Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c9.s1.3

c9.s1.3

In Muslim times, the city of Gauḍa was also known by the name Lakhnautī no doubt a corruption of Sanskrit *Lakṣmaṇāvatī*. This name was apparently coined after that of king Lakṣmaṇasena (circa 1189-1206 A.D.) of the Sena dynasty, who was ousted from the western and northern districts of Bengal by the Muhammadans. The Senas thus appear to have had at least one of their secondary capitals at Gauḍa. The city of Rāmāvatī (called Rāmautī by the Muslim writers), named after the Pāla king Rāmapāla (circa 1077-1120 A.D) and the capital or a secondary capital of the Later Pālas of Bengal and Bihar, was probably also situated in the vicinity of the present site of Gauḍa. Thus Gauḍa flourished as an important city of Eastern India for a considerable period of time before the establishment of Muslim rule, and pre-Muslim rulers of the country often built new cities named after them in the vicinity of the site of the old city.