The title name of the North Bengal University Journal of History is 'Karatoya' – the ancient sacred river of North Bengal. Its name is associated with
myth tradition, and cultural history of North Bengal. Even to-day, the Karatoya with her narrow flow reminds the sweet memories of the bygone days, the
tales of ups and downs in the life of the people of the soil. Ancient Pundranagara was situated beside the Karatoya. There is a legend about the naming
of the Shila devir Ghat on the Karatoya which was so named after Shila devi, a princess of the last ruling Hindu family of Mahasthangarh (identified
with Pundranagara). The united flow of the Tista- Karatoya once brought material prosperity to the inhabitants of the valley. The vast river crossed by
Xuan Zang on his way to Kamarupa was no other than the Karatoya or Ka-lo-tu of T’sang-shu. Karatoya is described as a holy river in the tirthayatra
section of Vanaparva of the Mahabharata. "Karatoya mahatmya has found its expression time and again in the Puranas. The ancient manuscript
named ‘Karatova Mahatmya’ by Pandita Parasurama (twelfth-thirteenth centuries CE) announces her height of glory as a sacred river for
pilgrimage. The mazar of Hazrat Fateh Ali Askali on the bank of the Karatoya in Bogura is a sacred place to the Muslims. The river Karatoya carrying
the full flow of the Tista from the upper stream never suffered from any physical delicacy. Swelling with the nutrient flow of water at variant stages,
the Karatoya continued to exist as an exceedingly strong- flowing river till the devastating flood of 1777 at the Himalayan plateau from whence the vast
water of the Tista found its way to flow through an older channel to be emptied in the Brahmaputra Yet evidence proves that the Karatoya was regarded as
the river of greatest celebrity in Hindu fable even in 1810. Even today during the dry days of Chaitra, one can witness the amazing beauty of the
ever-flowing Karatoya though not vibrant and broad-bosomed. The chanting of the following hymns at the time of taking holy bath in the Karatoya portrays
the actual reverence the people had for this serene flow:
- Karatove sadanire
- Saricchresthe subisrute
- Paundran plabayase nityam
- Papamhara karodbhabe
(The Karatoya, you are ever filled with water; you are the excellent and well You are always inundating the Paundra country. May your grace release me from all my sins). Hence, the name is borrowed with a view to expressing a deep sense of adoration to the great heritage of North Bengal.