The Sanskrit poem 'Ramacharitam', which narrates the story of Rama and of the Pala king Ramapala at the same time, was written by:

The "Ramacharitam" is a Sanskrit poem written by Sandhyakar Nandi in the 12th century CE, in the Pala kingdom of Bengal.

About the Ramacharitam:

• It is a remarkable example of "shlesha" (double meaning or pun) in Sanskrit poetry.
• Each verse can be read in two ways: one meaning tells the story of Rama from the Ramayana, while the other meaning tells the story of the Pala king Ramapala (ruled about 1077-1120 CE).
• It describes how Ramapala recovered "Varendri" (north Bengal), the homeland of the Palas, which had been captured by the rebel Kaivartas led by Divya (Dibbok) and his successors, much as Rama recovered Sita from Ravana.
• The Kaivarta revolt is regarded as one of the earliest recorded peasant uprisings in Indian history.
• Because of its historical content, the poem is an important source for the history of the Pala dynasty.
• Sandhyakar Nandi called himself "Kalikala Valmiki" (the Valmiki of the Kali Age).
• The manuscript was discovered in Nepal in 1897 by the scholar Haraprasad Shastri.

About the Pala dynasty:

• It was founded by Gopala in the mid-8th century, after he was elected king to end a period of anarchy ("matsyanyaya").
• Dharmapala founded the Vikramashila university.
• The Palas were great patrons of Buddhism and of Nalanda University.
• Ramapala was one of the last strong rulers of the dynasty.

Other historical poems in Sanskrit:

• Kalhana: "Rajatarangini", the history of Kashmir.
• Bilhana: "Vikramankadevacharita", about the Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI.
• Banabhatta: "Harshacharita".
• Jayanaka: "Prithviraja Vijaya".
• Jayadeva: "Gita Govinda", a devotional love poem.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Kalhana wrote the "Rajatarangini".
• ✗Bilhana wrote the "Vikramankadevacharita".
• ✗Jayadeva wrote the "Gita Govinda".