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{{Short description| Pala emperor of early 9th century}}
{{Infobox royalty
|name = Devapala
|image = Indian Kanauj triangle map.svg
|caption = Pala empire with neighbours
|succession = [[Pala Empire|Pala Emperor]]
|predecessor = [[Dharmapala of Bengal|Dharamapala]]
|successor = [[Mahendrapala]]
|dynasty = [[Pala Empire|Pala]]
|father = [[Dharmapala of Bengal|Dharamapala]]
|mother = Rannadevi
|consort = yes
|spouse = [[Mahata Devi]], daughter of [[Durlabharaja I]] of Chahamana dynasty
|issue = Rajyapala <br/> [[Mahendrapala]] <br />[[Shurapala I]]
|reign = 9th century
|religion = [[Buddhism]]
}}
'''Devapala''' ({{lang-bn|দেবপাল}}) (9th century) was the most powerful ruler of the [[Pala Empire]] of [[Bengal]] region in the [[Indian Subcontinent]]. He was the third king in the line, and had succeeded his father [[Dharmapala of Bengal|Dharamapala]]. Devapala expanded the frontiers of the empire by conquering the present-day [[Assam]] and [[Orissa, India|Orissa]].<ref name="Dahiya2017" /> The Pala inscriptions also credit him with several other victories, but these claims are thought to be exaggerated.

== Reign ==

Devapala was the third king in the line, and had succeeded his father [[Dharmapala of Bengal|Dharamapala]].<ref>History and Culture of Indian People, The Age of Imperial Kanauj, 1964, p. 50, [[R. C. Majumdar]], A. D. Pusalkar</ref> His mother was Rannadevi, a [[Rashtrakuta]] princess.<ref name="Sinha1977"/>{{rp|178}} Earlier historians considered Devapala as a nephew of Dharmapala, based on the Bhagalpur copper plate of [[Narayanapala]], which mentions Devapala as Jayapala's ''purvajabhrata'' (interpreted as "elder brother"). Jayapala is mentioned as the son of Dharmapala's brother Vakpala in multiple Pala inscriptions. However, the discovery of the [[Munger]] (Monghyr) copper inscription changed this view. This particular inscription clearly describes Devapala as the son of Dharmapala.<ref name="Dilip1994">{{cite book | author=Dilip Kumar Ganguly | year=1994 | title=Ancient India, History and Archaeology | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N2tlKzxwhY8C&pg=PA27 | publisher=Abhinav Publications | pages=27–28 | isbn=978-81-7017-304-5}}</ref>

Based on the different interpretations of the various epigraphs and historical records, the different historians estimate Devapala's reign as follows:<ref name="Susan1984">{{cite book | author=Susan L. Huntington | year=1984 | title=The "Påala-Sena" Schools of Sculpture | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xLA3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA32 | publisher=Brill | isbn=90-04-06856-2 }}</ref>{{rp|32–37}}

{| class="wikitable"
! Historian
! Estimate of reign
|-
| [[Ramesh Chandra Majumdar|RC Majumdar]] (1971)
| 810-c. 850
|-
| AM Chowdhury (1967)
| 821-861
|-
| BP Sinha (1977)
| 820-860
|-
| [[Dineshchandra Sircar|DC Sircar]] (1975–76)
| 812-850
|}

== Expansion of the Pala Empire ==

Devapala launched military campaigns under his cousin and his general Jayapala, who was the son of Dharmapala's younger brother Vakpala.<ref>Badal Pillar Inscription, verse 13, [[Epigraphia Indica]] II, p 160; Bhagalpur Charter of Narayanapala, year 17, verse 6, ''[[The Indian Antiquary]]'', XV p 304.</ref> These expeditions resulted in the invasion of [[Pragjyotisha]] (present-day Assam) where the king submitted without giving a fight and [[Utkala Kingdom|Utkala]] (present-day Odisha) whose ruler fled from his capital city.<ref>Bhagalpur Charter of Narayanapala, year 17, verse 6, Indian Antiquary, XV p 304.</ref>

