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Jhe Madras University Historical Series HI
HISTORY OF THE PALLAVAS OF KANCHI

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SIMHAVISHN1I AND HIS QCBENS
I Page ST-

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HISTORY
OF THE
ALLAVAS OF KAN CHI
BY
R. GOPALAN, m.a.,
University Research Student, 1920-1924,Sub-Librarian, Connemara Publie Library, Madras
EDITED FOR THE UNIVERSITYWITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY
S. KRISHNASWAMY AIYANGAR, m.a., hony. Ph.D.,
Professor of Indian History and Archeology, Madras University,
Honorary Correspondent of the Archaological Survey of India
31«Mn949
PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS
1928

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PRINTED IN INDIABY GEORGE KENNETH AT THEDIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS—1928. C13638

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CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction ... ... ... ... ... ix
CHAP.
I. Introductory, History of Previous Re-search and Sources of History for the
Pallavas ... ... ... ... 1
*
II. Theories of the Origin of the Pallavas:
Pre-Pallava History of Kanchipura ... 15
III. Early Pallavas of the Prakrit Records. 32
IV. Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records. 41
V. Contemporary Political Powers. The
Salankayanas, Kadambas, etc. ... 70
1 VI. The Pallava Ascendency—' The Dynasty of
, SlMHAVISHNU ' THE REIGN OF SlMHAVISHNU
AND Mahendravarman I ... ... 79
VII. Narasimhavarman I (Mahamalla) to Raja-
simha ... ... ... ... 97
VIII. Dynastic Revolution. Hiranyavarman andhis Successor Nandivarman Pallava-
MALLA ... ... ... ... ... 113
IX. Successors of Pallavamalla ... ... 132
X. General Considerations of Pallava Rule
in South India ... ... ... 146
APPENDICES
(A) A Chronological Index of Pallava Inscriptions ... 163
(B) Extract from the Mahavamsa ... ... ... 215
(C) Extract from the ' Avantisundarikathasara ' ... 221Special Notes by Editor ... ... ... 229
Errata ... ... ... ... ... ... 233
Index ... ... ... ... ... ... 235

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vi CONTENTS
I PAGE
ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
Statue of Simhavishnu with ' his Queens in theAdivaraha Temple at Mahabalipuram ... Frontispiece
Statue of Mahendravarman I with his Queens in
the same Temple ... — ••• ••• 88
aMap of South India showing Distribution of PallavaRock-cut Temples bearing Inscriptions ...At end

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WORKS CONSULTED
Aiyar (K. V. S.) : Historical Sketches of Ancient Dekkan.
Archceological Reports of Mysore.
Archceological Survey of India Annual Reports for 1906-7.
Beal: Buddhist Records of the Western World.
Bombay Gazetteer.
Carr (Capt.) : Desc. and Historical Papers on the Seven Pagodas.
Coomaraswami (A.K.) : A History of India and Indonesian Art.
Crole : Chingleput Manual.
Epigraphia Indica.
Efiigraphia Carnataca.
Fergusson (J.) and Burgess (J.): Cave Temples in India.
Fergusson : History of Indian and Eastern Architecture.,
Fleet : Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts.
,, : Gupta Inscriptions.
Indian Antiquary.Indian Historical Quarterly.Journal of Indian History.Journal of the Mythic Society.Jouveau-Dubreuil (G) : Archaeologie du Sud de V Inde (1914).
: Ancient History of Deccan (1921).
: Dravidian Architecture.
: Pallava Antiquities.
: Pallavas (1917).
: Pallava Painting.Kanakasabhai (V.) : The Tamils Eighteen hundred Years Ago.Krishna Sastri (H.) : Two Statues of Pallava Kings and Fiveflallava Inscriptions on a Rock-temple at Mahabalipuram.' Mem. Arch. Sur. of Indiaf, No. 26.

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Vlll WORKS CONSULTED
Rrishnaswami Aiyangar (S.) : Ancient India (1911).
,, ,, : The beginnings of South Indian
History (1917).,, ,, : Early History of Vaishnavism in
South India.,, ,, : Some Contributions of South
India to Indian Culture (1924)-,, ,, : Origin and Early History of the >'
Pallavas of Kaiichl.,, ,, : Manimekhalai in its Historical
Setting.
Longhurst (A. H.) : Pallava Architecture. Parts I & II.1 Mem.
Arch. Sur. of India ', Nos. 17 & 33.South Indian Epigraphy—Annual Reports.The bifluences of Indian Art (1925). By Strzygowski (J.) and
others.The Madras Journal of Literature and Science.
The Mahavamsa. l
Nalayira Prabandam.Rea (A.) : Pallava Architecture.Rice (L.) : The Mysore Gazetteer. 2 Vols.
,, : Mysore and Coorg from Inscriptions.Sentamil.
Sewell : List of Antiquities in the Madras Presidency. 2 Vols. >South Indian Inscriptions, Vols. I-V.
Srinivasa Aiyangar (P. T.) : History of Pallavas. (Tamil.)Srinivasa Aiyangar (M.) : Tamil Studies^—-^Taylor (The Rev. William) : Oriental Historical MSS.
2 Vols.
Transactions of the Second and Third All-India Oriental Con^ .ference—1924.
Travancore Sanskrit Series LV. The Mattavilasaprahasdna ofSri Mahendravikramavarman.
Vaidya (C. V.) : A History of Medieval Hindu India.
/

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INTRODUCTION
The following pages embody the work of Mr. R. Gopalan, m.a.,a Research Student at the University, who took up forhfe subject the History of the Pallavas of Kanchi. Heworked through his full term, and the thesis incorporateshis work on the subject. The thesis of just a little over 16,0pages constitutes a dessertation on the Pallavas, which takesus as far as we can proceed on the subject with the material atour disposal. Many of the difficulties in the subject have beenbrought nearert to solution by the work of a number ofscholars, all of which is considered in the work. It does notpretend to have solved all questions connected with the historyof'the Pallavas finally, but it may be stated that Mr. Gopalan'swork carries us as near to an up-to-date history of the Pallavasas*, in the circumstances, is possible.
Our purpose in this introduction is to draw attention to thesalient features of the thesis and indicate points where morelight would be welcome. Such advance as was possible in thestudy of the subject within the last year or two is also in-corporated with a view to completing the work of Mr. Gopalanand to invite examination and criticism by those interested inIndian Historical Research.
The name Pallavas has been a problem for scholars, and hasreceived attention from time to time from several of them,offering explanations of various kinds ; the doubt and thedifficulty alike have arisen from the fact that a race of peoplecalled ' Pahlavas ' were known and are referred to as such alongwith the Sakas and others, both in the North-west of Indiaand nearer in the North-western coast of the Dakhan. This,in literary texts sometimes takes the alternative form ' Pallava',And thus two forms, ' Pahlava ' and ' Pallava ' occurring side byside,-give colour to the assumption that the two words areidentical. They are indeed identical in form, but do not pre-clude the possibility of another word assuming this identicalB

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X INTRODUCTION
form. The word " Pallava' as it' applies to the rulers ofKanchi is undoubtedly and invariably a later form. We donot meet with the form ' Pahlava? in connection with thePallavas of Kanchi in any record of'their time. The questiontherefore would naturally arise whether we need necessarilyregard the name ' Pallavas' as applied to the rulers of Kanchias at all equivalent to the other ' Pallavas ' either as a wordor in regard to what the word stands for. The wordas applied to ' Pallavas ' in the first instance seems to be atranslation of the Tamil words ' Tondaiyar'and ' Tonda-man ', and this finds confirmation in some of the copper-platecharters, which do bring in tender twigs of some kind in con-nection with the eponymous name ' Pallava'. This un-dotibtediv is a later use of the term, but gives the indication thateven at that comparatively late period, the traditional notionwas that they were not foreigners, such as the Pahlavas wovddhave been. In all the material that has been examined, thereis nothing to indicate either the migration of a people or evenof a family that migh have ultimately raised itself into adynasty from the North-west, so that the assumption of aconnection between the one set of people and the other restsupon the mere doubtful ground of a possibility, whereas thetranslation or adaptation of a Southern word into Sanskrit isvery much more than a possibility, as indeed a word like' Dravida ' or ' Dramida ' would clearly indicate. The distinc-tion that Rajasekhara makes between the Southern Pallava andthe North-western Pahlava seems in the circumstances to bea crucial indication that in the estimation of scholarly folk ofthe ninth and tenth centuries, 'the two were to be regarded asdistinct from each other. The foreign ongin^oXthe Pallavastherefore seems to have no ground to supportjt.
The Pallavas seem nevertheless to have been foreign to thelocality as far as our evidence takes us at present Therulers of Kanchi had continued to be known as Tondamans"all through historical times. The]people of the localityjweresimilarly known as Tondaiyar, the region occupied by the peopleconsequently Tondamandalam. These names are all traceable
/ . • '

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Introduction ki
in South Indian literature in the period of prominence of thePallavas and even before. The name Pallava however is usedgenerally in the charters ever since the Pallavas issuedcharters, so that historically speaking we would be justified ifwe took Pallava and Tondaman to be synonymous, and thisreceives support in the use of the compound expressionin one of the poems of Tirumangai Alvar, ' the Pallava, whois the ruler of the Tondaiyar' (Pallavan Tondaiyar K011).Therefore it is not as if literature did not know the term;much rather literary use regarded the two as synonymous, sothat the Pallavas, whoever they were, were Tondamlns, rulersof Tondamandalam undoubtedly.
So far as the Pallavas of the charters are concerned, whetherthe charters be issued in Prakrit or in Sanskrit, they aretermed, the Pallavas of Kanchi, though several of the chartershappened to be issued from localities comparatively far to thenorth of Kanchi. Several of the places in which their inscrip-tid'ns and copper-plate charters have been found, or fromwhich these were issued, are capable of location from theBellary District eastwards up to the River Krishna in the north,Even so they seem to exclude the region which mightgeographically be described as the region of the Nalla Malaisand the Pacha-Malais extending southwards along themountainous tracts of the Eastern Ghats till we come pastTirupati into Chittoor, and the Bay of Bengal. From theJsangam literature so-called of Tamil, we are enabled to makethe following distribution of peoples, if not exactly of rulersand dynasties. The Pandya country was in the extremesouth extending from coast to coast. The Chera extendednorthwards from it along the coast stretching into the interiorindefinitely, the actual eastern boundary varying from time totime almost up to the frontiers of Karur. Therefrom wentnorthwards,up to the borders of the great forest the territoryknown to Tamil literature as Koiikanam (Konkan), over whichruled, a particular chieftain known as Nanmin till he wasoverthrown by the Cheras. The east coast region, however,beginning with the River VelJar flowing across the state of

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xii INTRODUCTION
Piidukottah now and emptying itself into the Bay of Bengalwhich marked the orthodox southern boundary of the Cholas,constituted the Cholamandalam which actually extended north-wards therefrom to as far as the River South Pennar wherebegan the division known as Aruvanadu, which extendednorthwards along the coast almost as far as the NorthernPennar. This last division fell into two parts, Aruvanadu orAruva South and Aruva Vadatalai or Aruva North. Theregion set over this in the interior including: perhaps even aconsiderable part of what is marked off as Aruvanadu consti-tuted the Tondamandalam, a division occupied by theTondayar and belonging to them. It is this Tondamandalamthat was dominated by Kanchi and extended vaguely north-wards as far as Tirupati, which seems to have marked offthe northern boundary, which sometimes extended farthernorthwards quite up to the northern borders of the PulicatLake, the region round Kalahasti on one side of it at any rate,being borne in the old accounts even now as TondamanMagatii. We have evidence of an old chieftain by nameTiraiyan ruling over the territory dominated by Vengadam orTirupati whose capital was in a place called Pavattiri (Reddi-palem in the Gudur Taluk of the Nellore District). At onetime this region was known as Kakandinadu, ' submerged bythe sea,' Kakandi being the name of the Chola capital, Puhar,because of the semi-historical ruler, Kakandan. It seems asthough this territory was a new conquest to which was giventhe name from the capital of the conquering rulers. Whetherthe name was actually so given to it or no, it is evident thatthe region was ruled by a Tiraiyan chieftain who is referred toin the poems of the AhanznUru as Tiraiyan -merely without aqualifying adjunct. The Chola Karikala is given credit intradition which has come down to us for having- clearedforests, constructed tanks and* made other irrigation works,,and thus introduced civilization in Tondamandalam, which tillthen remained, from the point of yiew of the Chola country,uncivilized. Chola viceroys were thereafter appointed atKanchi, and the territory ruled over by the Viceroy at Kanchi

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Introduction xiil
is generally referred to as Tondamandalam. What istraditional in the story finds confirmation in the Sangam poemPattinapalai and in another poem by the same authorPerumbanarrupadai, which had for its hero the TondamanIl.arh-Tiraiyan as he is known to literature. He is described inthe poem as of Chola birth and as a powerful ruler of Kanchiand is ascribed a descent from the Cholas, nay in fact thefamily of Rama, as in fact in the later Pauranic genealogy ofthese Cholas some of the Ikshvaku rulers are made to figure.This traditional connection is on a footing with that betweenthe Ikshvakus and the Gurjara Pritiharas of Kanauj. Duringthis period and almost contemporaneously with theTondaman-Ilam-Tiraiyan, the territory of the elder Tiraiyan seems to havebeen held in power by a chieftain generally associated withVengadam and described ordinarily by the name Pulli, chief ofthe»Kalvar or, as the correcter reading would warrant, Kalavar.The forest region therefore in the middle seems to haveconstituted a block inhabited by the people Kajavar who hadtheir tribal ruler with headquarters at Vengadam. That is the' position that we derive from the Sangam literature of Tamilas such. Tondaman-Ilam-Tiraiyan passed away and with himSangam literature as well perhaps, and we are left in the darkaltogether as to what had befallen Kanchi or the territorydependent thereon. That is the Tamil side of the evidencefrom the Sangam literature leaving aside the question of theage of the Sangam for the present.
On the other side of it, the region round Adoni is describedin early inscriptions as Satahani Ahara, sometimes as Satava-hani Rashtra perhaps giving us the indication that it was asettlement of Satavahanas, which may be recent or early. Itprobably indicates that the Satavahanas were perhaps notexactly native to the locality, but acquired the territory andg£ve it their name to mark a new acquisition unless it be thatother people called it by that name as the homeland of theSatavahanas. In either case, we find the Satavahana rulers onthis border of the Tamil country, and one of the inscriptionsof Pulumavi mentions a great Satavahana general, Maha

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xiv INTRODUCTION
Senatipati Skandanaga, probably1 an earlier governor of atroublesome border country. The records of the Pal lavas simi-larly have reference to this region, and are couched in a formlike the Satavahana inscriptions in regard to language, thedetails of the definition of time, and even such details as do occurin regard to the very nature of the administration itself. Theprovenance of the ship-coins of lead or potin sometimesascribed to the Pallavas, but more generally taken to be Safe-vahana coins, in the region extending from the NorthernPennar to the Southern gives an indication of an effort of theSatavahana to bring this region under their authority. Thereferences to the successful struggle against the Aryans, whichsome of the Chola monarchs claim to themselves as well as theMalayaman ruler of Tirukovilur perhaps is a reflex of thiseffort on the part of the Satavahanas. When the Pallavastherefore emerged from this region—and we are given the infor-mation in the earliest Pallava charter that the first greatPallava ruler of the locality referred to as Bappa Deva mSdea free distribution of a hundred thousand ox ploughs, etc., weseem to be introduced to an effort at civilizing the localityappearing very like an extension of the effort of Karikala tocivilize Tondamandalam itself. This will appear clearly fromthe sequel. The Pallava charters themselves seem to argue aconnection with the Satavahanas of a more or less intimatecharacter, political as well as institutional. This seems clearfrom the Prakrit charters much more pronouncedly thanperhaps even the Sanskrit ones. The conclusion to which theepigraphists have arrived that the Pallavas of the Prakritcharters were earlier and ought so to be regarded seems wellwarranted by the circumstances of the"case and the characterof the documents as such. That these early rulers issued theircharters in Sanskrit and Prakrit indifferently at the same time,and must be regarded as the same people is a conclusion whichwhile it may cut the gordian knot seems to have little to justifyit on the basis of the facts of the position. Superficial rjaleo-graphical resemblances cannot be held to upset the morecertain evidence of institutional continuity to which the Prakrit

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INTRODUCTION XV
? charters unmistakably point. Since the Pallavas issued theircharters in Prakrit and of a style like that of the earlier Sata-vahana charters, does it not seem reasonable to argue that theearly Pallavas of the Prakrit charters were officers of theSatavahanas, or at least officially connected with them anddependent upon their authority? It seems therefore reasonableto argue that the Satavahana governors of the south-easternfrontier gradually extended their territory, civilizing it as theyconquered it, introducing the arts of agriculture and ultimate-ly made themselves masters of the locality and extendingsouthwards when the Tamil powers weakened to take intotheir territory Kanchi and Tondamandalam. It was the con-quest of this that gave them the standing to make themselvesreal rulers and whatever of title was wanting in it was madegood ultimately by a marriage which brought along with it afurther addition to the territory. This becomes clear both fromthe account that Mr. Gopalan has given of succeeding eventsas well as from the analysis of these inscriptions which he hasprovided in the appendix. The Pallavas of the Prakrit charterscall themselves rulers of Kanchi. So do the Pallavas of theSanskrit charters. But at the outset those Pallavas that issuedthese Sanskrit charters lay claim to having acquired their royalposition by an influential marriage with a Naga princess andby that means became ' possessed of a wife and a kingdomsimultaneously '. This could only mean that the Naga alliance.brought in an accession of territory which put their claim toindependent rule on a really more legitimate footing than thatof mere conquest or occupation, which might have beenregarded as a mere act of usurpation.
In the empire of the Satavahanas which began to break upearly in the third century, the dismemberment seems to havebeen due somewhat earlier to the provincial governors settingthemselves up in some kind of independence. The south-western block seems to have remained in its integrity thelatest** while the aggressions of the Kshatrapas in the northand north-west to some extent, and the advance of the Vaka-takas from the middle to, a larger extent, deDrived them of what

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xvi INTRODUCTION
was the headquarters block of the Satavahana empire. Theeastern and south-eastern portion must similarly have separatedthemselves, and we find on the farther side of the Krishnariver the Salankayana first and Vishnukundins later occupyingthe territory north of the Krishna. There was perhaps similardisintegration noticeable further south along the East coast, sothat when (about a century after the passing away ofAndhra rule completely), Samudragupta's invasion came south, <there were many kingdoms in the region which submitted tohis authority and accepted a feudatory position to his over-lordship. A ruler of Kanchi by name Vishnugopa figures inthe list, and although he is not called a Pallava in the Samu-dragupta inscription—we have no right to expect this whereevery ruler is simply defined by references to his capital, not tohis family or dynasty and Vishnugopa was ruler of Kanchi—leaves but little doubt, arid the occurrence of a number* ofVishnugopas in the list of Pallava rulers of Kanchi leaves usin no uncertainty that this Vishnugopa was as well a PalTavaruler. It is this disturbing influence of Samudragupta's inva-sion that introduced a change, which necessitated the succeed-ing ruler of Kanchi to make an effort at legitimizing his ownparticular position as ruler of Kanchi. This was done, in allprobability, by a marriage alliance with the heiress of thesouth-western block of the Satavahana territory, the territorydependent upon the viceroyalty of Banavasi. The rulers wereknown generally as Chutu Nagas, and, if a princess of thal^family had been married to a Pallava, it would be a Nag aalliance that would give at the same time a sort of a claim to theterritory of which she was heiress to the Pallavas. Otherwisethe overlordship claimed by the Pallavas- and acknowledgedreadily by the Gangas, and none the less acknowledged thoughless readily by the Kadambas, would be inexplicable. Mayura-sarman almost shows himself, rebel against Pallava authority.The Ganga rulers readily acknowledged it, two of theirkings having been installed by their Pallava overlords Simha-varman and Skandavarman. This means that the Pallavasclaimed authority over the whole of the territory of the

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INTRODUCTION xvn
Satavahanas in the south, and that is what really accounts forthe implacable enmity between the Great Pallavas and the earlyChalukyas, who became rulers of the territory in the immediateneighbourhood of the kingdom of Banavasi of the Kadambas.It seems, thefore, clear that the Pallavas began as officersof the Satavahanas and ultimately rose to undisputedpossession of the territory of Kanchi, the right to which theystftengthened by an alliance with the heiress of the southern
' block of the Satavahana territory, thus in a way becomingtitular descendants of the Satavahanas over the whole of thesouthern region .of Satavahana territory including in it theirown new conquest, the territory of Tondamandalam dependentupon Kanchi.
From what is stated in the foregoing pages, it would havebecome clear that the Pallavas of the charters starting from thesouth-eastern marches of the Satavahana territory graduallyoccupied the region of Kurnool, Nellore and part of theCuddapah Districts, and extended southwards till they graduallyappropriated the town of Kanchi itself and the territorydependent thereon, in other words, what is known to theTamils as Tondamandalam. In this process of gradualconquest and appropriation of the territory intervening thesouth-eastern frontier of the Andhra kingdom and the northernviceroyalty of the Cholas, they must have dislodged the peoplewho were in occupation of the territory under the elder Tiraiyanof Pavattiri, and latterly the chiefs of Vengadam, of whom
"Pulli's name is familiar to the Sangam literature. It is thisdislodgement of the tribe of people known hitherto as Ka\var,but more appropriately speaking, Kalavar, that brought aboutthe disorder in the territory lying immediately to the south ofthe Nellore District extending southwards to the banks of theKaveri. It is this region that gets involved in the Kajabhra1trouble and the process of expansion of the Kajabhras isreflected in the disorder and unsettlement which is noticeable
1 For a detailed account of the Kajabhras see my paper ' The Kala-bhra interregnum and what it means in South Indian>History ' presentedto the International Congress of Orientalists held at Oxford, August 1928.
C

