The Pālas of Bengal/Chapter 6

by Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay

CHAPTER VI.

The Last Kings.

Rāmapāladeva was succeeded by his second son Kumārapāla about the year 1097 A.D. Immediately after Kumārapāla's accession, rebellions broke out Kumārapāla.throughout the kingdom. In Assam, which had been conquered for Rāmapāla by the feudatory chief Māyana, Tiṅgyadeva raised the standard of rebellion. Southern Bengal and Western Bengal were overrun by the King of Orissa, Anantavarmman Coḍagaṅga. Sandhyākaranandi dismisses Kumārapāla with a single verse:—

Atha rakṣatā (?) Kumārodita pṛthu-paripanthi-pārthiva-pramadaḥ। Rājyam-upabhujya bharasya sūnur-agamad=divaṁ tanu-tyāgāt.॥ — v. 11.^[1]

This most probably indicates that Kumārapāla reigned for a very short time. But during this short reign, he succeeded in obtaining decisive victories in Assam and in Southern Bengal with the aid of his Minister Vaidyadeva, who was the son of Yogadeva, the Prime Minister of Rāmapāla. We learn from the Kamauli Grant of Vaidyadeva that Kumārapāla having learnt of the disaffection of the feudatory chief of Kāmarūpa, named Tiṅgyadeva, deputed Vaidyadeva to overcome him. Vaidyadeva having received a promise of obtaining the kingdom after its conquest, reached Assam by forced marches and defeated Tiṅgyadeva:—

Etādṛśe hari-harid-bhuvi satkṛtasya Śrī-Tiṅgyadeva nṛpater-vvikṛtiṁ niśamya Gauḍeśvareṇa bhuvi tasya nareśvaratve Śrī-Vaidyadeva urukīrttir-iyāṁ niyuktaḥ.॥—v. 13-14.^[2]

About this time Anantavarmman Coḍagaṅga invaded Western Bengal and overran the country up to the banks of the Ganges:—

Gṛhṇāti-sma karaṁ bhūmer-gaṅgā-gotama-gaṅgayoḥ। Madhye paśyatsu vīreṣu prauḍhaḥ prauḍha-striyā iva. v. 22.^[3]

Rāmapāladeva conquered Utkala and Kaliṅga during the reign of either Rāja-Rāja I or his son Anantavarmman. It appears that Anantavarmman War with the King of Orissa.invaded the territories of the Pāla Kings immediately after the death of Rāmapāla. It may be mentioned in this connection that Vaidyadeva is said to have obtained a naval victory in Southern Bengal, and it is quite possible that this victory was obtained over the naval forces of Anantavarmman:—

Yasy-ānuttara-vaṅga-saṅgara-jaye nauvāṭa-hīhīrava-trastair-ddik-karibhiś-ca yan-na calitaṁ cen-nāsti tad-gamya-bhūḥ Kiñ-c-otpātukake-nipāta-patana-protsarpitaiḥ śīkarair-ākāśe sthiratā kṛtā yadi bhavet-syān-niṣkalaṅkaḥ śaśī. v. 11.^[4]

Nothing is known about the extent of Kumārapāla's reign or the date of his death. But he does not appear to have reigned more than two or three years. He was succeeded by his infant son Gopāladeva (Gopāla III) III:—

Pratyarthī-pramadā-kadamvaka-śiraḥ-sindūra-lopakrama-krīḍā-paṭala-pāṇir-eṣa suṣuve Gopālam-ūrvvi-bhujaṁ। Dhātrī-pālana-jṛmbhamāna-mahimā-karpūra-pāṁś-ūtkarair-devaḥ kīrttiṁ-a-yonijaṁ vitanute yaḥ śaiśave krīḍitaṁ.^[5] v. 17.

The infant king seems to have been murdered very soon after his accession:—

Api śatrughnopāyād-gopālaḥ svar-jagāma tatsūnuḥ। Hantu (ḥ) kumbhīnasyās-tana-yasy-aitasya sāmayikam-etat.^[6] v. 12.

A posthumous record of this king has been discovered by Babu Aksaya Kumāra Maitreya at Manda in the District of Rajshahi and presented to the Indian Museum. The palaeography points to the later part of the 11th and the earlier part of the 12th century as its date. The record is full of mistakes and is untranslatable:—

1. Oṁ sura-sarid-uru-vīcīḥ sīkarau kunda-gauraur-vviracita parabhāgo vāla ca-
2. ndr-āvatansaḥ diśatu sivamajansraṁ। śambhu-koṭīra-bhāra kalama-kaṇisa roci-
3. rmmaṁjarī piṁjarīsu॥ Śri-mad-Gopāladevas-tridīva muṣarātaḥ svepva-
4. -yā tyakta kāsas-tasy-āhaṁ pāda-dhūli-prathita iti nijaṁ nāḥ। Vuddhām-asthīta-pre-
5. -trājñā-pratijño nisita-sarasavai Purasenasakṛsāṣṭau nisyajā-dallirā
6. jā tṛidaśapuram-agād-Aiḍadeva kṛtajñaḥ॥ Svataṁ tvato vadhū ya saṅgarāt prāpya
7. Candra-kiraṇ-āmalaṁ yasaḥ krīḍati tṛdaśasundarī Dṛso deva-eva Śūbhadeva nanda-
8. -naḥ॥ Artha tadanuga-gīta-vilāsaḥ dharmmadhvara-masthara-galavāsaḥ Dāmaśūra sasa-
9. -maṁ vāhitaveśaḥ sa yayate Śrī-sāmbhāvakadāsaḥ dagdhā yatra madadbhūtāḥ śara-śa-
10. -ndhāna-pūritā yatra Bhāvakadāsena Kṛtā kīrṇṇā virājateḥ॥ Rātokena le-
11. khitavya.

