THE PALAS OF BENGAL. 65 



No inscriptions of Rajyapala have been discovered as yet, and so nothing defi- 

 nite can be stated about the length or the events of his reign. According to the 

 inscriptions of the later Palas, he was succeeded by his son Gopala II. 



The British Museum possesses a Manuscript of the Astasia. hasrika Prajnaparamita 

 written in the 15th year of Gopala II at the monastery of Vikramasila. Its colophon 

 runs thus : — 



Parame^vara-paramabhaUaraka-paramasaugata-Maharajddhirdja-^rJ-mad-Gopalade- 

 vapravarddhamana-kalyana-vijaya-rajy-etyadi samvat 15 dsmine dine 4 Sri-mad 

 V ikramaslla-deva-vihare likhiteyam bhagavati. 1 



We possess two inscriptions of Gopala II, and from these we learn that Magadha 

 was temporarily recovered by the Palas during the reign of this monarch. The first of 

 these inscriptions was discovered by the late Sir Alexander Cunningham, at Bargaon 

 in the Patna District, the ancient Nalanda. 2 It records the fact that an image of the 

 goddess Vagisvarl, at Nalanda, was covered with gold leaf by some unnamed personage 

 in the first year of Gopaladeva. 3 The second inscription was discovered amidst the 

 ruins of the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh-Gaya and records the erection of image of 

 Buddha by a person named Sakrasena during the reign of Gopaladeva, no year being 

 mentioned. These inscriptions prove that some time during the reign of Gopala II, 

 South Bihar or Magadha was temporarily occupied by the Palas. The reason of this 

 sudden enterprise is not far to seek. During the long reign of Amoghavarsa I, whose 

 certain dates extend from 817 to 877 a.d., there was no war between the Gurjaras 

 and the Rastrakutas. 4, In fact the only war between Bhoja I and the Rastrakutas 

 was his war with the Rastrakutas Dhruvaraja II of Gujarat some time before 867 

 a.d., in which Bhoja I himself was worsted. 5 After Bhoja I, Mahendrapala 

 succeeded to an empire which had reached its greatest extent at that time, from 

 Punjab to the borders of Bengal, and from the foot of the Himalayas to Saurastra.' 

 Mahendrapala' s reign was a very short one, as his certain dates range from 893 to 

 907 a.d. He had two wives and was succeeded by Bhoja II, his son by Dehana- 

 ga. : Most probably there was some dispute about his succession, which may have 

 been contested by his half-brother Mahlpala II. Bhoja II was assisted to the throne 

 by the Cedi Emperor Kokkalla I, which is referred to in the Bilhari inscription : — 

 Jitvd krtsndm yena prthvlm = apurvvan-klrtti-stambha-dvandvam = dropyate sma, 

 Kaumbhod-bhavyandi&yasau Krsnardjah Kaurveyan = ca Srl-nidhir-Bhojadevah — 

 verse 17. 8 



We find a corroboration of this statement in the Benares grant of the Cedi 

 Emperor Karnadeva : — 



Bhoje Vallabhardje Chitrakiita-bhupdle , 



$ankaragane ca rajani yasy = dsid = abhayadah panlh — verse 7." 



1 J.R.A.S., 1910, pp. 150-51. 2 Cunningham, Arch. Surv. Rep., Vol. I, p. 36, pi. XIII. 1. 



'■ J A.S.B., N. S., Vol. IV, p. 105. * J.R.A.S., 1904, pp. 647-8. 6 Ind. Ant., Vol. XII, p. 181. 



« Epi. Ind., Vol. IX, p. 4. ! Ind. Ant., Vol XV, p. no. 8 Epi. Ind., Vol. I, p. 256 



* Epi. Ind., Vol. II, p. 306. 



