Varendra region in Bangladesh, present Rangpur and Rajshahi Divisions
Coin of a king of the Kaivartas in Varendra, circa 640–730 CE.

Varendra (Bengali: বরেন্দ্র), also known as Barind (Bengali: বারিন্দ), was an ancient and historical territory of Northern Bengal, now mostly in Bangladesh and a little portion in the Indian state of West Bengal.[1][2]

It formed part of the Pundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom region currently part of Rangpur and Rajshahi Divisions of Bangladesh and included the districts of Bogra, Rajshahi, Pabna and Dinajpur of Bangladesh and West Dinajpur of India. According to Cunningham, the boundary of Varendra was the Ganges and the Mahananda on the west, the Karatoya on the east, the Padma River on the south and the land between Cooch Behar and the Terai on the north.[2]

Literature and inscriptions

According to R. C. Majumdar, the term Varendra-mandala occurs in the Ramacharitam, which places it between the Ganges and Karatoya rivers. He writes, "Its inclusion with Pundravardhana is proved by the Silimpur, Tarpandighi and Madhainagar inscriptions. The Tabaquat-i-nasiri mentions Barind as the wing of the territory of Lakhnawati on the eastern side of Ganges".[1]

History

Historical evidence attests significant presence of Brahmins in Bengal during the Maurya period. The Jain Acharya Bhadrabahu, regarded to be the preceptor of Chandragupta Maurya, is said to have been born in Brahmin family of Pundravardhana (or Puṇḍra, the region north of the Ganges and west of Brahmaputra in Bengal, later known as Vārendra).[2] Such evidences suggest Puṇḍra or Vārendra and regions west of Bhagirathi (called Radha in ancient age) to be seats of Brahmins from ancient times;

According to HC Raychoudhuri the Gupta dyansty originated from the Varendri region.[3] According to the Khalimpur copper plate inscription, the first Pala Emperor Gopala was the son of a warrior named Vapyata. The Ramacharitam attests that Varendra (North Bengal) was the fatherland (Janakabhu) of the Palas.

Ancient empires and rulers originated from Varendra region

Modern day prime ministers, president and chief ministers originated from Varendra region

Notable Varendra Brahmins

Modern usage

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Majumdar, R. C. (1971). History of Ancient Bengal. Calcutta: G. Bhardwaj & Co. p. 13. OCLC 961157849.
  2. 1 2 3 AM Chowdhury (2012). "Varendra". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Gupta_Rule#:~:text=In%20the%20Gupta%20period%2C%20Bengal,the%20largest%20unit%20of%20administration.
  4. ↑ Insight, Apa Productions (November 1988). South Asia. APA Publications. p. 317
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