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== Expansion of the Pala Empire ==
== 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 ==
== Religious leanings ==

Revision as of 21:53, 29 May 2024

Devapala
Indian Kanauj triangle map.svg
Pala empire with neighbours
Pala Emperor
Tenure9th century
PredecessorDharamapala
SuccessorMahendrapala
SpouseMahata Devi, daughter of Durlabharaja I of Chahamana dynasty
IssueRajyapala
Mahendrapala
Shurapala I
DynastyPala
FatherDharamapala
MotherRannadevi
ReligionBuddhism

Devapala (Bengali: 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 Dharamapala. Devapala expanded the frontiers of the empire by conquering the present-day Assam and Orissa.[1] 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 Dharamapala.[2] His mother was Rannadevi, a Rashtrakuta princess.[3]: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.[4]

Based on the different interpretations of the various epigraphs and historical records, the different historians estimate Devapala's reign as follows:[5]:32–37

Historian Estimate of reign
RC Majumdar (1971) 810-c. 850
AM Chowdhury (1967) 821-861
BP Sinha (1977) 820-860
DC Sircar (1975–76) 812-850

Expansion of the Pala Empire

Religious leanings

Devapala was a staunch sponsor of Buddhism, and approved the construction of many temples and monasteries in Magadha.[6] 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.[5]: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.[7] He also patronized the Vikramashila University and the Nalanda University.

Buddhist scholar Vajradatta (the author of Lokesvarashataka), was the court poet of Devapala.[7][1]

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.[5]: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.[8] Mahendrapala was the son of Devapala and brother of Shurapala I. Both Mahendrapala and Shurapala I were born to Queen Mahata.[9]

In popular culture

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

See also

Preceded by
Dharmapala 		Pala Emperor
9th century 		Succeeded by
Mahendrapala

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dahiya, Poonam Dalal (2017). Ancient and Medieval India. McGraw-Hill Education. p. 413. ISBN 978-93-5260-673-3.
  2. ↑ History and Culture of Indian People, The Age of Imperial Kanauj, 1964, p. 50, R. C. Majumdar, A. D. Pusalkar
  3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Sinha1977
  4. ↑ Dilip Kumar Ganguly (1994). Ancient India, History and Archaeology. Abhinav Publications. pp. 27–28. ISBN 978-81-7017-304-5.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Susan L. Huntington (1984). The "Påala-Sena" Schools of Sculpture. Brill. ISBN 90-04-06856-2.
  6. ↑ V. D. Mahajan (1970) [First published 1960]. Ancient India. p. 570. OCLC 1000593117.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Sailendra1999
  8. ↑ Bengal museum to reconstruct excavated Buddhist site
  9. ↑ Dimensions of Human Cultures in Central India: Professor S.K. Tiwari Felicitation Volume. Sarup & Sons. 2001. p. 239. ISBN 978-81-7625-186-0.
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