Pala was the name of a dynasty (series of rulers who belong to the same family) that ruled over eastern India from about 750 to the late 1100’s. The territories the Palas once ruled lie mostly in the Indian states of Bihar and West Bengal, and also in Bangladesh. The Palas are known by that name because all of their kings had names ending in pala. Their main rivals for power in India were the Rashtrakutas, from central India, and the Pratiharas, from northern India, but they also came under attack from the Cholas of Tamil Nadu. The Palas had friendly contact with Srivijaya, the Malay Buddhist empire in Sumatra, in what is now Indonesia.
The Palas were Buddhists, unlike most other Indian ruling dynasties of the period. Pala missionaries traveled to Tibet, where they founded many Buddhist monasteries, including the one at Vikramasila (now in Bihar, India).
The first of the Pala kings, Gopala, is unusual among Indian rulers because he was an elected king and not a hereditary chieftain. Unfortunately, little is known about his actual election. He came to power during the mid-700’s. Gopala’s successor, Dharmapala, who reigned from about 783 to 818, laid the groundwork for the regional dominance of the Pala dynasty. He conquered much of northern India, going as far west as Kanauj, which was then a major power center in northern India. Devapala succeeded Dharmapala and continued the work of conquest in other parts of northern India.
The Pala dynasty declined after the reign of Devapala ended about 850 and did not regain strength until the late 900’s and early 1000’s, during the reign of Mahipala. Mahipala ruled for nearly 50 years, and, through his conquests, brought his kingdom to a second peak of power. During the 1100’s, Ramapala was another strong ruler. He is commemorated in the Sanskrit epic poem of the 1100’s, Ramacarita by Sandhyakara. The poem accomplishes the feat of simultaneously telling the stories of the legendary King Rama and of the real king Ramapala. The Palas gradually faded into insignificance in the 1100’s, first losing influence to the Senas and later losing power entirely to Muslim invaders.