The highly exaggerated<ref name="Nitish2011">{{cite book | author=Nitish K. Sengupta | year=2011 | title=Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kVSh_TyJ0YoC&pg=PA40 | publisher=Penguin Books India | isbn=978-0-14-341678-4 | pages=43–45 }}</ref> Badal Pillar inscription of a later Pala king [[Narayanapala]] states that Devpala's empire extended up to the Vindhyas, the [[Himalayas]], and the two oceans (presumably the [[Arabian Sea]] and the [[Bay of Bengal]]). It also claims that Devapala exterminated the [[Utkala Kingdom|Utkalas]] (present-day Orissa), conquered the Pragjyotisha ([[Assam]]), shattered the pride of the [[Hunas]], humbled the lords of Gurjara and the [[Dravidian people|Dravidas]].<ref name=MajumdarPusalkar>History and Culture of Indian People, The Age of Imperial Kanauj, 1964, p. 50, 55, 56, R. C. Majumdar, A. D. Pusalkar.</ref><ref>Badal Pillar Inscription, verse 5, Epigraphia Indica, II p 160.</ref> These claims are exaggerated, but cannot be dismissed entirely: the neighbouring kingdoms of Rashtrakutas and the Gurjara-Pratiharas were weak at the time, and may have been subdued by Devapala.<ref name="Sinha1977"/><ref name=Sen>{{cite book |author=Sailendra Nath Sen |year=2013 |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |page=20 |isbn=978-93-80607-34-4}}</ref>

The "Gurjaras" in the inscription refers to the [[Gurjara-Pratiharas]] led by [[Mihira Bhoja]]. The Hunas probably refers to a principality in North-West India.<ref name="Ronald2004">{{cite book | author=Ronald M. Davidson | year=2004 |orig-year=First published 2002 | title=Indian Esoteric Buddhism: Social History of the Tantric Movement | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n_VquVQvnBwC&pg=PA53 | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. | pages=53–55 | isbn=978-81-208-1991-7}}</ref> "Dravida" is generally believed to be a reference to the [[Rashtrakuta]]s (led by [[Amoghavarsha]]), but RC Majumdar believes that it may refer to the [[Pandyan Dynasty|Pandyan]] king Sri Mara Sri Vallabha. However, there is no definitive record of any expedition of Devapala to the extreme south. In any case, his victory in the south could only have been a temporary one, and his dominion lay mainly in the north.<ref name="Sailendra1999"/>

While an ancient country with the name [[Kambojas|Kamboja]] was located in what is now Afghanistan, there is no evidence that Devapala's empire extended that far.<ref name="Sinha1977">{{cite book | author=Bindeshwari Prasad Sinha | author-link=Bindeshwari Prasad Sinha | title=Dynastic History of Magadha | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gYO25eaDrqUC&pg=PA185 | year=1977 | location=New Delhi | publisher=Abhinav Publications | pages=185 | isbn=978-81-7017-059-4 | quote="[p. 178] Dharmapāla's wife was Raṇṇādevī daughter of Parabala, the ornament of the Rāshṭrakūṭa race. Devapāla was their son."}}</ref> Kamboja, in this inscription, could refer to the Kamboja tribe that had entered North India (see [[Kamboja Pala dynasty]]). The Munger copper plate (''Monghyr Charter'') indicates that the Palas recruited their war horses from the Kambojas, and there might have been a Kamboja cavalry in the Pala armed forces.<ref>''Dynastic History of Northern India'', I. p 311; {{cite journal |author=H. C. Ray |date=December 1939 |title=New Light on the History of Bengal |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.33106/page/n532 |journal=Indian Historical Quarterly |volume=XV |issue=4 |page=511}}; History of Ancient Bengal, 1971, pp 127, 182-83 : "The Palas employed mercenary forces and certainly recruited horses from Kamboja (Ins B.8 V 13).</ref> Viradeva, a scholar appointed by him as the abbot of [[Nalanda]], is believed to be a native of [[Nagarahara]] (identified with modern-day [[Jalalabad]]).<ref name="Sailendra1999">{{cite book | author=Sailendra Nath Sen | year=1999 |orig-year=First published 1988 | title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA280 | edition=2nd | publisher=New Age International | pages=280– | isbn=978-81-224-1198-0}}</ref> This has led some scholars to speculate if Devapala indeed launched a military expedition to the present-day Afghanistan, during which he met Viradeva.<ref>{{cite book |author=H. C. Kar. |year=1980 |title=Military History of India |url=https://archive.org/details/militaryhistoryo0000karh |url-access=registration |location=Calcutta |publisher=Firma KLM |page=[https://archive.org/details/militaryhistoryo0000karh/page/88 88] |oclc=558393347}}</ref> But some historians believe that Devapala defeated the [[Arab]] rulers of the north west.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}

