Devapala of Bengal
Devapala was the successor of Dharmapala and the third emperor of the Pala Empire. During his reign, the Pāla Empire reached the height of its territorial extent and prosperity. He was known to be the Overlord of Aryavarta.
Reign
Devapala was the third king in the line, and had succeeded his father Dharamapala. His mother was Rannadevi, a Rashtrakuta princess. Earlier historians considered Devapala as a nephew of Dharmapala, based on the Bhagalpur copper plate of Narayanapala, which mentions Devapala as Jayapala's purvajabhrata. Jayapala is mentioned as the son of Dharmapala's brother Vakpala in multiple Pala inscriptions. However, the discovery of the Munger copper inscription changed this view. This particular inscription clearly describes Devapala as the son of Dharmapala.Based on the different interpretations of the various epigraphs and historical records, the different historians estimate Devapala's reign as follows:
| Historian | Estimate of reign |
| RC Majumdar | 810-c. 850 |
| AM Chowdhury | 821–861 |
| BP Sinha | 820–860 |
| DC Sircar | 812–850 |
Military conquests and campaigns
Devapala is credited by Taranatha for subjugating the whole Northern India from the Himalayas to the Vindhyan Mountains.The Badal Pillar Inscription of Narayanapala describes the campaigns led by Devapala as:
According to Nitish K. Sengupta, the Badal Pillar inscription is highly exaggerated. Bindeshwari Prasad Sinha, an Indian archaeologist and historian states that some exaggerations are naturally present in praises like those found in the Badal Pillar inscription of Narayanapala, but it is equally unreasonable to dismiss the entire description of Devapāla's conquests as mere bombast. Both Pramode Lal Paul and Ratikanta Tripathi state that the statement in the Badal Pillar inscription that by the wise counsel and policy of his minister the whole tract between the Vindhya and Himalayan ranges, and the east and west seas paid tribute to Devapāla was not merely a political exaggeration in the Badal inscription, but a fact.
The Monghyr Plates praises him for Digvijaya of the entire Bharatavarṣa while the Badal Pillar only mentions his Digvijaya of Aryavarta. Gurjaras, Utkalas, Hunas, Dravidas, Kambojas and Pargiyotisas were subjugated according to his inscriptions.
Conquest of Pragjyotisha and Utkala
Devapala launched military campaigns under his cousin and general Jayapala, who was the son of Dharmapala's younger brother Vakpala. According to Bhagalpur copper-plate, the expedition resulted in the invasion of Pragjyotisha where the king of Mlechchha dynasty submitted without a fight and accepted the suzerainty of Devapala. According to the Bādal Pillar inscription, Utkala was exerminated and its ruler fled from his capital.Conquests in South India
"Dravida" is generally believed to be a reference to the Rashtrakutas, but RC Majumdar believes that it may refer to the Pandyan king Sri Mara Sri Vallabha. However, there is no definitive record of any expedition of Devapala to the extreme south. In any case, his victory in the south could only have been a temporary one, and his dominion lay mainly in the north.Conflict with the Tibetans
Devapāla is said to have reached the Kambhoja country in his military campaign. As a result, Devapāla came into conflict with the Tibetan Empire. There is nothing impossible as the Tibetan sources claim that their kings Khri-srong-lda-btsan and his son Mu-teg-btsan-po subdued India and forced Dharmapāla to submit. Therefore, Devapāla must have also clashed with and defeated the Tibetan kings.Invasion of the Himalayas
The inscription of Devapāla states that he liberated the entire Himalayas from the Tibetans. The Tibetan control of the Himalayas was lost during the period of 839-848 A.D., as per the Chinese historical records.Conquests in North India
Devapala's conflict with the Pratihara Empire under Nagabhata II
After the death of Dharmapala, Nagabhata II tried to assert his power and he may have obtained some success. However, Devapāla soon re-established Pala supremacy after his victory against the Pratiharas.Devapala's conflict with Ramabhadra
is credited with no victory in the Pratihara inscription, which states that heDevapala's conflict with Mihira Bhoja
Devapāla's own inscriptions, as well as the inscription referring to his reign, state that he subjugated Gurjaras, Utkalas, Hunas, Dravidas, Kambojas, and Pragjyotisas. His victory over the Gurjaras specifically refers to the Pratiharas, with the Pratihara king in this case being Bhoja I.Religious leanings
Like his father Devapala was a staunch sponsor of Buddhism, and approved the construction of many Buddhist temples and monasteries in Magadha. He maintained the famous Buddhist monastery at Uddandapura. Buton Rinchen Drub credits his father Dharmapala for building the monastery, although other Tibetan accounts such as that of Taranatha, state that it was magically built and then entrusted to Devapala.Balaputradeva, the Sailendra king of Java, sent an ambassador to him, asking for a grant of five villages for the construction of a monastery at Nalanda. The request was granted by Devapala. King Devapala granted five villages were Nandivanāka, Maņivāțaka, Națikā, Hasti and Pālāmaka to Nalanda University. He also patronized the Vikramashila University and the Nalanda University. Devapāla patron of Buddhism, supporting esoteric practices and scholars like Haribhadra and Buddhajñānapāda. His contributions include founding major monastic centers such as Somapura, Vikramaśīla, and Odantāpura, along with numerous Buddhist monuments in eastern India.
Buddhist scholar Vajradatta, was the court poet of Devapala.