RAMACARITA. How could they marry Kşatriya princesses? 3 of the Ocean God, and not his uncle Vākpāla, whose descendants really reigned. How the subsequent kings of this dynasty belonged to the Samudrakula is a mystery. As time went on, their pretensions seem to have been on the increase, for Vaidya Deva in his Assam inscription describes his liege Lord, Madanapala, as belonging to solar race. Rampalacarita and the Vaidya Deva-prasasti are very late works. In none of the early inscriptions do the Palas advance any such pretensions. They were Plebeians, and so they thought well to remain. A contemporary of Dharmapala, however, calls him as Rajabhata Vamsapatita, that is, the descendant of a military officer of some king [sec infra]. They were made kings by election. The subjects forced Gopāla to accept the The words in Sanskrit hands of the goddess of fortune. How they became kings. can have two interpretations. They may also mean that the subjects forced him to accept revenue or tribute. This is a case of election. Mr. Tawney wrote a paper about elections in ancient India, but this is a historical instance of clection; so the Palas got the kingdom not by conquest, nor by inheritance, nor by marriage. The reason is given thus: Matsyam Nyayamapohitum, to escape from being absorbed into another kingdom, or to avoid being swal- Why were they elected? lowed up like a fish. The state of the country since 730 A.D. was deplorable. After the fall of the king of Gauda, the king of Assam conquered greater part of the Eastern India, and Gauḍa is mentioned by name as one of the countries held by him in subjection at least up to the year 759 A.D. A banished king Jaya-Pida of Kaśmír came to Paundra-Varddhana, obtained the hand of the daughter of a local chief, and freed him from the subjection of his liege Lord (760 or later). Vatsarāja, the Gurjara king, too, is said to have become very proud by acquir- ing the sovereignty of Gauda and Bengal; and by taking away the two Royal umbrellas of Gauda [Ep. Ind., vol. vi, 243]. All this shows how the country was weak and how torn it was by dissensions. Any great power outside Bengal might easily have conquered it. But fortunately there were no such powerful kings near at hand, and so the Bengalis very wisely thought of electing the son of Vappata, a soldier of fortune, to the throne, and saved their independence. This event, I believe, took place shortly after the Kāśmir raid (760 or later). For quarter of a century they had peace, and their country made a good deal of progress; at the end of this quiet time Dharmapāla found opportunities to conquer Kanauj [see infra]. The question may be asked, if they were not Ksatriyas, how could they marry in Ksatriya families, such as Rāṣṭrakūtas, Chedis, and so on? The reason is not far to seek. The term Ksatriya has undergone various changes of meaning. About 400 B.C. it meant a caste. But the puranas are unanimous in saying that the Ksatriyas were all destroyed by Nandas, and this is borne out by a passsage in Savara's 1 Ind. Ant., vol. ix, p. 78. 2 Kalhan puts him between 751-782. But this requires a correction, says Dr. Stein. It may be from 760 or 70 to 800.