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XV1U INTRODUCTION
even in the kingdom of the Pallavas of the Sanskrit charters.The period beginning therefore with the middle of the thirdcentury and extending onwards is. the period of these migra-tions of the Kalabhras from their original home in a generalsouthward movement, which overturned the territory ofTondamandalam, created confusion and disorder and broughtabout even the ultimate extinction of the well-establishedmonarchies of the Tamil land. It is a movement like whatis actually under reference in the details that we get of aKalabhra interregnum, as the epigraphists call it, from theVelvikudi plates of the Pandyas of the latter half of the eighthcentury a.d.
Any reasonable investigation of this particular questionrequires a general idea of the whole position. Withoutassuming too much, we may take it that these are known factsin regard to the Pallavas, The first, according to generallyaccepted opinion, is that the earliest of them issued charters inPrakrit much in the style of the Satavahana charters? ofwhich we have knowledge of the localities concerned. Threeor four generations of these Pallavas happen to be known.The Allahabad Prasasti of Samudragupta makes mention of aVishnugopa of Kanchi. Without pausing to enquire whetherthis Vishnugopa was a Pallava or no—there is nothing in thecontext of the inscription to indicate that he was not a Pallavaas no ruler is mentioned by his dynastic name, but all of themare associated with their capitals—Vishnugopa-must have beena ruler of Kanchi contemporary with Samudragupta. Thismay be taken to be the second established fact. Then it isthat we come upon a confused dark period where more lightwould certainly be welcome. But soon after, for a couple ofhundred years, we find a dynasty of rulers, theorder of whosesuccession, we cannot as yet fix very definitely. These rulersfor some reason or other issued their charters always inSanskrit, and called themselves invariably rulers of Kanchi,although some of their charters were issued from various' victorious camps ' of which there are as many as three or fourcapable of location in the Nellore District, that is, the region

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INTRODUCTION XIX
north of Tondamandalam proper. With these few main facts,which may be taken as established, we have to build upthe history of the period from such glimpses as we get ofdetails by settings them in a reasonable order on the basis ofwhat is generally known. One general fact of Pallava historyof this period—the period of the Sanskrit charters—is that it wasa period of some amount of confusion, in which the successionto the throne itself could not have, been in any very regularestablished order. There had been wars to the north, andwars to the south, and confusion in the interior of the territoryof the Pallavas themselves. That seems to have been a periodin which the Kadambas rose to power and the Gangas cameinto historical view on the one side. The Cholas almost passedinto oblivion and the Tamil country suffered some kind of aconfusion, as to the nature of which we have been in the,darktilULhe Velvikudi plates threw some light upon it by statingcategorically that a certain set of rulers, at the head of thepeople Kalabhras, overthrew the Tamil rulers of the south, thefamous three crowned kings of Sangam literature. What isthe cause of all this confusion and what is it that could satis-factorily explain all the facts mentioned above categorically ?We have a specific lead in the Velvikudi plates for this, namely,that the Kajabhras came into the Tamil country as far south asthe territory of the Pandyas, and upset the settled order to theextent of destroying a Brahmadfya gift (a free gift of land totBrahmans) which in orthodox parlance implies the destructionof a settled order of rule by the creation of a. very considerableamount of confusion in the administration. If we could knowsomething of these Kajabhras, we may possibly throw somelight upon the causes of all the confusion in the historyof the Pallavas during the period. For this again, thereis a certain amount of light that we can derive from theVelvikudi plates themselves. The plates were issued byan individual sovereign, who restored the grant to thelivingarepresentative of its original donee on satisfactory proofthat the village was originally granted in the manner claimed.His father, generally known to epigraphists by the titles

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xx INTRODUCTION
Termaran Rajasimha, we know, beyond doubt, was a con-temporary of Nandivarman Pallayamalla (dr. a.d. 717 to dr.a.d. 782). Alloting him to somewhere about the middle ofthe long reign of Nandivarman, we may roughly place himin about a.d. 750 or a.d. 740. We want six generations tocome to the period when the Pandya country emerged fromout of the Kalabhra rule and got back into Pandya rule, and acertain ruler by name Kadnrhkon is stated in the grant to havedone this. Even allowing the moderate span of twenty-fiveyears' rule to each of these six generations, Kadurhkon's rulewould come to somewhere about a.d. 600 more or less, bring-ing him roughly into contemporaneity with the first greatPallava ruler, Simhavishnu. The period of the Kalabhrainterregnum, according to the Velvikudi plates thus coincideswith the period of Pallava history under the rule of the Pallavasof the Sanskrit charters. 'If the Kalabhras created confusion inthe Tamil country, they must have come from elsewhere intoit. Wherefrom did they come ? It is obvious that they' didnot come from the south. The Pandya country seems thesouthern limit of their reach. During the period, Chola rule :seems to have gone into eclipse of a more or less thoroughcharacter. The natural inference therefore would be that theyprobably advanced southwards. If they were in the Cholacountry before coming to the Pandya, could we not reasonablyinfer that they had been in the Pallava country before cominginto the Chola, or at least had something to do with the Pallava ?If so, who could these Kalabhras be, why were they so-called,and what would be the cause of their southward migration ?,
We have stated above on the authority of the Prakrit chartersthat the so-called Pallavas were viceroys- of ^the south-easternmarches of the Andhra country, and they gradually extendedtheir territory so as to occupy the region dominated by the hillVengadam, and ruled over by tribal chieftains, the earlier on^eknown to literature being Tiraiyan of Pavattiri and the laterone Pulli of Vengadam. The latter chief is generally sjpokenof as the chief of the Kalvar in the so-called Sangam literature.3ut the learned editor of these works has since discovered that

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INTRODUCTION xxi
the correcter reading, on manuscript authority, would beKalavar and not Kalvar. In the region which they occupied inthe period of the later Satavahanas, and therefore the periodimmediately preceding that of the Pallavas, they had been aset of frontier people, at least somewhat predatory in pointof character.1 accustomed to lifting cattle from the northernfrontier and thereby flourishing upon it as a profession, andthat is how Pulli is described in the Sangam literature. Thetightening of the hold of the Pallavas even as viceroys of theAndhras by a pressure applied both from the north and west,must have dislodged these people from the locality of theirdenizenship, and set forward their migration which ultimatelyoverturned the Tondamandalam first, Cholamandalam next,and a considerable part of the Pandyamandalam after that.Perhaps it is this disturbance, and possibly the confusioncaused by the invasion of Samudragupta through some ofthese regions, that must have ultimately brought about thesubversion of the settled order and the introduction of theconfusion, from out of which emerged the Pallavas of Kanchiof the Sanskrit charters. That period, it will be found, is theperiod in which something of a radical change had been takingplace in the south-western viceroyalty—the palatine viceroyaltyof the Andhras—of Banavasi. We see in that region, a set ofrulers who called themselves Chutu Nagas, claim relation-ship with the ruling family of the Satavahanas and achievingpolitical distinction by wars against the Sakas and theKshatrapas, the enemies of the great Satavahana, Gautami-putra Satakarni. In the best days of their power, theirterritory seems to have extended as far north as the Godavari,but it began to shrink on the northern side, so that theybecame a purely southern power. The illuminating detail thatthe Velurpalayam plates give us of Virakurcha becoming, heir,Jo, a kingdom by a marriage with a wife, by which, as is statedin the quaint language of the charter, ' he simultaneouslyobtained a wife and a kingdom.' This seems to be no morethan his marrying the heiress of the Chutu Nagas and, bysecuring a wife of that distinction, he became also the heir to

===== PAGE 22 =====
.xxii iNTJEtODtJCTlOti
that territory either in his own person, or, possibly better, inthat of his son. It is this alone that can account for the veryimportant historical fact that we know of in the history of thePallavas later,—the acknowledgment of allegiance to thePallavas by the Gangas, two successive rulers of the Gangashaving been installed on their hereditary throne by the con-temporary Pallavas. That seems to be the position also inregard to the Kadambas, who became heir to the territoryof the Chutu Nagas clearly by conquest, as the story ofMayurasarman indicates.
The Kalabhras then were the Kalavar of the region imme-diately north of Tondamandalam, who being dislodged by thepressure of the Andhras, penetrated the Tondamandalamitself, and as the Andhra power itself advanced, moved south-wards, occupying the territory gradually till in the course ofgenerations, they subverted the Chola rule and spread them-selves farther south, to the occupation of the territory of thePandyas so as to produce the interregnum referred to in fheVelvikudi plates in the Pandya country. This interregnumfollowed when the grant of the village Velvikudi was made tothe Brahman and had been enjoyed for a considerable lengthof time by him and his successors. The interregnum, itselfmust have lasted for some considerable time, and to justifythe lapse of the grant being forgotten for five or six generationsafter the restoration of Pandya rule. The Pallavas of theSanskrit charters therefore hacl to advance into the countrydependent upon Kanchi, dislodge the Kalabhras or Kalavarsthat were in occupation as a normal continuation of thestruggle which must have begun between them and the
' Kalabhras .somewhat earlier, till they could master possessionof the region. It is probably in this process of conquest thatthe invasion of Samudragupta introduced another element ofconfusion, to provide against.which an alliance with the more?powerful neighbour, the Chutu Nagas of the west, must havebeen felt to be necessary by the Pallavas of Kanchi. Whetherthe Vishnugopa of Kanchi referred to in the Harisena
, inscription of Sumudragupta is Kanagopa identified with

===== PAGE 23 =====
INTRODUCTION xxin
Kumaravishnu I is more than we can assert at present. It ispossible that the Kanagopa of the later charters had a nameKumaravishnu or Vishnugopa. But in the absence of any lead,such a statement would be nothing but a guess, and it may besafer to leave Vishnugopa the contemporary of Samudraguptaunidentified with any of the names in the genealogy of thePallavas of the Sanskrit charters for the present. When thePallavas of the Sanskrit charters established themselves in theregion of Tondamandalam, their struggles with Kalabhras ofthe south must have begun, as a continuation of the struggle thatdislodged them irom the territory of Tondamandalam. It isthis that is reflected in the statement that Kumaravishnuretook the capital from some enemy undescribed, and thatBuddhavarman, one of the rulers of this dynasty, won victoriesagainst the ' ocean-like army ' of the Cholas, which at the timeconld only mean the Kalabhras established in the Chola terri-tory, as about that time we do hear of a Kalamba ruler byname Acchyutavikranta holding rule at the Chola capital,Puhar over the Chola Rashtra, according to Buddhadatta, acontemporary of Buddhagosha. The establishment of theKalabhras in the Chola country therefore seems to have beena settled fact by the middle of the sixth century. They werefound there by Simhavishnu at the end of the sixth ; byNarasimhavarman I in the middle of the seventh, and by theChalukyas about the end of the seventh and almost the middleof the eighth centuries. It seems to be these Kalabhras thatcome into view later on near Tanjore and Kodumbalur asMuttaraiyan chiefs bearing names and titles very much likethat of Acchyutavikranta. We come to the spectacle in theeighth century of the Tanjore chiefs being feudatories of thePallavas and the Kodumbalur chiefs those of the Pandyas, andfighting against each other in consequence. The Kalabhramigration, the movement of the Kalavar southwards fromtheir orignal home, seems thus to provide the explanation forthe disappearance of the settled order in the Tamil country asportrayed in the Sangam literature and offers the explanationof the interval of obscurity and oblivion in Chola rule till the

===== PAGE 24 =====
XXIV INTRODUCTION
rising of the later Cholas to pow^r in the latter half of theninth century.
The narration of events above, Jit would have been noted,assumes the existence of a period of prosperity reflected in theSangam literature anterior to the coming of the Pallavas ofKanchi into the region of Tondamandalam. The assumptionis based on evidence which an effort has been made to upsetby another assumption without any valid evidence, we shoufdsay, of a Chola interregnum in the rule of the Pallavas ofKanchi on the basis of the statement that Kumaravishnu IIhad to retake his capital from his ene'mies. The difficultiesagainst accepting this assumption are many and fundamental;anything like a capture of Kanchi by the Cholas and even itsretention in the hands of the Cholas for some little time tillrecapture by Kumaravishnu, would hardly satisfy the conditionsof the Chola Karikala's capture of Kanchi, because the Ch$laKarikala is associated, in the Sangam literature so called, witha succession of rulers extending over three or four generations,during which since his conquest Kanchi remained a Cholaviceroyalty. The provision of an interval of that length beforeKumaravishnu II retook Kanchi would be on the face of itimpossible. Karikala is supposed to have introduced the artsof agriculture and civilization into the bulk of the regionconstituting Tondamandalam, and the viceroyality was heldwith distinction by Chola princes immediately following himand subsequently by an illegitimate scion of the Chola family,Tondaman-Ilam-Tiraiyan, before it passed into the possessionof the Pallavas of the inscriptions. There is not the slightesthint of all this in the various charters, of which we haveinformation, and Bappa Deva's civilizing-^ffort in the regionfarther north seems almost to indicate an extension of the effortof Karikala. Looked at from any. point of view therefore, itseems impossible to postulate a Chola interregnum in themiddle of the succession of Pallava rulers of the Sanskritcharters and the effort seems to us futile.. We have almostfifteen generations of rulers subsequent to the Samudraguptainvasion. Although we cannot be very definite about the

===== PAGE 25 =====
INTRODUCTION XXV
order of succession or of the detailed history of the period, thegeneral trend seems clear enough to rule out the possibility ofthis interregnum. There is the evidence of the Sangamliterature by itself and the evidence of the later Pandyacharters leading thereto, and they seem alike to negative thispossibility. Whether the Sangam actually existed or no, theexistence of something like a Sangam and of a body of litera-ture known as Sangam literature came to be an acceptedarticle of faith among the Tamils at the commencement of theseventh century A.d. among the Tevaram hymners like Apparand Sambandar". For a tradition like that to grow and fora body of literature to get thus distinctly classified, we- dorequire a certain efflux of time, and that could not be less thanhalf a dozen generations or more, and thus the indicationseems to be that the period of the Sangam literature will-haveto <be referred to a time anterior to the advent of the Pallavasof the Sanskrit charters into the region of Kanchi. A Cholainterregnum associated with the name of Karikala in thegenerations immediately preceding Kumaravishnu II seemsimpossible of justification. The period of the Pallavas of theSanskrit charters marks the advent of a new dynasty, theirlong, but lairly successful, struggle against hostile occupation-of the territory of Tondamandalam, probably by the Kalabh-ras, their assertion of their overlordship over the Gangas, anda similar recognition of their overlordship at any rate, by theKadambas after a struggle ending in the final establishment ofthe Pallava authority there till Simhavarman, the father ofSimhavishnu the first Great Pallava, founded a dynasty ofpowerful rulers for the next two centuries and a half, all requirethe couple of centuries. that are left between the invasion ofSamudragupta and the accession of Simhavarman, the fatherof Simhavishnu. The accession of these powerful rulers toauthority in this region is almost coeval with the rise of theChalukyas into view in the region north of their territory.
The} origin of the Chalukyas and their accession to power inthe period with which their name is associated is somewhatobscure. Their habitual hostility to the Pallavas and thep

===== PAGE 26 =====
xxvi INTRODUCTION
constant warfare between the two1 that this hostility broughtabout are facts recognized all round, although the reason for thisconstant hostility has been far fromiclear. The one is perhapsto some extent associated with the other, and an explanation ofthe hostility does not seem altogether beyond recovery. Inthe traditional stories connected with their origin, the historiansof the dynasty or the heraldic custodians of their traditionalorigin gave them credit for association with the Ikshvakus ofAyodhya. Whatever the reason the association with Ikshvakusseems to have been fashionable even in this distant south atthis particular time. The Chalukyas connect themselves withthe Ikshvakus and some well-known Ikshvakn rulers figure inChola genealogies when they began to appear. Even before thedays of genealogies, the Tondaman ruler of Kanchi is associat-ed with some of the Ikshvakus in one of the Sangam classics.So the Chalukya's claim to an association with the Ikshvakas,while historically possible because of the existence of Ikshvakurulers in their neighbourhood in the Andhra country, stillremains unproved in the face of the fact that they have toinvent a kind of explanation, at the very best unsatisfactory,for the name Chalukya. This defect seems to make them anindigenous dynasty of feudatory rulers, who raised themselvesto power gradually, and set themselves up independently. Thefact of their obscure origin coupled with the boar ensignon the one hand, and the impossible derivation of the wordfrom Sanskrit on the other, seem alike to indicate a southernorigin tor them on a reasonable basis. Feudatory dynastiesplaced in rule over the less hospitable regions of the Tamilcountry went by the natrie generally Vllpula AraSar orSalukkii Vendar. They were given the--flag of the boarindicative of the nature of the territorylover which theyruled and of the character of that rule. It is a family ofchieftains like this probably that ultimately raised themselves,to a position of higher dignity that became the Chalukyasof a later period. That this is so is reflected in the' termsometimes being used in the form Salki, used as a termof contempt with reference to Salki Bhima, who is spoken of

===== PAGE 27 =====
INTRODUCTION xxvu *
as a disloyal person. These petty chieftains seem to haverisen first to power in the northern region of the Vakatakaterritory, perhaps in succession to the Nalas, or, at any rate, asone of the tributaries along with them. They then graduallyspread southwards, extending their territory, and under thesons of Pulikesan I, they conquered the Kadambas and theGang as and so extended their operations gradually as to comeiftto contact with the territory of the Pallavas with the setobject of recovering the southern block of the territory under:he Andhras included in the viceroyalty of Banavasi. It wasstated already that the Pallavas probably laid claim to this very;erritory on the basis of a marriage, and naturally, therefore,:he two powers had a reason for perpetual hostility on an im-portant, and at the same time, a vulnerable frontier for both of;hem. Therefore it is that since the Chalukyas established theirpywer by the conquest of the Najas, the Mauryas and theKadambas, they are seen in the full tide of their hostility to thePallavas and this hostility continued, now the one, now theather getting the better, till one of the dynasties, the Chajukyasvanished from Dakhan politics. That accounts for the Chalukyainvasion in the reign of Mahendravarman, who from his head-quarters beat them back, and left it to his son to carry the warinto the enemy's country, destroy their capital and bring aboutan interregnum, which lasted for thirteen years. This happenedat the end of the reign of Pulikesan II, and his son Vikramadityawas able to turn the tables upon the Pallavas and carry thewar into their territory by a flank movement, so as to fight onthe banks of the Kaveri near Trichinopoly against the Pallavassupported by all the Tamil powers this time. One of his suc-cessors was able to carry the war into Kanchi itself, occupiedthe town in his turn, and, instead of destroying it, as thePallava Narasimhavarman had done at Vatapi, their capital,not merely restored, but even made a fresh donation to thetemple, showing thus distinctly that he was more humane inwarfare than perhaps the Southern power. It is in revengefor this insult that Nandivarman Pallavamalla took the tide onthe turn when, on the occasion of a marriage alliance brought

===== PAGE 28 =====
XXVlll INTRODUCTION
about diplomatically between the Ganga princess, the daughterof $rl Purusha Muttarasa, and the Pandyan prince, Nedum-Sadaiyan Parantaka, the donor of the Velvikudi plates, thePallavas led the combination of the southern powers, in whichthe Pandyan minister got distinction, and inflicted a crushingdefeat upon the Chalukyas at the battle of Venbai. Klrti-varman II was so thoroughly defeated that the Chalukya powerfound it impossible to recover from the defeat. It is thisagain that was taken advantage.of by the feudatory RashtrakutaDantidurga, himself, the son of a Chalukya princess to subvertthe Chajukya power. He was able to do this by fortifyinghimself by an alliance with the great Pallava ruler Nandi towhom perhaps he gave his, daughter in marriage and thusbrought about his own elevation and the subversion of thedynasty of the early Chalukyas. The battle of Venbai isgraphically described in detailing the achievements of theSgnapati, Maran-Kari of Karavandapuram at whose instancethe grant was made. /Tirumangai Alvar's reference to R2sh-traktrfa Dantidurga, under his title Vairamegha, and thedeferential treatment which Nandivarman Pallavamalla is saidto have accorded to him finds justification in this and thequestion how the early Chalukyas Were ultimately overthrownand the Rastrakutas established themselves in their stead isnow put on a clear footing.
The accession of Nandivarman .Pallavamalla to the Pallavathrone and how it actually happened have alike remained aproblem in Pallava history till recently. The publication ofsome of the Vaikunfha Perumal temple' epigraphsl- clears thedoubt completely, though it does not altogether dispel thedarkness that surrounded the actual character of his accession topower. From theepigraphs, it is clear that, when Paramesvara-varman died, for some reason or other, the great citizensof the land had to be on the look out for a suitable successor,The position of the Pallavas at the time was far from easy.After some futile efforts they ultimately made up their minds
1 S.I.I., vol. iv, pp. 10-12.
AS~

