Karnasuvarna

Karnasuvarna, known locally as Kansona, was the capital of the Gauda kingdom under Shashanka, the first great ruler of ancient Bengal, in the 7th century. Its ruins lie about 9.6 kilometres south-west of Berhampore in Murshidabad district. The name can be read as golden ear or as made beautiful by Karna, and folklore says it was the capital of Karna of the Mahabharata.

After Shashanka's death, Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa seems to have used it briefly as a victory camp, as his Nidhanpur copper-plate grant suggests, and in the mid-7th century it served as the capital of Jayanaga, according to another copper-plate grant. The surrounding countryside, spanning the Rarh and Bagri regions of the district, remains overwhelmingly rural.