Page:The Pālas of Bengal.djvu/77

Rh conquest of Bihar and Bengal. 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. Govindacandra was most probably leading an expedition into Bengal when he bathed in the Ganges at Monghyr, 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 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. After his accession to the throne he defeated the King of Benares, i.e., Govindacandra, in battle and conquered Kāmarūpa. 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. According to an unpublished inscription at Rohṭasgaḍh, the King set up some monuments on the 27th March, 1169 A.D. 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.