Talk:Dharmapala of Bengal

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This Article is Very Carelessly Written

No mention has been made of the fact that the Nesari plates of Rastrakuta Govinda(805 AD)refer to Dharmapala as the king of Vangala. Where was this city? D. C. Sircar writes that there is no evidence for such a city in Bengali literature. But there are many European and other references to Vangala which cannot just be wished away as A. Wink does ( Al-Hind, vol.1, p. 257). Ranajit Pal suggests that Banbhore near Karachi was Vangala[1]. This area was under the control of Dharmapala which accords with the data that he was a ruler of Vangala. Dharmapala certainly ruled modern Bengal but there is no proof of that he was a native of Bengal. History has to be written with greater care. Dharmapala was the suzerain of the Yavana lands. R. C. Majumdar saw this as a reference to Sindh and all the other writers have followed him. But Sindh was a part of Seistan province which also may have been included in the Yavana group. The Editor is totally unaware that there was Kanauj(Kohnouj) and Patali in Karman province. Most significantly, there was a Gour in Fars. This was not known to R. C. Majumdar and it is not safe to accept his ideas about the Yavanas. R. N. Frye writes about the strong Buddhist influence on eastern Iran.

Also it is ignored that Dharmapala was called Rahma by such a learned author as Masudi(Ruhmi of Sulaiman). This has a religious connotation as Rama was described as a Buddhist in Pali literature. The Sailendras whose state was called Ramaratta accepted Dhrmapala as an overlord. This article does not do justice to Dharmapala. mejda —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mejda (talk • contribs) 07:32, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

The reference to Vangala is not referring to a specific city but to the region of Bengal. Just because there are mention of places with similar names does not mean that they are all referring to the same location. Dharmapala was the son and successor of Gopala (who was undoubtedly from Bengal). The realm ruled by Gopala was referred to as rajyam pitram (ie ancestral homeland) in numerous copperplate inscriptions (Bangarh, Monghyr etc) by his descendants who all ruled in some part of Bengal. It is unreasonable to assume that Dharmapala was not from Bengal while his father and his descendents were definately from Bengal. --Reahad (talk) 15:58, 2 July 2010 (UTC)

‘Rajyam Pitram’ may only mean ‘kingdom inherited from father’ but it has to be admitted that the interpretation ‘ancestral homeland’ need not be ruled out. The problem is that the strong Indian influence in the art of southeast Iran in this period may imply an Indian overlordship. Gubaru (Gopala?) is an ancient name in Persian history. Also how does one account for city-names such as Kohnouj, Konarak, Patali, Gour etc. in this area? It has to be remembered that Alexander the Great celebrated his famous 'victory over the Indians' at Kohnouj.

mejda —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mejda (talk • contribs) 01:41, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

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