Gonda

Gonda lies in Awadh, in the country of the ancient kingdom of Kosala, whose centres included Ayodhya and Shravasti. The Kalachuris of Sarayupara later ruled lands along the Sarayu, including parts of the Gonda region. At nearby Chhapaiya, the religious teacher Swaminarayan was born in 1781. Gonda belonged to the administration of Gorakhpur until 1801, when it was joined with Bahraich.