Pala Empire: Map & History

History

The origin and early history of the Palas is uncertain, with historians relying on indirect evidence regarding their ancestry.

The 11th-century Sanskrit epic Ramacharitam, written by a Pala court poet, states that Varendra (North Bengal) was the fatherland (Janakabhu) of the Palas. In Ramacharitam Dharmapala is hailed as the glory of the 'Samudra' (oceanic) dynasty; it also attests the fifteenth Pala emperor, Ramapala, as a Kshatriya. The 16th-century Tibetan Lama Taranatha in his History of Buddhism in India described that Gopala was born of the seed of a certain tree-god from the womb of a Kshatriya woman. Historian Niharranjan Ray mentions that this story is connected with totemic lore, and it is a reflection of the society outside of Puranic Brahmanism.

Military

The highest military officer in the Pala empire was the Mahasenapati (commander-in-chief). The Palas recruited mercenary soldiers from a number of kingdoms, including Malava, Khasa, Huna, Kulika, Mithila, Karnata, Lata, Odra and Manahali. According to the contemporary accounts, the Rashtrakutas had the best infantry, the Gurjara-Pratiharas had the finest cavalry and the Palas had the largest elephant force. The Arab merchant Sulaiman states that the Palas had an army bigger than those of the Balhara (possibly the Rashtrakutas) and the king of Jurz (possibly the Gurjara-Pratiharas). He also states that the Pala army employed 10,000–15,000 men for fuelling and washing clothes. He further claims that during the battles, the Pala king would lead 50,000 war elephants.

Culture

The Palas were patrons of Mahayana Buddhism. A few sources written much after Gopala's death mention him as a Buddhist, but it is not known if this is true. The subsequent Pala kings were definitely Buddhists. Dharmapala made the Buddhist philosopher Haribhadra his spiritual preceptor. He established the Vikramashila monastery and the Somapura Mahavihara. Taranatha also credits him with establishing 50 religious institutions and patronising the Buddhist author Haribhadra. Devapala restored and enlarged the structures at Somapura Mahavihara, which also features several themes from the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. Mahipala I also ordered construction and repairs of several sacred structures at Saranath, Nalanda and Bodh Gaya.

Geography

The borders of the Pala Empire kept fluctuating throughout its existence. Though the Palas conquered a vast region in North India at one time, they could not retain it for long due to constant hostility from the Gurjara-Pratiharas, the Rashtrakutas and other less powerful kings.

No records are available about the exact boundaries of original kingdom established by Gopala, but it might have included almost all of the Bengal region. The Pala Empire extended substantially under Dharmapala's rule.