Gopala Deva I of Bengal

Muhammad Shahidullah

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Gopala Deva I of Bengal

By Muhammad Shahidullah

Vol. 7 · No. 3September - 1931pp. 530–536English

Bengal Political History

Summary

This article reconstructs the life and reign of Gopāla Deva I, considered the founder of the Pāla dynasty of Bengal. Drawing on inscriptions such as the Vaidyadeva copperplate and references in texts like the Rājataraṅgiṇī, the author traces Gopāla’s rise from a noble adventurer in Vanga to king of a united Bengal around 715 AD. He discusses the political context in which local chiefs elected Gopāla during a period of instability following the decline of Gauda and the Śaïla dynasty. Gopāla married into the Rājabhaṭa family to consolidate his position and eventually extended control over Varendra, the sea‑board of Bengal and parts of Magadha. The article also outlines subsequent events: invasions by Kāmarūpa and Kāṇauj, Gopāla’s campaigns against them, and his eventual defeat and death around 760 AD. It highlights Gopāla’s role in laying the foundations for the Pāla empire.

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Conclusion

Through epigraphic reconstruction, the article presents Gopāla Deva I as a pivotal figure who transformed fragmented Bengal into a unified polity. His election by regional chiefs marks an unusual instance of elective kingship, and his conquests set the stage for the powerful Pāla dynasty.

Key passages

Chosen by AI from the article's text. Each one is checked word for word against the text before it is shown.

“Gopila was the first king of the Pala dynasty of Bengal, But we have, up to now, no inscription of his, no contemporary record whatso- ever, from whicli we can ascertain the duration of his reign or the year of his accession to the throne,”
“It is known from the inscription of Dharmapiladeva,? the son and successor of Gopila, that Gopila was elected king to remove milsyanyiya, 1.6. anarchical state in which the strong oppresses the weak,”
“From all these evidences, the time of Govicandra may be. roughly put down at 700 aC. Then Gopila was elected to the vacant throne of Vaiga some years after the abdication of Govicandra”

Works cited in this article

Schiefner, Geschickie des Buddhisimus in Indien, pp. 195
Ep. Ind., iv, 243
Smith, Early History of India, 4th ed., p. 389
Takakusu, A Record of Buddhist Religion, p. xxxi
Laksmana Disa, Gopicand Bharthari

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In this issue

Vol. 7 · No. 3

435–457Finger-posts of Bengal HistoryBijoy Nath Sarkar 458–463The Queen’s Donation EdictSailendra Nath Mitra 464–474Studies in the KautiliyaNarendra Nath Law 475–480The Economic Conditions of Bengal during the Years 1793 - 1858Gottlieb L. Schanzlin 481–498The Frontier Problem of the MughalsH. N. Sinha 499–514Usnisa-siraskata in early Buddha images of IndiaJitendra Nath Banerjee 515–522Two Tantri StoriesA. Venkatasubbiah 523–530The Samrajya of YudhisthiraChamupati 530–536Gopala Deva I of BengalMuhammad ShahidullahCurrent article 537–627The Problem of the MahanatakaSushil Kumar De 628–628VyosaKshitish Chandra Chatterjee 629–629Date of the MudraraksasaJarl Charpentier 629–632Surastra under the MauryasBankim Ch. Ray Chaudhuri 632–632A Note on Surcsvaracarya and Mandana MisraAmar Nath Roy 633–634Notes on the Nagarjunikonda Inscriptions 635–643MADHUSHEDANA�S TEXT (Jivinanda's Ed,)Sushil Kumar De 644–650Kulasekhara Alvar and his date 651–653Notes On The Nagarjunikosda Inscriptions - IV - PasidakinamNalinaksha Dutt 654–656The “Webbed Fingers” of BuddhaJitendra Nath Banerjee 657Notes on Asoka RescriptsSailendra Nath Mitra 658–663Some Notes on Ownership of the Soil in Ancient IndiaU. N. Ghoshal 664Nalanda Stone Inscription of YasovarmadevaRamesh Chandra Majumdar 665–668Sailodbhava Rulers of KongadaVinayak Misra 669–673The hair and the usnisa on the head of the Buddhas and the JinasRamaprasad Chanda 674–681Select Contents of Orlental Journals

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