THE PALAS
(8TH TO 11TH CENTURY)
Sulaiman, an Arab merchant who visited
India in the 9th century has termed the Pala
empire as Rhumi. The Pala Empire was founded
by Gopal in 750. It is believed that he was elected
as the king by the notable men of the area to end
the anarchy prevailing there after the death of
Sasanka of Bengal. Gopala was an ardent
Buddhist and is supposed to have built the
monastery at Odantapuri (Sharif district of
Bihar). Gopala was succeeded by his son
Bharmapla who raised the Pala kingdom to
greatness. The kingdom expanded under him
and it comprised the whole of Bengal and Bihar.
Besides, the kindom of Kanauj was a
dependency, ruled by Dharmapal’s own
nominee. Beyond Kanuja, there were a large
number of vassal states in the Punjab, Rajputana,
Malwa and Berar whose rulers acknowledged
Dharmapala as their overlord.
However, Dharmapala’s trimphant career
was soon challenged by his pratihara adversary.
After a reign of 32 years Dharmapal died, leaving
his extensive dominions unimpaired to his son
Devapala. Devapala ascended the throne in 810
and Ruled for 40 years. He extended his control
over Pragjyotishpur (Assam), parts of Orissa and
parts of Modern Nepal Devapal was a great
patron of Buddhism and his fame spred to many
buddhist countries outside India. As a Buddhist,
he founded the famous mahavihara of
Vkramasial near Bhagalpur. He also credited
with the construction of a vihara at Somapura
(Paharpur). He also patronised Haribhadra, one
of the great Buddhist authors.
Balaputradeva, a king of the Buddhist
Sailendras, ruling Java, sent an ambassador to
Devapala, asking for a grant of five villages in
order to endow a monastery at Nalanda.
Devapala granted the request and appointed
Viradeva, as head of Nalanda Monastery.
Devapala’s court was adorned with the Buddhist
poet Vijrakatta, the author of Lokesvarasataka.
The glory of the Pala empire suffered with
the death of Devapala. The rule of his successors
was marked by a steady process of disintegration.
A series of invasions led by the Chandellas and
the Kalachuris dismembered the Pala Empire.
THE SENAS
(11TH TO 12TH CENTURY)
The Sena dynasty ruled Bengal after the
Palas. Its founder was Samantasena described
as a ‘brahmakshatriya’. The title brahmakshatriya
shows that Samantasena was a brahmin,
but his successors called themselves simply Kshatriyas.
Samantasena’s son Hemantasena took
advantage of the unstable political situation of
Bengal and carved out an independent principality.
Vijayasena, son of Hemantasena, brought
the family into the limelight by comquering nearly
the whole of Bengal. Vijayasena assumed several
immaterial titles like paramesvara, paramabhattaraka,
and maharajadhiraja. He had two
capitals, which was one, at Vijaypuri of Bangladesh.
The famous poet Sriharasha composec
the Vijayaprasasti in memory of Vijayasena. Vijayasena
was succeeded by his son, Ballalasena.
Ballalasena was a great scholar. He wrote four
works of which two are extant, the Banasagara
and the Adbhutasagara. The first is an extensive
work on omens and portents, and the second
on astronomy. Lakshmanasena succeeded
Ballalasena in 1179. The reign of Lakshmanasena
was remarkable for patronising literature. He
was a devout Vaishnava and, Jayadeva, the famous
Vaishnava poet of Bengal and author of
the Gita Govinda lived at his court. His reign saw
the decline of the Sena power because of internal
rebellions. The invasion of Bakhtiya Khalji
gave it a crushing blow. A detailed account of
the invasion of Bakhtiya Khalji has been given
in Tabakat-i-Nasiri.
