Devapala (Pala dynasty)

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Devapala
Dharamapala
MotherRannadevi
ReligionBuddhism

Devapala (

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

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

Devapala launched military campaigns under his cousin and his general Jayapala, who was the son of Dharmapala's younger brother Vakpala.

Pragjyotisha (present-day Assam) where the king submitted without giving a fight and Utkala (present-day Odisha) whose ruler fled from his capital city.[7]

The highly exaggerated

Dravidas.[9][10] 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.[3][11]

The "Gurjaras" in the inscription refers to the

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.[13]

While an ancient country with the name

Arab rulers of the north west.[citation needed
]

Religious leanings

Devapala was a staunch sponsor of Buddhism, and approved the construction of many temples and monasteries in Magadha.[16] 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.[13] He also patronized the Vikramashila University and the Nalanda University.

Buddhist scholar Vajradatta (the author of Lokesvarashataka), was the court poet of Devapala.[13][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.[17] Mahendrapala was the son of Devapala and brother of Shurapala I. Both Mahendrapala and Shurapala I were born to Queen Mahata.[18]

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

References

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ History and Culture of Indian People, The Age of Imperial Kanauj, 1964, p. 50, R. C. Majumdar, A. D. Pusalkar
  3. ^ . [p. 178] Dharmapāla's wife was Raṇṇādevī daughter of Parabala, the ornament of the Rāshṭrakūṭa race. Devapāla was their son.
  4. .
  5. ^ .
  6. ^ Badal Pillar Inscription, verse 13, Epigraphia Indica II, p 160; Bhagalpur Charter of Narayanapala, year 17, verse 6, The Indian Antiquary, XV p 304.
  7. ^ Bhagalpur Charter of Narayanapala, year 17, verse 6, Indian Antiquary, XV p 304.
  8. .
  9. ^ History and Culture of Indian People, The Age of Imperial Kanauj, 1964, p. 50, 55, 56, R. C. Majumdar, A. D. Pusalkar.
  10. ^ Badal Pillar Inscription, verse 5, Epigraphia Indica, II p 160.
  11. .
  12. .
  13. ^ .
  14. ^ Dynastic History of Northern India, I. p 311; H. C. Ray (December 1939). "New Light on the History of Bengal". Indian Historical Quarterly. XV (4): 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).
  15. OCLC 558393347
    .
  16. .
  17. ^ Bengal museum to reconstruct excavated Buddhist site
  18. .