Mahipala

{{For|the Gurjara-Pratihara monarch of the same name|Mahipala I}}

{{Infobox royalty

| image = INDIA, Medieval. Palas. Mahipala I and later. Circa 988-1161.jpg

| caption = Gold coin of the Pala Empire, Mahipala I and later. {{circa|988–1161}}.

| reign = 978–1026{{Cite journal |last=Laha |first=Gopal |date=2017 |title=Revised Genealogy, Chronology & Regnal Years of the Kings of the Pala Dynasty in the Light of the Latest Discoveries, Decipherment and Presentation (750-1200 A.d) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26906092 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=78 |pages=258 |issn=2249-1937}}

| succession = Pala Emperor

| predecessor = Vigrahapala II

| successor = Nayapala

| dynasty = Pala

| issue = Nayapala

| father = Vigrahapala II

| religion = ShaivismAlexis Sanderson (2009). "The Śaiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval Period".

}}

Mahipala (or Mahipala I; {{reign|978|1026}}) was a notable king of the Pala dynasty, which ruled over much of the eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent between the 8th and 12th centuries. He was the son and successor of Vigrahapala II. Mahipala's reign marked a resurgence in fortunes for the Pala empire, whose boundaries were expanded as far as Varanasi. However, his rule was temporarily hampered by the northern expedition of the Chola Emperor, Rajendra I.{{cite book|last1=Kulke|first1=Hermann|last2=Rothermund|first2=Dietmar|year=2007|title=A history of India|edition=4th|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9780415329200|page=118|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V73N8js5ZgAC|access-date=4 September 2015}}{{cite web|title=Pala dynasty|url=http://www.britannica.com/topic/Pala-dynasty|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=4 September 2015}}

Biography

The Palas continued to patronise Shaivism, and epigraphic evidence suggests that Mahipala I and Nayapala were initiated as Shaivites by their royal preceptors. Vigrahapala III's Amagachi inscription describes him as "devoted to Śiva worship", and this tradition continued under his successor Ramapala. Poet Sandhyakar Nandi describes Ramapala's son Madanapala as a devotee of Shiva.{{Citation |last=Mirnig |first=Nina |title=Adapting Śaiva Tantric Initiation for Exoteric Circles: The Lokadharmiṇī Dīkṣā and Its History in Early Medieval Sources |date=2020-07-28 |work=Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions |pages=249–282 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004432802_013 |access-date=2024-02-18 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-43280-2}}

Mahipala was succeeded by his son, Nayapala.{{cite book|last1=Majumdar|first1=Ramesh Chandra|author-link1=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar|title=Ancient India|date=2007|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|location=Delhi|isbn=9788120804364|page=318|edition=8th|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNxiN5tzKOgC|access-date=4 September 2015}}

References

{{succession box

| title = Pala Emperor

| years = 988–1038 CE

| before = Vigrahapala II

| after = Nayapala

}}

Category:Pala emperors