Little is known of the early Palas of Bengal until the reign of Gopala in the eighth century. Gopala attained renown from the fact that he was not the hereditary king but was elected. The details of the election are unfortunately not known, it being merely said that Gopala was chosen king to avoid a state of anarchy in the land. There is some reference about Gopala in Buddhist monk Taranatha's book. Taranatha, writing a history of Tibet in the sixteenth century, has referred to this event. He states that Bengal was without a king and suffered accordingly. The local leaders gathered together and elected a king, but on each occasion a demoness killed him on the night following his election.
Finally, Gopala was elected and he was given a club by the goddess Chandi (one of the names of the consort of Shiva) with which to protect himself, and he killed the demoness with this club and survived. The story suggests that Gopala was elected because of his ability as a leader and protector, and in all likelihood he was a follower of a Chandi cult.
