India/Bangladesh: A sculpture of Buddha in the Attitude of Victory over Mara, Bengal, Pala Dynasty, c. 11th century CE. Photo by BrokenSphere (CC BY-SA 3.0 License). The Pāla Empire, one of the major middle kingdoms of India, existed from 750–1174 CE. It was ruled by a Buddhist dynasty from Bengal in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, all the rulers bearing names ending with the suffix Pala (Modern Bengali: পাল pāl), which means protector. The Palas were often described by opponents as the Lords of Gauda. The Palas were followers of the Mahayana and Tantric schools of Buddhism.