Pala dynasty (Kamarupa)

Kamarupa Kingdom
Kamarupa Kingdom
900 CE–1100 CE
	The traditional boundary of the Kamarupa kingdom
Capital	Harruppeshvar (present-day Tezpur), ; Durjaya (present-day North Guwahati), ; Kamarupanagara (present-day North Guwahati)
Religion	Hinduism
Government	Monarchy
Maharajadhiraja
• c900 – c920	Brahma Pala
• c920 – c960	Ratna Pala
• c960 – c990	Indra Pala
• c990 – 1015	Go Pala
• c1015 – c1035	Harsha Pala
• c1035 – c1060	Dharma Pala
• c1075 – c1100	Jaya Pala
Historical era	Classical India
• Established	900 CE
• Disestablished	1100 CE
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Mlechchha dynasty
Kachari kingdom
Chutia kingdom
Baro-Bhuyan
Kamata Kingdom
Ahom dynasty

The Pala dynasty of Kamarupa kingdom ruled from 900 CE. Like the Pala Empire of Bengal, the first ruler in this dynasty was elected, which probably explains the name of this dynasty "Pala". The Hindu orthodoxy drew their lineage from the earlier Varman dynasty and thus ultimately from Narakasura i.e. Bhauma dynasty. The dynasty is unrelated to the previous Varman and Mlecchna dynasties.^[2]

The Palas were the last dynasty to rule Kamarupa. After the collapse of the Pala rule, Kamarupa disintegrated, to be followed in due course by the Ahom,^[3] Chutia,^[4] Kamata,^[5] and Kachari^[6] kingdoms, and the confederate rule of the Baro-Bhuyans.^[7]

History

It is interesting to note that the term "Kamarupa" rarely appeared in the records of the Pala rulers; instead they used Pragjyotisha, the legendary kingdom of the epics, to legitimise their authority.^[8] The Pala kings of Kamarupa assumed the title of paramadaivata paramabhattāraka mahārājādirāja (the imperial title of the Guptas), sri-vārāha (the one who can trace his origin to Varāha) and prāigjyotisādhipati (the ruler of Prāgjyotisa).^[9] The Pala dynasty came to an end when Kamarupa was invaded by the Gaur king Ramapala (c. 1072–1126). Timgyadeva was made the governor of Kamarupa who ruled between 1110 and 1126. Timgyadeva threw off the yoke of the Pala king and ruled independently for some years when he was attacked and replaced by Vaidyadeva under Ramapala's son Kumarapala. Vaidyadeva, who ruled between 1126 and 1140, declared independence within four years of his rule after the death of Kumarapala. Both Timgyadeva and Vaidyadeva issued grants in the style of the Kamarupa kings (three copper plates attached to the seal of the Kamarupa kings by a ring). The work of the Pala dynasty of Kamarupa is reflected in the Madan Kamdev sculpture.

Rulers

Brahma Pala (900-920)
Ratna Pala (920-960)
Indra Pala (960-990)
Go Pala, also Gopalavarman (990-1015)
Harsha Pala (1015-1035)
Dharma Pala (1035-1060)
Jaya Pala (1075-1100)

