Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/390

 344 THE MEDIAEVAL KINGDOMS OF THE NORTH chapter, no particulars are known concerning the his- tory of Bengal during more than a century and a half. Early in the ninth century (dr. 815 A. D.), approx- imately when the Chandella, Paramara, and other dynasties are first heard of, a chieftain named Gopala became ruler of Bengal. Toward the close of his life he extended his power westwards over Magadha or Bihar, and is said to have reigned forty-five years. He was a pious Buddhist, and was credited with the foundation of a great monastery at his capital, the town of Bihar (Udandapura, or Otantapuri), which had taken the place of Pataliputra, then in ruins. In- asmuch as the word pala was an element in the personal names of the founder of the family and his successors, the dynasty is commonly and conveniently designated as that of the " Pala Kings of Bengal." The third king, Devapala (dr. 853-93 A. D.), is alleged to have conquered Kamarupa and Orissa. The ninth king, Mahipala, is known to have been on the throne in 1026 A. D., and is believed to have reigned for fifty years, until about 1060. Like all the members of his dynasty, he was a devout Buddhist, and the revival of Buddhism in Tibet, effected in 1013 A. D. by Dharmapala of Magadha and his three pupils, may be attributed to this king's missionary zeal. At about the time of Mahipala 's death, a raja named Yijayasena founded a rival dynasty in Bengal com- monly called that of the " Sena kings," which seems to have wrested the eastern provinces for a time from