48 R. D. BANERJI ON 



Dharmmapaladeva, the second king of the Pala dynasty, was the real founder of 

 the greatness of his line and the Empire over which his successors ruled. He was 

 also the leading figure in Northern Indian politics in the last half of the eighth 

 and the first half of the ninth centuries a.d. Most probably Bengal enjoyed some 



respite from foreign invasions during the reign of Gopala I, 

 Dharmmapala. and after him ^ his son felt strong enough to take part in 



the disputes of the contemporary monarchs of Northern India, and to conduct 

 long campaigns. Before proceeding to discuss the events of his reign we should 

 consider his date which is the first fixed point in the History of Bengal during 

 this period. The chronology of the Palas of Bengal was for a long time in a 

 hopelessly confused state. Leaving aside the earlier theories about the dates of 

 the Palas we find even in recent times widely divergent theories about the date 

 of Dharmmapala. In the XVth Volume of his reports the late Sir Alexander 

 Cunningham fixed the date of Dharmmapala's accession in 831 a.d. In his 

 article ' on the Cambay plates of Govinda III, Mr. D. R. Bhandarkar places 

 Dharmmapala in the earlier part of the tenth century.' Dharmmapala's date seems 

 to have become fixed from synchronisms, which have been given for the first time 

 in the preface of the Ramacarita of Sandhyakaranandi by the learned Editor. The 

 synchronisms have also been noticed almost simultaneously by two other scholars — 

 Mr. V. A. Smith* and Mr. D. R. Bhandarkar/ 



The first question about the true date of Dharmmapala was raised incidentally 

 in 1 891 by the late Dr. Kielhorn on a passage in the Bhagalpur grant of Narayana- 

 pala: — 



Jitv = end? -a-raja-pt ■abhrtlu = aratln = uparjjita yena Mahodaya Srlh, dattah punah 

 sa valin = arthayitre Cakrayudhay = anativamanaya. h 



At that time Dr. Kielhorn was unable to identify the kings Indraraja or 

 Cakrayudha. The discovery of the Khalimpur grant supplied some additional 

 facts and the well-known verse : — 



Bhojair-Matsaih sa-Madraih Kum-Y adu-Y avan = Avanti-Gandhara-Kirair = bhu- 



pair = vyalola-maidi-pranati-parinataih sadhu sangiryamanah , 

 Hrsyat P ancala-vrddh-oddhrta-kanakamay a-svabhisekodakumbho dattah &ri-Kanya- 

 kubjas = sa-lalita-calita-bhrulata-laksma-yena. 6 



For a long time nothing could be made out of the historical allusions in 

 the two verses quoted above. It was known to the scholars that a certain verse 

 of the Jaina Hari-vamsa-purana referred to a king named Indraraja who was 

 a contemporary of Vatsaraja and was living in the year 705 of the Saka 

 era, i.e. 783 a.d. 1 But so far nobody was able to connect Indrayudha with 

 the Indraraja of the Bhagalpur grant. Some time before November 1896, a 

 stone inscription was discovered in some excavations which were being carried 



1 Arch. Survey Rep., Vol. XV, p. 150. 2 Epi. Ind., Vol. VII, p. 33. 



3 J.R.A.S., 1908, p. 252. 1 Epi. Ind., Vol. IX, p. 26, note 4. 



6 Ind. Ant.. Vol. XX, pp. 187-88. 6 Epi. Ind., Vol. IV, p. 248. 



T Ind. Ant., Vol. XV, p. 141, Peterson's 4th report on the search of Skt. MSS. in the Bombay Presidency. 



