Between the seventh and twelfth centuries, India was divided into numerous kingdoms, both small and large. The most important of these were the Gurjara-Pratiharas in the Northwest, the Palas in the Northeast, and the Rashtrakutas in the Deccan Plateau. Between the eighth and tenth centuries these three empires were in regular conflict with each other, primarily to control the central Gangetic Plain and the city of Kanauj. In the broadest sense, the political and economic patterns of the seventh through twelfth centuries GE follow those of the period that preceded them. Different polities gained or lost prominence, but land continued to be the primary source of wealth, with aspiring rulers taking land from their rivals and giving land to their followers, including Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu religious institutions. At the same time, new land was cleared and was converted to agricultural use along the peripheries. This was accomplished by either gifting land to military leaders or religious establishments, or by incorporating hill tribes into the state.
One of the key developments of this period was the increased production of texts, both from within religious orders and, critically, from the political elite. While early texts like the Arthashastra testify to a long-standing tradition of political and dynastic texts in India, the quantity of these texts greatly increased after the sixth century GE. These new texts included elaborate dynastic histories, hagiographies of prominent kings, and plays. To be clear, none of these texts was wholly secular; they made frequent mention of the gods and often extolled the quasi-divine actions of the kings. The primary benefit of these texts is that they provide an alternative view of the religious orders—a view that can be contrasted with sangha’s view of themselves.
Between the seventh and twelfth centuries GE, Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu religious institutions were an integral part of the larger political, economic, and religious world, organizing agricultural production in the peripheries, participating in long-distance trade, and receiving the financial support of kings and other elite. Support of religious institutions was a critical element in the competition between the Pratiharas, Rashtrakutas, and Palas. The Rashtrakutas, for example, made substantial donations of land to the Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain institutions at Ellora (discussed in Chapter 6). The Pratiharas favored Jain and Hindu sects, but also supported Buddhists in their territories. In contrast to the Pratiharas, the Pala rulers practiced and favored Buddhism. In part, this was due to the Pala’s trade ties with dominantly Buddhist states in the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. Pala land grants were critical to the creation and maintenance of several very large monasteries in the Gangetic Plain and the Northeast, including Nalanda, Somapura, Odantapuri, Vikramashila, Jaggadala. Whereas earlier monasteries housed hundreds, these monasteries had resident populations in the thousands and drew Buddhist scholars and novitiates from across Asia. The scale of land controlled by the monasteries was similarly large. Yijing, a late seventh century Chinese pilgrim to India, stated that the over 3,000 monks who lived at Nalanda were provisioned by more than 200 villages that "were offered to them as alms by the kings and monarchs of successive dynasties” (Rongxi 2000:63).
Between the seventh and tenth centuries, Buddhist monasticism gradually faded in northwestern, western, and southern India, as rulers and lay followers gradually shifted their attentions to Hinduism, Jainism, and other religious orders. Buddhism persisted in Northeast India, Orissa, and the Gangetic Plain, primarily due to the support of the Palas and the proximity to heavily Buddhist populations in the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. Centered in Bengal, the Palas were the last major state in India to strongly support Buddhism. The first Pala king was Gopala I (750-780 ce), who ruled over much of Bengal. Under King Devepala (810-850) the Palas greatly expanded their empire, pushing up the Gangetic Plain and southward into Orissa and northern Andhra Pradesh. The fortunes of the empire waxed and waned in the ninth and tenth centuries, often in direct relation to the strength of the Pratiharas and Rashtrakutas. Beginning in the eleventh century, the Palas began to decline in power, in part due to the threats from the Chalukya Empire in the south. In 1095 CE, a Pala tributary named Hemanta Sen rebelled against the Palas and established a new independent state. His successor, Vijay Sen (1095-1159 ce), expanded the Sena Empire across the most of Bengal at the expense of the Palas. Unlike the Buddhist Palas, the Senas were Hindu and primarily supported Hindu institutions. The last Pala king reigned over a nominal territory until 1174 CE. The Senas themselves lost most of their territories in Eastern Bengal at the start of the thirteenth century, as Muhammad of Ghori extended and consolidated Turkic power throughout North India.
World History