We can recognize only a number of names:—

(1) Gopāladeva, (2) Dāmaśūra, (3) Aiḍadeva, (4) Subhadeva, (5) Purasena, (6) Sāmbhāvakadāsa, (7) Bhāvakadasa and (8) Rātoka, the scribe.

The murder of the infant king and the subsequent accession of his uncle Madanapāla seems to point to a parallel of the murder of the infant King Edward V by his uncle Richard III. About this time some dispute seems to have arisen about the succession, and ultimately Madanapāla's party seems to His murder by Madanapāla.triumphed. Vaidyadeva ignores Madanapāla completely in the Kamauli copper-plate grant issued in the fourth year of his reign, and so it must be admitted that Vaidyadeva declared his independence after the murder of Gopāla III. Till the reign of Madanapāla the Pāla Kingdom consisted of Eastern Magadha and Northern Bengal.

Taking advantage of the internal dissensions in the Pāla Kingdom, Vijayasena seems to have strengthened himself in Eastern and Western Bengal, and when the Conquest of Southern Varendra.weakness of the Pālas under Madanapāla became apparent, he invaded Northern Bengal and succeeded in wresting the southern part of Varendra. Madanapāladeva seems to have continued to hold the northern part of Varendra, as his Manahali Grant was issued in the 8th year of his reign from the royal city of Rāmāvatī.^[7]

We learn from the Deopārā inscription that Vijayasena attacked the King of Gauḍa with great force:—

Tvaṁ Nānya-Vīra-vijay-īti giraḥ kavīnāṁ śrutvās-nyathā-manana-rūḍha-nigūḍha roṣaḥ। Gauḍendram-adravad-apākṛta Kāmarūpabhūpaṁ Kaliṅgam-api yas-tarasā jigāya. v. 20.^[8]

Most probably Madanapāla is the Gauḍendra mentioned in the verse quoted above. It is stated in the Deopārā inscription that Vijayasena defeated and Conquest of Northern Varendra.imprisoned the King of Mithilā named Nānyadeva, so most probably Vijayasena conquered the remaining portion of Varendra before he turned his attention towards the neighbouring district of Mithilā. Madanapāla's dominions were confined to the limits of Magadha after this. Vijayasena invades Magadha.Vijayasena did not remain content with Varendra. He despatched a flotilla of armed boats for the conquest of the Western regions.

Pāścātya-cakra-jayakeliṣu yasya yāvad-Gaṁgā-pravāham-anudhāvati nauvitāne Bharggasya mauli-sarid-ambhasi bhasma-paṅka-lagn-ojjhit-eva tarir-indu kalā cakāsti. v. 22.^[9]

But the expedition does not seem to have been very successful, as otherwise the incident would surely have been mentioned in Sena inscriptions. Madanpāladeva was greatly assisted in his war against Vijayasena by Candradeva, the founder of the Gahaḍavālā Dynasty of Kanauj. The author of the Rāmacarita has gratefully acknowledged this in his work:—

Siṁhī-suta-vikrānten-arjjuna-dhāmnā bhuvaḥ pradīpena। Kamalā-vikāśa-veṣaja vīṣajā Candreṇa vandhunopetām॥ 20. Caṇḍī-caraṇa-saroja-prasāda-sampanna-vigraha-Śrīkaṁ। Na khalu Madanaṁ s-āṅgeśam-īśáṁ agād jagad-vijayalakṣmīḥ. v. 21.^[10]

Madanapāla seems to have been defeated by Vijayasena some time after the year 1108 A.D., which is the probable date of his Manahali inscription, when Candradeva was dead. Candradeva must have died before 1104 A.D., as in that year the Basāhi Plates of his grandson Govinda-Candra were issued, and that prince is styled "Mahārājaputra", so it must be admitted that Candradeva had ceased to reign at that time, and his son Madanpāla sat on the throne.^[11]

Nothing is known about Madanapāla save that he continued to reign for about eleven years longer. Nothing is known about his sons or successors, their extent of reigns or dominion. About fifty years after Madanapāla's death, another prince of the Pāla Dynasty seems to have reigned in Magadha, but about this we shall have to speak later on.

