Bogra District

Bogra is a northern district of Bangladesh, in the Rajshahi Division. It is called the gateway to North Bengal. Bogra is an industrial city where many small and mid-sized industries are sited. Bogra district was a part of the ancient Pundravardhana territory and the ruins of Mahasthangarh, the ancient capital of Pundravardhana, are located north of Bogra.HistoryAncient historyThe Bogra District occupies an important place in the legendary and the earlier historical annals of Bengal. In the ancient period, it was a part of the territory of the Pundras or Paundras, which was known by the name of Pundravardhana. Pundravardhana was one of the kingdoms of Eastern India and was separated by the stream of Karatoya from the more easterly kingdom of Prag-Jyotisha or Kamrupa. The name, Pundravardhana, occurs frequently in the Mahabharata, Ramayana and the various Puranas. According to the Mahabharata and the Puranas, Vasudeva, a powerful prince of the Pundra family, is said to have ruled over Pundravardhana as far back as 1280 BC. The claims of the district to antiquity, however, rests chiefly on association which centre round the old fortified town, now known as Mahasthangarh.