The 7th-century CE Sanskrit play Mattavilasa Prahasana, set in Kanchipuram, was widely performed in temple theatres in Kerala and Tamil Nadu during festivals. It satirised the various religions and religious practises of the time. Satyasoma and Nagasena were among its main characters.
More astonishing is that Mahendravarman I, a prominent Pallava monarch, wrote the play. Though a great work of literature, the play also shows life during those times. Corruption is mentioned in courts, temple towers, Buddhist monasteries, and flower shops. More crucially, it shows the fall of Buddhism and Jainism in the area amid a strong Hindu revivalist movement.
The Pallavas arose as a power in the 3rd century CE, somewhere between history and mythology, and over the following 600 years, they laid the foundation for a vast cultural outpouring and construction frenzy that shaped most of the South.
Their origin is controversial. Since ‘Pallava’ seems to be a Sanskritized variant of Middle Persian ‘Pahlava’, Parthian, epigraphist, and historian Rai Bahadur Venkayya first attributed the dynasty to Parthian adventurers who arrived in India in the 1st century BCE. However, this idea was refuted subsequently.
According to historian R Sathianathaier, the Pallavas were from “Tondaimandalam” (the area between the Penna and Ponnaiyar rivers, their primary territory). Pallava family stories include an ancestor descended from Ashwatthama, the Mahabharata hero, and his marriage with a Naga princess, according to historian and folklorist D C Sircar.
Most academics, including K A Nilakanta Sastri, think they were feudatories of the Satavahanas in Andhradesa (north of the Penna River in present-day Andhra Pradesh), the south-eastern half of their kingdom, and became independent as Satavahana authority fell. The fact that early Pallavas spoke Prakrit as their official language supports this idea.
Early, middle, and late Pallava dynasties exist. They ruled from northern Andhra Pradesh to the Kaveri River in the south. The Hirahadagali copper plate inscription, the oldest Pallava inscription, located in Bellary district, Karnataka, suggests Simhavarman I was the first king. Sivaskandavarman issued it in 283 CE to add a fresh land grant to his father’s garden donation to Brahmins, who is simply called ‘Bappa’ in the inscription.
The early Pallava emperors ended Ikshvaku control in the Eastern Deccan and conquered it by the middle of the 4th century CE, although nothing is known about them. In his Allahabad Prashasti (330–375 CE), Samudra Gupta describes Pallava monarch Vishnugopa of Kanchi, who was vanquished and freed by the Gupta Emperor of Magadha. For 200 years, the Pallavas grew in power and territory. However, political boundaries in early ancient Tamilakam remained unclear. According to archaeologist V Selvakumar, the Pallavas founded the first typical Southern state in the 6th century CE.
As shown in the Hosakote plate inscription (in Bangalore district) by Ganga king Avinita, Simhavarman III (c. 550–560 CE) was friendly with the Western Ganga dynasty and married them.
Simhavarman III had two sons: Simhavishnu succeeded the Pallava throne at Kanchi, while Bhimavarman settled in South-East Asia, perhaps in Vietnam and Laos. Bhimavarman governed Kambhojadesa (now Cambodia) from Bhimapura. More later.
Later Pallavas: Kingdom Growth
Simhavishnu (c. 575–600 CE) begins the Later Pallava period in India. He defeated the Kalabhras and expanded Pallava sovereignty to the Kaveri River from the Cholas. He captured Malaya and Sri Lanka with a naval invasion and made Kanchipuram his capital. Tamil culture began spreading to Eastern colonies from the oceans. The stone carving at the Adivaraha Mandap at Mamallapuram’s rock-cut cave temple depicts Simhavishnu I accompanied by his queens.
His son Mahendravarman I (600-630) succeeded Simhavishnu. He was born to a princess from Andhra Pradesh’s Vishnukundin dynasty, according to French Southern Indian archaeologist G Jouveau Dubreuil.
Scholar, painter, poet, builder, and musician Mahendravarman I led the Pallavas to new heights.
During his reign, Mahendravarman I promoted art and architecture. The earliest stone temples with murals were made. The rock-cut Mandagapattu Tirumurti Temple’s inscription calls him ‘Vichitrachitta’ and says the cave temple was created without wood, brick, cement, or metal. The oldest Pallava Grantha-script rock-cut Sanskrit inscription is from Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu.
Mahendravarman I also built the Mamallapuram lighthouse named ‘Olakaneswar’ or ‘Olakkanath’ (‘flame eye’). This hilltop Shiva temple features a tiny hole on the roof where a 1.5-foot oil jug was placed. Every night, oil was burned to turn the shrine into a beacon for sailors.
Many think Mahendravarman I was a Jain who converted to Shaivism. This was due to Nayannar Tamil saint Appar. Scholars noted that Kanchipuram sowed the Bhakti movement, a broad religious renaissance. His reign marked the demise of southern Jainism and Buddhism. Besides Sanskrit, Tamil became popular during his rule.
