Jain Journal 2007 01

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 17

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JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLI, NO.3 JANUARY 2007
the Gurjara Pratīhāra rulers. As stated by Dr. N. Dutta, "It seems that thcy (the Saindhava Srāvakas) obtained the Patronage of the Gurjara (Pratīhāra) rulers who asserted their sovereignty in the East during the Pāla rule."?
Probably this severe military disaster had shaken the firm conviction of some Pāla rulers in their hereditary religious belief in Mahāyāna Buddhism. This allegation can be substantiated by epigraphic evidence too. The emblem of Dharma Chakra’, symbol of Buddhism, has been found inscribed in the only copper plate grant of Nārāyaṇa Pāla, but the hereditary epithet “Parama Saugata” of the Pālas is nowhere found engraved in his inscriptions. Though Nārāyaṇapāla had ruied over the destiny of the Pāla Kingdom for more than half a century, there is no record that he had ever built a monastery for the Buddhist monks. No Buddhist Acārya, no scholar worth mentioning had flourished in the Pāla Kingdom during his reign.
Nārāyaṇapāla's son Rājyapāla (917-952AD) ruled over the truncated Pāla Kingdom for about 35 years and many inscriptions of his reign have come to light. But in none of his inscriptions the hereditary emblem of the dynasty, “Dharma Chakra” and the “invocation” to the Buddha have been found engraved.
The temporary collapse of the Pāla Empire brought its wako the decline in religious activities of the Buddhist monasteries for more than a century. The opponents of the Buddhists i.e. thc Brāhmanical Hindus and the non Brāhmanical Jainas fully utilized this opportunity to their advantage.
It will not be out of place to mention that the Pala Kings i.c. the Rāstakütas and the Pratīhāras were toierant too, but they betrayed no inclination to Buddhism. They i.e. the Rāstrakūtas and Pratīhāras,
7. R.C. Mazumdar - Age of Imperial Kanauj p. 273
N.R. Roy - Bāngālīr Itihās (Adiparva) p. 438 9. N.N. Dasgupta, Bāngaly Bauddhadharma p. 72 10. R.C. Mazumdar - The Age of Imperial Kanauj p. 28