Gopala I

 ( Pala Emperors ) 

Gopala () (ruled 750–768 CE) was the founder of the Pala Empire, which was based in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. The last morpheme of his name Pala means "protector" and was used as an ending for the names of all the Pala monarchs. Pala does not suggest or indicate any ethnic or caste considerations of the Pala dynasty. He came to power in later half of eighth century AD in Bengal after being elected by a group of regional chieftains.

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Origins There are no inscriptions or monuments which may be definitely ascribed to the period of Gopala's ascendency to throne. He is known through the later literary references and genealogies in inscriptions. According to the Manjusrimulakalpa, after the end of the Gupta Empire in Bengal, people elected Bhadra. He destroyed the Brahmana feudal lords, but anarchy still prevailed. After this, Gopala became king. He was of menial caste (dasajivinah). Manjusrimulakalpa was quite near in time to the establishment of the rule of the Palas and should be considered more authentic than other references which are of very late period. In Ballal charita and in Dharmamangal of Ghanarama (both sixteenth century works), the Palas are described as low Kshatriyas. Pala's supposed relationship with the Kaivartas or also points to the same direction.

The name of his father was Vapyata, and his grandfather Dayitavishnu.AM Chowdhury, Dynastic History of Bengal, Dhaka, 1967 A eulogy on the Khalimpur copper plate of his son Gopala describes his father Vapyata as a Khanditarati or "killer of enemies", and his grandfather Dayitavishnu as Sarva-vidyavadata ("all-knowing" in the sense "highly educated").

Jhunu Bagchi (1993). 9788170173014, Abhinav Publications. . ISBN 9788170173014

The later texts of the Pala period, such as Ramacharita, mention the Pala rulers as the kings descended from the Samudrakula or oceanic community.

Bindeshwari Prasad Sinha (1977). 9788170170594, Abhinav Publications. . ISBN 9788170170594

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Election

After the death of the Gauda Kingdom king Shashanka, a century of anarchy and confusion ensued in Bengal. This situation is described by the Sanskrit phrase matsya nyaya ("fish justice" i.e. a situation in which the big fish prey on the smaller ones). It was during these times that Gopala came to power around 750 CE.

The Sanskrit word prakriti is suggestive of "people" in general.

Nitish K. Sengupta (2011). 9780143416784, Penguin Books India. . ISBN 9780143416784

The Tibetan Buddhist lama Taranatha (1575–1634), writing nearly 800 years later, also writes that he was democratically elected by the people of Bengal. However, his account is in form of a legend, and is considered historically unreliable. The legend mentions that after a period of anarchy, the people elected several kings in succession, all of whom were consumed by the Naga queen of an earlier king on the night following their election. Gopala, however managed to kill the queen and remained on the throne.

Biplab Dasgupta (2005). 9781843310297, Anthem Press. . ISBN 9781843310297

The historical evidence indicates that Gopala was not elected directly by his subjects, but by a group of feudal chieftains. Such elections were quite common in contemporary tribal societies of the region. The stanza in the Khalimpur copper plate is a eulogy, and uses the word prakriti figuratively.

Based on the different interpretations of the various epigraphs and historical records, the different historians estimate Gopala's reign as follows:

RC Majumdar (1971)	750–770
AM Chowdhury (1967)	756–781
BP Sinha (1977)	755–783
DC Sircar (1975–76)	750–775

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Reign and legacy According to Manjusrimulakalpa, Gopala died at the age of 80, after a reign of 27 years. Not much is known about his life or military career, but at the time of his death, Gopala had bequeathed a large kingdom to his son Dharmapala (770-810 CE). No records are available about the exact boundaries of Gopala's kingdom, but it might have included almost all of the Bengal region (Gaur, Varendra and Banga) and parts of Magadha.

Sailendra Nath Sen (1999). 9788122411980, New Age International. . ISBN 9788122411980

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Religion

A few sources written much after Gopala's death mention him as a Buddhist, but it is not known if this is true. Taranatha (1575–1634) claimed that Gopala was a staunch Buddhist and a major patron of Buddhism. He also claimed that Gopala had built the famous Buddhist monastery at Odantapuri.History of Buddhism in India, Translation by A Shiefner

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See also

• List of rulers of Bengal
• List of Pala emperors

Categories: Pala Emperors, Year Of Birth Unknown, Year Of Death Unknown, Indian Buddhist Monarchs

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