Ratna Pala (reigned 920-960) was the son of
Brahma Pala
Brahma Pala (reigned 900-920) was the founder of the Pala Dynasty (900–1100) of the Kamarupa kingdom. He married Kula Devi, by whom he had a successor to his throne named Ratna Pala.
See also
* Kamarupa - Late to end period
* Pushyavarman
* ...
in
Pala Dynasty
The Pāla Empire was the empire ruled by the Pala dynasty, ("protector" in Sanskrit) a medieval Indian dynasty which ruled the kingdom of Gauda. The empire was founded with the election of Gopāla by the chiefs of Gauda in late eighth centu ...
(900–1100) of
Kamarupa
Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam. The Kamrupa word first appeared in the ...
Kingdom. He was succeeded by his grandson
Indra Pala
Indra Pala (ruled 960–990) was ruler of Pala Dynasty (900–1100) of Kamarupa Kingdom.
Ratna Pala's son, Purandera Pala, predeceased him, and thus the later's son, Indra Pala, his grandson became successor. He issued two copper plate grants ...
.
The Gachtal plates of
Go Pala
Go Pala was successor and son of Indra Pala and his queen Rajya Devi, of Pala Dynasty of Kamarupa Kingdom, who ruled for the period 990-1015 A.D.
The following description is taken from the copper plate grant of Dharma Pala:
"In his (Brahma P ...
have thrown fresh light on the achievements and date of Ratna Pala. An inscription states that Ratna Pala of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa defeated King
Rajyapala
Rajyapala was the eighth emperor of the Pala dynasty. He succeeded his father Narayanapala. He reigned for 32 years. The Bharat Kala Bhaban inscription is dated in his 2nd regnal year, He was succeeded by his son Gopala III.Sinha, Bindeshwar ...
(908-40 AD) of
Pala Empire
The Pāla Empire was the empire ruled by the Pala dynasty, ("protector" in Sanskrit) a medieval Indian dynasty which ruled the kingdom of Gauda Kingdom, Gauda. The empire was founded with the election of Gopala, Gopāla by the chiefs of Kingdo ...
of Bengal and advanced as far as the
Ganges
The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...
in the heart of Pala empire. This achievement is not mentioned in any earlier record of the family. The inscription mentioned Rajyapala of Bengal, advancing the dates of Pala's reign to the 1st half of the 10th century from the 1st half of the 11th century. The Dacca copperplate inscription states that
Srichandra
Srichandra (reigned 930–975) was the second and most influential ruler of the Chandra Dynasty in eastern Bengal.
Life
After Traillokyachandra, Srichandra ascended the throne, taking the titles "Paramsaugata", "Parameshwar", "Parambhattārak" ...
, the
Chandra
Chandra (), also known as Soma (), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) and Dikpala (guardians of the directions).
Etymology and other ...
king of
Samatata
Samataṭa (Brahmi script: ''sa-ma-ta-ṭa'') was an ancient geopolitical division of Bengal in the eastern Indian subcontinent. The Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman account of Sounagoura is linked to the kingdom of Samatata. Its territory corres ...
-
Harikela
Harikela () was an ancient kingdom located in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, it was an independent township of ancient eastern Bengal, which had a continuous existence of about 500 years. The state of Harikal consisted ...
aided Rajyapala's son
Gopala III
Gopala III, previously known as Gopala II, was the successor to the Pala king Rajyapala in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, and ninth ruler of the Pala line. He was succeeded by Vigrahapala II.
Life
He was the son of Rajyapala by ...
to be crowned king by defeating Kamarupa armies in the
Brahmaputra Valley & in the process, rescuing Rajyapala's wife, whom Ratna Pala had kidnapped & carried away to Kamarupa.
The Baragaon plates, issued in the 25th regnal year of Ratnapala suggests that Brahma Pala abdicated in favour of his son. The author of the inscription extravagantly praised Ratna Pala, describing him as a terror to the
Saka
The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...
king
ince there was no Saka king at Ratnapala's time, the reference may be to the Hindu Shahis who were sometimes represented as the descendants of the Kushan Empire">Kushans
The Kushan Empire (– CE) was a syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan, Eastern Iran, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Kus ...
]; to the Lord of Gurjaras (apparently the Gurjara-Pratiharas of Kanauj); to the Gauda monarch (Rajyapala, 908-40 AD, of Bengal and Bihar); to the ruler of Kerala; to the Vahikas (often spelt
region); to the Tayikas (also spelt Tajika; they were Arabs, no
doubt meaning the
kings. These claims, barring the case of the Gauda king, we poetical exaggerations by the scribe. The basis of such claims was nothing more than the receipt of a present from a source such as a visiting trader.
The Baragaon and
plate grants of Ratna Pala were issued in his 25th and 36th regnal years when the king was residing at
(capital). The Carabari plates, last to be discovered, were issued during the 12th regnal year when the king was at Hadappaka, identified with Hadappesvara (named after the Isvara ie, Siva or Sivalinga worshipped at Hadappa or Hadappaka) and was the capital of the kings of
.
He was the builder of many Siva temples, the donor of much wealth to the Brahmins, the performer of some sacrifices and the like (Indra Pala grant).