Dharma Pala

History of Kamarupa
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Rulers and Events

Rulers of Varman Dynasty (350 to 650 CE)

– Pushya Varman (350-374 CE)
– Samudra Varman (374-398 CE)
– Bala Varman (398-422 CE)
– Kalyana Varman (422-446 CE)
– Ganapati Varman (446-470 CE)
– Mahendra Varman (470-494 CE)
– Narayana Varman (494-518 CE)
– Bhuti Varman (518-542 CE)
– Chandramukha Varman (542-566 CE)
– Sthita Varman (566-590 CE)
– Susthita Varman (590-595 CE)
– Supratisthita Varman (595-600 CE)
– Bhaskar Varman (600-650 CE)

Rulers of Mlechchha Dynasty (650 to 900 CE)

– Salasthamba (650-670 CE)
– Vigrahastambha (670-680 CE)
– Palaka (680-695 CE)
– Kumara (695-710 CE)
– Vajra (710-725 CE)
– Harsha Varman (725-745 CE)
– Bala Varman II (745-760 CE)
– Salambha (795-815 CE)
– Harjjara Varman (815-832 CE)
– Vanamala Varman (832-855 CE)
– Jayamala (855-860 CE)
– Bala Varman III (860-880 CE)
– Tyagasimha (890-900 CE)

Rulers of Pala Dynasty (900 to 1100 CE)

– Brahma Pala (900-920 CE)
– Ratna Pala (920-960 CE)
– Indra Pala (960-990 CE)
– Go Pala (990-1015 CE)
– Harsha Pala (1015-1035 CE)
– Dharma Pala (1035-1060 CE)
– Jaya Pala (1075-1100 CE)

Major Events

– Establishment of first dynasty by Pushya Varman in 350 CE.
– End of Varman Dynasty in 655 CE.
– Establishment of aboriginal second dynasty by Salasthamba in 655 CE.
– End of Mlechchha Dynasty in 900 CE.
– Establishment of third dynasty by Brahma Pala in 900 CE.
– End of Pala Dynasty in 1100 CE.

Dharma Pala (1035-1060) was ruler of Pala Dynasty (900–1100) of Kamarupa Kingdom.^[1]

Harsha Pala's son, named Dharma Pala, left three copper plates: 1. Khonamukh Plates 2. Subhankarapataka Grant 3. Pushpabhadra Plates The first and second charters were composed by the same poet since they are couched in similar language and were issued by Dharma Pala (resplendent in the grandiosity and pomposity of usual titles). The Khonamukh charter was issued in the first year of his reign. The donee was Bhatta Mahabahu who was son of Vishnu and grandson of Ummoka and sprang from a Brahmin family, belonging to the Kashyapa gotra and the Kanva sakha of the Yajurveda and hailing from Madhya Desa. The charter at serial 2 was issued in the third regnal year. The donee hails from village Krodanja in Sravasti, famous for its learned Brahmins. The said village has been identified with Karanja in Dinajpur district of Bangladesh. The name of Krodanja is elsewhere found as Krodanchi and Kolanchi, which was centre of learned Brahmins in the Kanauj region of UP and the Brahmins of this place, who settled in north Bengal appears to have given the name of their old habitation to their new habitat as in the cases of Sravasti and Tarkari. The introduction of the first two Prasati is exception in the sense that it has the name of its composer, Prasthanakalsa, unlike the earlier inscription in Assam, excepting the Gachtal copper plate inscription of Gopala, composed by Balabhadra. The mention of Dharmapala as "flourishing in a city called Kamarupanagar" in Aniruddha's Prasati has created controversy, for the capital of Brahma Pala line is named Hadappaka in some records and Durjaya in others. It is also accepted that Ratna Pala transferred his capital to Durjaya and Gopala restored it to Hadappaka. It is thus difficult to determine if Kamarupanagar is same as Hadappaka or it is different and new city altogether. Bhattacharya (1933) thinks that Dharmapala's capital has to be identified with the city that later was known as Kamatapur on the Dharla, a tributary of the Brahmaputra. Since the ruins of Kamatapur lie 14 miles south-west of Cooch Behar and 40 miles from Dhubri on the Brahmaputra, observations of Bhattacharya lacks credence, more so because of the evidence later revealed by the Gachtal plates. Some other related facts need attention. In 1809, Buchanan Hamilton spoke of the ruins of Dharma Pala's city near Dimla in Rangpur district of Bangladesh, about 2 miles from the Tista and regarded the King as belonging to Pala Dynasty of Kamarupa. There is a belief that Dharmapala did build a city in the western fringe of his domain. There is no satisfactory evidence to identify Dharma Pala's capital Kamarupanagar with Kamatapur, particularly as the two names have no resemblance. But tradition associated Dharma Pala not with Kamatapur but with a city about 35 miles away. ^[2]

References

↑ Choudhury, P. C, The History of Civilisation of the People of Assam to the Twelfth Century A.D
↑ Prakash, Col Ved, Encyclopedia of North-East India

Dharma Pala

References

Further reading