References

^ (Dutta 2008:281), reproduced from (Acharya 1968).
^ "From a close reading of the royal genealogy, it is apparent that there was no unilineal development of dynasties and definite connection among them. In fact, the Mlecchas and the Pālas denied the validity of previous dynasty for claiming their own legitimacy and the character and identity of progenitor, Naraka, were continuously re-formulated according to the socio-political changes."(Shin 2018:127)
^ "Whereas the rulers of Kamarupa were losing their hold and authority over their possessions owing to the internal dissenssion, they were finally overtaken by a small group of Tai-Shans who later became the lord of the land also became one with the indigenous people in their fight against invaders from the west," (Baruah 1986:172)
^ "Amongst the numerous kingdoms in the upper Brahmaputra valley, which emerged on the political scene following the extinction of the Palas, those of the Chutiyas and the Kacharis, both of whom are indigenous people of Assam, were the most powerful." (Baruah 1986:181)
^ "Kamarupa was reorganized as a new state. 'Kamata' by name with Kamatapur as capital. The exact time when the change was made is uncertain. But possibly it had been made by Sandhya (c1250-1270) as a safeguard against mounting dangers from the east and the west. Its control on the eastern regions beyond the Manah (Manas river) was lax." (Sarkar 1992, pp. 40–41)
^ "Another powerful kingdom that rose into prominence after the fall of the Palas was that of the Kacharis." (Baruah 1986:186)
^ "[A] class of new rulers called Bhuyans rose into considerable prominence following the disintegration of the ancient kingdom of Kamarupa." (Baruah 1986:193)
^ "It is conspicuous that the name Kamarupa scarcely appeared in these records.The Palas seems to have placed more emphasis on a prolonged spatial continuity of the kingdom by adopting Pragjyotisa as the name of their sovereign space. It constituted a part of the Palas' strategy for validating their political power, which was far more complicated than that of previous dynasties."(Shin 2018:36)
^ (Shin 2018:39)

Bibliography

Baruah, S L (1986), A Comprehensive History of Assam, Munshiram Manoharlal
Sircar, D. C. The Bhauma-Naraka or the Pala Dynasty of Brahmapala, The Comprehensive History of Assam, ed H. K. Barpujari, Guwahati, 1990.
Shin, Jae-Eun (2018), "Region Formed and Imagined: Reconsidering temporal, spatial and social context of Kamarupa", in Dzüvichü, Lipokmar; Baruah, Manjeet (eds.), Modern Practices in North East India: History, Culture, Representation, London & New York: Routledge, pp. 23–55
*Saikia, Yasmin (2004). Fragmented Memories: Struggling to be Tai-Ahom in India. Duke University Press. ISBN 9780822333739.

[acharya_map-1] (Dutta 2008:281), reproduced from (Acharya 1968).

[2] "From a close reading of the royal genealogy, it is apparent that there was no unilineal development of dynasties and definite connection among them. In fact, the Mlecchas and the Pālas denied the validity of previous dynasty for claiming their own legitimacy and the character and identity of progenitor, Naraka, were continuously re-formulated according to the socio-political changes."(Shin 2018:127)

[3] "Whereas the rulers of Kamarupa were losing their hold and authority over their possessions owing to the internal dissenssion, they were finally overtaken by a small group of Tai-Shans who later became the lord of the land also became one with the indigenous people in their fight against invaders from the west," (Baruah 1986:172)

[4] "Amongst the numerous kingdoms in the upper Brahmaputra valley, which emerged on the political scene following the extinction of the Palas, those of the Chutiyas and the Kacharis, both of whom are indigenous people of Assam, were the most powerful." (Baruah 1986:181)

[5] "Kamarupa was reorganized as a new state. 'Kamata' by name with Kamatapur as capital. The exact time when the change was made is uncertain. But possibly it had been made by Sandhya (c1250-1270) as a safeguard against mounting dangers from the east and the west. Its control on the eastern regions beyond the Manah (Manas river) was lax." (Sarkar 1992, pp. 40–41)

[6] "Another powerful kingdom that rose into prominence after the fall of the Palas was that of the Kacharis." (Baruah 1986:186)

[7] "[A] class of new rulers called Bhuyans rose into considerable prominence following the disintegration of the ancient kingdom of Kamarupa." (Baruah 1986:193)

[8] "It is conspicuous that the name Kamarupa scarcely appeared in these records.The Palas seems to have placed more emphasis on a prolonged spatial continuity of the kingdom by adopting Pragjyotisa as the name of their sovereign space. It constituted a part of the Palas' strategy for validating their political power, which was far more complicated than that of previous dynasties."(Shin 2018:36)

[9] (Shin 2018:39)

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