Four inscriptions of Madanapāla have been discovered up to date, of which three are votive inscriptions, incised on the pedestals of images, while the remaining one is on a copper-plate. The earliest inscription is the "Manahali" Grant, Inscriptions.which records the grant of a village, perhaps named Kāṣṭhagiri, in the Koṭīvarṣa-Viṣaya of the Pauṇḍravardhana Bhukti, to a Brāhmaṇa named Vaṭeśvarasvāmi-śarmman, an inhabitant of Campāhiṭṭi, as dakṣiṇā for having read the Mahābhārata to the great queen (Paṭṭa-Mahādevī) Citramatikā, on the 15th day of the month of Caitra, in the 8th year of the King's reign. The order confirming the grant was issued from the city of Rāmāvatī, which had been founded by Rāmapāla.^[12] An image of Ṣaṣṭhī dedicated in the same year was discovered by Cunningham on Bihar Hill, but it cannot be traced at present.^[13] Another image dedicated on the 30th Āśvina of the 19th year of the King was also discovered by Cunningham at Jayanagar, near Lakhisarai, in the Monghyr District;^[14] but this image also is missing at present.

After conquering Varendra, Vijayasena founded a new capital on the northern bank of the Ganges and named it after himself. The new capital was situated close to Rāmāvatī and its ruins have recently been discovered by the Varendra Research Society.^[15] Vijayasena.He built a new temple of Śiva named "Pradyumneśvara" on the bank of a large tank, the site of which also has been identified by the Varendra Archæological Society. This temple was situated in the village of Devapārā or Deopārā, which is about six miles distant from Vijaypur Milik, the site of Vijayapur, the capital founded by Vijayasena. Vijaypur Milik itself is situated on the banks of the river Ganges, about ten miles due east from the town of Rampur-Boalia.

After defeating the King of Gauḍa, who has been identified with Madanapāla, Vijayasena attacked Mithilā and conquered several Kings, viz., Rāghava, Vardhana and Vīra.^[16] He led an expedition to Kāmarūpa and most probably succeeded in overthrowing Vaidyadeva or his His conquest.successor.^[17] We learn from the Deopara Inscription that he defeated the King of Kaliṇga. Most probably Anantavarmman Coḍagaṅga led another raid into Western Bengal, but was repulsed by Vijayasena. Vijayasena's dominions comprised of Eastern Bengal, Western Bengal and Northern Bengal. An unpublished copper-plate grant of this King was issued from the victorious camp at His Kingdom.Vikramapura, and so it must be admitted that Eastern 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.^[18] According to these verses, the Dānasāgara was compiled by Vallālasena in s. 1091 = 1169 A.D.^[19] and the Adbhūtasāgara was begun by him in s. 1090 = 1168 A.D.^[20] Mr. Manomohan Chakravartti has discovered another verse in the Dānasāgara , according to which Vallālasena ascended the throne in S. 1081 = 1159 A.D.^[21] 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^[22] prove that Lakṣmaṇasena died before 1070 A.D.,^[23] consequently, unless some contemporary record can be cited as evidence, it cannot be said, on the basis of the verses in the Dānasāgara and the Adbhūtasāgara, that Vallālasena came to the throne in 1159 A.D. and wrote a book on Law ten years later. Only one inscription of this King has been Inscription.discovered up to date. This is a copper-plate grant discovered in January, 1911, at Sītāhāṭī, near Kātwā, in the Burdwan District of Bengal. It records the grant of the village of Vāllahiṭṭa in the Uttara Rāḍhā Maṇḍala of the Varddhamāna bhukti to a Brāhmaṇa named Ovāsudeva-Śarmman as the Dakṣiṇā of the Hemāśva-Mahādāna (the gift of a golden horse), performed by the Queen Vilāsadevi, the King's mother, on the 16th Vaiśākha in the 11th year of his reign.^[24] The Dūtaka of this grant was the King's minister of peace and war, Hari-ghoṣa, who is the only officer of Vallālasena whose name has come down to us. Vallālasena married Rāmadevī of the Calukya family and was succeeded by his son Lakṣmaṇasena. As the initial year of the Lakṣmaṇasena era is 1119-20 A.D., so Lakṣmaṇasena must have ascended the throne in that year, consequently, Vallālasena cannot be taken to have reigned more than 12 or 13 years. He seems to have been a peaceably inclined, weak, old man, studious in his habits, and a patron of Brāhmanism. Both he and his father seem to have belonged to the Śaiva sect, as their inscriptions begin with an invocation to Śiva.

Step by step, the Gāhaḍavāla Kings of Kanauj advanced towards the East. Govindacandra seems to have conquered the whole of Magadha in the earlier part of his reign (1114 = 54 A.D.). Gāhaḍavāla Conquest of Magadha.In 1127 he was in a position to grant a village in the Patna District to a Brāhmaṇa. An unpublished grant, a photograph of which has been kindly lent to me by Prof. Jadunath Sircar, M.A., of the Patna College, records the donation of the village of Pādoli, together with the village of Guṇāve in the Maṇiari Pattalā, to a Brāhmaṇa of the Kāśyapa Gotra named Gaṇeśvara-Śarman, after bathing in the Ganges at Kānyakubja, on Sunday, the 11th of the dark half of Jyaiṣṭha of the Vikrama year 1183 = 1127 A.D. The Patna Grant of Govindacandra, v.s. 1183.I have been given to understand by Prof. Sircar that this new inscription will shortly be published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. The invasion of Magadha by the Gāhaḍavāla King seems to have led to hostilities between Govindacandra and Lakṣmaṇasena. In the Madanapāḍa Grant of Viśvarūpasena and Edilpur Grant of Keśavasena, Lakṣmaṇasena is said to have erected pillars of victory at Benares (Vārāṇasī) and at Allahabad (Triveṇī).

