The Pala Dynasty

The Pala Dynasty

Overview and UPSC Relevance

The Pala dynasty ruled large parts of Bengal and Bihar from the mid‑8th to late‑12th century CE and emerged as the first stable imperial power of eastern India after the collapse of earlier regional kingdoms. Their reign coincides with the post‑Harsha early medieval period, a key theme in the UPSC syllabus for both Medieval India and Indian culture and religion. For UPSC, the Palas are important for:

• The Tripartite Struggle over Kannauj and the changing pattern of early medieval polity.

• The apogee of Buddhism in eastern India, monastic universities (Nalanda, Vikramashila), and links with Tibet and Southeast Asia.

• Feudal administration, land grants, art, architecture, and regional cultures of Bengal and Bihar.

Geographical Setting and Founding Background

Political Fragmentation in Bengal

After the decline of the Gupta Empire and Harsha, eastern India, especially Bengal, fragmented into small principalities ruled by families such as the Gaudas, Maukharis, and local chiefs. Contemporary sources speak of a condition akin to matsya‑nyāya (law of the fish), where the strong devour the weak, symbolising political anarchy and incessant warfare among petty chiefs.

Election of Gopala

• Around c. 750 CE, leading chiefs of Bengal united and chosen Gopala as king to end disorder, an unusual event in Indian political history.

• Inscriptions and later chronicles portray Gopala as a Kshatriya in some traditions, while others describe him as of low or mixed varna origin, reflecting the social mobility of the early medieval period.

• Gopala consolidated Varendra (north Bengal) and Magadha (south Bihar), establishing the Pala Empire with its early centres at Gauda and Pataliputra.

Chronology of Important Pala Rulers

Broad Chronological Framework

Different historians propose slightly varying regnal years, but a broadly accepted sequence of major rulers is:

Several minor and intermediate rulers – Vigrahapala I–III, Narayanapala, Nayapala, Surapala, Gopala II–III, Kumarapala, Madanapala, Govindapala – mark phases of succession disputes, shrinking territories, and increasing samanta (feudal lord) autonomy.

Territorial Expansion and the Tripartite Struggle

Core Territories and Frontier Zones

The Pala heartland comprised:

• Varendra (north Bengal), Rāḍha (south‑west Bengal), Vanga (south‑east Bengal), and Magadha (south Bihar).

• Important urban centres: Gauda, Pataliputra, Monghyr (Munger), Tirabhukti (Tirhut), and later Ramavati under Ramapala.

Beyond this core, Pala influence fluctuated over:

• Anga (Bhagalpur region), Kamarupa (Assam), Utkala (Odisha), parts of Uttar Pradesh (around Kannauj and Prayaga), and sometimes extended towards Nepal and northern Orissa.

Tripartite Struggle for Kannauj

• The collapse of Harsha’s empire left Kannauj as a coveted symbol of sovereignty in northern India.

• Three major powers contested Kannauj:

  • Palas of Bengal–Bihar (Dharmapala, Devapala),

  • Gurjara‑Pratiharas of western and central India,

  • Rashtrakutas of the Deccan.

• Dharmapala defeated Indrayudha of Kannauj, installed his own nominee Chakrayudha, and convened a grand assembly at the Kuru country where many kings acknowledged his suzerainty according to the Khalimpur Copperplate.

• However, Rashtrakuta king Dhruva and later Gurjara‑Pratihara Nagabhata II checked Pala expansion, so Pala control over Kannauj remained nominal and intermittent rather than permanent.

Administrative Structure and Political Organisation

Nature of Kingship

• Pala kings assumed high imperial titles such as Maharajadhiraja, Paramesvara, Paramabhattaraka, emphasising sovereignty and ritual supremacy.

• Kingship combined hereditary succession with occasional contested accessions, evident from episodes like the multiple claimants after Devapala and the rise of later rulers like Mahipala I and Ramapala through civil conflict.

Provincial and Local Administration

Information from copperplate grants and inscriptions indicates a multi‑tiered administrative hierarchy:

• Bhukti – Province (e.g., Pundravardhana‑bhukti).

• Vishaya – District or large territorial unit.

• Mandala/Mandala‑visaya – Sub‑district or circle.

• Khandala, Pattaka, Chaturaka, Avritti, Bhaga – Smaller revenue or village clusters.

Each level had officers responsible for revenue collection, law and order, and judicial work.

