Mahipala extends Palan influence west to Benares (Varanasi) and south along India’s east coast, prompting the Cholas to initiate a military campaign against the Palas in 1021.

...Benares in the heart of opium country, senior British officers direct some two thousand Indian agents who circulate among the poppy districts, extending credit and collecting opium.

Processed under strict supervision at the two Company factories, the opium is packed into wooden chests, each containing forty balls and weighing one hundred and forty pounds.

Bearing the Patna and Benares trademarks, ...