The Vihara is one of the 30 monasteries built by King Dharmapala during his regime around 820 A.D., second king of Pala dynasty and related to Atish Dipankar Srigyan, a child prodigy like Gautama Buddha.
While at Dharmapala Vidyalaya she won the American Field Service Scholarship which allowed her to study in the USA at Canyon del Oro High School Tucson, Arizona spending a year as an exchange student.
Though his son Dharmapala shifted his capital to Magadha, Pundranagar continued to thrive under the Palas.
Sultan Muzaffar Shah II Ibni Almarhum Raja Mahmud of Siak (1636–1654) son of Raja Asif Ishak ibni al-Marhum Sultan Khoja Ahmad al-Marhum Kasab, of Siak, by his wife, Tun Dharmapala Johara Tun Kechil daughter of Tun Isap Misai bin Tun Mahmud, Bendahara Sri Raja Tua of Johor.