History of Bengal Palas 01

PALA ASCENDENCY (750 - 1174 AD) - A REASSESSMENT

India and Bengal in middle age (Click map for large view)

Main Pala rulers

* Gopala I (756 - 781)
* Dharmapala (781 - 821)
* Devapala (821 - 861)
* Mahendrapala, Shurapala I, Vigrahapala I (861 - 866)
* Narayanapala (866 - 920)
* Rajyapala (920 - 952)
* Gopala II (952 - 969)
* Vigrahapala II (969 - 995)
* Mahipala I (995 - 1043)
* Nayapala (1043–1058)
* Vigrahapala III (1058–1075)
* Mahipala II (1075–1080)
* Shurapala II (1080–1082)
* Ramapala (1082–1124)
* Kumarapala (1124–1129)
* Gopala III (1129–1143)
* Madanapala (1143–1162)
* Govindapala (1162–1174)

Bengal before Pala Dynasty

[Source AMC] The people of Bengal are not known to have played any important part in Indian history till after the downfall if the Imperial Guptas. Taking advantage of the inevitable chaos that follows the dismemberment of the Gupta Empire Bengal appeared for the first time in its history with some sort of a political consciousness and emerged as an independent entity in the political system of India.

With the downfall of the Imperial Guptas northern India broke up into multitudinous small states. Saurastra was ruled over by the Maitrakas of Valabh (For full discussion see HB-1, pp, 51 ff). Yasodharman, a military adventurer, attempted to build an ephemeral empire in central India, Rahputana and parts if the Punjab. At Thaneswar the house if Pusyabhuti raised its head, while the Maukharis held sway in Kanauj. In Magadha and Malava the degenerate descendants if the Guptas continued to exercise their uncertain influence. Bengal also took advantage if this political chaos and two independent kingdoms were established in the sixth century A.D.

The first, the kingdom Samatata or Vanga (There was interconnection between the geography of Samatata and that of Vanga. The area denoted by Samatata was mot greatly different from the tract of country called Vanga. The three geographical units, Vanga, Samatata and Harikela, may well be grouped under one unit with the common name of Vanga (‘Bang’ of the early Muslin Historians) corresponding roughly to south-eastern Bengal. For details see B. C. Sen : Some Historical aspects of the Inscriptions if Bengal, pp. 36 ff. and 79 ff. HB-1, pp. 13 ff., 85, Fn. 4.) comprising roughly the southern and eastern , as also a part of western Bengal, was founded in the first half of the sixth century A.D. Six copper-plates have preserved the names of three kings of this line, Gopacandra, Dharmaditya and Samacaradeva, but very little is known about them (HCIP, vol. III. The Classic Age. p, 76).

The second independent kingdom that arose on the ruins of the Gupta empire was the kingdom of Gouda (Gauda and Vanga came to denote two prominent political divisions of Bengal. Roughly speaking, the former comprised northern and western Bengal). This region probably continued to be under the Later Guptas till the reign of Mahasenagupta, who flourished towards the close of the sixth century A. D. (HCIP, vol. III, The Classical Age, p. 73; HB-I , pp. 58-59). But by the beginning of the seventh century A.S., if not earlier, Sasanka succeeded in supplanting the Later Grptas and founded an independent kingdom comprising north and west Bengal as well as Magadha, with the seat of the government at Karnasuvarna, identified with Rangamati in the Murshidabad district (HB-I, pp. 79-80). The invasions of the Calukya king Kurtivarman (567-597 A.D.) and of the Tibetan king Sron-btsan (581-600 A.D.) might have contributed to the rise of this independent kingdom scholars take Jayanaga of the Vappaghosavata inscription (EI, vol. xviii, pp 60-64) as the first independent king of Gouda and Sasanka is said to have succeeded him (H.C. Ray: DHNI, vol. i, p. 273; B.P. Sinha: DKM, pp. 220 ff.), whereas R.C. Majumdar takes Jayanaga as the successor of Sasanka (HB-I, pp. 79-80).

There is no doubt that Gouda empire under Sasanka flourished to such an extent that Bengal came to be regarded as an inportant power in north-eastern India. Though scarcity of material does not allow is to form an accurate estimate of his achievements, there can hardly be any doubt that he not only made Gouda and independent state, but also extended its authority over he whole of the southern Bihar and Orissa. He even made a bold bid for the empire of northern India (For details cf. Ibid., pp. 59-68 ; 71-76). It cannot be definitely said whether Sasanka’s empire included southern and eastern Bengal. Scholara theorise about the probable existence of a Bhadra royal family in that region (IC. vol. II, pp. 795-797, See infra Chaptar IV).

Insufficiant Sources

It is difficult to reconstruct, even in outline, the political history of Bengal after the death of Sasanka (The date of his death is uncertain. It can be said to have occurred between 619 and 637 A.D.). It is obvious from Hsuan Tsang’s account that after Sasanka’s death his empire into pieces (HB-I, p. 77; DHNI, vol. I, pp. 273-274). The Nidhanpur plates of Bhaskaravarman, issued from the victorious camp at Karnasuvarna, show that kingdom was conquered by him (EI, vol. XIX, pp. 115 ff. and vol.XII, pp. 65 ff.). for the period roughly 650 to 750 A.D., the century following the death of Harsavardhana, we do not have any definite history of Bengal. Chinese and Tibetan traditions onform us about two invasions of the region: the first by Wang-hiuen-tse (647-548) and the second by Sron-btsan-gampo, son and successor of Sron-btsan (HB-1, pp. 91-93). But they do not tell us whether Tibet actually held Bengal. Whatever influence Tibet might have had over Bengal seems to have ended by the year 703 A.D. (DHNI, vol. I, p. 274).

In the second half of second century A.D. Bengal saw the emergence of two newlines of kings. These were the Later Guptas in Gauda and Magadha (R.G. Basak, The History of North-Eastern India, p. 128), and the Khadgas in Vanga and Samatata (HB-1, pp.85-90). The Later Guptas had a last flickering of life under Adityasena and his three successors (DKM, pp. 279-322). The history of Khadgas is known from two Ashrafpur copper-plates (MASB, vol. I, No. 6, pp. 85-91) and a short inscribed image found at Deulbadi (EI, vol. XVII, pp. 357-359)




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