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2021-05-24T16:33:20Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox royalty
|name = Ballala Sena <br> বল্লাল সেন
|predecessor = [[Vijaya Sena]]
|successor = [[Lakshmana Sena]]
|dynasty = [[Sena dynasty|Sena]]
|father = [[Vijaya Sena]]
|mother =
|spouse = Ramadevi
|issue = Roopsundari & Kamaladevi
|reign = 1160 – 1179
|birth_name =
|birth_date =
|birth_place =
|death_date =
|death_place =
|date of burial =
|place of burial =
|religion =
}}
'''Vallalasena''' or '''Ballala Sena''' ({{lang-bn|বল্লাল সেন}}; reign: 1160–1179), also known as Ballal Sen in vernacular literature, was the second ruler of the [[Sena dynasty]] of [[Bengal]] region of the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name=bpedia>{{cite book |last=Misra |first=Chitta Ranjan |year=2012 |chapter=Vallalasena |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Vallalasena |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> He was the son and successor of [[Vijaya Sena]], and ended the [[Pala Empire]] by defeating [[Govindapala]].<ref name="sen">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra Nath |year=2013 |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |pages=35–36 |isbn=978-93-80607-34-4}}</ref>

Ballala Sena married Ramadevi a princess of the [[Western Chalukya Empire]] which indicates that the Sena rulers maintained close social contact with south India.<ref>Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib by Nitish K. Sengupta p.51</ref>

He is the best-known Sena ruler and consolidated the kingdom. He might have completed the conquest of North Bengal and also conquered Magadha and Mithila. According to a tradition in Bengal, Ballala Sena's kingdom consisted of five provinces, viz., Banga, Barendra, Rar, Bagri (possibly a portion of lower Bengal), Mithila and Delhi.Ballal Sen was descended from the royal family of Bengal, who proceeded to Delhi, and was proclaimed emperor of Hindoostan.<ref>'''Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany''' https://books.google.com.bd/books?id=ILRAAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA41&lpg=PA41&dq=dhee+sen+of+delhi&source=bl&ots=OfWC0r7jCh&sig=ACfU3U1ULfYO38-9Z5Vj06trnFgLJFmk1w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji17eCsrHpAhVXxTgGHUYDBcwQ6AEwC3oECAgQAQ#v=snippet&q=Ballal%20sen%20delhi&f=false</ref> But neither the two inscriptions that survive from this region, nor the two great literary works, which were attributed to him, viz., Dan Sagar and Adbhut Sagar, allude to his military victories. On the other hand, these refer to his scholastic activities and social reforms. Ballala Sena is associated with the revival of orthodox Hindu practices in Bengal, in particular with the establishment of the reactionary tradition of [[Kulinism]] among [[Bengali Brahmins|Brahmins]] and [[Bengali Kayastha|Kayasthas]]. The Brahmins were classified into [[Kulin Brahmins|Kulin]], Śrotriya, Vamsaja and Saptasati; the [[Bengali Kayastha|Kayasthas]] were classified into [[Kulin Kayastha|Kulin]] and [[Maulika Kayastha|Maulik]], but there is no historical authenticity. His marriage to Ramadevi, the Chalukya princess also indicates that the Sens maintained the kingdom inherited from his father, which included the present day Bangladesh, the whole of West Bengal and Mithila, i.e., portions of North Bihar. According to a cryptic passage in Adbhuta Sagara, Ballala Sena, along with his queen, retired in his old age to the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna leaving his son, [[Lakshmana Sena]], with the task of both maintaining his kingdom and completing his literary work.

According to a Sena epigraph, Ballala was an author. He wrote ''Danasagara'' in 1168.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/23496866?seq=21#metadata_info_tab_contents Phyllis Granoff, My Rituals and My Gods: Ritual Exclusiveness in Medieval India, ''Journal of Indian Philosophy'', Vol. 29, No. 1/2, Special issue: Ingalls Festschrift (April 2001), pp. 109-134]</ref> And in 1169, he started but did not finish writing ''Adbhutasagara''.<ref name=bpedia/> In ''Adbhutasagara'', it was mentioned that Ballala Sena conquered Mithila while [[Vijaya Sena]] was still alive.<ref name=bsen>{{cite book |last=Chowdhury |first=AM |year=2012 |chapter=Sena Dynasty |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sena_Dynasty |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> Besides he introduced the practice of ''[[Kulinism]]''.<ref name=bpedia/>

==See also==
* [[List of rulers of Bengal]]
* [[History of Bengal]]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box |
before=[[Vijaya Sena]] |
title=[[Sena dynasty|King of Sena Dynasty]], [[Bengal]] |
years=1160–1179 |
after=[[Lakshmana Sena]]
}}
{{s-end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sena, Ballala}}
[[Category:Sena dynasty]]
[[Category:History of Bengal]]
[[Category:Rulers of Bengal]]
[[Category:1179 deaths]]

Ballāla Sena - Revision history

imported>Inqilābī at 16:33, 24 May 2021