Pala Empire
The Pāla Empire was the empire ruled by the Pala dynasty, a medieval Indian dynasty which ruled the kingdom of Gauda. The empire was founded with the election of Gopāla by the chiefs of Gauda in late eighth century CE. The Pala stronghold was located in Bengal and eastern Bihar, which included the major cities of Gauḍa, Vikramapura, Pāṭaliputra, Monghyr, Somapura, Ramavati, Tāmralipta and Jagaddala.
The Pālas were astute diplomats and military conquerors. Their army was noted for its vast war elephant corps. Their navy performed both mercantile and defensive roles in the Bay of Bengal. At its zenith under emperors Dharmapala and Devapala in the early ninth century, the Pala empire was the dominant power in the northern Indian subcontinent, with its territory stretching across the Gangetic plain to include some parts of northeastern India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Dharmapala also exerted a strong cultural influence through the Buddhist scholar Atis Dipankar in Tibet, as well as in Southeast Asia. Pala control of North India was ultimately ephemeral, as they struggled with the Gurjara-Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas for the control of Kannauj and were defeated. After a short-lived decline, Emperor Mahipala I defended imperial bastions in Bengal and Bihar against South Indian Chola invasions. Emperor Ramapala was the last strong Pala ruler, who gained control of Kamarupa and Kalinga. The empire was considerably weakened with many areas engulfed and their heavy dependence on Samantas being exposed through 11th century rebellion. It finally led to the rise of resurgent Hindu Senas as sovereign power in the 12th century and final expulsion of the Palas from Bengal by their hands marking the end of the last major Buddhist imperial power in the subcontinent.
The Pala period is considered one of the golden eras of Bengali history. The Palas brought stability and prosperity to Bengal after centuries of civil war between warring divisions. They advanced the achievements of previous Bengali civilisations and created outstanding works of arts and architecture. The Charyapada in Proto-Bengali language was written by Buddhist Mahasiddhas of tantric tradition, which laid the basis of several eastern Indian languages in their rule. Palas built grand Buddhist temples and monasteries, including the Somapura Mahavihara and Odantapuri, and patronised the great universities of Nalanda and Vikramashila. The Pala empire enjoyed relations with the Srivijaya Empire, the Tibetan Empire and the Arab Abbasid Caliphate. Islam first arrived in Bengal during this period as a result of flourishing mercantile and intellectual contacts with Middle-East. The Pala legacy is still reflected in Tibetan Buddhism.
History
Origins
There is no clear evidence for their origin or early history of the Palas. Historians rely on indirect evidence to understand their reign, leading to controversies about their ancestry. A eulogy on the Khalimpur copper plate of Gopala describes his father Vapyata as a Khanditarati or "killer of enemies", and his grandfather Dayitavishnu as Sarva-vidyavadata. Whereas as per a contemporary source, Gopala was born in a family of menials or Dasajivinah. Tibetan Lama Taranatha in his History of Buddhism in India described that Gopala was born of the seed of a certain tree-god from the womb of a kshatriya woman. Niharranjan Ray mentions that this story is connected with totemic lore, and it is a reflection of the society outside of Puranic Brahmanism.The Ramacharitam attests that Varendra was the fatherland of the Palas. In Ramacaritam Dharmapala is hailed as the glory of the Samudra Dynasty; Taranatha too suggested a close connection between Dharmapala and the Samudras, and in the Dharmamangal of Ghanaram there ls the suggestion of a relationship between Dharmapala's queen and the Samudras. Niharranjan Ray suggested some possible relationship between the Pala kings and the ocean-going men of Gauda. The Ballala-Carita states that the Palas were low Kshatriyas, as well as Ghanaram Chakrabarty in his Dharmamangala. The Ramacharitam also attests the fifteenth Pala emperor, Ramapala, as a Kshatriya. In the story Udayasundari of the poet Sodhdhala, the Pala kings are said to be Kshatriya of the Solar dynasty. According to Nitish Sengupta, such claims of belonging to the legendary Solar dynasty seems to be unreliable and appear to be an attempt to cover up the humble origins of the dynasty. The Pala dynasty has also been branded as Shudra in some sources such as Manjushri-Mulakalpa. A medieval writer Abul Fazl going by this tradition described these kings as Kayasthas. According to K. N. Sahay, "we can claim Palas also as Kayasthas". But modern scholars believe Palas were staunch Buddhists, as their court became a stronghold and their copper plates emphasised Buddhist affiliation.
André Wink mentions that the founder, Gopala was elected, and "definitely not of royal blood but probably of a line of brahmans which transformed itself into kshatriyas". Wink further describes that as per an Arabic source Pāla was 'not a king of noble origin'.
