Pāla Dynasty, Pala dynastyruling dynasty in Bihār Bihar and Bengal, India, from the 8th to the 12th century. Its founder, GopālaGopala, was a local chieftain who rose to power in the mid-8th century during a period of anarchy. His successor, Dharmapāla Dharmapala (reigned c. 770–810), greatly expanded the kingdom and for a while was in control of Kannauj. Pāla Pala power was maintained under Devapāla Devapala (reigned c. 810–850), who carried out raids in the north, the Deccan, and the peninsula; but thereafter the dynasty declined in power, and MahendrapālaMahendrapala, the Gurjara-Pratihāra Pratihara emperor of Kannauj in the late 9th and early 10th centuries, penetrated as far as northern Bengal. Pāla Pala strength was restored by Māhīpāla Mahipala I (reigned c. 988–1038), whose influence reached as far as Vārānasi (Benares)Varanasi, but on his death the kingdom again weakened.

Rāmapāla Ramapala (reigned c. 1077–1120), the last important Pāla Pala king, did much to strengthen the dynasty in Bengal and expanded its power in Assam and Orissa; he is the hero of a Sanskrit historical poem, the Rāmacarita Ramacarita of SandhyākaraSandhyakara. On his death, however, the dynasty was virtually eclipsed by the rising power of the Senas, although Pāla though Pala kings continued to rule in southern Bihār Bihar for 40 years. The main capital of the Pālas Palas appears to have been Mudgagiri (Monghyrnow Munger) in eastern BihārBihar.

The Pālas Palas were supporters of Buddhism, and it was through missionaries from their kingdom that Buddhism was finally established in Tibet. Under Pāla Pala patronage a distinctive school of art arose, of which many noteworthy sculptures in stone and metal survive.