Gonda district

Gonda is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city of Gonda is the district headquarters, and also the administrative centre for the Devipatan Division.

With an area of 3,404 square kilometres (1,314 sq mi), Gonda has borders with Shrawasti district to the north, Balrampur and Siddharthnagar districts to the northeast, Basti district to the east, Faizabad district to the south, Bara Banki district to the southwest, and Bahraich district to the northwest. The district lies between 26° 47' and 27° 20' north latitude and 81° 30' and 82° 46' east longitude.

History

The territory covered by the present district of Gonda formed part of the ancient Kosala Kingdom. After the death of Rama, the celebrated sovereign of the Solar line who ruled Kosala, the kingdom was divided into two portions defined by the Ghaghara river. The northern portion was then ruled by his son, Lava with the city of Sravasti as his capital.

More recently, ancient Buddhist remains dating to the early days of Buddhism have been found throughout the region, including at Sravasti.