394 Rajendralala Mitra —On the hPala [No. 4, 
some of which were much troubled; but in a £>lace like Ceylon, whose 
insular position protected it to a great extent from outside or foreign at¬ 
tacks, twenty reigns from 1410 to 1798 yield an average of 19 years and 
nearly 5 months. In England, in the same way, from Edward IV to 
William IV, or 14G1 to 1837, twenty-one reigns yield an average of 
no more than 17 years, 10 months and 25 days. There was nothing in the 
physical or political condition of the Palas in Bengal which could give them 
a greater immunity from the vicissitudes of changes incident to royalty than 
in the places named. James Prinsep, after a careful survey of the history 
of Indian dynasties, took 16 to 18 years to be the average, and nothing has 
since been found to show that his calculations were wrong. Doubtless in 
taking averages a great deal depends upon the period and the number of 
reigns taken into account. A George III, or an Akbar, with two or three 
average reigns, would often upset all calculations; hut with 20 to 40 
reigns, the risk of error from occasionally protracted reigns is reduced to a 
minimum. The Palas in Bengal did not enjoy any great immunity from 
outside attacks. They had very powerful rivals in the kings of Orissa on 
one side, in those of Behar and Kanauj on another, and those of Assam and 
Tipperah and Eastern Bengal on a third, and it is well known how outside 
rivalry foments domestic discord ; and, taking these facts into consideration, 
I cannot assign them a higher average. Eighteen years, in my opinion, 
would be (if anything) high, hut in consideration of the number of reigns 
being small—only eight before Mahi-pala—and to provide for the possibility 
of there having been an Akbar or two among them, I shall take it at 20, 
which would be the highest possible admission. At this rate the result will 
be as follows : 
I. 
Go-pala, . 
. 855 
VII. 
— pala,. 
975 
II. 
Dharma-pala, . 
.... 875 
VIII. 
Vigraha-pala, II,.. 
995 
III. 
Deva-pala, . 
.... 895 
IX. 
Mahi-pala, 1015 to 1040 
IV. 
Vigraha-pala, I _ 
. 915 
X. 
Naya-pala, . 
1060 
V. 
N arayana-pala,. 
. 935 
XI. 
Vigraha-pala, III, 
1080 
VI. 
liaja-pala,. 
. 955 
The inscriptions noticed above clearly show that all the Palas were 
staunch Buddhists; but several of them were tolerant enough to employ 
Hindus as their principal officers of state ; and, though they no doubt en¬ 
couraged the diffusion of their own religion, they not only did not oppress 
their people for their religion, but even allowed their Hindu ministers 
to apply to them, in official and estate documents, praise which could be 
grateful only to Hindu ears. They went further, and sometimes gave lands 
for religious purposes which cannot be strictly called Buddhist. 
The last question in connexion with the Palas is the locale or extent of 
their dominion. Taranath calls them all kings of Bengal; so does Abul 
