THE REGIONAL KINGDOMS OF EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIAafter these two great rulers the Palas lapsed back into insignificance for
some time. Their power was restricted to their immediate domain around
Patna and they completely lost their hold on Bengal. Only Mahipala (988–
1038) restored the greatness of Pala rule, although he was temporarily
affected by the northern expedition of the Chola king, Rajendra I. Under
his successors Pala power was reduced by constant fights with the
Kalachuris who ruled the eastern part of what is now Madhya Pradesh. It
seems that the Palas even recognised the suzerainty of the Kalachuris for
some time. While they were thus confronted with powerful rivals in the
west they also faced difficulties in the east where the allodial lords of the
tribe of the Kaivartas put up a valiant resistance to the Pala penetration of
Varendra (northeast Bengal). Three Kaivarta rulers had controlled large
parts of Varendra until Ramapala put an end to Kaivarta power by
cementing an alliance with various neighbouring rulers. In this way he was
able to restore Pala glory for some time, but his weak successors could not
stop the decline of the dynasty.
As usual a tributary prince emerged and put an end to Pala rule from
within. He was Vijayasena, the founder of the Sena dynasty, who first
defeated all other princes who wanted to claim the heritage of the decaying
Pala realm and finally did away with the last Pala ruler, too. Vijayasena’s
successors, Vallalasena and Lakshmanasena (1179 to 1205), guaranteed
peace and stability for Bengal while they sent their troops to Bihar, Assam
and Orissa. But by the end of the twelfth century tributary princes again
emerged as independent rulers. In this period of internal crisis Muhammad
Bakhtyar Khalji, who had earlier conquered Bihar, suddenly captured the
Sena capital, Nadiya, and drove away Lakshmanasena who held on to east
Bengal but could not prevent the establishment of the Sultanate of Bengal
under the Khaljis.
The importance of the Pala dynasty for East India is also due to the role
which the Palas played in the religious and cultural life of the country.
Several centuries of Hindu counter-reformation had greatly reduced the
hold of Buddhism on other parts of India, but the Pala dynasty continued
the tradition of royal patronage for Buddhist religious institutions. The
Palas’ control of the major holy places of Buddhism was very important
for India’s relations with Buddhist countries abroad. In Bengal Mahayana
Buddhism attained its specific Tantric form which was influenced by the
cult of the mother goddess who is still predominant there in her
manifestation as Kali. Mystical and magical cults also grew in Southeast
Asia and in Tibet in this period under royal patronage and the Palas
perhaps set this style. The old Buddhist university of Nalanda retained its
international reputation under Pala rule and the new Buddhist university of
Vikramashila was founded by Dharmapala. Vikramashila mostly attracted
Tibetan monks who translated Indian texts into Tibetan there; Nalanda
remained the ‘Mecca’ of Buddhist scholars of Southeast Asia. Balaputra,