===== PAGE 29 =====
INTRODUCTION xxix
to offer it to Hiranyavarma the collateral cousin through theyounger brother of Simhavishnu; but Hiranya shrank fromthe responsibility as an old man and offered the chance to eachone of his four sons in turn. The three elder ones refused theresponsibility and the youngest of them all, Pallavamalla byname, or Paramesvaravarman Pallavamalla, agreed to acceptthe responsibility with an alacrity which was disconcerting tothe father's paternal instincts. He was however allowed tosucceed, and, when he reached Kanchi, he was duly installedunder the title Nandivarman. Hence his full style Nandi-varman Pallavamalla or Paramesvaran Pallavamalla aliasNandivarman. This gives colour to some of the hymns ofTirumangai Alvar which celebrate the temple as Paramesvara-Vinnagaram. It cannot now be taken that the Vishnutemple was founded by Paramesvaravarman II, nor even byParamesvaravarman I. It now becomes quite clear that thefounder of this temple is the Pallava prince to whom theAlva? makes so many direct references. All of them refer toNandivarman Pallavamalla in his family name Paramesvara-varman. That apart, the accession, according to theserecords is a peaceful one by the choice of the people andtherefore come to legitimately. But there are other charterswhich broadly state, as is recounted in the following pages,that he came to the throne as a result of fighting and by an actof usurpation. The two statements it is possible to reconcile,apd it is hardly necessary to take them as irreconcilablealternatives. The facts seem to have been these. A Chalukyainvasion seems to have been imminent, and the constant hostilityof this power on the northern frontier together with the risingactivity of the Pandyas in the south made the position of thePallavas in the middle one of extreme anxiety. The mainte-nance of the Pallava power intact meant a Janus-faced fight,soujh against the Pandyas and north against the Chajukyas.When Paramesvaravarman II died, if the responsible peopleof the kingdom felt that the ruler that succeeded him shouldbe a man of ability and resource, and not a child succeeding acomparatively inefficient rule of a father, their offer of the

===== PAGE 30 =====
XXX INTRODUCTION
throne to Hiranyavarman, possibjy a veteran administrator atthe time, would have valid justification on the basis of thefitness of the person. The legitimate successor, Chitramaya,or, whoever he was, may have been comparatively young andweak ; and even later, the fight that could be put up in hisfavour does not appear to have been strong enough to makethis assumption unwarranted. It was a useful change thoughthe actual successor happened to be a young boy of twelve,supported as he must have been with all the resources of hisrfather and brothers, and other officers of the kingdom. Thosewhose sympathies were on the legitimist side would naturallycall such a succession an act of usurpation, while to those ofthe opposite faction Nandivarman's acceptance cf the officewas an honourable act of public beneficence for the well-beingof the State. The thirteen or fourteen epigraphs that havebeen published throw very important light upon this position,and'from these, what has hitherto been known regarding thissuccession receives fresh illumination. Nandivarman probablycame to the throne and accepted the responsibility that itinvolved, by the invitation of those responsible for the welfareof the state; necessarily setting aside the legitimate claims ofanother prince of the family. The war which was a conse-quence necessarily, went against the legitimate prince, but theactual achievements of the general in behalf of Nandivarmanseem fully to justify the anxiety of those who went out oftheir way to set aside the; legitimate successor in favour ofanother. It need not therefore be the fault of NandivarmanPallavamalla that he ascended the throne, not an act of his own,and merely for the sake of the position or the power that itcarried with it. Though his earlier years were clouded by thesewars, he managed to tide over these troubles both by success-ful war and by equally successful diplomacy, subverting thenatural enemy, the Chalukyas in the north, and entering intoa more or less permanent alliance with their successors, theRashtrakutas; on the south, he got into perhaps a treaty ofalliance with the Pandyas, after a good deal of fight with themon behalf of the rulers of Kongu, whose independence all his

===== PAGE 31 =====
INTRODUCTION xkxi
efforts could not sustain. When he died, his kingdom couldpass down to his son without any difficulty and Pallava rulecontinued for another three orfour generations, for almost acentury, without distress.
There has been considerable discussion in regard to thesuccessors of Nandivarman Pallavamalla and a controversy hasraggd over the fancied displacement of the dynasty and by thesuccession of a new dynasty called till recently by the epi-graphists (Ganga-Pallavas.) Inscriptions published since thishypothesis was put forward seem entirely to negative theposition taken and with the information at our disposal now,there is hardly any need to maintain the hypothesis, whateverjustification it might have had in its origin. Nandivarman wassucceeded by Dantivarman his son, Dantivarman by anotherNandivarman, and then followed Nrpatunga in a regular'lineof succession, all of them tracing their descent through Nandi-varman Pallavamalla. Why a certain number of these shouldbe distinctly marked off and given the name Ganga-Pallavas isfar from clear. That there was some kind of a family connectionbetween the Gangas and the Pallavas may be readily admitted.That is a connection which the Pallavas had with other royalfamilies as well, namely, those of the Rashtrakutas and theKadambas, taking the dynasty of Nandivarman Pallavamallaalone. A marriage alliance of this sort need not give a newdirection unless we can specifically prove that a scion of theG,anga family through a daughter even, or through a Pallavaprincess set up rule in the territory of the Pallavas. For this,we have absolutely no lead. Comparatively minor changesin the titles of rulers at a certain stage of their history, or ofthe existence of a number of rulers simultaneously in the sameterritory, are not reasons that would justify a hypothesis asgrave as this. What seems actually to have taken place isthif> The Pallava-Pandya struggle in the time of the greatPallavamalla seems to have been more or less for the over-lordship of Kongu to begin with. At some period of hisreign that overlordship, if it was at any time exercised by thePallavamalla at all, passed over to the Pandyas. To fortify

===== PAGE 32 =====
xxxii INTRODUCTION
this position, they entered into a marriage alliance with theGangas across the Kongu frontier;and this brought down uponthem a great Chalukya invasion, as the Gangas were perhapsregarded as Chalukya feudatories' at the time. Feudatory orno, the Gangas in alliance with the Pandyas would be a realdanger on the flank of the Chalukya, having regard to the factthat they regarded the Pallavas as their standing enemies.That brought on the battle of Venbai which had for its ^ultimate result the subversion of the dynasty of the Chalukyasand the establishment, in their stead, of the rule of theRashtrakutas who apparently fortified their position by analliance with the Pallavas. This for the time settled thequestion of the political relationship between the Gangas, theRashtrakutas and the Pallavas. Later on the wars continuedbetween the Pandyas and the Pallavas on the one side, andhostility gradually developed between the Pallavas and^theRashtrakutas on the other. The Gangas in the middle nowplayed the one part, now the other, till at last they 'Wereultimately reduced to a position of subordination by theRashtrakutas. This certainly was one element of weakness in;the Pallavas. The Pandyas in consequence were slowly gainingthe upper hand, and tightened their hold on the Pallavas, sothat the Pallava territory which had at one time been so veryextensive, was gradually shrinking to one of comparativelynarrow dimensions. The final victory achieved by Varaguna IIat isripurambyam near Kumbakonam gave a crushing blow, ifnot the death blow, to the Pallava power, in which one sectionof the Gangas, the Gangas who held authority in the Banacountry, assisted the Pallavas. Butjhe Pallavas still continuedin a comparatively precarious position. "~T/his precarious condi-tion of the Pallava power, as in the case of all other Indianimperial powers, brought about a dismemberment, which beganusually with an independence of the provinces constitutingthe empire more or less definite, and this dismemberment iswhat is in evidence in our havmg a certain number of ralers inthe Pallava territory, each issuing inscriptions, almost on hisown authority simultaneously, when the power of the Cholas,

===== PAGE 33 =====
INTRODUCTION xxxiii
newly come into existence under Vijayalaya, advanced north-wards under his successor Aditya, and put an end to thecrumbling empire of the Pallavas and annexed the whole oftheir territory to their own dominions, thus introducing a newoverlordship, which was symbolized by the name Jayamkonda-cholamandalam given to the Pallava terrritory which till thenwas known Tondamandalam. The existence therefore ofseveral Pallava princes marks nothing more than a mere stage
* in the dismemberment of the kingdom or empire, and neednot be regarded as the establishment of a separate dynasty ofrulers distinct from the one who held rule from Kanchi.That seems the general trend of Pallava History, which Mr.Gopalan's work indicates. The purpose of this introductionis merely to supply a few gaps in the narrative, and thus toprovide the few links required for the continuous story of therise^ growth, decay and the dissolution of the power of thePallavas of Kanchi.
Mr. Gopalan has done the work with care and discrimi-nation and has succeeded in providing a readable account of
.this interesting and extensive period of South Indian History,which, it is hoped, would be found useful by those interestedin the subject.
S. KRISHNASWAMI AIYANGAR,' Marine Villa ', Professor of Indian History andArcheeology,October 15, 1928. University of Madras.

===== PAGE 34 =====

===== PAGE 35 =====
THE HISTORY OF THE PALLAVASOF SOUTH INDIA
A.D. 200 to 900
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY,
HISTORY OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH AND SOURCES
OF HISTORY FOR THE PALLAVAS
T*HE materials for writing a history of the Pallava king's of9 South India were until almost recent times exceedinglyscanty and otherwise inadequate. They are moreover distortedby erroneous traditions and misleading accounts of mythicalancestry. A hundred years ago hardly any of their inscriptionson stone or on copper-plates, of which we have such largenumbers now, were known. This becomes evident on aperusal of the Mackenzie Collection of MSS. relating to SouthIndian history which, mentioning dozens of members of theChola, Pandya and other dynasties of early South India, donot mention a single name of any of the members of thePallava dynasty which had remained the dominant SouthIndian power for about seven centuries. This is remarkableseeing that the Pallavas wielded sovereign authority forseveral centuries in the Tamil land. Literary traditionembodied in the hymns of the Alvars, and in the works Nandik-kalambakapi, the Periyapurdnam, Chintamani, Avantisundari-kathasara, etc, are far too scanty for historical purposes thoughthey give a glowing idea of the culture of the Pallava period.'History of Research on the Pallavas.—The late Sir WalterElliot did remarkable service for the cause of SouthIndian historical research by the publication of some earlySouth Indian inscriptions in the Journal ot the Royal Asiatic

===== PAGE 36 =====
2 History of the Pallavas of South India
Society l and in the Madras Journal of Literature and Science 2as early as 1837. An important starting-point was madein his announcement in 1858 that in the sixth century,the PalJava kings were dominant in South India. Evenearlier than this, in 1844, he had discovered that the monolithsin the Seven Pagodas were excavated by Pallava kings.At the same time Dr. Burnell succeeded in decipheringsome of the inscriptions at this place belonging to Pallava _kings. These inscriptions are included in Capt. Carr's well-known collection of papers on the Seven Pagodas. Anotherimportant contribution to Pallava history is the work of JamesFergusson, History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, inwhich after a minute examination of the monuments at theSeven Pagodas he has attributed them to the sixth and seventhcenturies a.d. But it was the second half of the last centurythat saw the discovery of numerous and important copper-plate charters and stone inscriptions belonging to this dynasty,which for the first time opened the eyes of scholars to' thehistorical importance of this celebrated dynasty of kings,ruling in a part of the Tamil and Telugu country. Thisdiscovery has practically revolutionized the prevajent notionsconcerning Pallava history. The earliest of these records wasedited by the late Dr. Fleet in the Indian Antiquary in itsearlier numbers, with notes and translations. Towards theclose of the last century stone inscriptions of this dynastybegan to be discovered in various parts of the Tamil landalong with a large number of Pallava monuments other thanthose found at Mahabalipuram. These records coupled with theinscriptions on the copper-plate charters form the most valua-ble raw material for the reconstruct!On^oJL Pallava history.Many of the records have been edited^with great abilityand learning, by Hultzsch, Venkayya, Fleet, Kielhprn, KrishnaSastri and others in the pages of the Indian Antiquary, SoajhIndian Inscriptions and the Epigraphia Indica. The stoneinscriptions and copper-plate records discovered year after
1 vol. iv, pp. 1-41, 2 vol. vii, pp. 193^232,

===== PAGE 37 =====
Introductory 3
year are noticed in the Annual Reports \on South IndianEpigraphy with notes and comments.
The first connected account of the Pallava kings' wasattempted more than forty years ago by the late Dr. Fleet inhis Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts, which forms a partof the Bombay Gazetteer, where he has exploited for the firsttime all the records, inscriptions on stone and copper-plates,relating to the Pallavas which were accessible to him. The
* outline account of Dr. Fleet, though written so long ago, stillremains in its main aspects authoritative and represents moreor less the first attempt to write a scientific history of thesekings. The next notable attempt to sketch the origin andhistory of the Pallavas was made by the late Mr. V. Venkayyain the Archceological Annual Survey Report {or 1906-7.1 Thisis a scholarly piece of research work on the subject, andembodies the author's life-long labours in the field ofepigraphy and literature. This work written in 1906 takesinto* consideration the inscriptions and copper-plates dis-covered since the days when Dr. Fleet wrote, and the author's'researches in the field of Tamil literature are also fullyutilized. In many respects this account still remains ahauthority on the subject.
The next important work on the Pallavas is that ofProf. G. Jouveau-Dubreuil published in 1917. In this workthe author has embodied the results of his independentresearch, and has propounded several original and ingenioustheories regarding the origin, chronology, genealogy, art andarchitecture of the Pallavas. The author has succeeded, to alarge extent, in establishing a connection between the Pallavakings of the Prakrit charters and the members of the Sanskritrecords, and has attacked the intricate problem of theirchronology and genealogy with critical ability. Many ofthe conclusions are based on the author's personal investiga-tion which have resulted in the discovery of several new
■" inscriptions and monuments hitherto unknown. The other
PP
217-43.

===== PAGE 38 =====
4 History of the Pallavas of South India
papers and monographs of the same author, such as those on' the Pallava Antiquities ', ' Pal] ava-painting ', form importantcontributions to the subject and I offer several new interpreta-tions of parts of the subject. His latest work entitled theAncient History of the Deccan embodies the author's latestviews on the Pallavas, their origin and chronology.
Among other writers on the subject Dr. S. KrisbnaswamiAiyangar has published a valuable account of ' The Origin andEarly History of the Pallavas' in the Journal of Indian History, 1 ~-then published in Allahabad. This contribution represents theauthor's latest investigations on this subject, and, having beenpublished in 1923 is the most recent work on the subject of anauthoritative character. A large number of papers on theinscriptions, monuments and literature of the period appearedin "Various journals, some of these being contributed by Mr.Gopinatha Rao on 'the Ganga-Pallavas,' Mr. K. V. Subra-manya Aiyar, on ' the Ancient History of Conjeevaram ' publi-shed in the Madras Christian College Magazine, ' the LiteraryHistory of the Pallava Age' by Mr. Rangaswami Sarasvati inthe Journal of the Mythic Society and the ' Antiquities of Maha-;,balipuram ' by Dr. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar. Some of thehistorical portions of the district manuals contain accounts ofvarying value about the Pallavas, while more recently accountshave also been published in Tamil, the most notable of thesebeing that of Mr. P. T. Srinivasa Aiyangar, entitled A
History of the Pallavas. >
I »
Sources of History
Epigraphy.—Of the sources of information for writing thehistory of the Pallavas, epigraphy occupies a prominent placecompared with the other sources. Dr. FleeThas pointed out,' We are ultimately dependent on the inscriptions in every lineof Indian research.' This is*especially true of the history of fhePallavas, for without the inscriptions it is practically impossibleto know anything.about these kings and their'times. We may
1 vol. ii, pp. 20-66.

===== PAGE 39 =====
Introductory ' 5
divide the Pallava inscriptions1 conveniently into three classes.To the first class belong records written entirely in Prakrit. Thesecond class of records comprises Sanskrit inscriptions, whilethe third class consists of those in Sanskrit and Tamil. Ofthese, the records of the first class probably belong to theearliest period, as it is now recognized that Prakrit was super-seded by Sanskrit about the fourth century a.d., while theea?liest ' Grantha-Tamil' records of the Pallavas have beenassigned to the seventh century. Most of these records are ofa donative character.' Their object was to record the gifts oflands or money to temples or Brahmans. The most importantportion of the records was the specification of the details of thenames of the donor, the donee and the donation of the parti-cular gift. From very early times the records give a certainamount of genealogical information and a recital of eventswag introduced to magnify the glory and importance of thedonors. Thus, for instance, the Prakrit charters such asthose 'of Sivaskandavarman contained hardly any allusionto historical events connected with the donor. Graduallyhowever we find a change. The Sanskrit charters beginningfrom about the fifth century not only enumerate the fatherand the grandfather of the donor, but some of them, such as theKuram, Kasakkudi, the Velurpalayam and the Bahur plates,give along account of the names of previous kings aiid theirachievements. ' Thus,' as Fleet says, ' not with the expressedobject of preserving history, but in order to intensify theimportance of everything connected with religion and tosecure grantees in the possession of properties conveyed tothem, there was gradually accumulated almost the wholemass of epigraphic records from which chiefly, the ancienthistory of India is now being put together.'2
Stone Inscriptions.—Stone inscriptions beginning from theseventh century, so far as this dynasty is concerned, form adistinct class by themselves. These records which arefairly abundant for the later Pallava period are for the most
1 Vide Appendix (A).
2 Fleet, Bom. Gaz., vol. i, pt. ii, p. 62.

===== PAGE 40 =====
6 History of the Pallavas of South India
part, donative in character, though one or two of them such asthe Vayalur pillar inscription of Rajasimha, and the Panamalaiinscription of the same king jjive a genealogical account.Some are short, and record gifts to religious or other insti-tutions, and they are invariably dated in the regnal year ofthe contemporary king without reference to any era. Theyare mostly in prose, though a few of these are to be foundalso in verse such as the inscription at the Pallava rock-tmttemple at Dalavanur x of King Mahendravarman I. Theearliest of these are those written in some of the rock-cut tem-ples believed to have been excavated by Mahendravarman I,such as the one at Vallani.2 Many of these rock-cut templessuch as those at Pallavaram, Trichinopoly, Mandagappattu,Mamandur contain Gn-tntha and Grantha-Tamil inscriptionssome of which are contemporaneous with the caves andhave for their object the simple recording of the excavationof these monuments. The copper-plate charters taken alongwith these stone inscriptions furnish valuable informationas regards the history and chronology of the Pallava kings.In spite of the serious disadvantage that these records are>not dated in any of the known eras but only in the regnalyears of the king, a careful study of the palaeography of theseinscriptions makes it possible to fix their age more or lessaccurately. The facts obtained from these records, coupledwith those of the contemporary kings with whom the Pallavascame into contact enable .us to reconstruct to a great extentthe history of the age of the Pallavas. The most importantof these contemporary records are those of the Western-Gangas, the Western Chalukyas, the Pandyas as well as theminor' dynasties such as those of^the—JVIuttaraiyan and theBana subordinates of the later Pallava kings.
Pallava Monuments.—Side by. side with the inscriptions wehave the Pallava monuments themselves. According to cmeset of scholars whose enthusiasm for their subject hampersthem from taking a dispassionate view* the'study of ajchitec-
1 Ep. Ind., vol. xii, p. 225. a 5. /. /., vol. ii, p 34.
/

===== PAGE 41 =====
Introductory 7
ture constitutes an even more important instrument for fixingdates than the study cf palaeography and inscriptions.According to Mr. A. H. Longhurst for instance, ' the presentmethod of relying entirely on inscriptions for fixing the datesof ancient monuments adopted by Dr. Hultzsch and others isopen to objection because when this method of investigationis employed alone, serious mistakes may occur. It ispossible that inscriptions on a monument may have beeninscribed long after it was erected. In such cases theinscription would not only give no information about theoriginal author of the monument but may even lead us intoerror. Then again if the study of architecture is neglected,how is the epigraphist going to determine the age of themonument that does not possess any inscription ? '* This isa reply to the point of view of Prof. Hultzsch who in- hispapor on the ' Inscriptions of the Seven Pagodas '2 wrote :—' The important .question of the authors and the dates of theseexcavations can be answered only by a careful study of theirinscriptions engraved on them.' Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil isinclined to agree with Mr. Longhurst, and attaches greaterimportance to the study of architecture for the determinationof dates than to that of the inscriptions. In his work on thePallava Antiquities the author enters into a minute examina-tion of the evolution of the Pallava style in the course of thePallava age, and distinguishes various styles even cluringcpmparatively short intervals of time.
During the last thirty years a large number of Pallavamonuments have been discovered at Mahendravadi, Dalavanur-STyamangalam, Pallavaram, Trichinopoly, Kilmavilangai,Singavaram, Tirukkalukkuiiram, Vallam, Mamandur, Manda-gapattu, Melacheri, Sittannavasal and Mahabalipuram. Someof these consist of rock-cut caves and bear Pallava inscriptions.Others consist of structural temples such as the Kailasanathatemple at Kanchlpuram and the Shore temple at the Seven
1 M.A.R. for 1918-19, p. 20.
2 Ep. Ind., vol. ?, p. 2,

===== PAGE 42 =====
8 History of the Pallavas of South India
Pagodas. Many of these monuments were brought into exis-tence by the Pallava kings and contain their inscriptions. Theinscriptions on the Rathas of Mahabalipuram contain somespecific references in the shape of the names and surnames ofsome of the kings. The most important of this class ofepigraphs are those on the Dharmarajaratha and theKailasanatha temple at Mahabalipuram and Conjeevarjamrespectively. These temples are dedicated to the Hindu ■Triad; while the cave tempies are dedicated to Siva orVishnu, the presence of representations of Brahma the othermember of the Hindu Triad, forms a peculiar featureof these monuments which distinguishes them from latertemples. The Adivaraha temple at the Seven Pagodascontains statues of the celebrated kings Simhavishnu andMahendravarman I in, bas-relief. Similarly the rock-cuttemple at the top of, the Trichinopoly rock appears" tohave originally contained a statue of Mahendravarman I, afact which seems to be alluded to in the inscription discoveredthere.1 But the statue is not to be found there now, and mayhave been destroyed subsequently. Recently Mr. Longhursthas been fortunate in discovering at Bhairavakonda 2 (Ne£breDistrict) a large group of temples attributable to the.Pallavaage, all of them cut out of rock and closely resembling theMahendra caves. There are also a large number of Pallavamonuments in South India without bearing' any inscription.Further study and research may help in establishing theu'actual age.
Next to inscriptions we might consider~the testimony ofliterature and literary tradition. For the earliest period ofthe history of the Tamil land we are almost entirely depen-dent on a class of Tamil works known as the Sangam classicsand attributable to the first and jsecond centuries of the Christianera. The age of the Sangam has been the subject of keen
1 $. I. I., vol. i, pp. 28-30. * M,A,K,/or 1920-21, pp. 29-32,

