500, Gauda was the fifth-most populous city in the world, with a population of 200,000, as well as one of the most densely populated cities in the Indian subcontinent. The Portuguese left detailed accounts of the city. The Sultans built a citadel, many mosques, a royal palace, canals and bridges. Buildings featured glazed tiles.
The city thrived until the collapse of the Bengal Sultanate in the 16th century, when the Mughal Empire took control of the region. When the Mughal Emperor Humayun invaded the region, he renamed the city Jannatabad (“heavenly city”). Most of the surviving structures in Gauda are from the period of the Bengal Sultanate. The city was sacked by Sher Shah Suri. An outbreak of the plague contributed to the city’s downfall. The course of the Ganges River was once located near the city, but a change in the river’s course caused Gauda to lose its strategic importance. A new Mughal capital developed later in Dhaka.
Gauda was one of the most prominent capitals in the history of Bengal and the history of the Indian subcontinent, and a centre of stately medieval architecture. Gauda’s ruins were depicted in the artwork of European painters during the 18th and 19th centuries. Colonial officials, such as Francis Buchanan-Hamilton and William Francklin left detailed surveys of the former Bengali capital.
Sultanate Period
Lakhnauti was conquered in 1204 by the forces of the Delhi Sultanate led by Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, who would effectively be its governor and the first Muslim ruler in Bengal. The Delhi Sultanate retained Lakhnauti as their provincial capital of Bengal. Khalji issued gold coins in honor of the Sultan Muhammad of Ghor, also inscribed in Sanskrit with the words Gaudiya Vijaye (On the conquest of Gauda). On a campaign towards Tibet in 1206, Bakhtiyar left Shiran Khalji to govern Bengal as a substitute. Bakhtiyar would die on this expedition, officially leaving Shiran as the next governor of Lakhnauti who would shortly be succeeded by Ali Mardan Khalji and Iwaz Khalji. The latter would declare independence from Delhi which would also lead to his death.
Independent Lakhnauti
In 1281, Nasiruddin Bughra Khan, the Governor of Lakhnauti, declared independence from the Delhi Sultanate. He would be succeeded by his son, Rukunuddin Kaikaus who expanded the kingdom. During his rule, the Lakhnauti-based kingdom expanded into Satgaon in the south, Bihar in the west, Devkot in the north. His successor was Shamsuddin Firuz Shah, who played pivotal roles in completing Kaikaus’ work in Satgaon before proceeding to take over Mymensingh and Sonargaon. In 1303, Firuz’s nephew Sikandar Khan Ghazi and Commander-in-chief Syed Nasiruddin teamed up with Shah Jalal and his forces in the Conquest of Sylhet against the Gour Kingdom. Sylhet was successfully incorporated into Firuz’s Lakhnauti kingdom. His successor, Ghiyasuddin Bahadur Shah would lose independence to the Delhi Sultanate once again.
Bengal Sultanate
Gauda was widely known as Gaur during the Bengal Sultanate. The founder of the sultanate, Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, was Delhi’s governor in Satgaon. Ilyas Shah rebelled and overthrew Gaur’s governor Alauddin Ali Shah in 1342. Ilyas Shah united the Bengal region into a separate independent state from Delhi in 1352. Pandua became the first capital of the sultanate. In 1450, Sultan Mahmud Shah of Bengal announced the transfer of Bengal’s capital from Pandua to Gaur. The transfer was completed by 1453. Gaur served as the Bengali sultanate’s capital for over one hundred years until 1565.
Gaur was one of the most densely populated cities in the Indian subcontinent, with a population rivaling that of Fatehpur Sikri. The city had a citadel, a royal palace and durbar, many mosques, residences for aristocrats and merchants, and bazaars. Portuguese travelers left detailed and extensive accounts of Gaur. The Portuguese compared the affluence of the city with Lisbon. The royal palace was divided into three compartments. A high wall enclosed the palace. A moat surrounded the palace on three sides and was connected to the Ganges, which guarded the western side of the citadel. According to a contemporary Vaishnava poet, Sultan Alauddin Hussain Shah once saw a procession led by Sri Chaitanya on the opposite bank of the river. The first compartment in the north included the durbar. An inscription of Sultan Rukunuddin Barbak Shah mentions a fountain and water channel located halfway from the Dakhil Darwaza gate. The gate still stands today. According to the Portuguese and medieval Bengali poet Krittibas Ojha, the road from the Dakhil Darwaza to the durbar had nine well-guarded gates, of which two can still be identified today. The second compartment was the living quarter of the Sultan which was adorned with glazed tiles of various colors. The third compartment was the harem. Many artifacts have been recovered from the palace grounds, including enameled bricks and Chinese porcelain. In 1521, a Portuguese visitor saw Sultan Nusrat Shah enjoying polo being played on the plains below the citadel. Gaur was the center of regional politics. The deposed Arakanese king Min Saw Mon was granted asylum in Gaur. The Sultan of Bengal dispatched a military expedition from Gaur to achieve the Reconquest of Arakan.