Belāyāṁ dakṣinavdher-mmūśala-dhara gadāpāṇi saṁvāsavedyāṁ Tīrotsaṅge triveṇyāḥ kamalabhava-makhārambha nirvvyājapute yen-occair-yajña-yūpaiḥ saha samara-jayastambhamālā nyadhāyi. v.^[25]

The Maṇiari Pattalā mentioned in the copper-plate grant of Govindacandra mentioned above has been identified with the modern Muner, a village of considerable importance in the Patna District, which was a well-known place in the 12th century. Bakhtiyar Khilji directed some of his expeditions against this town before the conquest of Bihar and Bengal.^[26] Govindacandra advanced as far as Monghyr in the year 1146 A.D. and granted the village of Tatacavāḍa in the Paṇḍalā Pattalā, in Govisāloka, that belonged to Dudhāli in Saruvāra, to a Brāhmaṇa named Ṭhakkura Śrīdhara, after bathing in the Ganges at Mudgagiri (Monghyr) on the occasion of the Akṣayatṛtīya, on Monday the 3rd of the bright half of the Vaiśākha of the Vikrama year 1202, the 15th April, 1146 A.D.^[27] Govindacandra was most probably leading an expedition into Bengal when he bathed in the Ganges at Monghyr, Govindacandra invades Bengal.and granted the village mentioned above. The expedition was no doubt unsuccessful, because, otherwise, the event would surely have been mentioned in some Gāhaḍavāla inscription. The use of the era of Lakṣmaṇasena in two inscriptions at Bodh-Gayā^[28] prove that in spite of the efforts of the Gāhaḍavāla Kings Eastern Magadha continued to be in the possession of the Senas up to 1193 A.D. Most probably the river Son was the boundary line of the Gāhaḍavāla and the Sena Kingdoms.

Lakṣmaṇasena, the son of Vallālasena, ascended the throne in 1119 A.D. He was an energetic and able ruler like his grandfather Vijayasena. In the lifetime of his father he led an expedition into Kaliṅga.^[29] Lakṣmaṇasena.After his accession to the throne he defeated the King of Benares, i.e., Govindacandra, in battle and conquered Kāmarūpa.^[30] In the copper-plate grants of his sons, Keśavasena and Viśvarūpasena, he is said to have planted a pillar of victory on the shores of the Southern Ocean, which most probably means that he defeated some Southern King in battle. Nothing is known about his length of reign, but his kingdom consisted of Eastern, Western and Northern Bengal and the eastern part of Magadha. It is also probable that part of Mithilā was included in his kingdom.

Four copper-plate inscriptions and one stone inscription of this king has been discovered up to date. The earliest of these is the Tarpandighi Grant, found in 1874 at Tarpandighi at Gangarampur in the Dinajpur District. It records the grant of the village of Vilvahiṣṭī in the Pauṇḍravardhana bhūkti as the dakṣiṇā of the Golden Horse and Chariot ceremonies (Hemāśva-ratha) to a Brāhmaṇa named Śrī Iśvara Śarmman.

During the reign of Lakṣmaṇasena the western part of Magadha seems to have passed into the hands of the Gāhaḍavāla Kings of Kanauj. The local rulers practically acquired independence, as an example of which we may cite the name of the Mahānāyaka Pratāpadhavala of Jāpila. The earliest record of this generation is a short rock inscription near the Tutrahi Falls in the Shahabad District, the date of which corresponds to 19th April, 1158 A.D.^[31] According to an unpublished inscription at Rohṭasgaḍh, the King set up some monuments on the 27th March, 1169 A.D.^[32] In the same district, there is another rock inscription at Tārāchaṇḍī incised in the Vikrama era 1225, corresponding to 1169 A.D. According to another inscription at Rohṭasgaḍh, the family to which this dynasty belonged is called Khayāravāla Vaṁśa. The relations between this chief and the Gāhaḍavāla Kings of Kanauj has been made clear by the Tārāchaṇḍī inscription of the same prince. This inscription was edited by Dr. Fitz-Edward Hall in 1860.^[33] According to this inscription, in Samvat 1225 on Wednesday, the 3rd day of the dark half of Jyaistha, = 16th April, 1169 A.D., Pratāpadhavala announces that a certain copper-plate recording the grant of the villages of Kalahaṇḍī and Baḍapilā has been obtained by several Brāhmaṇas by bribing one, Deu, the slave of King Vijayacandra of Kānyakubja. The inscription finally adds that the proprietary share of the rent should be collected yearly as before. This inscription shows very clearly that though Pratāpadhavala was semi-independent, he was obliged to recognize the suzerainty of the Gāhaḍavāla King of Kanauj. The villages stated above within his territories could be granted by the King of Kānyakubja to anybody he liked.