===== PAGE 43 =====
Introductory 9
discussion among scholars, and attempts have been made tobring it to the seventh and the eighth centuries. The lateMr. Swamikannu Pillai working from the astronomical detailsin the eleventh Paripadal arrived at the conclusion, in hisIndian Ephemeris,^ that the author of the piece must have livedin the seventh century. But the generally accepted date,namely, first and the second centuries a.d., seems establishedon^satisfactory grounds, and the new dates have so far not' been proved to be beyond doubt correct. The orthodoxestimate of the Sangam age expounded by the late Mr.Kanakasabhai Pillai and more fully by Dr. S, KrishnaswamiAiyangar has been followed here.
The Sangam works although they mention several kings andchieftains in the Tamil land contain no mention of thePallavas (even where they actually describe Kafichi), or of anymember of the various Pallava dynasties known to us frominscriptions. The inference seems, therefore, to be fully justifiedthar'the Pallava kings reigned after the age of these Sangamworks. Otherwise it is difficult to understand the silence of'these works about the dynasty of the Pallavas of KahchTespecially as we learn from them that the region aroundKafichi was ruled over by Tondaman-Ilam-Tiraiyan, one ofthe Chola viceroys. The Sangam works however mentiona people known as the Tondaiyar among others who aresometimes considered to be the same as, or closely related to,the Pallavas.2 But the available evidence does not seem suffi-cient to warrant - our identifying the Tondaiyar with thePallavas as the former term appears to be a tribal name likethe Aruvalar, Vadavar, etc., while Pallava looks morelike a family name than that of a tribe. One Sangamwork called Perumbdtiarrupadai, written by Rudran-Kannanar who has also celebrated the Chola king Karikalaarid his capital town Kaveripattinam, is mainly devoted to adescription of- the condition of Kahchi during the rule ofTondaman-Ilam-Tiraiyan who appears to have preceded the
1 vol. i, p. 108. 2 Ind. Ant , vol. Hi, pp. 75-80.
2

===== PAGE 44 =====
i o History of the Pallavas of South India
Pallava kings at Kanchi and 'who, according to certainscholars, was an early Pallava king. With the exception ofthis poem the other pieces in the Sangam works do not con-tain any reference either to Kanchi during the age of thePallavas or about the Pallavas themselves. Suggestions havebeen put forward that the Pallavas were foreigners to thesouth, that the Pallava power was superimposed uponthe Tamil land, and that the Tamils therefore scrupulouslyomitted to mention them, and, even when they did so,mentioned them with contempt. As an illustration the defini-tion in the Pingalandai which gives us the synonyms for thePallavas, includes terms such as Kayavar, Patakar and Nisar.But against this it must be said that this reference does notapply to the Pallava kings who are referred to in the Tevaramhymns and in the works of some of the Vaishnava Alvars ofthe eighth century in terms of praise.1 •>
In addition to the references in the hymns of the Saiva andVaishnava saints about these kings new light is thrown oil theage of Simhavishnu in one of the recently-discovered Sanskritworks entitled the Avantisundarikathasara which, in itshistorical introduction, not qnly contains an importantsynchronism between Simhavishnu of Kanchi, Vishnu-vardhana, the early Chalukya, and Durvinita, the earlyGanga.2 This work also gives valuable particulars relating tothe literary history of the Pallava age and the patronage of thePallava kings. The association of Dandin as well as Bharavi,,with the Pallava court at Kanchi, which this work establishes,is very important for understanding the nature of Pallavaculture during this period.3 ^
Of a similar nature is the discovery^f-^the work Matta-vilasa-Prahasana, a burlesque written hy the Pallava kingMahendravarman I, which depicts vividly the contemporarylife of religious sects such'as the Sakyabikshus and Kapalikas
1 Periya-Tirumoli, ii, 9. ' T'
2 Special note by Editor.
3 See the Age of Bharavi and Dandin, Q.J.M.S., vol', xii, p. 10and the Second All Ind. Ori, Conf., 1922,' Proc, pp. 194, 306-7,
/

===== PAGE 45 =====
Introductory i i
in the city, and of which glimpses are obtainable in thehymns of the Alvars and the Nayanmars in somefof thePrabandha and the Tevaram hymns. This work has recentlybeen published by the Travancore Government.1 Thereseems to be no doubt that the author of this play SriMahendravikramavarman is identical with the Pallava kingMahendravannan known, from inscriptions and copper-plates,to have reigned in the first quarter of the seventh century.A recently-discovered panel in the Adivaraha temple in theSeven Pagodas represents him with his two queens, theiridentity being placed beyond question by the inscriptions overthe reliefs.2 Some of his titles such as Avanibhajana, Guna-bhara, Statrumalla, Mattavilasa, found in the various cavetemples excavated by him, occur in the course of the play.Detailed reference will be made to the work in the sectionon the literature of the Pallava age.
Among literary works that throw light upon the Pallava agein Tamil, Nandikkalambakam deserves prominent mention.This work which consists of about a hundred and odd verses is'devoted to a description of the exploits of Nandivarman III,whose death the author laments in the course of the work.A number of verses in the poem describe the martial exploitsof this sovereign, his patronage of letters, his capital cities,the extent of territory, and other particulars which togethergive a detailed record of his reign. The author is regardedby tradition as one of the younger brothers of the kinghimself although this is considered doubtful. The work hasbeen for a long time out of print and is noticed in some detailin the section dealing with literature of the Pallava age.
To these may be added the Dig;ambara Jaina work calledLokavibhaga3 discovered and noticed by R. Naiasimha-charya till recently Director of the Mysore ArchasologicalDepartment. It furnishes us with an important chronologicaldatum from which the initial year o£ one of the early Pallava
1 Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, No. LV.
2 Special note by Editor.
3 Mys. Archl. Rep. for 1909-10, p. 45.

===== PAGE 46 =====
t2 History of the Pallavas of South India
kings Simhavarman may be fixed. The work consists ofeleven prak'aranas, the last being ynokskabkaga. The openingverse is in praise of Jinesvara. The second verse gives,kshetra, kala, tirtha, pramana-purusfia and their charita as thefive divisions of a purHna; and in the third verse the authorbegins his subject, namely, the description of the world. Allthe MSS. of this work contain four stanzas which are impor|antto Pallava chronology. The first stanza tells us that the sciencewas first taught by Vardhamana to Sudharma and others, thatit was handed down in succession through a series ofteachers, and that it was translated into Sanskrit by RishiSimhasuri. The second stanza says that at a particular period,corresponding to certain planetary positions, Sarvanandi copiedthe work in the village named Patalika of the Panarashtra.The third stanza gives us Saka 380, corresponding to thetwenty-second regnal year of Simhavarman, king of Kanctii, asthe year in which the, work was completed. The fourth stanzainforms us that the work consists of 1536 anushtub slokas.Saka 380 is apparently the year in which the copying work wascompleted by Sarvanandi, and the author of the workSimhasuri probably flourished at an earlier period. Calculationshows that there cannot be any doubt about the correctness ofthe date. Patalika, the village in which Sarvanandi copiedthe work, is identical with Patalipura in South ArcotDistrict at which, according to the Periyapuranam, there was alarge Jaina monastery in the seventh century a.d, »
In addition to these sources we have the account given aboutthe Tamil land, and the city of Kanchi in particular, by thecelebrated Chinese pilgrim and the blaster of the Law, HiuenTsang. whose work has the advantage of being a contemporaryaccount The pilgrim appears to have visited Kanchi abouta.d. 640. The city having,had the reputation of being a seatof Buddhistic learning and the city of birth of the celebratedDharmapala who preceded Silabhadra at the Nalanda University,the pilgrim spent a considerable time in it. Although he doesnot mention anything about the contemporary king or court,he has given an account of his impressions relating to the

===== PAGE 47 =====
Introductory i \
character of the people, soil, climate, temples and the state ofBuddhism in the city.
To these sources must be added the Ma/iavamsa, the CeylonChronicle written in Pali and giving the earliest known accountof the kings of the island. This work is particularly useful forsettling the chronology of early South Indian history as itdespribes the relations and the contact that existed betweenthe kings of Ceylon and those who ruled in the Tamil land.So far as the Pallavas are concerned we find that in the daysof Narasimhavarman I as well as in the closing days of thePallava empire invasions of the island were undertaken byPallava kings either on behalf of the ruling sovereign oractuated by love of conquest merely. Chapter 47 of this workis particularly interesting as it gives a glimpse into Pallavaoversea enterprise in early times.
Next comes tradition, living tradition, about the Pallavasand their age. It is surprising that the memory of thePallava kings, although perpetuated in the names given afterthem to dozens of temples such as Paramesvaravinnagaram,Rajasimhesvara, Kshatriyasimhapallavesvara, Jsatrumalles-varalaya, Mahendravishnugrha and to many places, has beenforgotten and their good work lost sight of. Names of placessuch as Pallavaram, Pallavanichharam, Nandipuravinnagaram,Paramesvaramangalam, Mahendramangalam, Mahendravadi,Mahamallapuram clearly indicate that these were eitherfounded or named after the kings bearing these namesin the Pallava dynasty. In view of all this it is surprisingthat the memory of the dynasty has not survived toany appreciable extent in living tradition. The MackenzieManuscripts collected about a century ago by the indefati-gable Surveyor-General, Col. Colin Mackenzie, although con-taining many accounts of the early history of the Pandyas,Ctiolas, Gangas, Mahrattas and others do not contain anyaccount relating to the dynasty of the Pallavas. But someof theJ accounts- professing to give the Ancient History ofTondamandalam and the exploits of Adondaichakravarti seemto preserve a distant reminiscence of what the people of the

===== PAGE 48 =====
i4 History of the Pallavas of South India
early part of the nineteenth centdry believed to have been theancient condition of Tondamandalam, by which name theregion immediately around Kaiichipuram was known. Thisclass of traditional accounts preserved in the Mackenziecollection appears to depict the condition of Tondamandalamprior to the days of Pallava advent. Some of them, such asthe account of Tondaman-chakravarti, relate to the conquestof the region from a rude and uncivilized tribe known as theKurumbas and to the introduction of civilization by Adondai-chola. There seems to be warrant for presuming that thisperson was no other than Tondaman-Ilam-Tiraiyan who isimmortalized in the Perumbanarrupadai by Rudran-Kannanar.If so the Mackenzie collections may be taken as lending supportto the view that the region of the Pallavas was under Cholaoccupation before the Pallavas came from the north. Thecircumstances under which the Pallava conquest of the Cholaregion was brought about are not known.

===== PAGE 49 =====
CHAPTER II
THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF THE
PALLAVAS : PRE-PALLAVA HISTORY OF
KANCHIPURA
^HE age of the Pallavas in South India may be taken toextend roughly from the third century a.d. to the endof the ninth. Many facts connected with their origin andearly history are, in the existing state of historical research,uncertain. Their chronology is yet in the process of construc-tion, and the genealogical order of succession, in spite of thecomparative abundance of copper-plate characters, cannot beregarded as having been finally settled. The question of theirorigin has baffled investigators, European and Indian alike,ingenious suggestions and theories have been offered for thesolution of this enigma by various scholars who occupiedthemselves with this work.
Various Theokies
The theory that held the field' until recently, almostundisputed, is known as the Persian or Parthian origin of thePallavas, and was adopted by the late Vincent Smith in thefirst edition of his Early History of India.1 According to thelate Mr. Venkayya, who developed this theory elaborately :—
' The Pallavas . . . may, until their origin is satisfactorilyestablished by indisputable evidence, be supposed to beidentical with the Pahlavas, Palhavas, and the Pahnavas of thePuranas. This identification is based on etymological groundsand'supported by the fact that the Palhavas formed'a distinctelement in the population of Western India early in thesecond century. Their movement from Western India to the
1 E.H-L (1904), p. 348,

===== PAGE 50 =====
16 History of the Pallavas of South India
East Coast is not only possible but rendered likely by knownhistorical facts.'1
This theory, however fascinating to the imagination, restsaltogether on the superficial verbal resemblance of the wordsPahlava and Pallava.2 There is no evidence whatever, asMr. Venkayya himself admits, that the Pahlavas of the westcoast moved into the east anytime during the second centurya.d. At any rate there is no reference or reminiscencewhatever in the large numbers of Pallava copper-plate inscrip-"tions of any such migration. Mr. Venkayya presumes thatit was the war of the Western Satrap Rudradaman, a.d.ISO, with the Andhra king Gautamiputra-Satakarni and hissuccessor, that probably brought about in some manner, nowunknown, the eastward movement of the Pahlavas in hisservice. It is indeed true that the minister of Rudradaman iscalled Suvisaka and described in the Junagadh inscriptiois-as aPahlava. But no evidence of a positive character is availableto connect him or his descendants with the Pallava kings ofSouthern India. For one thing this Pahlava minister ofRudradaman was not a ruling king. He is not moreovermentioned in any of the ancestral genealogical lists of thePallava kings. In the second edition of his Early History ofhidia Vincent Smith gave up this theory of Pahlava originwhich he had adopted in the earlier edition of Early History ofIndia, with the remark that it is more likely that the Pallavaswere a tribe, clan, or caste which was formed in the northernpart of the Madras Presidency, possibly in the Vengi country.3Mr. Venkayya's objection against this view of indigenousorigin of Pallavas is the apparent improbability of two tribes,the Pahlava in Western India and theJPallava in the deltaof the Godavari, bearing the same nameu Some of his otherarguments against the indigenous origin of the Pallavas are
1 A.S.R., 1906-7, p. 221. , ~~
2 It is to be noted however that; in Sanskrit orthography Pahlava witha h can never be confounded with the word Pallava. In the Pu'ranas, aswell as in Persian and even in Prakrit the h is clistinct. The two wordsappear to indicate two distinct people. '
3 V. A. Smith, E.HJ. (1908 ed.),.p. 423.

===== PAGE 51 =====
Pre-Pallava History of Kanchipura 17
ingenious and may be stated here. One is that the Pallavasnever refer to themselves in their records as belonging eitherto lunar or solar race like other dynasties of South India suchas the Cholas, Pandyas, Chalukyas, etc. Another is that noneof the kings mentioned in the Puranas are to be found in thePallava genealogy such as Manu, Sibi, Ikshvaku, etc. All thesefacts according to him, raise a presumption that the Pallavasof Southern India were not an indigenous tribe in the sensethat the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Cheras were.1
Views of L. Rice.—This view of foreign origin was also sharedby L. Rice. In his Mysore and Coorg from. Inscriptions he pointsout that the Pallava kings of South India were identical withthe Pahlavas who, with the Yavanas and Sakas, were destroy-ed by Gautamiputra-Satakarni and that the word Pahlavais a Prakrit form of Parthava meaning Parthian, especiallythe Arsacidan Parthians.2 As we have already pointed outthis conjecture that the Pallavas of the south are identi-cal with the Pahlavas of the west and ultimately with theParthians and the Persians is based entirely on the simi-larity of the words Pahlava and Pallava, whereas everythingknown about the Pallava kings of the south, inscriptions,traditions and monuments indicate that they were a peninsularrace ; they are probably identical with the class of peopledescribed as Tondaiyar in Tamil literature and also familiaras Kadavas or foresters. Vincent Smith totally rejected thistheory of foreign origin in the third edition of his Earlyhistory of India, and has expressed his conclusion on the subjectin the following terms :—
' The name Pallava resembles Pahlava so closely thatmost writers have been disposed to favour the hypothesis thatthe Pallavas and the Pahlavas were identical^ and that conse-quently the southern Pallava dynasty of Kanclu should beconsidered as ultimately of Persian origin. But recentresearch has failed to adduce any historical facts in support of
1 A.S.X., 1906-7, p. 219, foot-note.
2 Mysore and Coorg from Inscriptions, p. S3.
3

===== PAGE 52 =====
18 History of the Pallavas of South India
that notion, and it seems more likely that the Pallavas were anindigenous tribe, clan, or caste.'1
One important piece of evidence among others2 whichstrongly militates against this theory of the foreign origin isthat furnished by the poet Rajasekhara, the great critic, in hisaccount of the geographical division of the people of his times.
This is brought out in full relief by Dr. S. KrishnaswamiAiyangar in his dissertation on the Pallavas, wherein discussingthe origin of the Pallavas he observes as follows :—
Rajasekhara on the Pallavas.—'The words " Pahlava " and" Pallava " are philologically one, but we have good authorityfor taking it that the two terms refer historically to differentpeoples, thereby illustrating that the partition that separatesphilology from history is not always very thin. The poetRajasekhara lived in the courts of the Gurjara sovereignsMahendrapala and Mahipala about the end of the ninth andthe commencement of the tenth centuries a.d. just the periodwhen the Pallavas were passing out of existence as thedominant South Indian power. He is the author of a geogra-phical work named Bhuvanakosa to which he actually refersfor further information in ch. xvii of his Kavyamima?hsa.In this work he makes a division of India into five, and allotsto each division, the peoples, towns and rivers that belongedto it. In that section he allots the Pallavas to the southerndivision, or Dakshinapatha, lying beyond Mahishmati, whilethe Pahlavas he allots to the division Uttarapatha lying beyondPrithudaka.3 This last name the " great water " probablystands for the Indus, and the people Pahlava are foundassociated with the Hunsj Kambhoja, Bahlika, etc. In theestimation, therefore, of Rajasekhara who seems a muchtravelled man, and has really much interesting information togive of different parts of India in respect at any rate of thecultivation of Sanskrit learning, the^Pahlavas and the Pallavaswere distinct peoples, one of them belonging" to the south andthe other to the frontier on the others-side of the Indus.Rajasekhara, no doubt is a late authority, but undoubtedly
1 E. H. I. (third edition), p: 469!
2 Cf. C. V. Vaidya's views, Meditzval Hindu India, vol. i, p. 380.
3 This has been since satisfactorily identified with Pehoa in thePanipet District, and this is in complete accord with the details given inRajasekhara.—Ed.

===== PAGE 53 =====
Pre-Pallava History of Kanchipura 19
gives expression to the prevailing opinion of his time inregard to these two peoples.'1
Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil's Views.—The view held by Prof.Jouveau-Dubreuil is only slightly different. Although he doesnot go the whole extent of advocating the theory of a Parthianorigin of the Pallavas he is inclined to connect the early Pallavaking^s of Conjeevaram with the Pahlavas of Western India. Weread for instance in his chapter on the Pallavas in his latestwork, The Ancient History ot the Deccan.
' Up to the present day we have not found any documentwhich proves a Parthian invasion of Southern India. We maysay that this theory makes the Pallava mystery still moremysterious.'2
According to him the Pallavas were alien to South India andthe early members of this dynasty were not kings. Theywere neighbours of the Nagas and Chutu-Nagas in the days ofRudradaman in the second century. The first Pallava kinginherited the throne of Kafichi on marrying the daughter of aNaga chief by name Sivaskanda-Naga. On pages 55-56 heelaborates this view and establishes a connection between thePahlavas of the west coast with the Pallavas of KanchL Onpage 55 of this work he says :—
' . . . . We learn from the Girnar inscription that Suvi-saka who was the minister of Rudradaman in a.d. 150 was aPahlava.'3
„Thus the word which was written Palhava in a.d. 78 was
written Pahlava in a.d. 150 and we note when we see the
Girnar inscription, that the compound letter ' hla ', resembles
the double -'.11'. Besides in Mayidavolu plates written in
Prakrit this question of letters has been solved in a very
simple manner, they wrote Palava. This can correspond to
Pallava for in Prakrit the consonants are not doubled. In the
Hirahadagalli plates it is written as Pallava though they are
also in Prakrit. Later on when the documents were written
in Sanskrit the word Pallava would be understood to mean
' sprout'.»
1V. /. H., vol. ii. pp. 25-26.
2 Ancient History of the Deccan, p 47.
3 Junagadh lnsc, Ep. Ind., vol. viii, p. 37, plate line 19.