== Religious leanings ==

Devapala was a staunch sponsor of [[Mahayana|Buddhism]], and approved the construction of many temples and monasteries in [[Magadha]].<ref>{{cite book |author=V. D. Mahajan |author-link=Vidya Dhar Mahajan |year=1970 |orig-year=First published 1960 |title=Ancient India |page=570 |oclc=1000593117}}</ref> He maintained the famous Buddhist monastery at Uddandapura ([[Odantapuri]]). [[Buton Rinchen Drub]] credits his father Dharmapala for building the monastery, although other Tibetan accounts such as that of [[Taranatha]], state that it was magically built and then entrusted to Devapala.<ref name="Susan1984"/>{{rp|45}}

Balaputradeva, the Sailendra king of Java, sent an ambassador to him, asking for a grant of five villages for the construction of a monastery at Nalanda. The request was granted by Devapala.<ref name="Sailendra1999"/> He also patronized the Vikramashila University and the Nalanda University.

Buddhist scholar Vajradatta (the author of Lokesvarashataka), was the court poet of Devapala.<ref name="Sailendra1999"/><ref name="Dahiya2017">{{Cite book|last=Dahiya|first=Poonam Dalal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tbU6DwAAQBAJ |title=Ancient and Medieval India |year=2017 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Education|isbn=978-93-5260-673-3|pages=413|language=en}}</ref>

== Successor ==

Devapala ruled for about 40 years. His oldest son probably was the Crown Prince(Yuvaraja) Rajyapala. However, he probably died before his father. Earlier, the historians believed his successor to be [[Shurapala I]] and/or [[Vigrahapala I]].<ref name="Susan1984"/>{{rp|32–37}} In the 2000s, a copper-plate grant was discovered at [[Jagjivanpur]]: this plate mentions that a hitherto unknown Pala king, [[Mahendrapala]], had issued the grant in 854 CE.<ref>[http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=4,1674,0,0,1,0#.Ux-qxfldW5I Bengal museum to reconstruct excavated Buddhist site]</ref> Mahendrapala was the son of Devapala and brother of Shurapala I. Both Mahendrapala and Shurapala I were born to Queen Mahata.<ref name="SKTiwari2001">{{cite book | title=Dimensions of Human Cultures in Central India: Professor S.K. Tiwari Felicitation Volume | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jUwFL3IipK0C&pg=PA239 | year= 2001 | publisher=Sarup & Sons | isbn=978-81-7625-186-0 | page=239 }}</ref>

== In popular culture ==

Devapala's exploits -- both verified and legendary -- inspired the [[Bengalis|Bengali]] campaign in ''Dynasties of India'', the 2022 expansion pack for ''[[Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition]]''.

== See also ==
* [[List of rulers of Bengal]]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Pala Empire|Pala Emperor]]
| years = 9th century
| before = [[Dharmapala of Bengal|Dharmapala]]
| after = [[Mahendrapala]]
}}
{{s-end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

[[Category:Pala kings]]
[[Category:Year of death unknown]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Indian Buddhist monarchs]]

Devapala (Pala dynasty) - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article