Dharmapala was the second Pala emperor of Bengal (Vangala) in the Indian subcontinent. He was the son and successor of Gopala, the founder of the Pala dynasty. Dharmapala was mentioned as the King of Vangala (Vangala-bhūmipat) in the Nesari plates (dated 805 AD) of Rashtrakuta dynasty. He greatly expanded the boundaries of the empire and made the Palas a dominant power in the northern and eastern India.
Dharmapala directly ruled over the present-day Bengal and Bihar, and installed a nominee at Kannauj. The Pala chronicles also claim that several other rulers of North India acknowledged his suzerainty, but these claims seem to be exaggerated. Dharmapala was defeated twice by the Gurjara-Pratiharas, but each time the Rashtrakutas subsequently defeated the Pratiharas, leaving Palas as the dominant power in North India. Dharmapala was succeeded by his son Devapala who further expanded the empire.
