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]
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
JainAcharyaBhadrabahu, 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