After the death of Lakṣmaṇasena three of his sons seem to have come to the throne:—(1) Mādhavasena, (2) Viśvarūpasena and (3) Keśavasena. Nothing is known about the order of succession of these princes and their dates. Elsewhere I have tried to prove that Mādhavasena precedes the other sons of Lakṣmaṇasena, Viśvarūpa, and he in his turn preceded Keśavasena. One copper-plate inscription of each of these princes have been discovered, viz., those of Viśvarūpa and Keśavasena. A copper-plate of Mādhavasena has been preserved in a monastery in the Tehri State.^[34]

Viśvarūpsena is known from his now lost Madanapāḍa Grant^[35] of the year 14 of his reign. It records the grant of certain lands in the village Piñjakāṣṭhī in the Vikramapura division (bhāga) of Eastern Bengal (Vaṅga) of the Pauṇḍravarddhana bhukti to a Brāhmaṇa named Viśvarūpadeva-śarmman. His brother Keśavasena is also known from his Edilpur Grant^[36] of the year 3, which records the grant of certain lands in the province (pradeśa) of Eastern Bengal, the division (bhāga) of Vikramapura and the bhukti of Pauṇḍravarddhana to Īśvaradeva-Śarmman, a brother of the Viśvarūpadeva Śarmman of the Madanapāḍa Grant. The Fall of the Senas.The Sena Dynasty came to an end with the Muhammadan occupation of East Bengal, and the last kings are not known.

In 1161 A.D. we find a king named Govindapāladeva in Magadha. His existence is proved from a stone inscription and six manuscript records. But we are not yet in a position to state clearly whether he belonged to the Imperial Pāla Dynasty or not. Govindapāla.Yet the affix Pāla and the Buddhist titles (e.g. Parama-saugata) would lead us to believe that he was descended from them. He seems to have come to the throne in 1161 A.D.,^[37] as the Gayā Stone Inscription distinctly mentions that his fourteenth regnal year fell in v.s. 1232 = 1175 A.D. A manuscript of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā discovered by Hodgson at Nepal, which was copied in the fourth year of the King's reign, mentions the name of Nālanda(?) as the place of copying.^[38] So it may be assumed with a tolerable degree of certainty that Govindapāla ruled a portion, probably the eastern one, of Magadha. The records which mention this king contain some curious phrases and will be edited before we come to discuss the events of the king's reign:—

1. The Gaya Stone Inscription of Govindapāla.

This record was found in the walls of a small shrine to the south of the main shrine of Gadādhara, just below the courtyard of the Viṣṇupad Temple at Gayā. It has already been mentioned by Cunningham,^[39] who reproduced it in a lithograph, and by Kielhorn.^[40] It is incised on the back-slab of an image of a female deity with four hands and consists of fifteen horizontal and one vertical lines. A lingaṁ is to be found at the top of the record, which runs as follows:—

1. Oṁ^[41] oṁ svasti namo bhagavate Vāsudevaya. Vrahmaṇo dvitīya parārdhe।
2. Vārāha-kalpe vaivaśvata manvantare Aṣṭāviṁśatime yuge kalau pūrvvasaṁ-
3. -ndhyāyāṁ saṁvat 1232 Vikāri saṁmvatsare Śrī Govindapāla-de-
4. -va-gatarājye chaturddaśa saṁmvatsare Gayāyāṁ॥ Vaśiṣṭha-gotro-
5. -ti-guṇo dvivedaḥ Śrī Ḍallaṇo [ऽ] sūta-sūtaṁ mahāntaṁ। Vidyādharaṁ gu
6. gulinaṁ Gadābhṛṇ-maṭhe anākāri dhanā dvijānāṁ॥ bhokṣātham-avdaṁ pra-
7. ti-ṣoḍaś-aiva kārṣāpaṇī vṛddhita-eva ladhvāḥ Mūlañ-ca। pañcāsad-i
8. -h-āsti sākṣī Padm-ābhidhāno-tha ca Viśvarūpa॥ Nṛsiṁha Śrī-dharodeva
9. Dharo Śrī (?) daṇḍa (?) nā(ya)kau। Viṣṇu-seva-karau c-aite tapovana-nivāsinaḥ॥ Rāghavaḥ
10. Śrīkaro ऽ Sūko Dāmodarakaḥ Hīdharau Bhikhodeva nidhirddharmmī c-aite pāla-
11. -na-kāriṇaḥ। A-candrārkam-imaṁ dharmmaṁ pālayiṣyanti ye sukhaṁ। pratyavdaṁ te-
12. -śvamedhasya phalaṁ prāpsanti mānavāḥ॥ Āśvine śukla-pañcamyāṁ bhojyaṁ yo
13. vārayed-idaṁ। Labhate sāv-asaṁdigdhaṁ mahāpātaka-pañcakaṁ। praśasti-
14. -r-iyaṁ kṛtā Śrī-Yuktendreṇa likhitā c-eyaṁ Kājasīyī-Jaya-kumārābhyāṁ॥
15. Oṁ^[42] Someśvaro-tra sākṣasti Padmanābho Gayādvija Devarūpasya purato dattā c-aite Kaparddakā।.

