रामचरितम् /18
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xviii
professed Buddhism. The grant made by Dharmapála to a Visņu temple
and the Davapàla's grants to a Brahmin of the Asvalayana Sakhà and the
Aupamanyava Gotra, also go to show that the Pàlas were tolerent towards the
Hindu religion.
It is well-known that there are two lists of the Pala kings; one comes
from the Tibetan sources while the other is reconstructed with the help of
inscriptional evidence. According to the Tibetan list the reign of Gopala
begins from 660 A.D. He is followed by 18 kings one after another and the
last in that chain reigned in the year 1139 A.D. The inscriptional evidence,
on the other hand, does not agree with the Tibetan account either with regard
to the names of the kings or the duration of their reign. Sir V. A. Smith, R. D.
Banerjee and Mm. H. P. Sastri and in fact, all who possess a scientific bent
of mind are inclined to take the inscriptional evidence as more reliable than the
information afforded by the Tibetan authorities. According to the Khalimpur
and the Monghyr grants of Dharmapàla and Deva pàla respectively, the first
king of the Pàla Dynasty is Gopàla, the second is his son Dharmapàla while
the third is Devapàla his grandson. Dharmapàla was a contemporary of
king Indráyudha who was ruling in Kanauj in 783 A. D. Relying on this
piece of evidence we can place the reign of Gopàla in the first half of the 8th
century, and that of Dharmapàla in the second half of the same century.
The Pàla Dynasty continued upto the end of the 12th century, and, there-
after, was reduced to insignificance on the rise of the Sena kings and at the
advent of the Muhammadans. The long chain of Pâla kings was noted for
fondness of literature and their patronage towards the great poets
and philosophers of the time belonging to the different religious sects.
But amongst the known kings of the Pàla Dynasty no one is known to have
borne the title of Hâravarsa the patron of our poet Abhinanda the author
of the Râmacarita. The title of Yuvaraja was, however, given to some of
the Pâla Princes but this appears to signify nothing else than a mere
heir-apparent to the throne. But from what we can gather from the
account of Abhinanda, Haravarsa the Yuvarâja seems to have been a ruling
prince, and not a mere heir-apparent. This is also confirmed by the
authority of Soddhala the author of the Udayasundarikathâ. In this work,"
1. See Introduction to the Râmacarita of Sandhyakara Nandin. M. A. S. B.
2.
Vide E. I. Vol. IV. 3. I. A. Vol. XXI. p. 258.
4. Vide, M. M. S. C. Vidyábhûşana's History of Indian Logic. p. 517.
5.
Vide P. 50 Pâlas of Bengal M. A. S. B. Vol. 5.
6.
Vide E. I. Vol. IV p. 249 and I. A. Vol. XXI p. 258.
7, No. XI, G. O. Sories.
professed Buddhism. The grant made by Dharmapála to a Visņu temple
and the Davapàla's grants to a Brahmin of the Asvalayana Sakhà and the
Aupamanyava Gotra, also go to show that the Pàlas were tolerent towards the
Hindu religion.
It is well-known that there are two lists of the Pala kings; one comes
from the Tibetan sources while the other is reconstructed with the help of
inscriptional evidence. According to the Tibetan list the reign of Gopala
begins from 660 A.D. He is followed by 18 kings one after another and the
last in that chain reigned in the year 1139 A.D. The inscriptional evidence,
on the other hand, does not agree with the Tibetan account either with regard
to the names of the kings or the duration of their reign. Sir V. A. Smith, R. D.
Banerjee and Mm. H. P. Sastri and in fact, all who possess a scientific bent
of mind are inclined to take the inscriptional evidence as more reliable than the
information afforded by the Tibetan authorities. According to the Khalimpur
and the Monghyr grants of Dharmapàla and Deva pàla respectively, the first
king of the Pàla Dynasty is Gopàla, the second is his son Dharmapàla while
the third is Devapàla his grandson. Dharmapàla was a contemporary of
king Indráyudha who was ruling in Kanauj in 783 A. D. Relying on this
piece of evidence we can place the reign of Gopàla in the first half of the 8th
century, and that of Dharmapàla in the second half of the same century.
The Pàla Dynasty continued upto the end of the 12th century, and, there-
after, was reduced to insignificance on the rise of the Sena kings and at the
advent of the Muhammadans. The long chain of Pâla kings was noted for
fondness of literature and their patronage towards the great poets
and philosophers of the time belonging to the different religious sects.
But amongst the known kings of the Pàla Dynasty no one is known to have
borne the title of Hâravarsa the patron of our poet Abhinanda the author
of the Râmacarita. The title of Yuvaraja was, however, given to some of
the Pâla Princes but this appears to signify nothing else than a mere
heir-apparent to the throne. But from what we can gather from the
account of Abhinanda, Haravarsa the Yuvarâja seems to have been a ruling
prince, and not a mere heir-apparent. This is also confirmed by the
authority of Soddhala the author of the Udayasundarikathâ. In this work,"
1. See Introduction to the Râmacarita of Sandhyakara Nandin. M. A. S. B.
2.
Vide E. I. Vol. IV. 3. I. A. Vol. XXI. p. 258.
4. Vide, M. M. S. C. Vidyábhûşana's History of Indian Logic. p. 517.
5.
Vide P. 50 Pâlas of Bengal M. A. S. B. Vol. 5.
6.
Vide E. I. Vol. IV p. 249 and I. A. Vol. XXI p. 258.
7, No. XI, G. O. Sories.