Pundravardhana was an ancient kingdom of Iron Age South Asia located in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent with a territory that included parts of present-day Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Dhaka Divisions of Bangladesh as well as the West Dinajpur district of West Bengal, India. The capital of the kingdom, then known as Pundranagara (Pundra city), was located at Mahasthangarh in Bogra District of northern Bangladesh. According to the epic Mahabharata (I.104.53–54) and puranic literature, Pundra was named after Prince Pundra, the founder of the kingdom, and the son of King Bali. Bali who had no children, requested the sage, Dirghatamas, to bless him with sons. The sage is said to have begotten five sons through his wife, the queen Sudesna. The princes were named Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Pundra, and Sumha.

The word Pundra owes its origin to a disease called Pandu. The land where most of the people were suffering from that disease was called Pundrakshetra (land of Pundra). Punda is a species of sugarcane. The land where that species of sugarcane was extensively cultivated was called Pundadesa (land of Punda) .

In later Vedic texts like Aitereya Aryanaka of 8th–7th century BC, the Pundra was a group of non-Aryan people who lived east of the river Sadanira. The Mahabharata also made a similar reference. In the 1st century AD, the land was mentioned as Pundravardhana for the first time in Asokadana.

Therefore, the ancient name of Pundra was Pundravardhana.