Mahipala
The reign of Mahipala was from 995-1043 AD. He is known as second founder of the Pala Dynasty. He was able to recover the lost territories of his predecessors and checked the disintegration of the empire. When he ascended the throne, his territory was limited to Magadha i.e. parts of Bihar only. Bengal was under Kambojas, which was recovered by him. In 1021 AD, the Chola armies campaigned against the Palas. He was probably defeated by the Cholas.
Mahipala 50 year reign was otherwise peaceful. In the evening of his life he turned religious and did some excellent social works.
None of the successors of Mahipala was a significant ruler. The empire ultimately got disintegrated and finally swept away by the torrents of the Mohammedan invasions.
Atiśa Dipankara Shrijnana Atiśa Dipankara was a Buddhist Scholar during the Pala dynasty and was a scholar at the Vikramshila University. He established the Sarma lineages of the Buddhism with Konchog Gyalpo and Marpa Lotsawa. The most important work of Atisa is Bodhipathapradīpa. Apart from this around 79 extant compositions on Buddhism are ascribed to Atisa. |
Charyapada Charyapada is a collection of Buddhist poems composed most probably during the Pala Dynasty (However, there are various controversies on the origin). These mystic poems are from the tantric tradtion. The writers of Charyapada are called Mahasiddhas and they were from Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Assam.
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Sandhyakar Nandi Sandhyakar Nandi was the composer of the great epic poem in Sanskrit named Ramacharitam during the Pala Empire. |
Somapura Mahavihara Somapura Mahavihara is now located in Bangladesh. It is one of the best known Mahaviharas of Buddhism in Indian subcontinent and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. |