Establishment
After the fall of Shashanka's kingdom, the Bengal region was in a state of anarchy. There was no central authority, and there was constant struggle between petty chieftains. The contemporary writings describe this situation as matsya nyaya. Gopala ascended the throne as the first Pala king during these times. The Khalimpur copper plate suggests that the prakriti of the region made him the king. Taranatha, writing nearly 800 years later, also writes that he was democratically elected by the people of Bengal. However, his account is in form of a legend, and is considered historically unreliable. The legend mentions that after a period of anarchy, the people elected several kings in succession, all of whom were consumed by the Naga queen of an earlier king on the night following their election. Gopal, however managed to kill the queen and remained on the throne. The historical evidence indicates that Gopala was not elected directly by his citizens, but by a group of feudal chieftains. Such elections were quite common in contemporary societies of the region.Gopala's ascension in 750 CE was a significant political event as several independent chiefs recognised his political authority without any struggle, consolidating his power over the whole of Bengal including Gaur, Varendra and Banga, also extending his rule over parts of Magadha. According to R. C. Majumdar, Gopala ruled till 770 CE.
Imperial expansion and consolidation
Gopala's empire was greatly expanded by his son Dharmapala and his grandson Devapala. Dharmapala was initially defeated by the Pratihara ruler Vatsaraja. Later, the Rashtrakuta king Dhruva defeated both Dharmapala and Vatsaraja. After Dhruva left for the Deccan region, Dharmapala built a mighty empire in the northern India. He defeated Indrayudha of Kannauj, and installed his own nominee Chakrayudha on the throne of Kannauj. Several other smaller states in North India also acknowledged his suzerainty, as far as Jalandhara. Soon, his expansion was checked by Vatsaraja's son Nagabhata II, who conquered Kannauj and drove away Chakrayudha. Nagabhata II then advanced up to Munger and defeated Dharmapala in a pitched battle. Dharmapala was forced to surrender and to seek alliance with the Rashtrakuta emperor Govinda III, who then intervened by invading northern India and defeating Nagabhata II. The Rashtrakuta records show that both Chakrayudha and Dharmapala recognised the Rashtrakuta suzerainty. In practice, Dharmapala gained control over North India after Govinda III left for the Deccan. He adopted the title Paramesvara Paramabhattaraka Maharajadhiraja.Dharmapala was succeeded by his son Devapala, who is regarded as the most powerful Pala Emperor. His expeditions resulted in the invasion of Pragjyotisha where the king submitted without giving a fight and the Utkala whose king fled from his capital city. The inscriptions of his successors also claim several other territorial conquests by him, but these are possibly exaggerated.
According to Tibetan sources, the emperors; Khri-srong-lda-btsan and his son, Mu-teg-btsan-po, conquered India and made Dharmapala submit. Whether this is historically accurate has been debated between historians however it can be asserted that Devapala came into conflict with the Tibetans. Chinese records, indicate Tibetan control over the Himalayas was lost from 839 to 848 CE which was during Devapala's reign. During the period when Dharmapala's reign was coming to a close and Devapala's reign was beginning, the Pratihāra ruler Nagabhatta attacked the Palas allied with the Tibetan Empire. Devapala defeated the Tibetan kings. The Dullu inscription of King Prithvimalla confirms Devapala's conquest with the mention of the establishment of the Pala Dynasty of Nepal with the first ruler being Adipala whose lineage would continue to rule for sixteen generations.
Devapala's oldest son, Rajyapala predeceased him, and as so Mahendrapala, his next older son succeeded him. He possibly maintained his father's vast territories and carried out further campaigns against the Utkalas and the Hunas. He passed his empire intact to his younger brother Shurapala I, who held sway over a considerably large territory encompassing Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, proven by his Mirzapur copperplate.
What happened in Gopala II's rule, the son of Surapala I, is still unknown. After Gopala II, Dharmapala's line came to an end for reasons which are not known yet. Dharmapala's descendants, if any, were passed over as Dharmapala's younger brother, Vakapala's lineage assumed the throne.
First period of decline
Shortly afterwards, the empire gradually started disintegrating. Vakapala's grandson and Jayapala's son, Vigrahapala I abdicated the throne after a brief rule, and became an ascetic. Vigrahapala's son and successor Narayanapala proved to be a weak ruler. During his 54-year long reign, Mihira Bhoja defeated the Palas. Encouraged by the Pala decline, the King Harjara of Assam assumed imperial titles.Naryanapala's son Rajyapala ruled for at least 32 years, and constructed several public utilities and lofty temples. Earlier it was thought that his son Gopala III lost Bengal after a few years of rule, and then ruled only Bihar. However, it has been debunked by his Bhagalpur inscription, in which he granted a Brahmin two villages in Pundrabardhanabhukti in Northern Bengal, signalling his control over it. His son and the next king, Vigrahapala II, had to bear the invasions from the Chandelas and the Kalachuris. During his reign, the Pala empire disintegrated into smaller kingdoms like Gauda, Radha, Anga and Vanga. Kantideva of Harikela also assumed the title Maharajadhiraja, and established a separate kingdom, later ruled by the Chandra dynasty. The Gauda state was ruled by the Kamboja Pala dynasty. The rulers of this dynasty also bore names ending in the suffix -pala. However, their origin is uncertain, and the most plausible view is that they originated from a Pala official who usurped a major part of the Pala kingdom along with its capital.