Key Officials (from Inscriptions)

• Mahasamanta / Samanta – Feudatory chiefs, often former independent rulers or tribal heads, who recognised Pala overlordship and provided troops and tribute.​

• Mahadandanayaka, Dandapashika – Judicial and police officials.​

• Mahasandhivigrahika – Chief minister and foreign affairs officer responsible for diplomacy and treaties.​

• Mahasthana, Pratihara, Dvarapala – Officials associated with palace security and protocol.​

• Ayuktakas, Karanikas, Akshapatalas – Revenue, record‑keeping and secretariat officers.​

Feudal Features and Land Grants

• The Pala polity is often cited as a classic example of Indian feudalism, characterised by extensive land grants to Brahmins, monasteries, officers, and samantas in lieu of cash salaries.

• Copperplate charters record gifts of agrahara villages, tax‑free lands (nirupadikā, sarvānubhoga), and rights over land, tenants, and produce, backed by royal protection and curse formulae against violators.

• This system allowed the expansion of cultivation into forested and frontier zones, but also strengthened intermediate elites, contributing later to centrifugal tendencies and regional break‑ups.

Economy, Society, and Land System

Agrarian Base and Peasantry

• The economy was primarily agrarian, dependent on the fertile alluvial plains of the Ganga–Brahmaputra delta and middle Ganga valley.

• Land grants mention various categories of cultivators, such as kutumbins (peasant householders), karshakas (ploughmen), and halikas, indicating a differentiated peasantry.

• Canal and tank irrigation projects under rulers like Mahipala I contributed to increased agricultural output and settlement.​

Trade, Cities, and Maritime Links

• Bengal’s river network and coastal position favoured internal riverine trade and overseas commerce with Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

• Inscriptions and foreign accounts hint at exports of textiles, rice, clarified butter, sugar, and possibly metal crafts, and imports of luxury items and religious manuscripts.

• There is evidence of merchant and artisan groups and occasional references to shrenis (guilds), though the economy appears more rural than urban when compared with earlier Gupta times.

Monetary System

• The Palas issued copper and silver coins, often bearing the name of the ruler and symbols such as dharma‑chakra, lions, or deities, but the volume and circulation of coinage was limited compared to earlier imperial periods.

• Land transactions were frequently recorded in kind or in terms of shares of produce, corroborating a part‑monetised, part‑in‑kind economy associated with feudal structures.

Social Structure and Religious Groups

• Society was stratified along varna and jati lines, but eastern India witnessed the rise of intermediate and lower castes (such as Kaivartas) that sometimes challenged royal authority, as seen in the Varendra rebellion.

• Multiple religious communities – Buddhists (mainly Mahayana–Vajrayana), Shaivites, Vaishnavas, Shaktas, and local cults – coexisted, with mutual interactions and shared ritual spaces.

Religion: Buddhism and Religious Pluralism

Mahayana–Vajrayana Buddhism under the Palas

• The Palas are remembered as “Buddhist monarchs” who championed Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, often combining scholasticism with esoteric (Tantric) practices.

• Major mahaviharas (great monasteries) under their patronage include:

  • Nalanda – Pre‑Pala foundation but greatly expanded; an international centre of Buddhist learning.

  • Vikramashila – Established by Dharmapala on the banks of the Ganga in modern Bhagalpur district; known for tantric and philosophical studies.

  • Somapura (Paharpur) – Massive stupa‑vihara complex in present‑day Bangladesh, probably founded by Dharmapala.

  • Odantapuri, Jagaddala, and other monasteries spread across Bihar and Bengal.

International Buddhist Networks

• Pala patronage was central to trans‑Asian Buddhist networks:

  • Balaputradeva, king of the Sailendra dynasty of Java, obtained grants of villages for a monastery at Nalanda, signalling close religious and diplomatic links.

  • Scholars like Atisha Dipankara Shrijnana went from Vikramashila to Tibet and played a vital role in the “Later Diffusion” of Buddhism, influencing the formation of Kadampa and other Tibetan schools.

Coexistence with Brahmanical Religion

• Despite their Buddhist leanings, Pala rulers frequently performed Hindu rituals and granted land to Brahmins and temples.

• Inscriptions mention gifts to Shaiva temples, Vaishnava shrines, and goddess (Shakti) cults, indicating religious pluralism.

• Some Pala kings, such as Mahipala I, received Shaiva initiation while continuing Buddhist patronage, underscoring the syncretic religious environment of Bengal.

Education, Universities, and Intellectual Life

Monastic Universities

• The Pala age is often described as the “last great age of Buddhist scholasticism in India,” with universities drawing students from across Asia.

• Nalanda housed thousands of resident monks and students, with a curriculum covering Buddhist philosophy, logic (hetu‑vidya), grammar, medicine, mathematics, and astronomy.

