Vigrahapala was a 9th-century ruler of the

Pala dynasty The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...

, in the

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

region of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

. He was the sixth Pala emperor. He reigned for a brief period before becoming an ascetic. Vigrahapala was a grandson of

Dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' (, , ja, 達磨波羅, 護法善神, 護法神, 諸天善神, 諸天鬼神, 諸天善神諸大眷屬) is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "'' dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are a ...

's younger brother Vakapala and son of Jayapala. He was succeeded by his son,

Narayanapala Narayanapala (9th-10th century CE) was the seventh emperor of the Pala dynasty of the Eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, mainly the Bengal and Bihar regions. He was the son of Vigrahapala I by his wife, the Kalachuri princess Lajjad ...

Ancestry

Previously, the historians believed that Shurapala and Vigrahapala were the two names of the same person. However, the discovery of a copper plate in 1970 in the Mirzapur district conclusively established that these two were cousins. They either ruled simultaneously (perhaps over different territories) or in rapid succession. If they ruled in succession, it seems more likely that Shurapala preceded Vigrahapala, since Vigrahapala I and his descendants ruled in unbroken succession. Vigrahapala either dethroned Shurapala, or replaced him peacefully in absence of any direct heir to the throne. The information about him and his ancestors is found in the

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern banks of the river Ganges. It is the 2nd largest city of Bihar by population and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district and Bhagalpur division. Known as the Si ...

copper-plate inscription of his son, Narayanapala.

Reign

Based on the different interpretations of the various epigraphs and historical records, the different historians estimate Vigrahapala's reign as follows: Vigrahapala was of peaceful disposition, and abdicated the throne in favour of his son Narayanpala.

References

{{Authority control Pala kings Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown

Ancestry

Reign

See also

References