THE PĀLAS OF BENGAL.
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Bengal formed a part of his kingdom, and also that the Varmman Dynasty had ceased to reign. The kingdom was bounded on the East by that of Nānyadeva in Mithila and that of Madanapāla in Magadha. Vijayasena must have reigned for at Length of reign: Successors and relations: Inscriptions.least forty years, as his newly-discovered copper-plate grant was issued in the 37th year of his reign. He was succeeded by his son Vallālasena, and the name of his wife Vilāsadevī is known to us both from his own copper-plate grant and that of his son. Only two inscriptions of Vijayasena have been discovered up to date. The most important one is the Deopārā praśasti, recording the erection of the temple of Pradyūmneśvara, which must form the basis of all new accounts of the Sena Dynasty, for some years to come. The other inscription is the newly-discovered copper-plate grant, which was brought to me for decipherment by a friend several years ago, but which I am unable to trace at present. This plate records the grant of a village to a Brāhmaṇa of Śāṇḍilya Gotra as the dakṣiṇā of the Tulāpuruṣa ceremony performed by the Queen Vilāsadevī, and was issued from Vikrampura in the 37th year of the King. Vijayasena's death seems to have taken place about the year 1108 A.D. Vijayasena was succeeded by his son Vallālasenadeva, who seems to have been an aged man when he came to the throne. His name is well known throughout Bengal as the founder of Kulinism. But as neither his own copper-plates nor those of his son Lakṣmaṇasena contain any references to Kulinism, even when referring to Brāhmaṇas to whom land was granted, the legend about its origin should be accepted with great caution. The whole system may be of much later origin and of no historical importance at all. Vallālasena's dates, as found in some works on Law and Astronomy, the authorship of which are ascribed to him, are misleading. These dates are found in some verses in the Dānasāgara, a work on Law, and in the Adbhūtasāgara, a work on Astronomy. I have pointed out elsewhere that these verses are not to be found in all manuscripts of these two works, and should, therefore be taken as later additions.[1] According to these verses, the Dānasāgara was compiled by Vallālasena in s. 1091 = 1169 A.D.[2] and the Adbhūtasāgara was begun by him in s. 1090 = 1168 A.D.[3] Mr. Manomohan Chakravartti has discovered another verse in the Dānasāgara , according to which Vallālasena ascended the throne in S. 1081 = 1159 A.D.[4] but these verses are hardly of an historical importance, as they appear to be later additions. If, on later enquiry, these verses can be found in all the manuscripts discovered, even then they cannot be accepted as basis for the construction of a chronology, so long as they are to be found in modern manuscripts. If they can be found in manuscript records of the 12th and 13th century A.D., then only these dates can be accepted as correct. I have tried to show elsewhere that the Bodh-Gayā inscriptions of Aśokacalla[5] prove that Lakṣmaṇasena died before 1070 A.D.,[6] consequently, unless some contemporary
- ↑ J.A.S.B., Vol. IX (New Series), p. 272.
- ↑ Ibid., 1896, Pt. I, p. 23; Eggeling's Catalogue of Sanskrit MSS. in India Office Library, p. 545.
- ↑ Bhandarkar's Report on the Search for Sanskrit MSS. during 1887—88 and 1890—91, p. lxxxv.
- ↑ ,J.A.S.B. (N. S.), 1906, p. 17, Note.
- ↑ Cunningham's Mahabodhi, p. 78. and Ind. Ant., Vol. X, p. 341.
- ↑ J.A.S.B. (N. S.), Vol. IX. p. 272.
