Latest / The Hidden History of Bengal: Kingdoms, Empires, and Revolution — Fexingo History / The Pala Empire Bengal's Buddhist Superpower
Transcript
- Lucas: When we think of great empires in Indian history, we usually go to the Mauryas, the Guptas, the Mughals. But there's one that hardly ever gets mentioned outside specialist circles — and it was based right here in Bengal. I'm talking about the Pala Empire. Luna: The Pala Empire? I know the name vaguely, but I don't think I've ever heard an episode on it. Lucas: Exactly, and that's a shame because for nearly four hundred years, from the 8th to the 12th century, the Palas controlled a huge swath of North India, and they were the major patrons of Buddhism in the subcontinent. It all started with an election — a remarkably democratic move for the time. Lucas: Around 750 CE, the region of Bengal was in chaos. There was a period of anarchy called the Matsya Nyaya — literally 'the logic of the fish' — where the big fish eat the small fish. Local chiefs were fighting constantly. So a group of influential people got together and elected a man named Gopala as their king. He wasn't from a royal line — he may have been a local chieftain or even a military leader. Luna: They elected a king? That's unheard of for the time. Lucas: It really is. Gopala founded the Pala dynasty — the name 'Pala' means 'protector' in Sanskrit. He brought stability to Bengal, but it was his son, Dharmapala, who turned the kingdom into an empire. Dharmapala expanded west, fought the Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas, and captured the city of Kannauj, which was the great prize of North India. Lucas: Under Dharmapala and his son Devapala, the Pala realm stretched from the Bay of Bengal to the Punjab, and they made their capital at Pataliputra — modern Patna — the old Mauryan capital. They also founded a new capital in Bengal: Munger, now in Bihar. Luna: And they were Buddhists, right? How did that affect their rule? Lucas: The Palas were devout Mahayana Buddhists, and they used their wealth to support Buddhism on a massive scale. They built and maintained the great monastic universities — Nalanda, Vikramashila, Oddantapuri — which became international centres of learning. Monks from Tibet, China, Korea, and Southeast Asia came to study there. Lucas: Dharmapala personally founded the Vikramashila monastery, which became perhaps the most important centre for Tantric Buddhism. And the Palas had close ties with the Sailendra dynasty of Srivijaya — in present-day Indonesia — who also built a monastery at Nalanda. Luna: So they were connecting India with Southeast Asia through Buddhism. Lucas: Precisely. The Pala period saw a golden age of Buddhist art and philosophy. The 'Pala style' of sculpture — black stone carvings of Buddha and bodhisattvas — influenced art across Asia, from Nepal to Thailand to Java. Some of the earliest Tibetan thangkas are based on Pala prototypes. Lucas: And it wasn't just art. The great Bengali master Atisha Dipankara, who lived in the 11th century, was a key figure in the revival of Buddhism in Tibet. Atisha studied at Vikramashila and later travelled to Tibet, where his teachings became the foundation of the Kadam school. Luna: So the Palas are why Tibetan Buddhism has so many links to India. Lucas: Exactly. The Pala kings also encouraged trade. They controlled the Ganges delta and the ports of Bengal, so they traded with the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and China. Bengal's exports included textiles, ivory, and — this is interesting — horses from Arabia, which were imported and then traded inland. Lucas: But by the 11th century, the empire began to weaken. The Palas faced attacks from the Chandellas and the Kalachuris, and a new dynasty — the Senas, originally from the Deccan — started to rise in Bengal. The last Pala king, Madanapala, lost control of most of Bengal to the Sena king Vijayasena around 1160. Luna: And then the Senas themselves were overthrown by the Muslim invasion, right? Lucas: Yes, but the Palas had already faded. The Sena period was a revival of Hinduism, and many Buddhist monasteries fell into decline. When Bakhtiyar Khalji invaded in the early 13th century, the great libraries were destroyed, and the last monks fled to Nepal and Tibet. Lucas: But the Pala legacy endured. Their architectural and artistic style influenced the construction of Buddhist monuments as far away as Borobudur in Indonesia — though that's contested. And their support for scholarship meant that many Buddhist texts survived in Tibetan translation. Luna: It's amazing that such a powerful empire is so little known. I had no idea Bengal was the centre of a Buddhist superpower. Lucas: It really was. And it's one of those stories that makes you rethink the map of history. The Palas were contemporary with the Tang dynasty in China and the Abbasid Caliphate — and for a time, their empire was as important as either. Luna: If today's episode was worth a coffee to you, that's the link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It really helps keep this ad-free. Lucas: Yeah, listener support is what lets us dig into these overlooked chapters. So if you can, you know where to find us. Lucas: So, back to the Palas: one thing that still puzzles historians is their sudden rise. How did a man like Gopala get elected? Some sources say he was a warrior, others that he was a Buddhist monk. The truth is lost, but it shows how fluid power could be in early medieval India. Luna: And their decline was just as dramatic. What happened to the Buddhist institutions after the Senas took over? Lucas: The Senas were Shaivites, so they didn't actively persecute Buddhists, but patronage dried up. Monasteries fell into disrepair, and some were converted to Hindu temples. The real death blow came with the Muslim conquests in the 13th century. The famous library at Nalanda was burned, and it's said the flames burned for months. Lucas: But the knowledge didn't die. Many monks escaped to Tibet, carrying manuscripts and traditions that still survive today. In fact, Tibetan Buddhists still recite texts that were composed in Bengal a thousand years ago. Luna: That's a powerful legacy. I'll never think of Bengal the same way again. Lucas: And that's what this show is about — finding the hidden currents that shaped our world. The Pala Empire might be forgotten, but its echoes are still with us.