[14] The Pala stronghold was located in Bengal and eastern Bihar, which included the major cities of Gauḍa, Vikramapura, Pāṭaliputra, Monghyr, Somapura, Ramavati (Varendra), Tāmralipta and Jagaddala.

[19] At its zenith under emperors Dharmapala and Devapala in the early ninth century, Pala empire was the dominant power in the northern Indian subcontinent, with its territory stretching across the Gangetic plain to include some parts northeastern India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

[14][20] Dharmapala also exerted a strong cultural influence through Buddhist scholar Atis Dipankar in Tibet, as well as in Southeast Asia.

After a short-lived decline, Emperor Mahipala I defended imperial bastions in Bengal and Bihar against South Indian Chola invasions.

Palas built grand Buddhist temples and monasteries (Viharas), including the Somapura Mahavihara and Odantapuri, and patronised the great universities of Nalanda and Vikramashila.

[24] A eulogy on the Khalimpur copper plate of 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").

[26] Tibetan Lama Taranatha in his History of Buddhism in India described that Gopala was born of the seed of a certain tree-god from the womb of a kshatriya woman.

[24][30] André Wink mentions that the founder, Gopala was elected, and "definitely not of royal blood but probably of a line of brahmans which transformed itself into kshatriyas".

Dharmapala was forced to surrender and to seek alliance with the Rashtrakuta emperor Govinda III, who then intervened by invading northern India and defeating Nagabhata II.

[40] He passed his empire intact to his younger brother Shurapala I, who held sway over a considerably large territory encompassing Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, proven by his Mirzapur copperplate.

Kantideva of Harikela (eastern and southern Bengal) also assumed the title Maharajadhiraja, and established a separate kingdom, later ruled by the Chandra dynasty.

The rulers of Bengal who were defeated by Rajendra Chola were Dharmapal, Ranasur and Govindachandra, who might have been feudatories under Mahipala I of the Pala Dynasty.

[44] Rajendra Chola I also defeated Mahipala, and obtained from the Pala king "elephants of rare strength, women and treasure".

[21][15] The successor and older son of Vighrahapala III by his wife Yauvanashri, Mahipala II's reign is well-documented by Sandhyakar Nandi in Ramacharitam.

He was supported by his maternal uncle Mathana and cousin Sivarajadeva of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, as well as several feudatory chiefs of south Bihar and south-west Bengal.

Ramapala maintained friendly relations with the Chola king Kulottunga to secure support against the common enemies: the Ganas and the Chalukyas.

He also held back the aggressive design of the Gahadavala ruler Govindacharndra through a matrimonial alliance, by marrying off his cousin Kumaradevi to the king.

[21][15] In the region of Magadha, Vallabharāja, an adventurer from Ratanpur led a campaign against the Ramapala with his base of operations in Bodh Gaya.

[21] Kumarapala's son, Gopala IV ascended the throne as a child, and according to the Rajibpur copperplate inscription, his uncle Madanpala acted as his regent.

During Madanapala's rule, the Varmans in east Bengal declared independence, and the Eastern Gangas renewed the conflict in Orissa.

Though the Palas conquered a vast region in North India at one time, they could not retain it for long due to constant hostility from the Gurjara-Pratiharas, the Rashtrakutas and other less powerful kings.

According to the Khalimpur copper plate issued by Dharmapala, this court was attended by the rulers of Bhoja (possibly Vidarbha), Matsya (Jaipur region), Madra (East Punjab), Kuru (Delhi region), Yadu (possibly Mathura, Dwarka or Simhapura in the Punjab), Yavana, Avanti, Gandhara and Kira (Kangra Valley).

[21] By the time of Madanapala's death, the Pala kingdom was confined to parts of central and east Bihar along with northern Bengal.

Noted Buddhist scholars from the Pala period include Atisha, Santaraksita, Saraha, Tilopa, Bimalamitra, Dansheel, Dansree, Jinamitra, Jnanasrimitra, Manjughosh, Muktimitra, Padmanava, Sambhogabajra, Shantarakshit, Silabhadra, Sugatasree and Virachan.

The Palas continued to patronise Shaivism, and epigraphic evidence suggests that Mahipala I and Nayapala were initiated as Shaivites by their royal preceptors.

A 1026 CE inscription recording renovations of Buddhist structures at Sarnath by Pala princes states that Mahipala I had them built "hundreds" of temples of Shiva, Chitraghanta, and other deities in Varanasi.

[12] Madanapala's queen Chitramatika, gifted land to a brahmana named Vateshvara-svami Sharma as his remuneration for reciting the Mahabharata.

The texts on medicine include Sandhyakar Nandi's semi-fictional epic Ramacharitam (12th century) is an important source of Pala history.

Gradually, Hindu figures come to outnumber Buddhist ones, reflecting the terminal decline of Indian Buddhism, even in east India, its last stronghold.

The Palas recruited mercenary soldiers from a number of kingdoms, including Malava, Khasa, Huna, Kulika, Mithila, Kanrata, Lata, Odra and Manahali.