• Vikramashila instituted a strict system of entry examinations and emphasised logic, metaphysics, and tantric rituals; it reportedly had six main gates with gate‑scholars specialising in different branches of knowledge.

Scholars and Texts

• Prominent intellectuals associated (directly or indirectly) with the Pala milieu include:

  • Atisha – Buddhist reformer and missionary to Tibet.

  • Santarakshita, Haribhadra, Shantideva – Philosophers and commentators linked to Nalanda and later traditions.

  • Jimutavahana – Jurist associated with Dayabhaga school of Hindu law in Bengal.

  • Chakrapani Datta, Vangasena – Medical authors contributing to Ayurvedic literature in Bengal.

• The Gauda‑rīti or Gauda style of Sanskrit literature flourished; ornate prose and poetry developed in royal and scholarly circles.

Historical Writings

• Sandhyakara Nandi’s Ramacharitam, composed under Madanapala, is both an epic poem and a valuable political source, narrating the Kaivarta rebellion and Ramapala’s reconquest in an allegorical style.

• Tibetan historian Taranatha’s 17th‑century chronicle preserves legends about Pala art, monasteries, and teachers, though it must be used critically by historians.

Art, Architecture, and the Pala School

Architectural Achievements

• Pala architecture is best represented by Buddhist monastic complexes and shrines rather than large free‑standing Hindu temples.

• Somapura Mahavihara (Paharpur) has a cruciform temple at its centre with terraced levels and a quadrangular courtyard lined with monks’ cells; it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a key example of early Bengal brick architecture.

• Vikramashila and Odantapuri also featured expansive layouts with stupas, shrines, and residential quarters, influencing later monastic designs in Burma and Java.

Pala School of Sculpture

• The Pala–Sena school of sculpture is internationally recognised for its black‑basalt and chlorite stone images and gilt‑bronze icons.

• Typical features:

  • Highly polished dark stone, lending a metallic sheen.

  • Elongated figures with serene faces, elaborate crowns, and jewellery.

  • Dense but controlled ornamentation, especially on aureoles and pedestals.

  • Frequent depiction of Buddhas, bodhisattvas (Avalokitesvara, Manjushri), Tara, and tantric deities (Heruka, Vajrayogini), as well as Vishnu, Shiva, Durga in Brahmanical art.

• Many Pala bronzes have been found in Nepal and Tibet, suggesting both artistic exports and migration of artisans.

Painting and Manuscript Culture

• Illustrated manuscripts of Prajnaparamita, Pancharaksha, and other Buddhist texts survive from the Pala period, showing refined miniature painting with red, blue, and gold palettes.

• Artists such as Dhiman and Vitpala, mentioned by later Tibetan sources, were reputed master sculptors and painters.

Causes of Decline and Replacement by the Senas

Internal Weaknesses

• After Devapala, the empire suffered from frequent successions and short reigns, fragmenting central authority.

• The proliferation of feudatory chiefs and increasing autonomy of samantas made it harder to maintain cohesion across distant regions.

Kaivarta (Varendra) Rebellion

• During Mahipala II’s reign, Divya (Divvoka), a local Kaivarta leader in Varendra, revolted, overthrew Pala officials, and established an independent regime.

• The rebellion lasted through the rule of Divya’s successors and practically detached north Bengal from Pala control until Ramapala’s reconquest, dramatically narrated in Ramacharitam.

External Attacks and Sena Takeover

• The Palas faced pressure from Gurjara‑Pratiharas, Rashtrakutas, Kalachuris, Chandellas, and later Chola incursions into Bengal (notably Rajendra Chola I’s raid), which weakened their hold over border areas.

• From the late 11th century, the Sena dynasty – starting with Hemantasena and Vijayasena – gradually captured territories in Bengal; by the time of Lakshmana Sena, the Palas were virtually restricted to small pockets in Bihar.

• By the late 12th century, with rulers like Govindapala, the dynasty disappears from political prominence, coinciding with the Turko‑Afghan incursions into Bihar and Bengal.

Historical Significance and Legacy

• The Pala period marks the last great flowering of Buddhism in India, with Nalanda–Vikramashila tradition shaping Buddhist thought in Tibet, Nepal, and Southeast Asia.

• Politically, the Palas demonstrate an eastern Indian imperial formation built on feudal land grants, samanta networks, and control of riverine trade.

• Culturally, Pala art, sculpture, and manuscript painting strongly influenced Nepalese and Tibetan styles and remain central to the study of Buddhist iconography.

• For regional history, the dynasty is foundational in the formation of Bengali identity, early vernacular literary traditions, and the syncretic religious culture that later informed Sahajiya and Bhakti movements

Read More: Ancient India Notes