===== PAGE 54 =====
20 History of the Pallavas of South India
i
From all this the following conclusion is drawn:—' The identity of names leads us to think that the ancientkings of Kanchi belonged to the same family as the ministerof Rudradaman. He lived in a.d. 150 and we know Pallavakings of Kahchi reigning about a.d. 225. '
Objections to the Theory.—This theory which connects thePallavas of Kahchi with the Pahlavas of the west coast pre-sents difficulties, some of which have already been pointed outbefore. In the first place it was seen that there is no evidencewhatsoever of an eastward movement of the Pahlavas. Thereis moreover no evidence of a Pahlava prince marrying thedaughter of a Naga chief on which Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuilrelies for his theory of the attainment of political sovereigntyby the Pahlavas. The Vel'urpalayam plates which mention aNaga alliance * do not say that it was the first Pallava kingwho so attained power. In this record which belongs tothe ninth century, he is called Vlrakurcha and not Sivaskjmda.Then again this record mentions many earlier kings such asAsokavarman who ruled before the days of Vlrakurcha a fac|which militates strongly against the view of Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil. The theory does not explain why they came to becalled Pallavas. It fails to take into consideration the existenceof a people known as Tondaiyar, synonymous with the SanskritPallava. Moreover early Tamil literature does not supportthe view that the Pallavas originally emigrated from Surashtfa.Finally there is no mention in any of the numerous charters oTfthe Pallava kings and other contemporary kings in SouthIndia of Suvisaka the supposed ancestor of the Pallava kingswho lived in Rudradaman's court. Ir^h&_was really connectedwith the Pallava family of Kanchi how is it That he does notfigure even in one of the lists of their ancestors containedin the Pallava records ? It is-not again definitely known whetherthe authority of Sivaskandanaga extended as far south asTondaimandalam. No inscription or copper-plate of tlus chiefor others have been found proving that his authority extended
1 S.I.I., vol. ii, Part 5, p. 510, versed.

===== PAGE 55 =====
Pre-Pallava History of Kanchipura 21
in this region. These considerations make us hesitate toaccept the theory of Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil that the kings ofConjeeveram were descended from the Pahlavas of Rudra-daman's time, and that the first Pallava king obtained thethrone of Kahchi by a marriage alliance with the Nagas.
Yet another View.—Mr. Rasanayagam who does not agreewith the views and conclusions arrived at by the Professorseeks to find the home of Pallavas in the south in the regionknown as Manipallavam to the early Tamils.1 According tohim Killi's son Ilarh Tiraiyan through the Naga princess men-tioned in the early Tamil work Manimekhalai was really the firstPallava king. In this work he is described as the son ofKilli by Pilivalai, a daughter of Valaivanan, the Naga king ofManipallavam. He was lost in a ship-wreck and was foundwashed ashore with a coil round his ankle of a twig or theTondai-creeper (Caphallandra Indicd). Hence his name Tonda-man-Jlam-Tiraiyan. Ilam-Tiraiyan was therefore the first tobecome an independent king and progenitor of the Pallavadynasty. His period is fixed as the third quarter of the secondcentury a.d. The dynasty was called the Pallava designatedafter the mother's native place Manipallavam. The titles,such as Ankura, and Pottaraiyan which were assumed by Pal-lava kings are synonymous with the word Pallava and remindus of the origin of the name from Manipallavam.
Consideration of the Theory.—According to this theory thePallavas were of Chola-Naga origin and were indigenous tothe southern part of the peninsula and Ceylon. They hadnothing to do with Western India, Persia, the Chutu-Nagas,Suvisaka and others. But there are certain difficulties inaccepting this view as correct. The earliest members of thePallava family that we know from copper-plate inscriptions donot include either Tondanian-Ilam-Tiraiyan or any member ofthe Chola-Naga dynasty. On the other hand, they describethemsejves as members of the Bharadvaja-gotra and as theperformers of Asvamedha, Vajapeya and other sacrifices.
1 Ind. Ant., vol. Hi, pp. 75-80.

===== PAGE 56 =====
2i Fiistory of the Pallavas of South^jndia
Moreover they addressed their charters invariably in Prakritand Sanskrit, and never in the Tamil language. Such of thecharters that contain any allusion to the Naga marriagemention neither a Chola ancestry nor Manipallavam theiralleged original home. Their records on the contrary showthat they are different from the southern Tamil rulers, andhailed from the north as representatives of Aryan or Sanscritculture. The hostile relationship of the early Pallavas withthe early Tamil rulers, one of the Pallava kings being calledthe ' submarine-fire to the oceanlike army of the Cholas,' 1seems to be opposed to this Chola-Naga origin of the Pallavadynasty. For these reasons it looks as if that Tondam'an-Ilarh-Tiraiyan had no connection with the Pallava family ofKanchipura known to us from charters, and probablywas a Tiraiyar-chief 2 who preceded the Pallavas and was asubordinate of the contemporary Chola ruler in the secondcentury a.d.
Other Views.—A more or less similar view is expressed byMr. M. S. Ramaswami Aiyangar in his recent work Studies inSouth Indian Jainism.3 According to him the early Pallavas,especially those kings in the fourth century a.d., were calledTiraiyar only and not as Pallavas. In support of this view hementions the reference * to Vishnugopa in Samudragupta's
1 S.I.I., vol. ii, Part 5, p. 510. ;
2 He is actually described as given the name of Tiraiyan because hgwas brought over by the waves of the sea. This seems but a learnedattempt at explaining an obscure folk-name Tiraiyar.— Ed.
3 Studies in South Indian Jainism, p. 143.
4 ' The Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta merely speaksof Vishnugopa as the ruler of Kanchi. T-he^name Pallava'does notoccur there. From this it is evident that in the fourth, century a.d. theword Pallava was little used by them. ... In S&ngam literature therulers of Kanchi are spoken of as Tiraiyan and Tondfeiman. . . . Vishnu-gopa, who was ruling Kanchi at the time of Samudragupta's invasionmust therefore be a Tiraiyan.
" The Tondamandalapattayam gives an account of-the various-branches of the Tiraiyar. This has been noted by Kanakasabhai Filialin his book, Tamils 1800 Years Ago., As one of the 'main branches ofTiraiyar we have Pallava Tiraiyar showing thereby the' connectionbetween Pallavar with Tiraiyar. It is ^therefore natural to suppose thatthe Pallavas were known to the early Sangam literature by their groupname of Tiraiyar but as their power and influence increased in the land

===== PAGE 57 =====
Pre-Pallava History of Kanchtpura 23
Allahabad pillar inscription as king of Kafichi only (KancheyakaVishnugupd) and not as the king of the Pallavas.
This explains according to him that in the fourth century a.d.the word Pallava was little used by them. Another ingenioussuggestion made on similar lines is that of Mr. SwaminathaAiyar, based upon the apparent similarity of the wordsTiraiya, Draya and Darya in Persian. ' Draya ' and ' Darya'according to this writer mean the sea in Persian, and Tiraiyaris apparently a Persian-derived name meaning seamen. Hewould thus ascribe to the Tiraiyar a Persian or Pahlava origin.As the fact seems to accord with the Persian origin of thePallavas held by certain scholars it was thought by the author asgiving the most satisfactory solution of the question. But aswas already stated, the Persian origin of the Pallavas rests onthe doubtful philological resemblance of words to which the addi-tion! of Tiraiya and Draya are now sought to be added. Apartfrom the resemblance of the words, is there anything positivewhich supports the identification of these different peopleTiraiyar and the Pallavas ? The evidence at our disposal onthe other hand is wholly against it, and in the existing state ofresearch it is not possible to regard the identification as estab-lished. The Pallava kings of the copper-plate charters musttherefore be looked upon as different from the Tiraiyar, and theearly members of the family such as Sivaskandavarman, Budha-varman, etc., have very little to do with the kings and chiefsknown as Tiraiyan and Ilam-Tiraiyan figuring in early Tamilliterature. Another consideration which militates strongly
their branch name Pallava-Tiraiyar assumed greater importance. Hencethe absence of the word Pallava in the fourth and the fifth centuryliterature and the greater frequency with which this name occurs in suchworks as Nandikkalambakam"
There is no evidence to prove that the Tiraiyar of the early Tamilliterature were the same as the Pallavas, and the testimony ofToAdantandalapattayom is invalidated as the work is only a work ofcomparatively modern times. It is not correct to say that in the fourthcentury the word Pallava was little used by them. In the copper-platecharters of the fourth century as well as the following centuries they arecalled only as Pallavas and never as Tiraiyan. If Vishnugopa was aTiraiyan it is strange that he is not mentioned as such in the Allahabadpillar inscription.'

===== PAGE 58 =====
24 History of the Pallavas of South India
against the identification of the Tiijaiyar chiefs and the Pallavakings is the attitude of these kings towards Tamil literatureand poets. While we find, that the chiefs of the Tiraiyar likeTondaman-Ilarh-Tiraiyan not only encouraged and fosteredTamil poets but are actually reputed to have been poets them-selves. We do not find that any of the early Pallavas weresimilarly devoted to the encouragement of Tamil. ThatTondaman-Ilarh-Tiraiyan was himself a poet is evident fcomPurananuru 185, and verses 94, 96 and 106 of Narrinai. Theexplanation is that the Pallavas were essentially a northernrather than a Tamilian race, steeped in Aryan or Brahmanicculture which through their encouragement took the leadingplace in the Tamil country. They were aliens to the Tamil landin this sense that their culture and outlook were totally differentfrom those of the Tamils, and hence did not give themselves toactively patronizing Tamil literature like the Tamil kings ofthe south. Throughout their history we find them almostexclusively encouraging Sanskrit culture and literature. ^Withthe exception of the Alvars and Adiyars and the author ofNandikkalambakam, no Tamil poet appears to have enjoyedthe patronage of the Pallavas. On the other hand, Sanskritwas actively fostered at the Pallava court, and a number ofSanskrit poets found hospitable reception in the Pallava courtsuch as Bharavi, Dandin, etc., and some of the kings them-selves were noteworthy writers in Sanskrit.1 When all theseconsiderations are taken into account it becomes difficult tosustain the identity of the Tiraiyar chiefs with the Pallavakings.
Kuricmba-Pallava identification.—Certain writers are inclinedto consider that the Pallavas were "the same as the peopledescribed as Kurumbar figuring in some of the accounts ofthe Mackenzie manuscripts. As regards "these people there
1 It has to be noted in this context.that Kanchi was famous as a centreof Sanskrit learning and was noted'as ' a Ghafika of the Bratonans' inthe Velurpalayam Plates. It was a notable centre of Sanskrit learningwhen the Kadambas were coming into the view of history as in the storyof Mayura S"arman.—Ed,

===== PAGE 59 =====
Pre-Pallava History of Kanchipura 25
is a great deal of vague and misleading ideas in the minds ofmost writers. Who are the Kurumbas ? According to one ofthe Tamil Nigantusx certain hill chiefs known as Kurunila-mannar were known as the Kurumbas. But in the Mackenzieaccounts these people are described as the earliest inhabitantsof Tondamandalam and said to have been given the name forthei'v cruel ways. They are also in some of the accountsbelieved to have been responsible for the division of the regioninto twenty-four kottams, most of which figure in Pallava andChola inscriptions. The story of the conquest of the region byAdondaichola, which will be described later on, is believed bySir Walter Elliot, Sewell and others to have been accomplishedin the eleventh century in the days of Kulottunga Chola, asupposition for which there is no evidence. It is believed bysome that these Kurumbas were the same as the Pallavas. 'Butthere seems to be absolutely nothing which supports such anotion. There is no reference in the numerous inscriptions ofthe Tamil land that there was at any time a dynasty of theKurumbas, or that the Paliava kings are identical with theKurumbas. Hence it appears to be preposterous to accept theidentification.
Still another View.—According to Alexander Rea thereferences making the Pallavas ' hold the sprout' are pedanticPandit's puns, or a play upon the double meaning of the word' Pallava '. 'I would suggest,' he says, ' that it might bederived by somewhat free translation from the two Tamilwords Pal and Avil (to pull) ? referring to their being agri-culturists or milk-drawers like the Gopalas of the northernDekkan.'2 He also throws out another suggestion: ' themasculine singular termination in Tamil is avan, and the pluralavar ; now prefixing the word Pal (milk), would give Palavan ;or Palavar as the honorific plural. Palavan in that case wouldmea'h milkman.' Both these suggestions, however appearmore fanciful than possible as the derivations have not evengrammatical justification in their favour.
1 Divakaram. x Rea, Pallava Architecture, p. 2, foot-note 5.
4

===== PAGE 60 =====
26 History of the Pallavas of South, India
In the present state of research definite conclusions on thequestion seem unattainable. It is>, however, quite plain thatthe theory of foreign origin of the Pallavas, especially thatwhich gives them a Parthian or, Persian home, is withoutfoundation. The theory that contents itself with connectingthe Pahlava minister with the Pallavas of Kanchi althoughhaving an air of plausibility is hardly acceptable as no evidenceis forthcoming of the eastward migration of the Pahlavas inthe second century. The next alternative is to regard themas indigenous to the country. In doing so we have to establishfirst whether the Pallavas should be regarded as a family or atribe. Those who contend that the modern Kallar and thePallis are descended from the Pallavas are labouring underthe impression that the Pallavas constituted a big tribe ; thereseems to be little evidence for the assumption. In the Pallavainscriptions themselves we scarcely come across with the 'WordKurumba as a dynastic surname of any of the Pallava kings.It is therefore improbable that the identification ot theKurumbas with the Pallavas postulated by certain scholarsrests on sound foundation.
That the rule of the Pallavas of Kanchi was preceded bythat of the Cholas is made clear not only by the evidence ofTamil literature, but also from the testimony of the Mackenziemanuscript accounts to which reference had been madealready. These accounts although belonging to the earlypart of the nineteenth century, being the traditional accountfurnished by the village elders in the days of Col. Colin,Mackenzie, profess to relate the early history of the regionknown 'as Tondamandalam which corresponded to the regionruled over by the Pallava kings. ' According to the AncientHistory of Tondamandalam, one of the" accounts in theMackenzie collection, the region was occupied by the Kurumbaswho are said to have been responsible for the erection of "the-twenty-four forts, and the division of the region into twenty-four districts. These are also said to have carried on a. sea-trade with the merchants of Kaveripattinam. It is from theseKurumbas, that one Adondachakravartij, said to be, an, illegiti-

===== PAGE 61 =====
Pre-Pallava History of Kanchipura 2?
mate son of the contemporary Chola king, is described ashaving conquered the'region and acquired it for the Cholassetting up his own rule at Kanchi after uprooting the Kurumbas.The region which was till then known as Kurumbabhumi issaid to have been renamed/Tondamandalam after the name ofthe conquering Chola prince. If we properly interpret thetraditional account -in the light of the facts regarding theoccupation of the region around Kanchl^uram by Ilam-Tiraiyan, it is easy to understand that in this account we findpreserved the earliest reminiscence of the conquest of theregion around Conjeevaram by the Cholas. When did this^happen ? Early scholars who noticed the account have beenmisled into thinking that this conquest was made in theeleventh century.1 They have been led to think so by thereference that the contemporary Chola king in these accountswai Kulottunga, and there was a Kulottunga ruling in theeleventh century. But all the other details in the account areagainst this date. The conditions of the territory and thestate of civilization at the time of Adondaichola, the first Chola
' representative, are too primitive to apply to a period like theeleventh century by which time the region had become fullycivilized under the Pallavas who are known to have beautifiedTondamandalam, and whose sway over the region had alreadylasted for eight centuries. It looks therefore probable thatthe traditional account has mistaken the actual name of the
..contemporary Chola king at the time of the subjugation of theKurumbas which must have been made by some member ofthe family of the early Chola Karikala in the secondcentury a.d.
Pre-Pallava History of K&nchi.—Kanchi which is one of theseven great holy cities of India is believed to have had ahistory much anterior to the beginning of the Christian era.From the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang we learn that in thedays of Buddha in the fifth century B.C. he frequented theregion around Kafichipuram and made conversions. From the
1 Sewell, Lists, vol. i, p. 177.

===== PAGE 62 =====
28 History of the Paltavas of South India
same source we learn also that As'pkaraja built several stupasnone of which has survived to the present day. It would beremembered that Dharmapala, the belebrated Buddhist savantand scholar at Nalanda, hailed from Kanchipuram. WhetherBuddhism made any progress at Kanchi at the time of Buddhais doubtful as there is not much evidence that Buddhism hadadvanced into the heart of the Tamil land in this period.Whether Asoka ordered stupas to be built at the city* ofKanchipura or not, it is not possible to say. The presump-tion that he might have done so gains strength in view of thediscovery of Asoka's inscriptions as far south as Siddapura inthe region of Mysore, and from the fact that his inscriptionsmention the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Kerajaputras. Atany rate Hiuen Tsang says that he noticed a stupa about 100feet high built by Asokaraja.1
During the reign of Karikala who has been assigned, withacceptable authority by several scholars to the age of theTamil Sangam in the beginning of the Christian "era,Kanchipuram appears to have been one of the northern out-posts of the kingdom. At any rate it is probable that one"of Karikala's exploits, or those of his generals, must havebeen the transfer of power from the Andhra-Satavahanas^whose ascendency in this region is indicated by the discoveryof ship-coins in profusion in the region between the Pennarand Palar into the hands of the Cholas. At any rate in theperiod immediately following the city of Kanchi is found ir*the possession of Tondaman-Ilarh-Tiraiyan as stated in thePerumbanarruppadai of Rudran Kannanar: According to theMackenzie MSS. one of the achievements of Adondach5Ja, bywhom probably we are to undersland-./r.ondaman-liam-Tiraiyan, is the uprooting of the the Kurumbas by which te'rmthe unruly chiefs of the region were probably known. Underthe rule of Tondaman-Ilam-Tir-aiyan of Kanchi, presumably <asthe Chola viceroy, the city appears to have been in a flourish-"ing condition. The Perumbanarruppadai of Rudran Kafinanar,
1 Beal, Rec. II, p. 230.

===== PAGE 63 =====
Pre-Pallava History of Kaikhipura 29
the contemporary of Tondaman-Ilam-Tiraiyan gives someidea of the city as it was in those days :—' In the heart ofthe town were the Brahman quarters, where neither dog northe fowl could be seen. They were flanked on the one sideby the fishermen's streets, and on the other by those of thetraders, and these were surrounded by the Cheris of theMallas and the toddy-drawers. Then far removed from themwere situated at one extremity of the city the pallis of theIdaiyans, and beyond these lay the isolated paraicheris of theEyinas. Next to the Malta streets were the temple ofTiruvehka and the palace of King llarh-Tiraiyan.'*
The history of Kanchipuram is lost in obscurity almostfrom the days of Karikala to its occupation by the Pallavakings under Sivaskandavarman. It is probable that duringthis period it was in the hands of the Chola princessome" of whom are mentioned in the Manimekhalai tohave built Buddhist temples.2 It is here mentioned that therewere 'Buddhist chaityas in Kanchi constructed by Kalarkilliand Ilarh-Killi whose actual position in the Chola family ofthis period is not known. It would be an interesting study toexamine the evidence contained in the Tamil works regardingthe connection of the early Chola princes with Kanchipuram.There are several members of the Chola family bearing thename of Killi mentioned in early Tamil literature. One ofthese is Kulamurrattu-tunjina Killivalavan, Killi who died atKulamurram, of whom many poets have sung. Then againKovur-Kilar mentions in Pur am 44 and 45 a certain Kariyarru-tunjina (who fell or died at Kari River) Nedumkilli of Uraiyurand of his friend llarh-Tattan. Elsewhere we find the poetsinging of Kurapalli-tunjina (who died at Kurapalli) Killi-valavan,3 one of whose exploits was the destruction ofKaruvur. His Pandyan contemporary was apparently theUg^apperuvaludi who died at Velliyambalam. Other pieces
1 Tarn. Stud., p. 76.
2 See chap. 28, Account of Manimekhalai's visit to Kanchi,
3 Puram 373.

===== PAGE 64 =====
36 History of the Pallavas of South India
iin "the same collection speak of Solan Ilavandigaippallj-turrjina
Nalangilli Setchenni, Enadi (General) Tirukkilli, etc.
According to the account of t Maipimekhalai, the CholaKing Velverkilli, who is probably one of the Killisenumerated above, married a Naga princess called Pilivalai,the daughter of Valai-Vanan, and became the father of theprince known afterwards as Tondaman-llam-Tiraiyan w^homcertain scholars look upon as the ancestor of the Pallavas ofKanchi. This account although it seems to set up a connec-tion between the Cholas and the Pallavas has not beencorroborated by the evidence of the Pallava charters.
■Sengannan.—Among the successors of the Chola kingKarikala, one of the most important was Ko-Sengannan who ismentioned not only in the early, Tamil classics1 but also inthe Tevaram hymns of the Saiva saints Appar and Sambandar.2
We learn from Tamil literature that he defeated his Cheraenemy at a place called Kalumalam, took his enemy prisonerand confined him at a place called Kudavayil-kottam variouslyidentified with Kodavasal and places in the Cochin State.Sengannan's sway must have extended throughout Tonda-mandalam. The Kalavali-Narpadu, a poem celebrating thepowers of this king as a warrior, gives a picturesque accountof the battle of Kalumalam and early Tamil modes of warfare.The age of Sengannan may be ascertained if we know thecorrect date of Poygaiyar who was his contemporary. Accord-ing to certain scholars Poygaiyar is identical with Poygai-Alvar the Vaishnava saint whose age is that of the thirdSangam or somewhere near it. According to othersPoygaiyar is assignable to the sixth,or the seventh centuriesa.d. This latter date is impossible if wS'bear in mind thatSengannan is mentioned already in the seventh century a.d.
Stanza from ' KalaVali.'
2 Appar, Tev. Tirukurukkai Patikam ; Sambandar, TiruvanaikkavalPatikam.

===== PAGE 65 =====
Pre-Pallava History of Kanchipura 31
by Appar as a well-known Saiva saint. He is said to haveworshipped at TirunaraiyQr near Kumbhakonam by Tiru-mangai Alvar, the Vaishnava saint who also notes that he builtas many as seventy temples dedicated to Siva. If Ko-Sengannan could become so popular as early as the seventhcentury to be mentioned by the Saiva saints of the period, intheir hymns a considerable time must have elapsed betweenhis period and the period of the Saiva saints. It would not bewrong to assign him to the period succeeding the age ofKarikala (third century a.d.) and immediately preceding theadvent of the Pallavas of Kafichipuram.

