Who Was When

You are looking at

Pala Empire

South AsiaHeartland today: Bangladesh and India

Compare with…

Meanwhile…

Buddhist kings of Bengal and Bihar from the 8th to the 12th century. The Palas fought for Kanauj, founded the Somapura monastery at Paharpur and lost Bengal to the Senas.

Also alive at the same time

Key events

  1. Gopala becomes ruler of Bengal after a period of disorder and starts the Pala lineDisputed

    The accession is dated between about 750 and 756. A later Pala copper plate (Khalimpur, issued under his son Dharmapala) says the people's leaders made him king after a period of anarchy; that account is the dynasty's own.

    Sources

    Also happening around

  2. – Dharmapala fights the Gurjara-Pratiharas and Rashtrakutas for Kanauj and for a time places his own candidate, Chakrayudha, on its throneDisputed

    The campaigns are placed about 790–801, ending when the Rashtrakuta king Govinda III returned south in 801. Sources date Dharmapala's reign to about 770–810 (Britannica) or 781–821 (Banglapedia), so the span is approximate.

    Also happening around

  3. Dharmapala founds the Somapura monastery at Paharpur, later a major centre of Buddhist learningDisputed

    The foundation is placed at the end of the 8th century, within Dharmapala's uncertain reign dates. Seals found at the site name Dharmapala, but Tibetan sources credit Devapala.

    Also happening around

  4. Devapala grants five villages to a monastery built at Nalanda by Balaputradeva, king of the Shailendras of Java and SumatraDisputed

    The grant is dated by Devapala's regnal year, and his reign is placed at c. 810–850 (Britannica) or c. 821–861 (Banglapedia), so c. 860 is approximate.

    Also happening around

  5. – A Chola army under Rajendra I marches to the Ganges, crosses Bengal and meets Mahipala I's forcesDisputed

    The expedition is dated c. 1021–1024 from the Chola Tirumalai inscription. Mahipala I stayed on his throne afterwards.

    Sources

    Also happening around

  6. The Kaivarta chief Divya takes Varendra after the Pala king Mahipala II dies fighting a revolt of chiefs; Ramapala later retakes it and founds RamavatiDisputed

    The rising is dated c. 1075–1080. The only detailed account is the Sanskrit poem Ramacharitam by Sandhyakar Nandi, a court poet of Ramapala's line. Banglapedia argues the event was not a Kaivarta caste rising.

    Also happening around

  7. The Senas, rising under Vijayasena, displace the Palas in Bengal; a Pala line survives only in parts of BiharDisputed

    Vijayasena's reign is dated c. 1095–1158 (Britannica). Madanapala is the last known Pala emperor and sources disagree on when Sena rule replaced Pala rule in each region, so 1150 marks a transition, not a single event.

    Sources

    Also happening around