ancient and middle Bengal

Shashanka was the first independent king of Bengal. Under the leadership of Shashanka, a powerful state was created in Gauda. His capital was Karnasubarna in Murshidabad district. empire of Shashanka was stay of vast areas of North and West Bengal. Shashanka conquered various empires. From Medinipur inscription it is known that Shashank conquered Dandabhukti, Utkal. Dandabhukti meaning Datan of Medinipur district. Utkal meaning place of Balasore. Kangod meaning Ganjam district of Odisha district. All these places were ruled by feudal kings under Shashanka. Perhaps Mahapratihara Shubhkirti ruled in Dandabhukti, Somdatt ruled in Utkal, second Madhab ruled in Kongad, they ruled as feudal lords of Shashanka. King second Madhavaraja of the Sailodbhava dynasty recognized Sashanka as his overlord.

Shashanka created a powerful empire with almost all the provinces of Bengal, some parts of Bihar and Orissa. After that enemy country of Gaur was Kannauj attacked by Shashanka. At this time Kanauj was ruled by King Grahavarman of Maukhari dynasty. The kings of Maukhari dynasty repeatedly invaded Bengal. Before Shashanka's rule of state.

During this time Shashanka and Malava King Devagupta became friends. On the other hand, Grahavarman married Rajyashree, daughter of King Prabhakar Vardhan of Pushyabhuti clan of Thaneswar. As a result, relationship developed between the two dynasties. This was followed by a war between the two alliances.

Shashank was a worshiper of Shiva. Many historical believe that he was opposed to Buddhism. According to Hiuen Tsang's account, Shashanka cut down the sacred Bodhi-Brikha at Buddha Gaya. He also destroyed various sacred places and sacred symbols of Buddhism. Expelled the Buddhist monks from the city of Kushinagar. Many historians believe that Shashanka did no harm to Buddhism. Buddhism spread in Bengal during his time.

After Shashanka's death, his son Manavdev sat on the throne of Bengal(Gaur). But his reign lasted only 8 months and 5 days only.

The period between the death of Shashanka and the beginning of the Pala dynasty in Bengal history was a turbulent. At this time there was no strong king in the whole province. Different man ruled was different places. The legal system was broken down in all the Bengal. In this time weak people was torture by strong people. In this time business was almost at a standstill. Bengal was attacked repeatedly by enemy countries. Theft and robbery were daily occurrences. The events of this period in the province are called Matsyanyaya era. This anarchy in Bengal is ridiculed in the Buddhist text Aryamanjusrimulakalpa.

Gopala was the first king of Pala dynasty. Gopala was the elected king. Gopala was elected by whom, there are differences of opinion among historians. From the fourth sloka of Khalimpur copper plate of Dharmapala, Prakrutipunj chose Gopala as king to remove anarchy from Bengal and establish peace and rule of law. It is not clear who is called Prakrutipunj here. Many historians think Prakrutipunj means the people of all provinces. Again, many historians believe that Prakrutipunj means some important feudal lords, scholars, army chief, high-ranking officials, etc of all provinces. After Gopal became king, the Matsyanayer era in the country was end and the rule of law was established in the whole country. Thus began the Pala dynasty.

Where the ancestors of the Sen kings lived and how they came to Bengal is not clearly known. It is assumed that the ancestors of the Sena kings were natives of South India and the Chandra dynasty king Virasena was their ancestor. According to Devpara script of Vijaysen said Virasena was their ancestor. After the collapse of the Pala rule in Bengal, the Sena rule began and the Sena dynasty ruled Bengal for several years.