The only peculiarity noticeable in this inscription is the use of the word gate. The words giving the regnal year may be taken—

(1) to mean that the Vikāri Samvatsara and v.s. 1232 fell in the 15th regnal year, i.e. when the 14th was expired;

(2) to mean that Govindapāla himself was dead, but this was the 14th year from the date of his consecration;

(3) to mean that Govitidapāla was alive, but that part of the country which once belonged to him, had then ceased to do so.

At the time of the Muhammadan conquest, we find similar peculiar wording in inscriptions and colophones of MSS. The second conclusion is obviously wrong, as we know from the colophone of one of the Sanskrit MSS. in the Cambridge University Library (see No. 5 below) that his kingdom was destroyed (Vinaṣṭa) in his 38th regnal year; so he could not have died before that date. The first interpretation is also obviously impossible, as there is no evidence in the whole range of Northern India Inscriptions of an "expired regnal year" being used to express a date. The third explanation is the only one applicable to the particular case. We find a parallel case in the Belkhara Inscription of V.S. 1253.^[43]

The rest of the records are colophones of manuscripts.

(2) Colophone of a MS. of the Aṣṭa-sāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā (last page only) recently acquired by Mahāmahopādhyāya Hara Prasāda Śāstrī:—

1. —vāpya ca dhārayitvā vācayitvā—vāpya pravarttānāṁ viharantu sadārthina iti॥ Ye dharmmā hetu prabhavā
2. (he)tun-teṣān-tathāgato hy-avadat-'eṣāñ-ca yo nirodha evaṁ vādī mahāśramaṇaḥ॥ Deyadharmoyaṁ pravara-mahā-yāna (yāyi-)
3. naḥ Khānodakīya Yaśarāpur-āvasthānevaṁ॥ Dānapati Kṣānti-rakṣitasya yadatra puṇyan-tadbhavaty-ācary-opādhyāya mā
4. tā pitṛ pūrvaṁgamaṁ kṛtvā sakala satva-rāśer-anuttara-jñāna-phal-āvāptaya iti॥ Śrīmad-Govindapāladevasy-ātīta
5. Samvatsa 18 Kārttika dine 15 Caṅgaḍa pāṭakāvasthita Khānodakīya Yaśarāpure Ācārya Prajñānu—

(3) Colophone of a MS. of Amarakoṣa in the collection of the Asiatic Society of Bengal:—

1. -ṣepi tat॥ Arthāntāḥ ādy-alaṁ prāpt-āpanna-pūrvvāḥ paropagāḥ। taddhitārthe dviguḥ saṁkhyā-sarvvaṇāma-tad-antakāḥ॥ Vahuvrīhir-adig-nāmnām-unneyaṁ tad-udā-
2. -hṛtam। Guṇa-dravya-kriyā-yog-opādhibhiḥ (portion of the palm-leaf torn out) r-agāminaḥ। Kutaḥ karttaryasaṁjñāyāṁ kṛtyāḥ karttari karmmaṇi॥ Anādy-ant-āstena rakt-ādy-arthen-ā
3. -nartha-bhedakāḥ। Pada-sañjñakāmiṣu yuṣmad-asmat-tiṅavyayaṁ॥ Paraṁ virodhi śeṣam tu jñeyaṁ śiṣṭa prayogataḥ॥ Liṅgasaṅgrahaḥ samāptaḥ।
4. Paramabhaṭṭārak-ety-ādi rājāvalī pūrvvavat Śrī-Govinda-pālīya saṁvat 24 Caitra śudi 8 śubham-astu sarvva jagatām-iti^[44]

(4) Colophone of a MS. of the Guhyāvalī vivṛiti in the collection of the University of Cambridge^[45]:—

1. Yad-alambhi puṇyan-ten-āstu sarvva-jagataḥ kila bodhi-lakṣmīḥ। Yat sarvva-satva-janit-āśubha-yogatohaṁ syān-nārak-ānala-vṛto

2. -nalinī-suhaṁsaḥ॥ Guhy-āvalī-vivṛtiḥ॥ Vivṛtiḥ paṇḍita-sthavira-Śrī-Ghanadevasya॥
3. Govindapāladevānāṁ saṁ 37 Śrāmaṇa dine 11 likhitam-idaṁ pustakaṁ kā Śrī-Gayākareṇ-eti॥

(5) Colophone of a MS. of the Pañcākāra in the collection of the University of Cambridge:—