===== PAGE 66 =====
CHAPTER III
EARLY PALLAVAS OF THE PRAKRIT RECORDS
THE materials for the reconstruction of the early historyof the Pallavas are far from adequate. We are entirelydependent upon the few copper-plate charters in Prakrit andSanskrit for our knowledge of the political history of thePallava kings of Conjeevaram until about the seventh centurywhen we are on more certain ground. As more than onescholar has remarked the copper plate charters of the earlyperiod are more useful for constructing a genealogical listthan for writing the political history of the period. The factscontained in the records, enumerate the names of the great-grandfather, the grandfather and the father of the donor ofthe grant and the details of the object of the grant. They donot furnish many particulars on the political condition or theperiod. It is too much to expect much information concerningthe period from these charters as their professed object wasmerely to record donations to certain individuals.' As wehave already pointed out, it is only from the seventh centurythat the habit of recording the exploits of the ancestors of theking who made the grant came to 'be popular in South India.
The Pallava inscriptions and copper charters are divisible asalready indicated into three sections. To the first groupbelongs the Prakrit charters which though bearing no date inany known era have been 'on palaeograjphical grounds assignedto the third and the fourth centuries of the^hristian era. Itis well known from the history of the Andhras that theycontinued to be powerful in the southern region almost tillthe first quarter of the third century A.d. We know from the-Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta that about themiddle of the fourth century A.b. there reigned in the regionextending to the banks of the Krishna, a Pallava king namedYishnugopa. The contemporaneity of Samudragupta with

===== PAGE 67 =====
Early Pallavas of the Prakrit Records 33
Vishnugopa of Kafichi, who was undoubtedly one of the earlykings of the Pallava dynasty of Conjeevaram, leads to theconclusion that Vishnugopa must have reigned some timeabout a.d. 310 to 350. But a recent attempt has been made tofix the initial date of the Gupta era at a.d. 200-201 which wouldput back Samudragupta's period to the middle of the thirdinstead of the fourth century. But this theory rests at presenton Jain tradition merely and has serious objections against it.If this date be accepted, Vishnugopa of KanchI would haveto be placed in the middle of the third century, the period o(the Pallava kings of the Prakrit charters, and this wouldnecessitate the putting back of the kings of the Prakritcharters to the second century—a position which would bedifficult to accept in the present scheme of Andhra chronology.Without taking up this matter we may proceed to put togetherthe crder of succession for the earliest period, which may bestyled the age of the kings, of the Prakrit charters, circa a.d.200-3S0. The three important Prakrit charters which are theearliest of the Pallava charters—the Mayidavolu plates, theIlirahadagalli plates and the British Museum plates have beenpublished in the Epigraphia Indica with text, translationand valuable notes by Bubler, Hultzsch, Leumann and others.The actual order of succession of the Pallava kings of thePrakrit charters is uncertain, but the following represents themost probable one so far as we could make out from thePjakrit copper-plates that are available :—
Bappa Deva
vsivaskandavarman
Buddhy (ankura)
IViravarman
1Vishnugopa (a.d. 340).
The tiarliest of the Prakrit charters that we have is dated
from the capital city of Kanchfpuram issued by Sivaskanda-
varman while he was yet a crown-prince and dated in the
5

===== PAGE 68 =====
34 History of the Pallavas of South India
tenth year of his father.1 Sivaskandavarman is described asa Yuvamaharaja and affiliated to the Bharadvaja-gotra of thePallava family. The grant is addressed to the Viceroy atDhanyakata (Dharanikottanear Amaravati) in the Andhrapatha.It is thus plain that the kingdom of Sivaskandavarman'sfather, who is called Bappa Deva merely, included Andhra-patha and Tondamandalam. The capital of Andhrapatha theTelugu region, appears to have been Dhanyakataka, whileConjeevaram was the Imperial as well as the local capital ofTondamandalam, their Tamil dominion. The next in point oftime is the grant recorded in the Hirahadagalli plates foundin Hirahadagalli in the Bellary District. The king who issuedthis grant is regarded by all scholars as the same as thePrince who issued the Mayidavolu grant. This is also issuedfrom the city of KanchTpuram, and is dated in the eighthyear of the king and refers to a grant of the village ofChillerekakodumka in the Satahaniratta probably identicalwith the Sataaani-Ahara of the Myakadoni record2 "datedin the eighth year of king Pulumavi. The plates, besidesrecording the details connected with the gift, mention thefact that Sivaskandavarman performed the Asvamedha,AgnishtOma and Vaiapeya sacrifices. Of these, if there is anytruth in the claim of the first we may reasonably presume thatSivaskandavarman made extensive conquests and that he hadsome subordinate kings under his rule. There is no meansby which we could at present check the accuracy or otherwiseof this claim.
Next in order of time comes the Gunapadeya or the BritishMuseum plates of Charudevi.3 This record gives in genea-logical brder the names of Vijayaskandavarman, his sonYuvamaharaja Buddhavaraman and his son Buddhyankura.This record is dated in some unknown year of Vijaya-skandavarman's reign and records an order of the Qceen.of the heir-apparent consisting of the gift of land to the
i
1 Ep. Ind., vol. vi, p. 84ff. and plates.
2 Ibid., vol. xiv, p. 153.
3 Ibid., vol. viii, p. 143.

===== PAGE 69 =====
Early Pallavas of the Prakrit Records 35
temple of Narayana at Dalura. At present it is difficult tosay what relation the Vijayaskandavarman of this recordbore to Sivaskandavarman of the first two Prakrit charters.It has been attempted by certain scholars to identify theSivaskandavarman of the Prakrit charters with the Vijaya-skandavarman of the British Museum record as the prefixesVija^a or Siva are too insignificant to matter much. Butas this relationship is not given in any of the numerousgenealogical lists of later times we cannot be sure whetherthe members of the Prakrit charters and the members of theSanskrit charters were connected with one another in thismanner. One striking fact which is a decisive consideration inthis identification is the close similarity of the palaeographyof the Hirahadagalli and the British Museum copper-plates.As regards the period of these kings we have alredy indicatedthat it is the age which followed the decadence of the Andhrapower, that is, the period from about the middle of the thirdcentury to the middle of the fourth century. If we calculateback from the known date of Vishnugopa the contemporary ofSarrmdragupta, allowing about 25 years for each generationwe arrive at a.d. 215 for the reign of Bappa the earliestknown Pallava sovereign of Kanchl. -This calculation is onlyapproximate as it is unlikely that the reign-period of all thekings was the same and is based upon the supposed contempo-raneity of Samudragupta and Vishnugopa, and the probabilitythat Vishnugopa of (he Samudragupta pillar inscription was aPallava king.
The History of the Period.—As we have already pointed out itis not apparent who was the first member of the Pallavas whoestablished the Pallava power in Conjeevaram. So far as weknow Tondaman-Ilam-Tiraiyan and Bappa are the earliest knownnames associated with the rule of the ancient city of Conjee-varam. The relation of the former with the latter is not knownalthough certain scholars have advocated the view that he wasthe first member of the Pallava family. The entire absence ofhis name, and the name Tiraiyan itself or its equivalent in thePrakrit and Sanskrit records of the Pallavas lead us to reject

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$6 History of the Pallavas of South India
ithis view. Our knowledge of this ruler is derived from Tamil
literature and from tradition embodied in the Mackenzie MSS.The state of the city of Kanchlpuram during the reign ofthis ruler is fully described in the early Tamil work, thePerumbanarrupadai, by the Sang am poet Rudran-Kannanar.How the region passed from the hands of Ilam-Tiraiyan intothe hands of the Pallavas remains unknown. It is presumablethat about the middle of the first quarter of the third centuryA.d. there was an invasion of the region from the north led bythe Andhra-Satavahana rulers or generals in the wake of whichthe first member of the Pallava family must have acquiredsovereignty over the region. A faint recollection of thisinvasion is recorded in the Mackenzie MSS. accounts concerningTondaman Chakravarti and Visvavasuraja. Whether thiswas brought about by an immediate ancestor of Bappa or Bappahimself is not known. We may roughly fix the period of thepassing of Tondaraandalam from the,Chola feudatories intothe hands of the Pallavas about the closing years of the thirdcentury a.d. <r
Maharaja Bappa.—It is not clear whether the immediate an-cestor of Sivaskandavarman of the Prakrit charters, who iscalled Bappa in the record found at Mayidavolu, was the actualfounder of the rule of the Pallavas at Kanchlpuram. In allprobability he was not. Because, if this had been so we may «reasonably expect the mention of such an achievement in therecord issued by his son and heir-apparent, and dated in Msown reign. The kingdom over which Bappa ruled included inaddition to the districts around Kanchlpuram known as Tonda-mandalam or Tundakarasb.tra, the Tejugu country on bothbanks of the Krishna which had Dharanikota^or-Dhanyakatakafor its capital. It may be presumed that during this age thePallava kingdom was divided into two parts, the northerrupartcomprising the Telugu districts with Amaravati as capital, and.-the Tamil districts around Kanchi with Kanchlpuram for itscapital. Thus the region bounded' by the Palar on the southand the Krishna on the north formed the kingdom of thePallavas during this period. The close resemblance of the

===== PAGE 71 =====
Early Pallavas of the Prakrit Records 37
Mayidavolu plates with the Kondamudi plates of Jayavarmanwhich again resembles the Karle inscription of GautamTputraSatakarni and the Nasik inscription of Vasishtipulra-Pulumavi,fixes the period of Bappa and Sivaskandavarman approximate-ly as the early part of the third century a.d.1—Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil supposed, in his Pallavas, that YuvamaharajaSivaskandavarman of'the Mayidavolu record was the grand-son of the Andhra king Sivaskandavarman.2 But as he him-self admits, this is based entirely on similarity of names suchas those of Yuvamaharaja Sivaskandavarman and SivaskandaSatakarni.3 Apart from this there is no positive evidence toprove that the Pallavas were directly connected with the rulingSatavahana royal family or descended from them.
Bappa is said to have given away as free gift numerous goldcoins as well as a hundred thousand ox-ploughs to increase'theprosperity of the Pallava family. This was presumably intend-ed tobring under cultivation vast areas of uncultivated foresttracts in the Telugu country.
Sivaskandavarman.—The Mayidavolu grant was issued whilethis sovereign was yet the heir-apparent. From the Hirahada-galli grant dated in the 8th year of his reign we learn that hehad the title of Dharmamaharaja. This was evidently assumedafter extensive conquests. We do not know with any defi-niteness what were the regions which he brought under thesway of Pallava rule. But from the fact that this record saysthat Sivaskandavarman was a performer of the A§vamldha,Vajapeya and Agnishtoma we may reasonably infer that hissuzerainty must have been recognized by several kings.Otherwise the performance of AsvamSdha would lose anysignificance attaching to it unless it is regarded as a falseboast. It is not apparent which was the southernmost limitof the Tamil part of his kingdom, but it is presumable that hissway extended as far as the South Pennar while in the north hiskingdom included the Telugu districts between the Godavariand Krishna. His capital was Kanchipuram while Amaravati
1 Ep. Ind., vol, vi, p. 315. a Pallavas, pp. 8, 9.
3 Ibid., p. 9. '

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38 History bf the Pallavas of South India
in the north appears to have continued as a flourishing seat ofthe Buddhists and their monasteries. The records of Siva-skandavarman give us a glimpse into the Asokan nature ofthe organization of government during this period. Thekingdom was divided into divisions known as Vishaya, Ratthaand Grama. The officers entrusted to rule these areas wereknown as Vishayikas, Ratthika (Rashtrikas), and Desadikata(Desadhikrtas). These officers were chiefly recruited fromthe members of the royal family and the commanders ofarmies. The persons who were consulted by the kingon administrative matters were the prime-minister andthe private secretary (Amatya and the Rahasyatikata).It is significant that the names of the various heads ofdepartments are all in Prakrit. It is probable that thePallava kings continued the administrative system of Asokaon the lines of the Dharmasasrras and Arthasastras. Thetaxes coiiected by these kings from their subjects are inaccordance with the Sanskrit Dharmasastra rules. The taxesand other dues chat these kings were entitled to are knownas the eighteen kinds of taxes {AitRrasa.ja.ti-ParihG.ra). Someof these included the taking of milk and curd from the-subjects, the supply of cattle to the officers touring in thevillages on royal duty, the supplying of lodging facilities andutensils, fire-wood, vegetables, flowers, menial servants, etc.A complete list of these is: furnished in the later, chartersenumerating the exemptions secured by certain donees towhom free gifts of land were made.1 During this period themanufacture of salt and jaggery were royal monopolies, andspecial license had to be obtained for private manufacture.
Inland and foreign commerce must have been in a flourish-ing condition during this period if we may" judge from thewritings of the classical writers which mention several sea-port towns such as Kamara, Poduka, Sopatma, Melanga,.-Kodura, etc. Of these Kodura has been identified with Kudurand Melangus was obviously Malanka or Mavilangai probably
1 Compare the KaSakkudi and the Velurpalayam plates. S./.I., vol,ii, p. 346ff. and 507. - '

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Early Pallavas of the Prakrit Records 39
Mababalipuram or Seven Pagodas.1 Sea-borne trade musthave been flourishing at these various ports, and thepresence of large numbers of ship-coins and Roman coins ofan early period fully lend support to this view. So far as theport of Mahabalipuram is concerned it is clear, from theevidence of Tirumangai-Alvar, that in the early part of theeigb,th century the place was a busy harbour. This probablywas the case in the days of Sivaskandavaraman also. Theship-coins discovered extensively between Cuddalore andMadras have been attributed by some to Pallava kingsalthough it looks probable that they were issued under theauspices of the Satavahana kings of the Dakhan.
Vijayaskandavarman, circa A.D. 280.—The order of succes-sion of the Prakrit plates is not known. But we may presumefrom palseographical indications that Vijayaskandavarman ofthe British Museum copper-plates succeeded Sivaskandavarmanin the interval between A.u. 275 and 340. All that we knowabout this sovereign and his times is the information given inthis record.2 From this we learn that his queen was calledCharudevi, and that the heir-apparent to the throne was calledBuddhyankura, and that the father of Vijaya-Buddhavarmanwas called Vijayaskandavarman who is presumably identicalwith Sivaskandavarman of the earlier charters. The recordregisters a grant of land to the temple of Narayana at thevillage of Dalura in the division called Kulimaharatha. This\§, so far as we know, the earliest Pallava record mentioning aroyal gift to the temples. We do not know anything aboutthe political events during the reign of Buddhyankura whoflourished in the years immediately following the death ofVijaya-Buddhavarman. The next member of the Pallavafamily is Vishnugopa well known as the Pallava contemporaryof Samudragupta.
The connection of the Pallava kings of the Prakrit chartersand those of the Sanskrit charters is not clear. According to
1 lnd. Ant., vol. xlvi, p. 72.
2 Ep. lnd., vol. vi, p. 88 and vol. viii, p. 143.

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40 History of the Pallavas of South India
some scholars the dynasties of thej Prakrit charters and theSanskrit charters are distinctly different, and not directlyconnected. According to others1 ( all the members of thecopper-plates and the stone inscriptions whether they arewritten in Prakrit, Sanskrit or Tamil are to be connected withone dynasty only the most aiicient member of which wasBappa. Future research and the discovery of fresh copper-plate charters or other records alone can solve this questionfinally.
Jouveau-Dubreuil, Pallavas, pp. 72-3, Genealogical Table.

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CHAPTER IV
EARLY PALLAVAS OF THE SANSKRIT RECORDSSources of Information and Their Nature.—We may nowproceed to construct the order of succession of the Pallavakings mentioned in the various copper-plate charters inscribedin Sanskrit in their genealogical order. This is the periodranging from about a.d. 350 to 600. The most importantcopper-plate records of this period are those addressed fromTamrapa, Palakkada, Menmatura, Dasanapura, Pikira, Ongodu(I and II), Darsi, Rayakota, Chandalur, Udayendiram,Uruvappalli, and the stone inscriptions of Vayalur andAmaravati. These charters have for their object the recordingof grits of land to learned Brahmans or temples, and onlyincidentally mention the ancestral history of the rulingsovereign who issued the grant. Like the earlier chartersthey are not dated in any known era such as the Saka whichmight enable us to fix their date with precision ; but they aremerely dated in the regnal year of the ruling sovereign.These records are almost all of them written in the Sanskritlanguage in the early Grantha-Pallava script peculiar to thePallava records, and have been assigned on purely palaeo-graphical grounds to the fifth and sixth centuries a.d. Thepractice of inscribing a part of the record in Tamil wasadopted only from the seventh century onward, the Kuramplates of Paramesvaravarman being the earliest knownPallava Sanskrit-Tamil charter. To these we may also addthe four or five important copper-plate charters of this varietybelonging to the seventh, eighth and ninth centuries a.d.which also furnish, in the donative part of the gift, a longgenealogy of the earlier sovereigns in the Pallava dynasty.These are the Kasakkudi, Velurpalayam, Korrangudi,Tandantottam, and the Udayendiram plates. These recordsenable us to check the accuracy of the information containedin the earlier grants.6

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42 History of the Pallavas of South India
The Nature of these Records and sofa Important Synchronisms.—The actual chronological position and the genealogical orderof the Pallava kings of this period! are, in the present state ofknowledge, bound to be tentative and far from strictlyaccurate. Fortunately, an- element of certainty in the case ofcertain of the sovereigns of this period has become possibleby two or three important synchronisms. The most valuableof these is contained in the Penugonda plates of the WesternGanga king Madhava II, which, unlike most other early Gangaplates, has been accepted to be a genuine record.1 Bystating that Arivarman (equivalent of Harivarman orAryavarman) and Simhavarman and Skandavarman wereinstalled on the. Ganga throne, by Simhavarman andSkandavarman of the Pallava family this record giyes thevaluable, information that ,Aryavarman and Simhavarman ofthe Western Ganga dynasty were contemporaries of the Pallavakings Simhavarman and Skandavarman, and in all probabilitytheir feudatories as well. Dr. Fleet, who has made a specialstudy of these plates, has given it as his opinion, that theperiod when these kings nourished must have been about thelast quarter of the fifth century a.d., and that a.d. 475 is avery good date for the record.,
The ' Lokavibhdga' Datum.—The next important work whichintroduces some certainty in the early Pallava chronology isthe. Digambara Jain work known as Lokavibhdga which isdated in Saka 380, i.e. a.d. 458.2 This date, we understandfrom, the work, corresponds to the twentyrsecond year ofSimhavarman, the king of Kafichi. Dr. Fleet, who wasgenerally suspicious of early Saka dates, examined this datecarefully, and making a few corrections, arrived at theconclusion that it was equivalent to a.d. 458. As this yearcorresponded to the twenty-second year of, Simhavarman theinitial year of his reign may*be calculated back as the yeara.d. 436. This datum, which was first brought to the notice of
1 Fleet, J.R.A.S., 1915, pp..471.-85.
2 Mys. Archl. Rep. for 1909-10, para 112.

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'Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records 43
scholars by Mr. R. Narasimhacharyar of the Mysore Archseo-logical Department, helps us to fix the period of two of thePallava kings Simhavarman and his son Skandavarman inthe second and third quarters of the fifth century. Prof..Jouveau-Dubreuil however underrates -the value of thistestimony1 and regards it as rather suspicious especially as itdoes, not say which Simhavarman it was and to what branchof the Pallava family he belonged.
Avantisundarikathasara.—Another valuable synchronismwhich has been -discovered recently, is obtained from theSanskrit manuscript known as Avantisundarikathasara thehistorical introduction of which gives an account of Bharaviand Dandin. We learn from this that Bharavi visited thecourts of Vishnuvardhana, Durvinita, and Simhavishnu. Fromthe fact that the poet is described to have visited these threeking's we may infer that these kings were contemporaries.As it is known that Durvinita belonged to the later part ofthe sixth century, and as we also know that Vishnuvardhanais assignable to the same period, we may feel certain that themembers of the Pallava kings of the Sanskrit charters belongto a period anterior to the seventh century. From the seventhcentury onward there is not much uncertainty either in theactual order of succession of the Pallava kings or their dates.The light thrown by the Avantisundarikatha upon thepolitical history of South India and chronology is discussedboth in the Proceedings of the Oriental Conference SecondSession (1922) and in the Mythic Society's Journal, by Messrs.M. Ramakrishnakavi and A. Rangaswami Sarasvati.2
We have already pointed out that the connection of thePallava kings referred to in the Prakrit charters such as
1 The Pallavas, p. 18,
2 Another MS. of the original prose Avantisundarikathd by AcharyaDandin has been discovered by Pundit G. Harihara Sastri at Tri-vandrun>) This confirms the contemporaneity of Bharavi, Vishnu-vardhana I, Durvinita and Simhavishnu. It makes however Dandinthe great grandson of Damodhara, a friend of Bharavi, and not Bharavihimself, the modification being due to a slight error in reading.Summary of papers, Fourth Oriental Conference, pp. 44-7. EU.

