The lords of the Mahabodhi: a small Buddhist principality that owes its income to pilgrims, not to land.
Burmese kings have repaired the temple (the campaign board has their works at Bodh Gaya), a Sinhalese monastery stands beside it, and Tibetan, Chinese and Kashmiri visitors keep the rest of the road in funds. The Pithipati hold the Seat as a trust: they take the offerings, appoint the guardians, and give the visitors a gate. They have no army that matters, and the Turks, when they come to Bihar, are a danger to them above all because their wealth is portable.
Who he is
- Name
- not named for 1200
- Title
- Pithipati (lord of the Seat, the Vajrasana)
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- A Buddhist chieftain line of Magadha that begins, in English Wikipedia's Pala account, with Vallabharaja, an adventurer who took Bodh Gaya, became a Buddhist as Devaraksita and married a daughter of the Pala Mahanapala. Later names: Jayasena (a 13th-century image inscription) and Buddhasena, whom the Tibetan Dharmasvamin finds at Bodh Gaya in 1234 to 1236.
- Confidence
- low
English Wikipedia: Pala Empire and Mahabodhi Temple. The Bodh Gaya inscriptions of Pithipati kings we could not open; names we half remember from them are not checked and not used.
Overlord
Not known: the Pala-line king at Gaya or the Senas, who use their era at Bodh Gaya.
What it holds
- Bodh Gaya: the Mahabodhi temple and the Vajrasana, the Sinhalese monastery, the Burmese works
- The right to receive offerings and to appoint temple guardians
- Estates round Bodh Gaya (grants in the Pala manner)
How it was acquired
By the founding of the line by Vallabharaja (Devaraksita) in Pala times; by marriage into the Pala house.
Allies and rivals
The Pala-line king at Gaya; the Khayaravala; the great viharas; the king of Pagan, who sends repairers and gifts; the Sinhalese sangha; Tibetan pilgrims. The danger is the Ghurid captain at Bhagwat and Bhiuli.
How things stand that morning
The lord of the Seat is a Pithipati whose name the sources do not give for this year. The temple is under repair and in use. No Turkish force has yet reached Bodh Gaya; when the raiders come to Magadha (the dates run 1197 to 1206) they hit the fortress-monasteries first. In 1234 to 1236 Dharmasvamin still finds Buddhasena in office, so the line survives the raids.
Wealth
Offerings of pilgrims and the gifts of kings abroad; endowments of villages; bronze and stone images sold to visitors.
Military
A retinue and temple guards. No numbers.
Threats
- A Turkish raid on the wealth of the temple
- Absorption by the Pala-line king or the Senas
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1234 to 1236The Tibetan pilgrim Dharmasvamin (Chag Lotsawa) finds Buddhasena, the Pithipati king, at Bodh Gaya and Nalanda mostly deserted.Depends on: The line has survived the Turkish raids. Stopped by: A raid reaches Bodh Gaya earlier.
Places of note
- Bodh Gaya: The Mahabodhi and the Vajrasana.
Where the sources disagree
- The assignment names "the Pithipati chiefs of Gaya". The Pithipati (lords of the Pitha, the Seat) are the lords of Bodh Gaya; Gaya town itself is the Pala-line king's seat. We keep the two apart.
Evidence: A founder legend, two later names and the Tibetan visit; nothing dated for 1200.
On the map: A small disc; the lordship is the trust of the temple, not a territory.
Primary sources for Magadha and Anga
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Nasirean Generations (a general history of the Muslim dynasties), Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani (completed 1260 at Delhi). The fullest narrative of the Ghurid conquest of northern India. Read online
- The Nasirid Generations: a General History of the Muslim Dynasties, Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani (1259 to 1260, at Delhi). The Ghurid court's own history, by a man born in 1193 whose family served the sultans of Ghur and Ghazna. Read online
- Inscriptions of Bengal, vol. 3, Various (the Sena kings' chanceries), edited by N. G. Majumdar (copper plates of the 10th to early 13th centuries; edited 1929). The one-volume edition of the Sena copper plates, the main documentary evidence for Bengal around 1200. Read online
- Epigraphia Indica: inscriptions of the Chandelas, Paramaras, Gahadavalas, Chaulukyas, Senas and Eastern Gangas, Various (edited for the Archaeological Survey of India by J. Burgess, E. Hultzsch, F. Kielhorn, Sten Konow, F. W. Thomas and successors) (inscriptions of the 1180s to 1210s; the series ran from 1892). The main record series for the Hindu kingdoms of northern India around 1200. Read online
- The History of India as Told by its Own Historians: the Muhammadan Period, vol. 2, Various (Ibn al-Athir, Hasan Nizami, Awfi, Juzjani and others), edited by H. M. Elliot and John Dowson (the sources date from the 1190s to the 14th century; the collection was published in 1869). A one-volume anthology of the Arabic and Persian accounts of the Ghurid conquest. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.