1. Hemante Ratnasambhavaḥ। Vasante Amitābhaḥ। Grīṣme Amogha-siddhiḥ। Śiśire Vajrasattvaḥ। Dharmma-dhātu Vajrasatvaḥ dvāre Vajrasa-
2. -tvaḥ। Sarvva-trailokyam-ekákára-vajrasatvaḥ praśasyate। pañcākār-ātmakaṁ sarvvaṁ trailokyaṁ sacarācaraṁ। yady-api rājyaṁ nirvvika-
3. -lpamayaṁ dṛśyate। Jagat pañcaskandha-svabhāvena pañca-Vuddhāḥ prakīrttitāḥ। Pañcāvaraṇa-nirmmuktā Vuddhāḥ syuḥ pañca-
4. Kaulikāḥ। Kāni pañc-āvaraṇāni jñeyāni kleśas-tathā janma-karmma-saṁjñānam-ajñānañ-ca tath-aiva-ca। pañcāvaraṇāni
5. c-aitāni kathitāni tathāgataiḥ। Evaṁ vimṛṣyamāṇo bhāvayet satataṁ prāpṇotyagrajāṁ vodhim। Samyak-sambuddha-bhāṣitaḥ pañcākā-
6. -raḥ samāptaḥ॥ Parameśvar-ety-ādi rājāvalī pūrvvavat Śrīmad-Govinda-pāla-devānāṁ vinaṣṭa-rājye aṣṭa-triṁśat-samvatsare ऽ
7. bhilikhyamāne Jyaiṣṭha-Kṛṣṇ-āṣṭmyāṁ tithau Yatra saṁ 38 Jyaiṣṭhadine 8 likhitam-idaṁ pustakaṁ Kā Śrī-Gayākareṇ-eti

(6) Colophone of a MS. of the Yoga-ratna-mālā by Kāhṇa or Kṛṣṇācārya in the collection of the University of Cambridge^[46]:—

1. -de। Mahāsūkṣma-savāg-gocaratvāt। Vajrastathāgatāḥ। Teṣāmmaṇḍaṁ sāraṁ.। Nabho-ghanam-anābhāṣatvāt। Virajaskaṁ kleśakṣayāt Mokṣadaṁ
2. Saṁsārātikrāntavāt। Pitā te tvam-as-īti। Tath-aiva praty-ātma-vedytvāt। Vajrapadmayor-adhiṣṭhānaṁ yen-ādhiṣṭhyate। Yogaratnasya mālā
3. -yāṁ kṛtvā Hevajra-pañjikāṁ। yat-puṇyam-ācitaṁ tena nikleśaḥ syād-akhilo janaḥ॥ Śrī-Hevajrapañjikā Yogaratnamālā sa-
4. māptā॥ Kṛtir-iyaṁ Paṇḍit-ācārya Śrī-Kahṇa-pādānāṁ-iti। Parameśvar-ety-ādi rājāvalī pūrvvavat। Śrīma-
5. -dgovindapāladevānāṁ saṁ 39 bhādradine 14 likhitam-idaṁ pustakaṁ kā Śrī Gayākareṇa॥

(7) A MS. of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā examined by Mahāmahopādhyāya Hara Prasāda Śāstrī in 1893. "The work is on palm-leaves pressed between two wooden boards, with sticks inserted through holes in place of strings. One of the boards is besmeared with sandal paste, which has accumulated there for ages. The MS. was evidently an object of worship, and as Prajñāpāramitā is also called Rakshā-Bhagavatī, it appears to have been regarded as a charm for protection against evils. The MS. was copied in the 38th year of Govindapāla, who is styled Gauṛeśvara, i.e. the year 1198 a.d.^[47]

(8) A MS. of the Prajñāpāramitā of 8000 verses in the collection of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland written at Nālanda in the fourth year of the King's reign:—

1. Mātā-pitṛ-pūrvaṁgamaṁ kṛtvā sakala-satva-rāśer-anuttara-jñāna-phal-āvāptaya iti॥ Parameśvara Paramabhaṭṭāraka Paramasaugata Mahārājādhirāja Śrī-mad-Govindapālasya-vijaya-rājya-saṁvatsare 4 Śūny-odaka-grāma-vāstavya Śri-man-Nālanda-
2. m-astu sarva-jagatām.^[48]

It will be observed that out of these eight records only two mention the King as living. In No. 8 we find the usual titles and no peculiarity, consequently it can be admitted that Govindapāla reigned for at least four years. In No. 4 though titles have been omitted yet the absence of such formulæ as "Parameśvaretyādi Rājāvalī-pūrvvavat" at the beginning, and such phrases as "gatarājye," "atītarājye" and "vinaṣṭa-rājye" make it certain that the King Govindapāla was alive in the 37th year from the date of his consecration, i.e. 1197 a.d. This being admitted, we find that the phrases gata and atīta are used in other records in a peculiar sense, signifying that the reign of the Prince was at an end, in that particular locality, but that it was still continuing at some other place. Thus in the Gayā Inscription of the Vikrama year 1232 the use of the word gata means that Govindapāla's reign had ceased at Gayā, but was continuing somewhere else. The use of the word Atīta in the MS. discovered by Mahāmahopādhyāya Hara Prasāda Śāstrī, which was copied in 38th year of his reign, signifies that his reign was at an end at the place where the MS. was copied. Only the use of the special word Vinaṣṭa in No. 6 signifies that the remnants of his authority was destroyed in that year, as has been correctly interpreted by Bendall,^[49] by the Muhammdans under Bakhtyār-Khilji. It appears Extent of Kingdom.that Govindapāla ruled lower part of Eastern Magadha close to Nālanda and yet bore the title of Gauḍeśvara. He was recognized as the real King by Buddhists in all parts of the country. He managed to continue his reign till 1199, when Cauhān, Gahaṛwāṛ, Pāla and Sena were all swept away by the whirlwind of Muhammadan invasion.

