Gopala
Pala Emperor
Reignc. 750s–770s CE
Predecessorposition established
SuccessorDharmapala
SpouseDeddadevi of the Bhadra dynasty[1]
IssueDharmapala
Vakpala
HousePala Dynasty
DynastyPala
FatherVapyata

Gopala (Bengali: গোপাল) (ruled c. 750s–770s CE)[2] was the founder of the Pala dynasty of Bihar and Bengal regions of the Indian Subcontinent. The last morpheme of his name Pala means "protector" and was used as an ending for the names of all the Pala monarchs. Pala does not suggest or indicate any ethnic or caste considerations of the Pala dynasty. He came to power in later half of eighth century AD in Gaur/Gaud after being elected by a group of regional chieftains.[3]

Origins

There are no inscriptions or monuments which may be definitely ascribed to the period of Gopala's ascendency to throne. He is known through the later literary references and genealogies in inscriptions.[4]: 39  According to the Manjusrimulakalpa, after the end of the Gupta rule in Bengal, people elected Bhadra. He destroyed Brahmana feudal lords, but anarchy still prevailed. After this Gopala became king. He was of menial caste(dasajivinah). Manjusrimulakalpa was quite near in time to the establishment of the rule of the Palas and should be considered more authentic than other references which are of very late period.[5] In Ballal charita and in Dharmamangala of Ghanarama(both sixteenth century works), the Palas are described as low Kshatriyas. Pala's supposed relationship with the Kaivartas or Mahishyas also points to the same direction.[5][6]

The name of his father was Vapyata, and his grandfather Dayitavishnu.[7] A eulogy on the Khalimpur copper plate of his son Gopala describes his father Vapyata as a Khanditarati or "killer of enemies", and his grandfather Dayitavishnu as Sarva-vidyavadata ("all-knowing" in the sense "highly educated").[8] The later texts of the Pala period, such as Ramacharita, mention the Pala rulers as the kings descended from the Solar dynasty.

Election

After the death of the Gauda king Shashanka, a century of anarchy and confusion ensued in Bengal. This situation is described by the Sanskrit phrase matsya nyaya ("fish justice" i.e. a situation in which the big fish prey on the smaller ones). It was during these times that Gopala came to power around 750 CE.

Matsyanyayam apakitum prakritibhir Lakshmiya karam grahitah Sri Gopala iti kshitisa-sirsam chudamani-tatsubha
To put an end to the state of affairs similar to what happens among fishes, the prakriti made the glorious Gopala, the crest jewel of the heads of kings, take the hand of Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune.

The Sanskrit word prakriti is suggestive of "people" in general.[9] The Tibetan Buddhist lama Taranatha (1575–1634), writing nearly 800 years later, also writes that he was democratically elected by the people of Bengal. However, his account is in form of a legend, and is considered historically unreliable. The legend mentions that after a period of anarchy, the people elected several kings in succession, all of whom were consumed by the Naga queen of an earlier king on the night following their election. Gopala, however managed to kill the queen and remained on the throne.[10]

The historical evidence indicates that Gopala was not elected directly by his subjects, but by a group of feudal chieftains. Such elections were quite common in contemporary tribal societies of the region.[9][10] The stanza in the Khalimpur copper plate is a eulogy, and uses the word prakriti figuratively.[11]

Based on the different interpretations of the various epigraphs and historical records, the different historians estimate Gopala's reign as follows:[4]: 32–37 

Historian Estimate of Gopala's reign
RC Majumdar (1971) 750–770
AM Chowdhury (1967) 756–781
BP Sinha (1977) 755–783
DC Sircar (1975–76) 750–775

Reign and legacy

According to Manjusrimulakalpa, Gopala died at the age of 80, after a reign of 27 years.[12] Not much is known about his life or military career, but at the time of his death, Gopala had bequeathed a large kingdom to his son Dharmapala (770-810 CE). No records are available about the exact boundaries of Gopala's kingdom, but it might have included almost all of the Bengal region.[13] He consolidated the kingdom by bringing whole of Bengal including Gaur , Varendra , Banga and southern part of Bengal under his control.[14] He also extended his rule over parts of Magadha . Mentioned under the Monghyr plate inscription that Gopala conquered " the whole country " implies that south or lower Bengal . Another expression which hints at the consolidation of the kingdom by him is releasing war elephants which means ending the military campaign. Monghyr plate inscription was issued by the by the third Pala Emperor Devapala and Monghyr is present day city of Munger in Bihar. With the consolidation campaign of he's Kingdom by bringing Gaur ,Varendra , Banga and parts of Magadha under a single authority , He also bought peace and stability in the region after the century of anarchy in the region. His son and successor Dharmapala greatly expanded the kingdom, making it one of the most powerful empires in contemporary India.

Religion

A few sources written much after Gopala's death mention him as a Buddhist, but it is not known if this is true.[4]: 39  Taranatha attested that Gopala was a staunch Buddhist and a major patron of Buddhism. He also stated that Gopala had built the famous Buddhist monastery at Odantapuri.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sharma, Ranjit Kumar (1988). "Matsyanyaya and the Rise of the Palas". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh: Humanities. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh: 7.
  2. ↑ Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1977). Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 268. ISBN 978-81-208-0436-4.
  3. ↑ R.D. Banerjee. Palas Of Bengal By Rakhal Das Banerjee. pp. 45–46.
  4. 1 2 3 Susan L. Huntington (1 January 1984). The "Påala-Sena" Schools of Sculpture. Brill Archive. ISBN 90-04-06856-2.
  5. 1 2 Kotiyal, H. S. (1973). "Sudra Rulers and Officials in Early Medieval Times". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 34: 82. ISSN 2249-1937.
  6. ↑ Bhandarkar, Devadatta Ramkrishna (1939). Indian Culture Vol. 6. pp. 113–114.
  7. ↑ AM Chowdhury, Dynastic History of Bengal, Dhaka, 1967
  8. ↑ Jhunu Bagchi (1 January 1993). The History and Culture of the Pālas of Bengal and Bihar, Cir. 750 A.D.-cir. 1200 A.D. Abhinav Publications. p. 37. ISBN 978-81-7017-301-4.
  9. 1 2 Nitish K. Sengupta (1 January 2011). Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib. Penguin Books India. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-14-341678-4.
  10. 1 2 Biplab Dasgupta (1 January 2005). European Trade and Colonial Conquest. Anthem Press. pp. 341–. ISBN 978-1-84331-029-7.
  11. ↑ P.B. Udgaonkar (1 January 1986). Political Institutions & Administration. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 34–. ISBN 978-81-208-2087-6.
  12. ↑ Pramode Lal Paul (1939). The Early History of Bengal (PDF). Indian History. Indian Research Institute. p. 36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-29. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  13. ↑ Sailendra Nath Sen (1 January 1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. pp. 277–287. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0.
  14. ↑ Jain, Saksham. "The Pala Empire: An Imperial Dynasty" (PDF). International Journal of Integrated Studies and Research. 1 (4).
  15. ↑ History of Buddhism in India, Translation by A Shiefner
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