Explain the political achievement of Devapala and Dharmapala.
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Answer:
Explanation:
The reigns of Dharmapala and Devapala was the period of ascendancy of the Pala dynasty. These two rulers consolidated the Pala rule in western and southern Bengal, and Bihar. During their rule Bengal came to be considered for the first time in her history as an important power in northern Indian politics.Pala Rule Gopala established the Pala dynasty in the middle of the 8th century AD. The dynasty ruled Bengal through various vicissitudes for about four hundred years. Though the long rule of the Palas passed through various ups and downs, however, it cannot be denied that their rule was a glorious chapter in the history of ancient Bengal. Their rule can conveniently be divided into several phases:
Dharmapala (c781-821 AD) and Devapala (c 821-861 AD) can be termed as the period of ascendancy; (2) this was followed by a period of stagnancy (c 861-995 AD). Mahipala I (c 995-1042 AD) succeeded in reviving the vigour of the Palas, for which he is often designated as the second founder of the dynasty; (3) then came the period of decline and disintegration, which was, however, halted for a short time by the vigorous rule of Ramapala (c 1182-1124 AD). But after his death the Pala Empire did not last long. The rise of the Senas in the second half of the 12th century AD brought the rule of the Palas to an end in Bengal.
The vigorous rule of Dharmapala and Devapala marked the period of ascendancy of the dynasty. During their rule they had gathered enough strength to engage themselves in the struggle for power in northern India. In order to establish their supremacy in northern India they were engaged in a tripartite struggle with the Western Indian Gurjara-Pratiharas and the South Indian Rastrakutas. At the same time when the Palas rose to power in Bengal, the Rastrakutas wrested power from the Chalukyas in the Deccan and the Gurjara-Pratiharas consolidated their power in Malwa and Rajasthana. A vacuum was created in northern India after it was ravaged successively by Yasovarman and Lalitaditya. For the next two generations a tripartite struggle continued among these three powers for filling up the vacuum and acquiring supremacy in northern India with Kanauj at the centre of its power politics.