Gopala I
8th century founder of Indian Pala Dynasty
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Through Pala Empire, Bengal and Indian subcontinent
Origins
There are no inscriptions or monuments which may be definitely ascribed to the period of Gopala's ascendency to throne. He is known through the later literary references and genealogies in inscriptions. According to the Manjusrimulakalpa, after the end of the Gupta rule in Bengal, people elected Bhadra. He destroyed the Brahmana feudal lords, but anarchy still prevailed. After this, Gopala became king. He was of menial caste (dasajivinah).
Other historians like Dr. Shyam singh shashi believes the Pala Dynasty to be of Gadariya Caste
Manjusrimulakalpa was quite near in time to the establishment of the rule of the Palas and should be considered more authentic than other references which are of very late period. In Ballal charita and in Dharmamangala of Ghanarama (both sixteenth century works), the Palas are described as low Kshatriyas. Pala's supposed relationship with the Kaivartas or Mahishyas also points to the same direction.
The name of his father was Vapyata, and his grandfather Dayitavishnu. A eulogy on the Khalimpur copper plate of his son Gopala describes his father Vapyata as a Khanditarati or "killer of enemies", and his grandfather Dayitavishnu as Sarva-vidyavadata ("all-knowing" in the sense "highly educated"). The later texts of the Pala period, such as Ramacharita, mention the Pala rulers as the kings descended from the Samudrakula or oceanic community.
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Election
After the death of the Gauda king Shashanka, a century of anarchy and confusion ensued in Bengal. This situation is described by the Sanskrit phrase "matsya nyaya" ("fish justice" i.e. a situation in which the big fish prey on the smaller ones). It was during these times that Gopala I came to power around 750 CE. The Khalimpur Copper-Plate Inscription of Dharmapala mentions this thing about his father, Gopala I, in verses 6 & 7 about the election:-
Matsyanyayam apakitum prakritibhir Lakshmiya karam grahitah Sri Gopala iti kshitisa-sirsam chudamani-tatsubha
[To put an end to the state of affairs similar to what happens among fishes, the prakriti made the glorious Gopala, the crest jewel of the heads of kings, take the hand of Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune]
The Sanskrit word prakriti is suggestive of "people" in general. The Tibetan Buddhist lama Taranatha (1575–1634), writing nearly 800 years later, also writes that he was democratically elected by the people of Bengal. However, his account is in form of a legend, and is considered historically unreliable. The legend mentions that after a period of anarchy, the people elected several kings in succession, all of whom were consumed by the Naga queen of an earlier king on the night following their election. Gopala, however managed to kill the queen and remained on the throne.
The historical evidence indicates that Gopala was not elected directly by his subjects, but by a group of feudal chieftains. Such elections were quite common in contemporary tribal societies of the region. The stanza in the Khalimpur copper plate is a eulogy, and uses the word prakriti figuratively.
Based on the different interpretations of the various epigraphs and historical records, the different historians estimate Gopala's reign as follows:
Reign and legacy
According to Manjusrimulakalpa, Gopala died at the age of 80, after a reign of 27 years. Not much is known about his life or military career, but at the time of his death, Gopala had bequeathed a large kingdom to his son Dharmapala (770-810 CE). No records are available about the exact boundaries of Gopala's kingdom, but it might have included almost all of the Bengal region (Gaur, Varendra and Banga) and parts of Magadha.
Religion
A few sources written much after Gopala's death mention him as a Buddhist, but it is not known if this is true. Taranatha (1575–1634) claimed that Gopala was a staunch Buddhist and a major patron of Buddhism. He also claimed that Gopala had built the famous Buddhist monastery at Odantapuri.