Pallava
Pallavas were a South Indian dynasty. Pallavas established their capital at
Kanchipuram in the 4th cent. CE. They grew wealthy and strong during the reign of
Mahendravarman I (
571 â€"
630 CE) and
Narasimhavarman I (
630 â€"
668 CE). They dominated the northern parts of Tamil region till the end of the 9th century, for about six hundred years.
Throughout their reign they were in constant conflict with both
Chalukyas in the north and the Tamil kingdoms of
Chola and
Pandyas in the south. The Pallavas engaged in constant warfare with the Chalukyas of Badami and were finally eclipsed by the Chola kings in the 8th century CE.
Pallavas are most noted for their patronage of Dravidian architecture, seen even today in
Mahabalipuram. These powerful rulers, who left behind fantastic sculptures and magnificent temples, which survive to this very day, established the foundations of classical Dravidian architecture.
There have been a number of speculations regarding the origin of the Pallavas. There are some claims based on historical,
anthropological, and
linguistic evidence indicating that the Pallavas were related to the Pahlavas of Iran. It is possible that a wave of
Pahlava/
Kambhoja tribes of Indo-Iranian descent migrated Southward and first settled in Krishna valley. This region is called
Palnadu or Pallavanadu even today. Pallavas later extended ther sway upto Northern Tamil region and established a flourishing empire.
[. ]
See also: Dr. Samar Abbas, India's Parthian Colony, May 2003 but the pallavas performed Vedic rituals which the Pahlavas opposed.[1].There are other opinions supporting their indigenous origins state that they were hereditary feudatory rulers under the
Vakatakas.
[See Durga Prasad, History of the Andhras up to 1565 A. D. , Nilakanta Sastri, K.A., A History of South India ]The Early Pallavas claimed to be
Brahmins of
Bharadwaja gotra. The early Pallavas styled themselves as
Brahma Ksnatriyas (Brahmins in Pursuit of arms). Later by the fifth century CE, the Pallavas were regarded as
Kshatriyas. They were followers of the Brahmanical religion. In line with the prevalent customs, some of the rulers performed the
Aswamedha and other
Vedic sacrifices. They had made gifts of lands to gods and Brahmins.
Later
Mahendravarman I and probably his father were adherents of the
Jain faith. Mahendravarman later switched to
Hinduism under the influence of the Saiva sint
Appar.
[Appar - http://www.tamilnation.org/sathyam/east/saivaism/63nayanmars.htm#_VPID_31]Early Pallava
The history of the early Pallavas has not yet been satisfactorily settled. The Prakrit and the Sanskrit charters on which we base our knowledge of these early Pallavas merely mention the royal names, their non-political grants and nothing about their reign or their political achievements. The earliest documentation we have on the Pallavas is the three copper-plate grants.
[Now referred to as the Mayidavolu, Hirahadagalli and the British Museum plates - Durga Prasad, History of the Andhras up to 1565 A. D., P. G. Publishers, Guntur (1988)] All three belong to Skandavarman I and written in the
Prakrit language.
Skandavarman seems to have been the first great ruler of the early Pallavas. He extended his dominions from the
Krishna in the north to the
Pennar in the south and to the
Bellary district in the West. He performed the
Aswametha and other Vedic sacrifices. At the beginning of their rule. Manchikallu, Mayidavoiu, Darsi and Ongodu were the centres of their activity
Kanchipuram gained prominence as the centre of their political and cultural activity by the second quarter of the fourth century CE.
Vishnugopa (
350 -
355 CE), was defeated by
Samudragupta around 350 CE. With Samudragupta's expedition, the Paliava eclipse set in.
In the reign of
Simhavarman IV, who ascended the throne in 436 CE the fallen prestige of the Pallavas was restored. He recovered the territories lost to the
Vishnukundins in the north up to the mouths of the Krishna. The early Pallava history from this period onwards is furnished by a dozen or so copper-plate grants. These are in the
Sanskrit language. They are all dated in the regnal years of the kings.
[The absolute chronology for these dates is derived from the [Saka]] dates in the Jain manuscript on cosmology Lokavibhaga]With the accession of
Nandivarman (
480 -
500 CE), the decline of the early Pallava family was seen. The
Kadambashad their aggressions and even the headquarters of the Pallavas was occupied by them. In coastal Andhra the
Vishnukundins established their ascendency. The Pallava authority was confined to
Tondaimandalam.
With the accession of Simha Vishnu father of Mahendravarma I. probably in 575 A.D., the glorious imperial Pallava phase begins in the south.
The following chronology is gathered from these three charters:
[See Nilakanta Sastry, K.A History of South India (OUP) reprinted 2000]* Simhavarman I
275 -
300 CE
* Skandavarman
* Visnugopa
350 -
355 CE
* Kumaravishnu I
350 -
370 CE
* Skandavarman II
370 -
385 CE
* Viravarman
385 -
400 CE
* Skandavarman III
400 -
436 CE
* Simhavarman II
436 -
460 CE
* Skandavarman IV
460 -
480 CE
* Nandivarman I
480 -
510 CE
* Kumaravishnu II
510 -
530 CE
* Buddhavarman
530 -
540 CE
* Kumaravisnu III
540 -
550 CE
* Simhavarman III
550 -
560 CE
Later Pallavas
The incursion of the
Kalabhras and the confusion in the Tamil country was broken by the
Pandya Kadungon and the Pallava
Simhavishnu. The Pallava kingdom began to gain both in territory and influence over the South Indian peninsula. Pallavas exercised control over their southern neighbours of Cholas and Pandyas. But their history is marked by the continuous conflict with the
Badami Chalukyas.
Narasimhavarman I and
Paramesvaravarman I were the kings who stand out with glorious achievements in both military and architectural spheres.
*
Simhavishnu 555 -
590 CE
*
Mahendravarman I 590 -
630 CE
*
Narasimhavarman I (Mamalla)
630 -
668 CE
*
Mahendravarman II 668 -
672 CE
*
Paramesvaravarman I 672 -
700 CE
*
Narasimhavarman (Raja Simha)
700 -
728 CE
*
Paramesvaravarman II 705 -
710 CE
*
Nandivarman (Pallavamalla) II
732 -
796 CE
*
Thandivarman 775 -
825 CE
*
Nandivarman III 825 -
869 CE
*
Aparajitha Varman 882 -
901 CE
 |
Shore Temple at Mamallapuram built by th Pallavas. (c. eight century) |
Pallavas were pioneers of south Indian architecutre. The earliest examples of temples in the Dravidan style belong to the Pallava period. The earliest examples of Pallava constructions are rock-cut temples dating from 610 - 690 CE and structural temples between 690 - 900 CE. The greatest accomplishments of the Pallava architecture are the rock-cut temples at
Mahabalipuram. There are excavated pillared halls and monolithic shrines known as rathas in Mahabalipuram. Early temples were mostly dedicated to Shiva. The Kailasanatha temple in
Kanchipuram built by
Nandhivarman is a fine example of the Pallava style temple.
* Durga Prasad, History of the Andhras up to 1565 A. D., P. G. PUBLISHERS, GUNTUR (1988)
* Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1955). A History of South India, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002).
* South Indian Inscriptions - http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/
