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Pala Empire is the second longest existing(424 years) and second largest(4,600,000 km²) Indian empire.
Source: List of largest empires that existed in India - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Capitals: 1)Pataliputra(Patna in Bihar)
2)Gaur(Malda Town in West Bengal)
The Pāla Empire was an Indian imperial power, during the Classical period of India, that existed from 750–1174 CE. It was ruled by a Buddhist dynasty from Bengal in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, all the rulers bearing names ending with the suffix Pala, which means protector. The Palas were often described by opponents as the Lords of Gauda. The Palas were followers of the Mahayana andTantric schools of Buddhism. Gopala was the first ruler from the dynasty. He came to power in 750 in Gaur by a democratic election. This event is recognized as one of the first democratic elections in South Asia since the time of the Mahā Janapadas. He reigned from 750–770 and consolidated his position by extending his control over all of Bengal. The Buddhist dynasty lasted for four centuries (750–1120 CE) and ushered in a period of stability and prosperity in Bengal. They created many temples and works of art as well as supported the Universities of Nalanda and Vikramashila. Somapura Mahavihara built by Dharmapala is the greatest Buddhist Vihara in the Indian Subcontinent.
The empire reached its peak under Dharmapala and Devapala. Dharmapala extended the empire into the northern parts of the Indian Subcontinent. This triggered once again the power struggle for the control of the subcontinent.Devapala, successor of Dharmapala, expanded the empire to cover much of South Asia and beyond. His empire stretched from Assam and Utkala in the east,Kamboja (modern day Afghanistan) in the north-west and Deccan in the south. According to a Pala copperplate inscription Devapala exterminated the Utkalas, conquered the Pragjyotisha (Assam), shattered the pride of the Huna, and humbled the lords of Pratiharas, Gurjara and the Dravidas.
Main Pala rulers
- Gopala I (750–780)
- Dharmapala (780–810)
- Devapala (810–850)
- 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)
Nalanda University is considered one of the first great universities in recorded history. It reached its height under the Palas.
Peace and expansion
Gopala united all of Bengal and brought peace and prosperity in the region. The period of anarchy ended with his election. The Pala kings devoted themselves in public welfare and social reform. The Palas adopted the policy of religious toleration and co-existence of the Buddhists and the Hindus. Pala kings won the heart of the people by welfare activities like digging tanks and establishing towns took place in many folklores in the rural areas of Bengal. The Mahipala Geet (Songs of Mahipala) is still popular in the rural areas.
Palas adopted aggressive policy and began the period of expansion under Dharmapala and Devapala. At its height Dharmapala's empire covered most of northern and central region of the Indian Subcontinent. His successor Devapala extended the boundaries of the empire further to Assam in the east, Kamboja in the north-wast and the Deccan in the south. Devapala united much of South Asia under his rule, a feat only achieved before by Ashoka the Great. The supremacy of the Pala Dynasty in Northern India and Kanbhoja was not through conquest or war, but through the principle of the Chakravarti. In the Badal pillar inscription of Narayana Pala, it is stated that by the wise counsel and policy of his Brahmin minister Darbhapani, Deva Pala became the suzerain monarch or Chakravarti of the whole tract of Northern India bounded by the Vindhyas and the Himalayas.Gujarat's poet Soddhala of the eleventh century calls Dharmapala an Uttarapathasvamin for his suzerainty over North IndiaThe successors of Devapala had to contend with the Gurjara-Pratihara and the Rashtrakutas for the supremacy of the Kannauj Triangle. After Narayanpala the Pala empire declined but was revived once more under the vigorous reigns of Mahipala and Ramapala.
Pala foreign relations
Palas came in contact with distant lands through their conquests and trades. The Sailendra Empire of Java, Sumatra and Malaya was a colony of the Palas. Devapala granted five villages at the request of the Sailendra king Balputradeva of Java for the upkeeping of thematha established at Nalanda for the scholars of that country. The Prime minister of the Balputradeva Kumar Ghosha was from Gauda. Dharmapala who extended his empire to the boundary of the Abbasid Empire and had diplomatic relations with the caliph Harun Al-Rashid. Coins of Harun-al-Rashid have been found in Mahasthangarh. Palas maintained diplomatic and religious relation with Tibet. During the military expeditions of the Pala kings the Pala generals would establish kingdoms of their own in Punjab and Afghanistan. Recent discoveries in the Punjab hills showed the influence of the Pala Dynasty. There is a strong and continuous tradition that the ruling families in certain states are descended from the "Rajas of Gaur in Bengal". These states are Suket, Keonthal, Kashtwar andMandi. In the ancient Rajput states tradition has immense force and accuracy. Of Kashtwar it is related that Kahan Pal — the founder of the state — with a small band of followers arrived in the hills in order to conquer a kingdom for himself. He is said to have come fromGaur, the ancient capital of Bengal and to have been a cadet of the ruling family of the place. The demise of the Turkshahi rule inGandhar and the rise of the Hindushahi dynasty in that region might have connection to the invasion of the Palas in that region.
Legacy
Palas legacy gets remembered not much in Bengal but elsewhere in Asia. Tibet's modern culture and religion is heavily influenced by Palas.Palas are credited with spreading Buddhism to Tibet and around the world through missionaries. Atisa, a Palan, is a celebrated figure in the Tibetan Buddhism in tradition and in establishment. Atisa also invented bodhichitta or known as "mind training" that is practiced around the world today. Another important Palan figure in Tibetan Buddhism is Tilopa who founded the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and developed the Mahamudra method, a set of spiritual practices that greatly accelerated the process of attainingbodhi (enlightenment). Palas literature is widely studied by Buddhist around the world. Pala architectural style was copied throughout south-eastern Asia, China, Japan, and Tibet. Nalanda University and Vikramshila University are two of the greatest Buddhist universities ever recorded in history.
The Pala Empire had an enormous influence on the development of the Vajrayana school of Buddhism, today practiced in Tibet, Mongolia, Russia and China. This image of the Buddha from an Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita manuscript dates to the late Pala period, from the Nalanda University. Upon the destruction of Nalanda University and the Pala Empire, Pala monks fled to Buddhist friendly Tibet, and today that country traces much of its Buddhist lineage to this exodus, acting as a time capsule that preserves thousands of Indian sutras in Tibetan.
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As far as I know, he was from the Eastern Bengal and came to the western part later in life.