Postscript.

An inscription of the time of Vigrahapāla III was found by me recently on the pedestal of an image of Buddha in the Indian Museum. This appears to be the inscription mentioned by Cunningham.^[50] It runs as follows:—

1. Śri-mad-Vigrahapāla-deva-rājya samvat 13 mārgga dine 14.
2. Deya [dha] rmmoyaṁ suvarṇṇakāra Dehekasya Sāhe sutasya॥

"The year 13, the 14th day of Mārggaśīrṣa, of the reign of the illustrious Vigrahapāladeva. The religious gift of the goldsmith Deheka, son of Sāhe."

I have since been informed by Pandit Rajani Kanta Chakravartti of Maldah and Babu Aksaya Kumar Maitreya of Rajshahi that Babu Haridas Palit's identification of Amarti with Ramanti is not correct. I am also informed that there are no villages called Jagdalā or Ḍamrol near Amarti in the Maldah District.

R. D. Banerji.
20-7-1914.

 

1. Mem. A.S.B., Vol. III, p. 51.
2. Epi. Ind., Vol. II., p. 351.
3. J.A.S.B. 1896, Pt. I, p. 239.
4. Epi. Ind., Vol. II, p. 351.
5. J.A.S.B., 1900, Pt. I, p. 71.
6. Mem. A.S.B., Vol. III, p. 51.
7. J.A.S.B., 1900, Pt. I, p. 93.
8. Epi. Ind., Vol. I, p. 306.
9. Ibid., p. 307.
10. Mem. A S.B., Vol. III, p. 307.
11. Ind. Ant., Vol. XIV, p. 103.
12. J.A.S.B., 1900, Pt. i, p. 71.
13. A.S.R., Vol. III, p. 124, No. 16.; Epi. Ind., Vol V. App. p. 87, Note 4.
14. Ibid., p. 125, No. 17, Vol. XV, p. 174; Epi. Ind., Vol. V, App. p. 87, No. 645.
15. Gauḍarājamālā, p. 65.
16. Epi. Ind., Vol. I, p. 309.
17. Ibid.
18. J.A.S.B., Vol. IX (New Series), p. 272.
19. Ibid., 1896, Pt. I, p. 23; Eggeling's Catalogue of Sanskrit MSS. in India Office Library, p. 545.
20. Bhandarkar's Report on the Search for Sanskrit MSS. during 1887—88 and 1890—91, p. lxxxv.
21. ,J.A.S.B. (N. S.), 1906, p. 17, Note.
22. Cunningham's Mahabodhi, p. 78. and Ind. Ant., Vol. X, p. 341.
23. J.A.S.B. (N. S.), Vol. IX. p. 272.
24. Vaṅgīya Sāhitya Pariṣat Patrikā, Vol. XVII, Pt IV, pp. 237-38.
25. J.A.S.B., Vol. VII, p. 43, and Vol. 1896, Pt. I, p. 9.
26. Tabakati-i-Nasiri, Trans. by Raverty, p. 550.
27. Epi. Ind., Vol. VII, p. 98.
28. Cunningham's Mahabodhi, p. 78, and Ind. Ant., Vol. X, p. 346.
29. J.A.S.B. (N.S.), Vol. V, p. 467.
30. Ibid.
31. Epi. Ind., Vol. IV, p. 311.
32. Ibid., Vol. V, App. p. 22, No. 152.
33. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. VI. p. 547.
34. Atkinson's Kumayun.
35. J.A.S.B., 1896, Pt. I, p. 6, pl. I & II.
36. J.A.S.B., Vol. VII, p. 43.
37. Cunningham's Arch. Survey Report Vol, III., p. 124.
38. R. L. Mitra, Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā (Bib. Ind.), p. xxii Note; but see also the Catalogue of the Hodgson MSS. in the Royal Asiatic Society's Collection—J.R.A.S. (N.S.), Vol. VIII, p. 3.
39. Cunningham's Arch. Survey Report, Vol. III, p. 125, pl. XXXVIII, No. 18.
40. Epi. Ind., Vol. V, App. p. 24, No. 166.
41. Expressed by a symbol.
42. On right side.
43. J.A.S.B. (N.S.), Vol. VII, p. 757.
44. J.A.S.B., 1900, Pt. I, p. 100, no. 25.
45. Bendall's Catalogue of Buddhist Sanskrit MSS. in the University Library, Cambridge, p. 188.
46. Bendall's Catalogue of Buddhist Sanskrit MSS. in the University Library, Cambridge, p 190.
47. J.A.S.B., 1893, Pt. I, p. 253.
48. J.R.A.S. (N.S.), Vol. VIII (1876), p. 3; Astashasrika-Prajnaparamita (Bib. Ind., Calcutta, 1888), Preface, p. xxii, Note.
49. Catalogue of Buddhist Sanskrit MSS. in the University Library, Cambridge, Introduction, p. iii.
50. A.S.R., Vol. III, p. 121, no. 7.