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Pala Empire

For other uses, see Palas (disambiguation).

Pāla Empire
750 CE–770 CE[1]–1161 CE[2]
Pala Empire.
The Pala Empire in the ninth century CE[3][4][5]
StatusEmpire
CapitalBikrampur, Pataliputra, Gauda,[6] Monghyr (Devapala), Somapura (Dharampala), Mahipal in present-day Murshidabad district (Mahipala I)[7],Ramavati in Varendra (Ramapala and successors)
Common languagesSanskrit,[8] Proto-Bengali[9]
Religion
Tantric Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism,[10][11] Hinduism,[12] Shaivism[13]
GovernmentMonarchy
Emperor 
• 750–770[1]
Gopala (first)
• 810–850[14]
Devapala
• 854–908[15]
Narayanapala
• 988–1036[16]
Mahipala I
• 1139–1161
Govindapala (last)
Historical eraPost-classical
• Established
750 CE–770 CE[1]
• Disestablished
1161 CE[2]
Population
• 1000 estimate
17,000,000[17]
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Khadga dynasty
Chero dynasty
Sena dynasty
Karnats of Mithila
Pithipatis of Bodh Gaya
Today part of India
 Bangladesh
   Nepal

The Pāla Empire (r. 750–1161 CE)[1][2] was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent,[18] which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffix Pāla ("protector" in Sanskrit). The empire was founded with the election of Gopāla as the emperor of Gauda in late eighth century CE.[1] The Pala stronghold was located in Bengal and eastern Bihar, which included the major cities of Gauḍa, Vikramapura, Pāṭaliputra, Monghyr, Somapura, Ramavati (Varendra), Tāmralipta and Jagaddala.[19]

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.[20] At its zenith under emperors Dharmapala and Devapala in the early ninth century, Pala empire was the dominant power in the northern Indian subcontinent, with its territory stretching across the Gangetic plain to include some parts northeastern India, Nepal and Bangladesh.[1][21] Dharmapala also exerted a strong cultural influence through 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 last major Buddhist imperial power in the subcontinent.[22][20][23]

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 (Viharas), 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.[24]

  1. ^ a b c d e R. C. Majumdar (1977). Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 268, 172, 170. ISBN 978-81-208-0436-4.
  2. ^ a b Sengupta 2011, pp. 39–49.
  3. ^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 146, map XIV.2 (g). ISBN 0226742210.
  4. ^ Majamdar, Ramesh (1948). The History of Bengal. University of Dacca, 1943. p. 172. ISBN 9788176464062.
  5. ^ Daniélou, Alain (11 February 2003). A Brief History of India. Simon and Schuster. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-59477-794-3. Dharmapala's empire, which stretched from the Gulf of Bengal to Delhi and from Jalandhara to the Vindhya Mountains.
  6. ^ Michael C. Howard (2012). Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies: The Role of Cross-Border Trade and Travel. McFarland. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-7864-9033-2.
  7. ^ Huntington 1984, p. 56.
  8. ^ Sengupta 2011, p. 102:Sanskrit continued to be the language under Sasanka, the Pala dynasty and the Sen dynasty.
  9. ^ Bajpai, Lopamudra Maitra (2020). India, Sri Lanka and the SAARC Region: History, Popular Culture and Heritage. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-00-020581-7.
  10. ^ Amalananda Ghosh (1939). Guide To Nalanda. Central Archeological Library, New Delhi. p. 44. The Pala emperors held East India from the eighth to the twelfth century A. D. and were noted for their patronage of Mahāyāna Buddhism. At the same time they established other monasteries at Vikramaśīlā, Somapura, Odantapuri and Jagaddala, which might have created a division in the activities of Buddhist scholars.
  11. ^ Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. p. 285. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0.
  12. ^ Flåten, Lars Tore (4 October 2016). Hindu Nationalism, History and Identity in India: Narrating a Hindu past under the BJP. Routledge. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-317-20871-6. The Pala kings patronized Hinduism too. They gave donations for learning and for educational purposes.
  13. ^ Alexis Sanderson (2009). "The Śaiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval Period". In Shingo Einoo (ed.). Genesis and Development of Tantrism. Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo. pp. 108–115. ISBN 9784903235080.
  14. ^ R. C. Majumdar (1971). History of Ancient Bengal. G. Bharadwaj. pp. 161–162.
  15. ^ R. C. Majumdar (1971). History of Ancient Bengal. G. Bharadwaj. pp. 161–162.
  16. ^ R. C. Majumdar (1971). History of Ancient Bengal. G. Bharadwaj. pp. 161–162.
  17. ^ Jutta Bolt; Robert Inklaar; Herman de Jong; Jan Luiten van Zanden (2018). "Maddison Project Database, version 2018".
  18. ^ Sailendra Nath Sen (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. pp. 280–. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0.
  19. ^ Satish Kumar, Satish; Jha, Tushar (2017). "Contours of the Political Legitimation Strategy of the Rulers of Pala Dynasty in Bengal- Bihar (Ce 730 to Ce 1165)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 78: 49–58. JSTOR 26906068.
  20. ^ a b Raj Kumar (2003). Essays on Ancient India. Discovery Publishing House. p. 199. ISBN 978-81-7141-682-0.
  21. ^ Sailendra Nath Sen (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. pp. 280–. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sailendra1999 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Furui, Ryosuke (2020). Land and Society in Early South Asia: Eastern India 400-1250 AD. Routledge. pp. 173–174. ISBN 978-1-138-49843-3.
  24. ^ Dahiya, Poonam Dalal (15 September 2017). ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL INDIA EBOOK. McGraw-Hill Education. pp. 411–414. ISBN 978-93-5260-673-3.

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