Great Builder Narasimhavarman I
Pallava-Chalukya and Pallava-Pandya battles began under Mahendravarman I and intensified under his son Narasimhavarman I (r. 630–668 CE). Chalukyan King Pulakesin II ravaged northern Pallava regions and forts. Both kingdoms fought multiple wars without success. Around 642-43 CE, Narasimhavarman I and his General Paranjothi attacked Vatapi (later Badami), fought and perhaps murdered Pulakesin II, and wrecked the city so much that it was never a capital again.
An inscription from the Mallikarjunadeva temple in Badami from Narasimhavarman I’s 13th regnal year confirms the Pallava occupancy of Vatapi.
The enormous Mamallapuram complex is Narasimhavarman I’s greatest contribution to Pallava architecture.
Talacayanam, a fishing community, became Mamallapuram. The Pallavas built a hilltop castle and a royal fleet to defend the port.
The Pallavas were known for employing descriptive honorific names, or ‘birudas’, to honour Narasimhavarman I, such as ‘Mamalla’ or ‘Mahamalla’ (‘the great wrestler’).
This UNESCO World Heritage site contains the elaborate Descent of the Ganges rock sculpture, the monumental Pancha Rathas, the enigmatic Shore Temple, and the Seven Pagodas. A tsunami in the 13th century reportedly engulfed Mamallapuram. Ironically, a 2004 tsunami and the receding waters uncovered underwater structure temples, which are being examined.
The influences Mamallapuram absorbs and spreads make it culturally relevant. Kanchipuram was the Pallava capital, while Mamallapuram was their wealth centre.
Pallava rulers sold cotton to China, Babylonia, and Egypt. Spices, valuable stones, and medicinal plants were brought to Java, Sumatra, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, China, and Burma.
Merchants from other places flocked to Kanchipuram to trade and formed Manigramam organisations after obtaining a permit. Pallava coins featured a two-masted ship to symbolise nautical operations and a bull as the dynasty’s emblem.
SE Asian Founding Kingdoms
Not just items were exported. The Pallava dynasty may have founded Champa (Central and Southern Vietnam), Funan (parts of Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia), and Chenla (Laos).
One of the earliest epigraphies in South-East Asia is the 7th-century CE Vo Cahn inscription from Central Vietnam’s Vo Canh hamlet. Pallava-Grantha Sanskrit inscription.
The Tang dynasty of China designated Narasimhavarman II (r. 700–729 CE) the General of South China in the 8th century CE to defend against the rising Tibetan Empire. Before returning, a Pallava diplomat was given a flowery silk gown, a golden girdle, a fish-shaped purse and seven other items by the Chinese Emperor.
Narasimhavarman II patronised Sanskrit poet Dandin for years. The majestic Kailasanathar Temple in Kanchipuram was erected by Shiva devotee Narasimhavarman II. He decorated the temple foundation with 244 birudas, including the iconic ‘Rajasimha’.
Tamil Nadu’s magnificent temples, notably Brihadeeswara (constructed by Raja Raja Chola between 1003 and 1010 CE) at Tanjore, were modelled on Pallava models. First-known metal representations of Dancing Shiva and Nataraja from the 7th-8th century CE are also attributed to the Pallava dynasty.
In 642 CE, Chinese explorer Hiuen Tsang praised Kanchipuram for its lush land, abundant harvests, and valiant people who valued truth and study. Though Buddhism and Jainism were declining during the Later Pallavas’ rule, cultural interactions were still common in the court. The 6th-century CE monk Bodhidharma, who founded Shaolin kung fu in China, was considered the son of a Pallava monarch. He abandoned royalty for Buddhism. Chinese nicknamed him ‘Damo.’
State management was good under the Pallavas. Language expert J G Bühler interprets the Prakrit phrase ‘alonagulachchobham’ on several inscriptions as ‘free from salt troubles’. This means salt mining was royally monopolised. Weaving was another major local industry. The Pallavas maintained their extensive irrigation system of canals, tanks, and wells with special committees.
Another Pallava-Chalukya fight in 731 CE killed Pallava monarch Paramesvaravarman II, who left no successor. For the kingdom to survive, a party of nobles and military commanders was despatched to Champa (now Central and Southern Vietnam), where the Pallavas’ distant ancestors governed. Pallavamalla, 12, became King Nandivarman II.
He descended from Bhimavarman, the son of Simhavarman III, who had moved to Vietnam about the 6th century CE and founded a new Pallava dynasty.
After the Simhavishnu line died out, Pallava dominance ended. The following monarchs faced Rashtrakuta, Pandya, and Chola assaults, reducing Pallava domains and causing economic turmoil. In c. Aparajita Varman, the final Pallava dynasty emperor, was slain in a fight against Chola ruler Aditya I in 897 CE, ending their dominion.
Dr. N P Unni translated 1974 dialogue.
Cover image: John Gantz’s watercolour of Descent of the Ganges (Arjuna’s Penance) rock sculpture, c. 1825
In our ‘The History of India’ series, we highlight the numerous fascinating events, ideas, people, and pivots that moulded us and the Indian subcontinent. We study archaeological facts, historical studies, and modern literature to grasp our multiple layers.
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