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44 History of the Pallavas of South India
!§ivaskandavarman, Vijaya-Buddhavarman, etc., with those ofthe Sanskrit charters such as Skandavarman, Simhavarman,Simhavishnu, etc., is not definitely! known. But the fact thatin both the sets of copper-plates the kings are spoken of asbelonging to the Bharadvaja-gotra, and the general resem-blance of the names in both lead us to conclude that thesekings were members of one family. „
Vishnugopa. Circa 34-0.—The next point concerns Vishnu-gopa, the contemporary of Samudragupta. A perusal of thegenealogical portion of the early Pallava charters shows thatthere were several members bearing this name such asYuvamaharaja Vishnugopa, Vishnugopavarman of the Uruva-palli and the Pikira plates, besides a Maharaja-Vishnugopawho figures twice in the Chura plates.J Then again we have,in the Vayalur pillar inscription, the name of Vishnugoparepeated thrice and also the name of Vishnudasa. Theearliest of these is probably to be identified with the adversarydescribed in the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta.It has been suggested recently that the orthodox estimate ofSamudragupta's southern expedition has been considerablyexaggerated and that the Allahabad inscription has been,misinterpreted. Thus for instance Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil inhis Ancient History of Deccan2 says :—
' After all these rectifications that we have just made theexpedition of Samudragupta presents itself before our eyes inquite another form. It is no more a new Alexander marchingvictoriously through South India ; it was simply the unfortu-nate attempt of a king from the north who wanted to annex thecoast of Orissa but completely failed. About A.p. 340,Samudragupta left his capital Pataliputra and marched directlytowards the south. First he conquered Southern Kosalawhere the king Mahendra was feigning in the vicinity ofSirpur and Sambalpur. He" then crossed the forests thatare to the south of Sonpur and found there the small kingdomof Mahakantara which means the " great forest " and where
1 Ep. Rep. for 1924, z Jouveau-Dubreuil, Anc. His. Dec%i p. 60,
s —

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Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records 45
Vyagraraja the " Tiger-king " was reigning.1 Then he reachedthe coast of Orissa. Mantaraja, king of Korala, Mahendra ofPishtapura, Svamidatta of Kottura, a citadel on the top of ahill and Damana of Erandapalle tried to stop him but werecaptured. Samudragupta now prepared to make new con-quests when he was opposed by a confederacy of all the kingsthat ^reigned near the mouth of the rivers Godavari and theKrishna, the most powerful of them being Vishnugopa thePallava king of Kanchi. The other kings were Nilaraja ofAvamukta, Hastivarman of Vengi, Ugrasena of Palakka,Kubera who reigned in Devarashtra and Dhananjaya whosecapital was at Kusthalapura. Samudragupta being repulsedby the kings of the Eastern Deccan abandoned the conquestshe had made in the coast of Orissa and returned home.'
Thus according to this view the Allahabad pillar does-notspeak of Pollachi, Palghat, Mahendragiri, Colair lake, Erandoland Maharashtra. The identification of Airandapalla withErandol appears in the light of the facts known from theSiddhantam plates of Devendravarman to be near Chicacole.2Similarly Devarashtra which has been hitherto identified withMaharashtra, thus misleading scholars into the impression thatSamudragupta went to Maharashtra, figures in an EasternChalukya grant.3 discovered in the Vizagapatam District.All the kingdoms mentioned in the inscription are situated inthe east coast of the Dakhan. Again according to the sameauthority Samudragupta did not advance as far south asKanchi to defeat Vishnugopa, but was effectively subjugated byhim on the banks of the Godavari or the Krishna. This is merelya hypothesis which has not been proved ; there is no evidenceagainst the orthodox view that Samudragupta did advanceagainst Kafichipuram and most scholars are inclined to accept
1 About the identification of this Vyagra see Ind. Ant.', vol. lv,pp. 103ff and 223f£ Ed.
2 Ep. Jpd., vol. xii, p. 212.
3 Ep. Rep., 190S-1909, p. 109. These identifications cannot yet beregarded as final. Places in East Khandesh'have vestiges which wouldsupport Fleet's identification yet. See 7. I. H., vol. v, p. 399. A notepn Vakatakas by Y. R. Gupte, Ed.

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46 History of the Pallavas of South India
this view. There is nothing to' sustain the view that thedefeat inflicted upon Vishnugopa and his collegues have beenexaggerated as presumed by Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil in hisAncient History of the Deccan.1 ■ The distinction made inthe Allahabad pillar inscription in regard to the variousgroups of states Samudragupta came into contact with, is clearevidence of an actual invasion and conquest in.regard to |hesetrans-Vindhyan states.
A doubt has been raised2 whether the Vishnugopa mentionedin the Allahabad pillar inscription is to be regarded as amember of the Pallava dynasty or otherwise. The Vishnu-gopa, described as belonging to Kanchi, could be no other thana member of the Pallava dynasty although he is not describedas a Pallava affiliated to the Bharadvaja^gotra as the kings ofthe copper-plate charters are. The consideration which makesthe surmise almost certain is that the name is a characteristicPallava name in the same manner as Nandivarman may beregarded as peculiar to' the Pallava dynasty. The name doesnot occur in any other royal dynasty so far known to us. eThere is moreover no probability of any other royal dynastyhaving ruled at Kanchipuram just at the period of Samudra-gupta's.raid, other than the Pallava. All these considerationstaken along with the fact that the chieftains mentioned in theAllahabad pillar inscription are associated only with the .capital city of their kingdoms and not with their dynastic orfamily names, lead to the conclusion that Vishnugopa <ofKanchi, the adversary of Samudragupta, was a member of thePrakrit or early Sanskrit charters. We are not at present in aposition to know anything more about him except his en-counter with Samudragupta, and the probability of his beingdevoted to Vishnu as is apparent by the name. No copper-plate, which may be expected to throw light on his reign, has-been brought to light yet. But the passage in the Allahabad -inscription makes it plain that in the middle of the fourthcentury a.d., there reigned on the banks of the Godavari and
* Qh. iii, pp. 58-61. 2 South Ind. Jainism, p. 143,

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Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records 47
the Krishna and in their vicinity a number of powerfulchieftains such as Hastivarman of Vengi, presumably identicalwith the Salankayana king of that name, Nilaraja ofAvamukta, Ugrasena of Palakka and others.
Vishnugopa to Simhavishnu. A. D. 340 to"550.—This periodcovers roughly 200 years and is commonly spoken of as theage of the Pallava kings of the Sanskrit charters, as therecords of this period are invariably in Sanskrit and not inPrakrit as hitherto. The effects of the invasion of Samudra-gupta on the Pallava dynasty must have been far-reaching.One of these was probably to weaken the authority of Vishnu-gopa, and, after his death, to promote dynastic quarrels amonghis successors. It is very difficult to establish the exactorder of succession of kings enumerated in the historicalportion of the copper-plates of this period. Nor is it possibleto say definitely whether all the kings, whose names figure inthese records, actually ruled or occupied the Pallava throne.The extent of the territory over which their rule probablyextended is also uncertain. We have already pointed out thatit^ is possible to establish some connection, at present un-known, between the Pallava kings of the Sanskrit charters andthose of the Prakrit records, (a. d. 215-350). We do notknow who the first member of the Pallava dynasty of theSanskrit charters was. In this respect the Velurpalayamcopper-plate charter ascribed to the later Pallava king Nandi-varman III of the ninth century and the Kasakkudi plates ofNandivarman Pallavamalla throw some light on the manner inwhich the first member of the Pallava dynasty acquiredsovereignty.1
The historical portion of the Velurpalayam grant whichsupplies a'detailed genealogy of the Pallava kings after givingthe legendary origin of the Pallavas from Vishnu to Pallava,through Brahma, Angirasa, Brahaspati, Samyu, Bharadvaja,Drona, Asvatthaman, etc., proceeds to enumerate certain quasi-historicLl names such as those of Asokavarman, Kalabhartr
1 Velurpalayam'plates, S. I. I., vol. ii, p. 507.

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48 History of the Pallavas of South India
and 'Chuta-Pallava. The break after the king Asokavarmanindicated in the record (verse 5) \ suggests that the Pallavakings of the Prakrit charters—Sivaskandavarman, Vijaya-skandavarman, Buddhavarman hav,e to be included here. Theomission of these names is probably attributable to the factthat the writer of the document had only a foggy notion ofthe kings of the early period, living as he did several genera-tions after these kings, when their memory had almost fadedaway. The historicity of Kalabhartr, Chuta-Pallava andVirakurcha is confirmed by the mention of these names in theVayalur pillar inscription of Rajasimha apparently in theorder of succession. This latter contains many repetitionsand should be used with much care. For example, although itis one of the earliest known list of Pallava kings and belongsto the seventh century, it is impossible to regard that all thekings mentioned in it were ruling kings. On the other hand itappears to have been a list made up in the reign of Rajasimhaby a writer, who was Obviously labouring under the difficultyof accommodating a number of real and quasi-real kings thattradition and copper-plates had preserved, and who, in doingso, was unable to allow for similarity of names. Being inthese difficulties he put together all the names he got<at, in anorder of his own. This seems to be the only explanation forthe repetitions that one notices in the list on the Vayalurpillar when compared with other genealogies. Prof. G. Jouveau-Dubreuil in his Pallavas2- expresses the opinion that theVayalur inscription gives a complete list of the Pallava kingsin the order of their succession. In the portion earlier thanMahendravarman I, the Vayalur record includes names likeVimala,'Konkanika, which occur exclusive'ly^inVWestern.Gangalists of kings. Vishnugopa is mentioned thtge times, Kumara-vishnu twice, which is just possible; However Skandayarmanis mentioned five times' and'Simhavarman four times which^appears less probable. But the; record is doubtless of great
1 5. /. /., vol. ii, part 5, p. 508.
2 p. 18 ff.

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Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records 49
value to us as establishing a connection between the mem-bers of the Prakrit, Sanskrit, and Simhavishnu dynastieswhich have been hitherto looked upon as different dynasties.As we have seen it is impossible to agree with those who holdthat the Vayalur listl gives a complete list of forty-twonames of the Pallava kings in their order of succession.
0 The Vayalur Pillar Genealogy
Brahma
Angirasa
Brahaspati
Samyu
Bharadvaja
Dr5na
Asvatthaman
Pallava
Asoka
Harigupta
Aryavarman
Vimala
Konkanika
Kalabhartr
Chuta-pallava
Virakurcha
Chandravarman
Karala
Vishnugopa
Skandamula
Kumaravishnu
Buddhavarman
Skandavarman
Vishnugopa
Skandavarman
Simhavarman
Viravarman
Skandavarman
Simhavarman
Skandavarman
Nandivarman I
Simhavarman
Simhavarman
Vishnugopa
Simhavarman
Simhavishnu
Mahendravarman I
Narasimhavarman I
Mahendravarman II
Paramesvaravarman I
Rajasimha
1 Vishmidasa
A careful study of the Velurpalayam plates shows that themembers represented in this record from Kalabhartr, who is
1 Cf. list of fifty-four names given in Ep. Ind., vol. xviii, p. 151 andthe whole epigraph as edited in pp. 145-152, ibid.—Ed.
7

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50 History of the Pallavas of South India
called Kanagopa in the Kasakudi plates, belonged to what wehave called the period of Sanskrit charters. As it is clear fromthis record the members mentioned in verses 5 to 8 asAsokavarman and others in whose, family Kalabhartr is said tohave been born, included the members of the Prakrit charterssuch as Bappa, Sivaskandavarman, etc. We cannot re?y verystrictly upon the order of succession in this record as «hereare several breaks and gaps in it. We may therefore proceedto make one or two observations regarding the kings of thisperiod.
Virakurcha and His Period.—Of Kalabhartr and Chuta-pallavavery little is known excepting their names. Of these the firstappears to have been the first member of the Sanskrit dynasty.Of Virakurcha, however, the grandson of Kalabhartr, we learnfrom the Velurpalayam plates (verse 6) that ' simultaneouslywith the hand of the daughter of the chief of serpents he alsograsped the complete insignia of royalty and became famous.'This means in plain language that Virakurchavarman becameking on marrying the daughter of a Naga chief. As to tjjeactual period of this marriage there is some amount of dis-agreement among scholars. The marriage of Virakurchawhich, according to the Velurpalayam plates, gave him akingdom, according to certain authors, has reference to thefirst member of the dynasty of the Sanskrit Pallavas. Accor-ding to Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil the Naga marriage of Vira-kurcha has reference to the first king of the Prakrit chartersSivaskandavarman's father.1 Verse 6 of these plates thereforehas reference clearly to the first member of the Pallava dynastyVirakurcha. ^-__ ^
Was Virakurcha the First Pallava king ?—This conclusion ofProf. Jouveau-Dubreuil does not appear to be"quite correct. Inthe first place it is possible that the names of Asokavarman,- etc.,as we have already pointed out, and others referred to in verse"5 of the Velurpalayam record, stand for the names of fcSie mem-bers of the Prakrit dynasty. If so, it is difficult to accept the view
1 Pallavas, p. 29,

===== PAGE 85 =====
Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records 51
that Virakurcha was the first Pallava king. In the second placeit is possible that Viravarman's immediate ancestor, presumablyhis father or grandfather, might have lost hold of the sove-reignty of the Pallava kingdom owing to some unknown cause,one of which might have been the invasion of Samudragupta.If this were so, his date would have to be sought somewhereafter Vishnugopa. Again, in the Velurpalayam plates it is notstated that Virakurcha who married the Naga princess, was thefirst member in the family of the Pallavas or the first toacquire a kingdom and a kingly position in that family. Thisview is also in agreement with that of Dr. S. K. Aiyangar 1who in his account of the Pallavas ascribes the marriage ofVirakurcha to the period immediately following the invasionof Samudragupta into the south and the consequent disruption.According to his interpretation, ' Put in plain language this(the jNaga marriage) would mean that he married a Nagaprincess and thereby acquired the title of sovereignty of theregion over which he ruled. This obviously has no connectionwith the birth of Tondaman-Ilam-Tiraiyan, who, according totradition embodied in the classical poem Perumbanarrupadai,was the son of a Chola king through a Naga pr,incess ....Neither the detail of the marriage nor the acquisition willagree with the story of llam-Tiriayan. . . . '
What were the circumstances, political and otherwise, whichbrought about the matrimonial alliance of Virakurcha, a memberof the Pallava family with the daughter of a Naga king whichgave him virtually a wife and a kingdom ? To this question nodefinite answer is possible in the present state of our knowledgerelating to the political condition of the Dakhan in the fourthcentury a.d. Dr. S. K. Aiyangar has however attempted tosolve the problem. In the course of his valuable contribution onthe Pallavas he identifies2 the Naga family with which Virakurchabecame connected with the family of Skandanaga, the Satavahanaviceroy of the region round Adoni and who probably belongedto a clan of the family of Satavahanas other than that which
1 Origin and Early History of the Pallavas, p. 43. 2 Ibid., p. 44,

===== PAGE 86 =====
52 History of the Pallavas of South India
ruled in the Dakhan but connectedby blood, and perhaps evenby alliance, with that clan. ' At one; time under the rule ofthe later Satavahanas these Nagas [appear to have extendedtheir territory and even acquired a considerable portion of thekingdom of the Satavahanas themselves. If the Pallavachieftain in the neighbourhood made himself sufficientlydistinguished, a marriage alliance with these Nagas, fromwhom came the early Satavahana queen Naganika, would«havebeen possible for him. The hint, vague as it is, in the inscrip-tion seems to let us into the secret of the rise of the dynasty ofthe Pallavas to power.'
As regards the probable period when this happened, heindicates that this must have happened at a time when theSatavahanas as a ruling dynasty had passed away, and theattempt at the assertion of the Gupta power over this regionunder Samudragupta had in. a way shaken the authority oi theolder dynasties to allow of a new dynasty to spring intoprominence. The character of the invasion of Samudraguptaitself makes it clear that the whole of the western portion orthe empire of Andhras was in the, hands of a power whom fcjr *some good reason Samudragupta did not attack. One suchreason might have been that they held possession of the ~territory with some power, such as the Vakatakas in Berarand Central India. It is likely that their authority was notreadily acquiesced in by the smaller chieftains, feudatories ofthe Satavahanas, along the east coast. If this surmise shouldturn out correct it is possible to conceive that the soutn-western portion was held by a powerful family of the Nagas,relatives of the Satavahanas, and the Pallavas were among' the feudatories who showed a ready inclination to throw offthe Satavahana yoke. When Samudragupta had come andgone, the western power, whatever that was, might haveentered into a marriage alliance with the Pallavas and recog-nized them in the position to which they had already risen by ~their own efforts. , <,
Skaridasishya (Skandavarman).—From the Velurpalayam. plates again (verse 7) we learn that the son of Vir,akurcha,
v"

===== PAGE 87 =====
Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records 53
who is probably identical with Virakurchavarman of the Darsicopper-plate fragment, was Skandasishya. He is described inthis record as the ' moon in the sky of this family' and is saidto have seized the ghatika of the twice-born from KingSatyasena. This achievement of his enables us to fix hisperiod more or less definitely, although the identity ofSatyasena has not been completely worked out. Thereference to a ghatika at this early period is interesting.There is also a reference, in the Talagunda inscription ofKakutsthavarman, ascribed to the first half of the sixth century,to Kanchi being called a ghatika. But no one has attemptedto identify the King Satyasena mentioned in the Velurpalayamplates. In his introductions to these plates published inthe South Indian Inscriptions, Mr. H. Krishna Saslri says thathe remains unidentified.1 Dr. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangarsuggests the possibility that the Satyasena here referred'tomay be Mahakshatrapa Svami Satyasena of the coins whosetime would be the ninth decade of the fourth century a.d.2It is uncertain whether the power of the Kshatrapas extendedsufficiently southward so as to make them come into hostilecontact with the Pallava kings. The probability is that thePallavas co-operated with the dynasty of Western Dakhan,the Vakatakas, in inflicting a defeat on the Kshatrapas andthis interpretation of the situation, therefore, seems to be inaccordance with the general trend of Vakataka history as thisis the period to which the conquest of Kuntala by theVSkataka-Prithvisena I is ascribable. ' Such an advance,' ashas been pointed out, ' is possible only by the overthrow ofthe Kshatrapas, and other successors of the Andhras in thisregion.'
The Probable Period of Skandasishya {Skandavarmati).—Thisidentification of Satyasena with Svami Satyasimba, father-ofMahakshatrapa, Svami Rudrasimha III, whose date accord-ing to Prof. Rapson, is somewhat anterior to a.d. 388, enablesus to fix the dates of Skandasishya as well as his father
1 S.I.I., vol. ii, part v, p. S02.
2 ' The Pallavas,* J. I. H., vol. ii, part i, p. 39.

===== PAGE 88 =====
54 History of the Patlavas, of South India
Virakurcha of the Velurpalayam record. Allowing a periodof about thirty years for these two kings we arrive at abouta.d. 358 for the date of the 'accession of Virakurcha.According to Mr. Krishna Sastri, this Skandasishya is perhapsidentical with the Skandasishya of the Tirukkalukkunraminscription,1 who made a grant to the Mulasthana temple atthe above-mentioned village and spoken of as a former king.The late Mr. Venkayya in his article on this inscriptionsuggested that Skandasishya is identical with Skandavarman ;but as there are several Skandavarmans in the Pallava recordit is difficult to identify the exact individual mentioned in theTirukkalukuiiram inscription.
The Sanskrit Charters.—We may now proceed to examine indetail the genealogical portion of other copper-plate chartersof this period. We have already pointed out that thesecharters have been assigned on palaeographical grounds £p thefifth and the sixth centuries of the Christian era. Onepeculiarity of the charters of this period is that they do notfurnish any genealogical list prior to the great grandfather ofthe ruling sovereign who is the donor. The habit of includinga mythical and quasi-historical pedigree, along with theimmediate ancestral line, appears to have originated only inand after the seventh century in the Pallava family. Aboutsix of these Sanskrit charters have been discovered mostly inthe northern districts, and have been edited with text andtranslations in the Epigraphia Indica. Four of these refer toroyal camps from which the respective grants were ;issue*d,viz. Palakkada,2 Dasanapura, Menmatura, and Tamrapa.Almost all these grants furnish four generations of kings in-cluding the donor. There is considerable difference of opinionas to the order in which these kings are to be~chronologicallyrepresented. In other words the relative position of the kingsmentioned in these records and the chronology to be adopted
1 See Venkayya, Ep. Ind., vol. iii, p. 276. *
2 An unsuccessful attempt is made to identify Palakka andPalakkada with Nellore in the Madras Christian College Magazine forJanuary 1927, p. 42.
_/■

===== PAGE 89 =====
Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records 55
for them are uncertain and far from settled. There existsalso considerable difference of opinion among scholars asregards the identification of the various royal camps fromwhich these charters were issued. None of these placesTamrapa, Palakkada, Dasanapura, or Menmatura has beenidentified definitely although a suggestion had been made bythe late Mr. Venkayya* that they are to be looked for in thevicinity of the region comprised by the modern Nellore District.According to certain scholars the fact that the charters of thesePallava kings are. addressed from these camps, and not fromthe capital city of Kanchipuram, indicates that the Pallavakings who issued these charters had lost hold of Kanchipuramthrough some cause now unknown, and retired to the Telugudistricts bordering on Nellore where they continued their rule.This }ine of argument was adopted by the late Mr. Venkayya,2and is still maintained by some of the officers of theEpigraphy Department.3 They advocate what has beencalled the theory of a Chola interregnum during the Pallavarule according to which the Pallava kings soon after the periodof the members of the Prakrit charters were driven away fromKanchi by the Chola king Karikala. According to theexponents of this view the Pallavas would appear to have takenpossession of the city only in the days of Kumaravishnu whois described in the Velurpalayam plates to have capturedKanchi. We shall revert to this theory of a Chola interregnuma little later.
Various Orders of Succession.—According to Prof. Jouveau-Dubretiil the series of kings Skandavarman—Kumaravishnu—Buddhavarman I—Kumaravishnu (donor) of the Chandalurplates, ruled in Kanchi before the series, Simhavarman(mentioned in the Uruvappalli plates) Skandavarman and■ Nandivarman, and that, owing to the resemblance of theChandalur plates and the Uruvappalli plates, Kumaravishnu Iwould have been the immediate predecessor of Simhavarmanof Kanchi. But a close examination of the copper-plates
1 An. Rep. Ep. for 1905, p. 47. 2 A. S. R. for 1906-7, p. 224.
* $.1.1., vol. ii, p. 503,

