The name of this district comes from the Sanskrit - Hindi word of Goshala, meaning cowshed. The cowsheds of the royal lineage of Ayodhya viz. Ikshavaku (Raghukul) of the Solar dynasty were located here. The territory covered by the present district of Gonda is a 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 Sravastias his capital. Sravasti was prosperous and progressive during Buddhas time.
More recently, ancient Buddhist remains dating to the early days of Buddhism have been found throughout the region, including Sravasti.
During the medieval period, the first Muslim invasion of the region, to the north of the Ghaghara River, took place in the second quarter of 11th century under Syed Salar Masood. The rulers of Gonda and surrounding districts formed a league to offer united resistance to Masood. Masood could not withstand of the league of more than 13 local kings and was surrounded by their armies all aound and was defeated. In the second half of the 13th century Gonda was included in the government of Bahraich by the early Muslim rulers, and hence has no independent history of its own. Further, there is no specific reference about the district until the reign of the Tughlaqs.
In 1394, the district came under the rule of Khwaja Jahan Malik Sarwar, the founder of the Sharqi dynasty of Jaunpur. From earliest days of Muslim domination till the advent ofAkbar, the history of Gonda district is primarily the history of local clans. During the early phase of this period the whole of Gonda and much of the surrounding region was ruled by Bhars, Pasi kings who come are categorized into lower social order(SC/ST). The district formed an integral part of the empire of Akbar (1556–1605).
With the annexation of the province of Awadh
