Gaur

Gaur

If you are a history buff with a special inclination for visiting the relics that have been a witness to the past of the place, you must visit Gaur, also known as Laknauti, a ruined city, in the Malda district of West Bengal, India, on an excursion from Kolkata.

This ancient city sits on the west bank of the Ganges river, 40 kilometers downstream from Rajmahal. One finds a mention of the city of Gaur in mythology as well as it is believed to have been founded by the mythic figure Lakshmana, and its most ancient name was Lakshmanavati, corrupted into "Lakhnauti".

Tracing back the past of Gaur, its known history begins in 1198, when the Muslims conquered it. From then on it was retained by them, as the chief seat of their power in Bengal for more than three centuries.

The decline of Gaur started around the year 1350, when the Afghan kings of Bengal established their independence, and made Pandua, also in Malda district, their prime seat of governance. In order to build their new capital, they plundered Gaur of every monument that could be removed.

However, in 1435, Gaur once again came to the limelight as the capital under the name of Jannatabad (after Pandua was deserted by its rulers), and Gaur remained the capital as long as the Muslim kings retained their independence.

However, the glory of Gaur was short-lived as in 1564 Sulaiman Kirani, a Pathan adventurer, abandoned it for Tanda, a place somewhat nearer the Ganges. Following its abandonment, Gaur was sacked by Sher Shah in 1539, and Akbar's general occupied it in 1575, when Daud Shah, the last of the Afghan dynasty, refused to pay homage to the Mughal emperor.

The city finally hit its nadir of doom following its occupation by the Mughal forces, as there was an outbreak of the plague. Since then it has been little better than a heap of ruins, almost overgrown with jungle.

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