The Portuguese historian Castenhada de Lopez described the houses of Gaur. Most buildings were one-storeyed with ornamental floor tiles, courtyards and gardens. There were canals and bridges. Bengal attracted many Eurasian merchants during the Sultanate period and Gaur was a centre of the trade like other erstwhile Bengali cities, including Pandua, Chittagong, Sonargaon and Satgaon. Bengal also attracted immigrants from North India, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
In the 16th-century, Gaur was occupied by the Mughal emperor Humayun who sought to name it as Jannatabad (heavenly city). The city was looted and plundered during Sher Shah Suri’s invasion. After 1565, Sultan Sulaiman Khan Karrani shifted the capital to Tandah. In 1575, Gaur was conquered by a Mughal contingent led by Munim Khan. The Bengal Sultanate ended during the Battle of Rajmahal in 1576.
Mughal Period
The Mughals built several structures in Gaur. The two-storeyed Mughal Tahakhana complex was a resting place for viceroys. The tahkhana in Persian means a building with a cool environment. The name indicates that the complex had an indoor ventilation system to moderate humid temperatures. The complex was also used as a Sufi khanqah. The Lukochori Darwaza (hide and seek gate) was erected on the road that led to the complex. The construction of these structures can be traced to the reign of Viceroy Shah Shuja. An outbreak of the plague and a change in the course of the Ganges caused the city to be abandoned. Since then the area has been a heap of ruins in the wilderness and almost overgrown with jungle. Wiki
Tourist Information
Gour-Pandua is the medieval capital of Bengal. They are twin towns located to the north and south of Malda town, 340 km from Kolkata, in West Bengal. Malda is the base for a visit to Gour-Pandua. The area saw three eras of glory – the Buddhist Palas, the Hindu Senas and the Muslim Sultans. The Senas, the last Hindu kings of Bengal, were displaced by the Muslims in the beginning of the 13th century. They ruled till the Battle of Palashi in 1757. There is no trace of any shrine or structure of the Buddhist or Hindu periods. Even those of the Muslim period are virtually in ruin.
During the 13th-14th century Bengal’s rulers maintained a certain independence from the Sultans in Delhi. It was also the period of founding of the Bengali language and the Bengali identity. The Iliyas Shah Dynasty ruling from Gour played a big role in that development.
The place has variously been referred to as Lakshanabati, Lakhnauti and Jannatabad.
Get in
By train
Malda Town railway station: It is about 7-8 hours from Kolkata. All trains going to North Bengal stop at Malda Town. Convenient connections from Kolkata – Gour Express from Sealdah, Intercity Express from Howrah. This is the nearest rail head near Gour, but only a handful of trains stop at this station. The station also lacks basic services like hotels and transport connectivity. So it is advisable to get down at Malda Town.
Adina. This is the nearest railhead near Pandua, but only a handful of trains stop at this station. The station also lacks basic services like hotels and transport connectivity. So it is advisable to get down at Malda Town.
By road
By bus
4 WBSTC Malda Depot. West Bengal State Transport buses connect Malda with Kolkata. Siliguri and other major towns of West Bengal. edit
By car
The normal route is to take NH 12, which links Dalkolha with Kolkata, but the longer route via Durgapur Expressway (part of NH 19) from Dankuni, NH 19 from Palsit to Panagarh bypassing Bardhaman city, and then taking the Panagarh-Moregarm Expressway up to Morgram and on to NH 12 is a more comfortable and enjoyable option.
By air
Netaji Subhas Airport at Kolkata (CCU IATA) is the nearest for regular commercial flights.
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