THE PALAS
The Palas were one of the great empires of North India with Bengal as the capital around 8th century AD. They had conflict against the Prathiharas and the Rashtrakudas
GOPALA (750-775)
Sasanka was the contemporary of Harsha, after sasanka Gopala was elected as the king by the nobles and he is considered as the founder of palas
DARMAPALA (775-810)
He was the son and the successor of Gopala. He is the great ruler of the dynasty. He defeated many rulers of Bengal, Bihar, Punjab, Rajputana, Malwa, Berar and captured kannuj. Dharmapala consolidated his power in the North and placed Devapala on the throne. He was a capable king and transformed Bengal from a kingdom to an empire. He fought against many battles against Parthiharas. But he was defeated twice. But he did not leave his courage and took advantage of the conflicts between the Rashtrakudas and Prathiharas and succeeded in creating and governing an empire in the North. He assumed the titles like Parameshwara, Parambattaraka, and Maharajadhiraja. He founded the Vikramaditya monastery, a great centre of Buddhist learning. He married Rannadevi, daughter of Rashtrakuda king Prabala and gave birth to his successor Devapala
DEVAPALA (810-850)
Devapala was a worthy son of a worthy father. He also in conflict with the Parthihara ruler Nagabatta-II. His military campaign was successful with the rulers of Assam, Utkal and also defeated the Rashtrakudas and Pandyas of South. He was a patron of Buddhist literature and fine arts
IMPORTANCE OF PALAS
Palas encouraged Buddhist learning, literature and fine arts. They also helped in the growth of Bengali literature beyond India to South East Asian countries
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