Mahata Devi was the empress consort of
Devapala, the greatest emperor of
Pala dynasty. Her father was
Durlabharaja I
Durlabha-rāja I (r. c. 784-809 CE ) was an Indian ruler belonging to the Chahamana dynasty. He ruled parts of present-day Rajasthan in north-western India as a vassal of the Gurjara-Pratihara king Vatsaraja.
Early life
Durlabha was the son ...
of
Chahamana dynasty.
Mahata Devi probably resided near Jagajjivanpur in
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, the place where her son
Mahendrapala
Mahendrapala (Bangla: মহেন্দ্রপাল) (r. c. 845–860) was the fourth king of the Pala dynasty of the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. He was the son of Devapala and his queen Mahata.
Reign
Mahendrapala has been m ...
's copperplate was discovered. The place is still known as 'Rajar Mayer Bari', meaning 'House of the King's mother.''
Mahata Devi outlived her husband and elder son. She was alive at least until 863, the 3rd regnal year of her younger son
Shurapala I
Shurapala I (also spelt Surapala) was a 9th-century ruler of the Pala Empire, in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. He was the fifth Pala emperor. He ruled for at least 12 years.
Ancestry
Previously, the historians believed that Shur ...
, when she set up a ''
Shivalingam
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional i ...
'' at the celebrated temple of Mahateswara at Varansi, which indicates she was a devout Shaivite despite being married into a Buddhist dynasty. She also gifted two villages to
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
s, from which it is evident that she had access to sizable land property.
See also
*
List of rulers of Bengal
This is a list of rulers of Bengal. For much of its history, Bengal was split up into several independent kingdoms, completely unifying only several times. In ancient times, Bengal consisted of the kingdoms of Pundra, Suhma, Vanga, Samatata a ...
References
{{reflist
863 deaths
Pala kings