CHAPTER II. 



GOPALA I AND DHARMMAPALA. 



Gopala I was most probably an elderly man when he was called to the throne. 

 Nothing is stated definitely about him or the events of his reign in any of the 

 numerous Pala inscriptions. In the Khalimpur grant of his son Dharmmapala we 

 find that he married DeddadevI, the daughter of the king of the Bhadra country. 1 

 The Bhadras have been variously placed in Middle, Eastern or Southern India in 

 the Brhat Sarhhita. 2 The Mungir grant of Devapaladeva mentions him as the 

 type of a well-conducted king. 3 In the rest of the copper-plates of the Pala 

 dynasty the verse quoted below is used about Gopala I : — 



Jitva yah kama-karl-prabhavam = abhibhavam SaSvatlrii prapa Santim, 

 Sa irvman lokanatho jayati DaSabalosnyaS = ca Gopaladevah. 



We find this verse in the Bhagalpur grant of Narayanapala, Dinajpur grant 

 of Mahipala I, Amgachi grant of Vigrahapala III, and the Manahali grant of 

 Madanapala. No inscriptions of this king either on stone or on plates of copper 

 have been discovered as yet, as has been stated by Mr. V. A. Smith.* According 

 to Mr. V. A. Smith, Gopala I was the king of Bengal, who was defeated by the 

 Gurjara king Vatsaraja. But in my humble opinion the Gurjara and Rastrakuta 

 invasions must have taken place before the accession of Gopala I. In the next 

 reign we find that the king of Bengal was acknowledged supreme by all kings of 

 Northern India. Now Gopala was elected king by the people of Bengal and his 

 position consequently was not very strong within his own possessions. He was 

 the son of a military adventurer, and he must have wanted a long and peaceful reign 

 to consolidate his power. The Gurjara king Vatsaraja must also have reigned for 

 a pretty long time as he is mentioned in a Jaina work, which we shall examine later 

 on, to be the contemporary of a king who was overthrown by the son of Gopala. 

 Most probably Gopala I had a shorter reign than Vatsaraja, who had overrun 

 Bengal before the accession of the former, but lived long enough to see the former's 

 son conquer his former possessions. 



According to Taranatha, Gopaladeva is said to have reigned for 45 years and 



Mr. V. A. Smith puts accession to the year 732 a.d., 5 but 



^successor. as we shall see later on when we come to the first definite 



date of this dynasty, that this is a little premature. 



Gopaladeva ascended the throne about 750 a.d. and was most probably succeeded 



by his son Dharmmapaladeva after a very short reign. 



l Epi. Ind., Vol. IV, p. 248, v. 5. 2 Ind. Ant , Vol. XXII, pp. 174—5. 3 Ibid -> Vo1 - XXI > P- 2 55- 



* Ibid. Vol. XXXVIII, p. 245. 6 J.R.AS., 1909, p. 76. 



