Gauda Tribe

It is believed that the Gaudas lived on the sea shore and in the state of Bengal. It has been recorded in history that Karnasuvarna was a Gauda king, the great rival of Rajyavardhana and Harsavardhana, the kings of Thanesvar. The fight with the Maukharis seems to have brought the Gaudas into the forefront of Eastern Indian politics. After the death of Sasanka, the Gaudas seem to have faded out from history for a time; but in the first half of the eighth century they again appear on the stage, and a Gauda king had occupied the throne of Magadha.

About the Gaudas it can be said that the Gaudas continued in their work of destruction until they were annihilated by the army. Even in the time of Kalhana that is in the twelfth century A.D. the Ramasvami temple was empty, and the heroism of the Gaudas was sung all over the valley. The Pala kings of Bengal are often described as `Lords of Gauda` as well as ` Vangapati`, in the contemporary epigraphic records. His sons Kesavasena and Visvaripasena are also referred to as lords of Gauda.

The kingdom of Gauda had as far as Allahabad at the confluence of the Ganges. It has been recorded in history that the Gaudas were humiliated by Krishna III. And after the Pala kings the Gauda country had passed into the hands of the Senas. Ivaksmanasena has been referred as Gaudesvara. Vijayasena one of the early kings of the Sena dynasty had defeated Nanya, Vira, and the kings of Gauda, Kamarupa, and Kalinga.And during the rule of the Senas the Gauda kingdom had been attacked several times. It has been said that the Gaudas at one time or another used to inhabit other countries and localities than the region with which they were primarily associated.

Sometimes several references have said that Gauda must have been lying to the north of Kosiala and to the north-west of Mithila. Presently the ruins of the ancient city of the Gaudas, which was situated at the junction of the Ganges and the Mahananda, can still be seen near Malda in North Bengal.