===== PAGE 90 =====
56 History of the Pallavas of South India
of this period shows that the Chandalur plates are by no
means the most ancient of these, as in the opinion of
M. Jouveau-Dubreuil. The style and the language employed,
from the use of numerical symbols and the citation of date
after the manner of the earlier Prakrit charters and the spaces
marked between words, almost clearly suggest proximity to
the Andhia period.1 If such be the case the Omgodu grant
(No. 1) is the most ancient of the Sanskrit charters that
we have.
We have already seen that the Velurpalayam plates supply
the following names among the early members of the Sanskrit
period:—
Kalabhartr
Chuta-pallava
/ IVirakurcha
ISkandasishya
IKumaravishnu, etc.
The Omgodu (No. 1) charter gives the following order :—
Kumaravishnu
[Skandavarman
Viravarman
! i
VijayaskandavarmanMr. Krishna Sastri identifies V.irayarman of this charter
i ;
with the Viravarman of the published^ copper-plate chartersand with the Virakurchavarinan of the Darsi record. ' IfViravarman's identity is thus established, it must be easyto see that his father Skandavarman would be the first kingof that name mentioned in the published copper-plate grant.and that Vijayaskandavarman, his son, would be identicafwith Skandavarman II. Kumaravishnu, the first king men-tioned, and the father of Skandavarman I, is probably to be
1 See Ep. 2nd., vol. xv, p. 251, footnote 2,

===== PAGE 91 =====
Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records 57
"identified with Kalabhartr of the Velurpalayam plates1 thoughthere may be very little in common between the two names.'Thus Mr. Krishna Sastri would identify the first four kingsmentioned in the Velurpalayam plates with those mentionedin the Omgodu (I) copper-plates which may be represented asfollows :—
Kalabhartr
Chuta-pallava
Virakurcha
Skandasishya
Kumaravishnu
Kumar avishnu
Skandavarman
Viravarman
Vijayaskandavarman
Kumaravishnu.
Before examining the view of Mr. Krishna Sastri let us.state the genealogical information from the other charters forhis period. The Uruvappalli plates,2 dated in the eleventhyear of Simhavarman, although the donor was Yuvamaharaja-Vishnugopavarman, give the following genealogy :—Skandavarman
> I
, Viravarman
ISkandavarman
IY. M. Vishnugopa (donor)
From the fact that the Uruvappalli plates are dated in
' the eleventh year of Simhavarman it was held by the late
Dr. Fleet that Y. M. Vishnugopa was a younger brother of
Simhavarman, and that he probably never reigned at all.
The Mangadur grant3 gives the succession in the following
order :—
Viravarman
ISkandavarman
IY. M. Vishnugopavarman
Dharmamaharaja Simhavarman
r-S.I.I., vol. ii, p. 503.
2 Ind. Ant., vol. v, p. 51.
3 Ibid., vol. vi, p. 155,

===== PAGE 92 =====
58 History of the Pallavas of South India
The Pikira plates1 furnish us with the accompanying order
which is almost similar to the previous one :—
IViravarman
I *Skandavarman
IVishnugopavarman
iSimhavarman (donor)
Thus these three plates together supply five generations ofkings ; the Chandalur plates, which, as we already mentioned,appear to be posterior to these records in point of antiquitygive three further generations of kings from Skandavarman,who, we might 'regard, was identical with Skandavarman II.The Chandalur2 plates, we saw, supplies the following namesin the order noted below :—
' Skandavarman
IKumaravishnu I
IBuddhavarman
!Kumaravishnu II (donor)
The Udayendiram plates3 supply the series :—
Skandavarman
ISimhavarman
, ISkandavarman
!Nandivarman (donor).
The Vayalfir pillar inscription becomes acceptable -fromNo. 29, and agrees with the Velurpalayam grant th~us~
1 Efi. Ind., vol. viii, p. 159.1 Ibid., vol. viii, p. 233.1 Ibid.x vol. iii, p. 142, >
f - —

===== PAGE 93 =====
Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records ,59
continuing the succession to the time of Simhavishnu aswill be seen by the following :—
Simhavarman (Vayalur list 29)
IVishnugopa
Simhavarman
Simhavishnu
I 'Mahendravarman I
The whole series of Pallava kings from the beginning tothe days of Simhavishnu may be represented by the follow-ing table:—Bappa
. I
Sivaskanda {Circa, a.d. 220)
IBuddha varman
Vishnugopa (a.d. 340)
IKalabhartr (OmgSdu-Uruvapalli plates)
(Kumaravishnu)
IChuta-pallava
(Skandavarman) (Omgodu-Uruvapalli plates)
(Married Naga princess)
IVirakurcha (Virakurchavarman)
ISkandasishya (Donor, Omgodu Plates)
„, '. ! —~
l I
Simhavarman Y. M. Vishnugopa Kumaravishnu I
I or I
Skandavarman Vishnugopavarraan Buddhavarman
Nandivarman I Simhavarman II Kumaravishnu II.
(Udayendiram) |
Vishnugopavarman
ISimhavarman III
ISimhavishnu
IMahendravarman, etc.

===== PAGE 94 =====
6p History of the Pallaiids of South India
The above table is only tentative and subject to alteration'if necessary on other more satisfactory interpretation of thecharters, or when the discovery of jnew inscriptions, or coppercharters should call for such. It is just possible that there mightnot be any direct connection between the members of thePrakrit charters, those of the Sanskrit charters and the membersof the bimhavishnu dynasty, as is assumed here. But thisarrangement is based on the evidence of the Vayalur pillarrecord and that of Velurpalayam plates strengthened by theconsideration that the Pallava kings of these charters stylethemselves in these records as members of the Bharadvaja-gotra. The position of Vishnugopa, the adversary of Samudra-gupta in the table, is uncertain. We have already hintedthe possibility of his being identical with the first of theVishnugopas mentioned in the Vayalur pillar record ofRajasimha's reign. We have also alluded to the date suggest-ed by Mr. Shama Sastri in his new light on the Gupta erawhich at the present state of discussion need not be regardedas having been established beyond doubt.
The earliest member of the Sanskrit charters figures asKalabhartr in the Velurpalayam plates, a name which alongwith his son's name Chuta-pallava, sounds more eponymous"than real. Kalabhartr is presumably identical with Kanagopaof the Kasakkudi plates.1 In the above arrangement we haveindicated the possibility of Kalabhartr being identical with theKumaravishnu I of Omgoduj No. 1 and Chuta-pallava withSkandavarman I. Mr. Krishna Sastri who also makes thisidentification says that there' is nothing in common betweenKalabhartr arid Kumaravishnu.2 The description of Kala-bhartr as; the ' head-jewel of the family" and_as Vishnu thehusband of Indira (Lakshmi) in verse 6 of the Velurpalayamplates lends support to the identification of this king with
1 S.I.I., vol. ii, p. 307. ,
2 Ep. Ind., vol. xv, p. 251. Also vol: xviii, p. 149, where he aefinitelygives up the identification. This is hardly justified as the writer ofthe Vayalur pillar inscription has merely put the lists one after the otherwithout attempting to find out actual relationship between the differentsuccession lists. Ed.

===== PAGE 95 =====
Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records 61
Kumaravishnu of the Omgodu grant which suggests that hisother name was a synonym of Vishnu. It is even possiblethat this Kumaravishnu whom we identified with Kalabhartrwas the same person as Vishnugopa, the adversary ofSamudragupta. This identification has not been madehitherto, although there is nothing unreasonable in this view.As was already indicated, the actual dates and the durationof the individual reigns of the Pallava kings of this period areapproximate so far. Obviously it is not possible for all thesixteen kings and more to have been on the Pallava thronewithin the short period of about 200 years (a.d. 350 to 550).It is evident from the charters themselves that certainmembers of the dynasty referable to this period were simplyYuvamahdrajas or princes only, as in the case of Vishnugopa—the prince of the Uruvapaili plates. We have alreadyindicated the facts known regarding Kalabhartr (Kumara-vishnu) and Chuta-pallava (Skandavarman) from the copper-plates of this period. We have shown that Chuta-pallava aliasSkandavarman might have been the chief who married theNSga princess and acquired simultaneously a wife and akingdom.* His son was Virakurcha, identical probably withVirakurchavarman of the Darsi fragment.1 His son wasSkandavarman (II) the donor of Omgodu plates who is
) described in this record as one ' who was true to his word,who day by day increased religious merit by gift of cows, goldand land, and who always desired to serve Gods and Brahmans,and ably understood the purport of all Nostras.'' From thedate of the engraving of the grant which is mentioned as theVijayasamvatsare-trayatrimse (that is in the victorious yearthirty-three which was the third fortnight of the winter and
' the thirteenth day) we may conclude that Skandavarman'sreign lasted at least for thirty-three years.
Sitn/iavarman.—The next Pallava king was Simhavarman inwhose eleventh year the Uruvapaili plates of Y. M. Vishnugopais dated. It is not apparent why Y. M. Vishnugopa should
->■ Ep.Ind.iWoX.l, p. 397.

===== PAGE 96 =====
62 History of the Pal lavas of South India
have addressed the grant in the reign of Simhavarman. Theprobability is that he did not reign and therefore dated therecord in the reign of his elder brother, or possibly in that of his.In the latter case this Simhavarman becomes identical with thedonor of the four grants, the Omgodu plates dated in the fourthyear of his reign in the month of Vaisaka Suklapaksha-panchami addressed from Tamrapa, the Pikira grant dated, infifth year and issued from Menmatura, the Uruvappalli platesdated in the eleventh year of his reign, and issued fromPalakkada, and the Mangalur grant issued from Vijaya-Dasana-pura and dated in the eighth year of Simhavarman II. Thuswe have for this king at least four different copper-platecharters dated in the different years of the reign and issued indifferent places which were obviously the places where theking happened to be in camp just when the grants were issued.It has been already pointed out that these places VijayaTamrapasthana, Menmatura, Dasanapura and Palakkada havenot been identified though the suggestion has been made thatthey should be looked for in the Nellore District. The lateMr. Venkayya writes in his Ancient History of the Nelhre°Districts ' that it is1 not impossible that Dasanapura. was theancient name of the modern village of Darsi. It is called Darsiand Darisi in inscriptions of the fourteenth century found asthe place.' He also thinks that the place might have beenthe capital at the time that the Mangadur grant was issued in "the eighth year of Simhavarman. If this is so why is it notpossible to hold Palakkada, Tamrapa, and Menmatura also atthe capital of Simhavarman ? But such an assumption doesnot seem to be justified unless we have good reason forregarding that this period was one ot^constant warfare, andthat the kingdom of Simhavarman was frequently threatened,.with the result that he had to be continuously changing hiscapital from one seat to another. But there is, no definiteevidence to prove that this was a fact. It is assumed bycertain scholars that the Pallava,kings of this period°had lost
1 Ind. Ant., 1908, p. 283.

===== PAGE 97 =====
Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records 63
their possession of Kanchi and retired to the Telugu districtsin and around Nellore, wherefrom they continued to rule andissue their copper-plates. This explains according to themthe charters of Simhavarman and others during this periodbeing addressed not from Kanchipuram as in the case of earliercopper-plates but from places in the Telugu districts. Forinstance Mr. Krishna Sastri says :— . . . ' About a.d. 350 thePallavas,—perhaps on account of the disturbances caused bythe victorious campaign of Samudragupta from the north orowing to the rise of the Kadambas mentioned in the Talgundainscription1 were dispossessed of their territory round Kanchiand pushed back further into the interior.' Again the sameauthority says2 :—
' Thus we get from several copper-plates published so far,six gpnerations of Pallavas, with names of nine Pallava kingswho called themselves Pallava-Maharajas and Pallava-Dharma-maharajas, of the Bharadvaja-gotra until one of them,Kumaravishnu I (II ?) reconquered Kanchfpura, evidently from> the Cholas, who had taken possession of it sometimesubsequent to Vishnugopa the contemporary of Samudraguptaand had established themselves in the Tonda-country.' Thusaccording to this view there was a Chola interregnum atKanchi and a break in the line of Pallava kings during the* period of the Sanskrit charters.
Is the Chola Interregnum Possible f—This interregnum accord-ing to which a number of Pallava kings in the fourth and thefifth century are supposed to have lost possession of Kanchisome time in the fourth century has become a favourite notionamong the epigraphists which however does not appear to besupported by the historical facts of the period known to us.Even the late Mr.Venkayya has expressed himself in favour ofthe theory of a Chola interlude in the midst of the Pallava rule.In his ' Ancient History of the Nellore District' 3 for instance,dealing with the Pallava kings of this period he says, ' The
1 Ep. Ind., vol. viii, p. 28.
2 Ibid., vol. xv, No. 11, p. 249.
3 fnd. 4nt„ 1908, p. 284,

===== PAGE 98 =====
64 History of the Pallavas of South India
extent of Pallava dominions during this period from the fourthcentury to the end of the sixth century a.d. cannot be as-certained. At any rate they appear to have been in posses-sion of the modern Nellore District' or at least a portion of it.In fact four of the above-mentioned grants are from thatdistrict. Kanchi which was the capital during the reign ofSivaskandavarman and Vishnugopa, figures as such oirly inthe last two 1 of the above-mentioned grants which areevidently later than the rest.' ' If this is not due to a mereaccident it may be that the Pallavas had to retreat fromConjeevaram owing, perhaps to a coalition among the Chola,Pandya and the Chera kings, or to the domination of one ofthem. In this case, the Pallavas, had probably to confinethemselves to the Nellore District or to a portion of it, wherethe villages granted in two of the copper-plate inscriptionsmay be traced.'
Some Objections.—But as against this mere supposition, thereare serious difficulties in the way of our accepting the assump-tion of any break in the main line of Pallava kings from the «■earliest times. At any rate the mere fact of certain copper-plates being addressed from places situated in the Telugudistricts far away from the capital city cannot be held tosupport the view that the king or kings who issued themshould necessarily have lost possession of Kanchi. Such at «•any rate is not the indication that we get from the largenumbers of copper-plates and. stone records of the Pallavakings obtained in various parts of the country. In theserecords there is not the remotest suggestion that the Pallavakings at any period in their rule lost possession of the city ofConjeevaram for any appreciable length of tinJe. A referencein the Velurpalayam plates2 of Nandivanhan III to thecapture ■ of Kanchi has curiously been interpreted as mean-ing that Kumaravishnu for the first time after the capture. ~of the city by the Cholas in the days of Karibala, re-captured it. Such an assumption appears however to be
1 Chandalur and Udayendiram records,
* Verse 8, S.I.I., vol. ii, p. 50§.' ^

===== PAGE 99 =====
Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records 6$
unwarranted. In the .first place it is just possible that thecapture of Kafichi alluded to in the Velurpalyam plates is areference to his having obtained possession of the city froma collateral cousin, or some other foreign power, such as theKadambas, which had obtained possession of the city for ashort period. In the second place if the fact of the capture ofKafichi from the Cholas is at all true, it is strange that theVelurpalayam plates should not have made mention of thefact in recording such a distinguished achievement, moreespecially as Buddhavarma another king is mentioned as the' submarine-fire to the ocean-like army of the Cholas'Chola-sainy&rnava-vadabhagni (verse 8). But the insuperabledifficulty in postulating a Chola occupation in the intervalbetween the Pallava kings of the Prakrit charters and thoseof Simhavishnu, based merely upon the stray reference to therecapture of Kanchipuram by Kumaravishnu and on the factof the charters of the Pallavas for some period being datedfrom places outside the capital at Kafichi, lies in the impossi-bility of accommodating the reign of Karikala and all theevents connected with the history of his reign to this period.According to any rational scheme of chronology it is verydifficult to find a place for Karikala and his successors midwaybetween the Pallava kings of the Prakrit charters and those ofthe Sanskrit charters . as suggested by the epigraphists. Thefacts relied upon by them as evidence for this position forKarikala are derived from late Eastern Chalukya copper-platessome of the facts being incredible in themselves.1 Altogetherthe data for the Chola occupation of Kafichi during the Pallavarule are too meagre and unsatisfactory to be seriously con-sidered as justifying the assumption of a Chola interregnum.
We have already referred the four Sanskrit charters issuedrespectively from Omgodu, Pikira, Dasanapura and Palakkadabetween the fourth and the eleventh years of Simhavarman tothis reign. The probable date of this king is derivable frompurely epigraphic and palseographic evidence as the middle of
1 A.S.R., 1906-7, p. 225.

===== PAGE 100 =====
66 History of the Pallavas of South India
the fifth century. But the discojvery of the Lokavibhaga, aJain manuscript, has gone a great way towards fixing the actualperiod of rule of this king.
The ' Lokavibhaga' Datum.—This leads to the initial date ofthe Pallava king Simhavarman as A.D. 436. According to theDigambara, Jain manuscript, Lokavibhaga, Saka 380 corres-ponded to the twenty-second regnal year of Simhavarman, kingof Kafichi, the year in which the work was completed. Thereference makes it clear that the first year of this king musthave been a.d. 436, and that this king continued to rule for atleast a period of twenty-two years.
Saka 380 is apparently the year in which the copying workwas finished by Sarvanandi and the author of the workSimhasuri, probably flourished at an earlier period. Thetwenty-second stanza was sent to MahamahopadyayaSudhakara Dvivedi, Benares, for favour of calculation. Thereis no question about the correctness of the date. Patalika, thevillage in which Sarvanandi copied the work, is perhapsidentical with Patalipura in South Arcot District, at whichaccording to Periyapuranam there was a big Jaina monasteryin the seventh century a.d. . . . Panarashtra may be identifiedwith Perumbaiiappadi (the Brhad Banas laid under tribute byMayura Sarman, Kadamba) the province over which theBanas ruled.
As regards the actual period of Simhavarman (II) we havealready pointed out that being probably identical with the kingof the name referred to in the Penugonda plates of theWestern Ganga king Madhavavarman II, his reign must havebeen at the same period as that of Harivarman the Ganga princewhom he is said to have installed on the"throne_. Judged palaeo-graphically the characters of the Penugoncja plates point totheir having been inscribed in the fifth century a.d. Dr. Fleetwas also of opinion1 that ' a.d. 475 seems a very good date,for it.' If the plates which are dated in the reign of Madhava•II, are dated about the year,a.d. 475, Simhavarman the
1 See J.R.A.S., 1915, p. 482,

===== PAGE 101 =====
Early Pallavas of the Sanskrit Records 67
contemporary of Ayyavarman whom he installed on the Gangathrone must have flourished immediately before. Hence it isnot improbable that Simhavarman II began his rule sometimeabout the third decade of the fifth century which is also thedate that we arrive at by the Lokavibhaga datum, equating thetwenty-second year of Simhavarman with the Saka year 380.This fields for Simhavarman, as we saw, the year a.d. 436 asthe initial year, which tallies both with the palasographicalindications of Penukonda and the Omgodu plates as well asthe other considerations relating to the date of the Pallavakings who followed him. A calculation backward from theknown date of Simhavishnu also leads us to the same period.An attempt made to belittle the value of this datumfurnished by the Lokavibhaga for the initial date of Simha-varman II requires careful consideration. Mr. H. KrishnaSastilar, relying upon what he interprets as a reference to aneclipse in the Omgodu plates, lines 31-32, dated in the fourthyear of his reign, considers the datum of the Lokavibhagainvalidated. The fourth year of Simhavarman II, accordingto' the Lokavibhaga, corresponds to the year a.d. 440 in whichyear there happens to be no solar eclipse during the month ofChaitra. But this objection of Mr. Sastriar is based upon awrong interpretation of the object of the grant of the Omgoduplates and of the expression grahananimittam in line 31. In thefirst place the plates are dated in the fifth day of the brightfortnight, of Vaisaka, whereas if the occasion of the grant hadbeen the solar eclipse the record would have been dated onthe new moon day. This difficulty Mr. Krishna Sastriar getsover by supposing that the grant which was actually made onthe new moon day of Chaitra, a possible day for the nearestsol£r eclipse, was actually engraved ' on the plates five dayslater.'1 The explanation does not appear to be at all satis-factory. The expression ' grahananimittam', appears toconvey, as has been pointed out, the meaning of ' for thesake of acceptance' rather than ' on account of the eclipse ',
1 Ep. Ind._ vol. xv pp. 252-55.

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6& History of the Pallavas of South India
as it looks strange that the copper-plate record should notmention the character of the eclipse and other circumstancesconnected with it. ' It is very unusual,' says Prof. Krishna-swami Aiyangar to indicate an eclipse in this manner, withoutsaying what eclipse it is, and otherwise defining the Punyakala.What is worse in the interpretation of the epigraphist is thatthe date of the grant is actually specified in the concludingportion. " Sa vijayarajya-Samvatsare-Chaturthe-Vaisaka-Sukla-paksha-Panchamyam dattam." This is quite unequivocal. Inthe face of this it would be difficult to prove that the grant wasmade on an eclipse day from the document. The difficultyand inconsistency are the results of the interpretation, andneither the author nor the scribe could be held responsiblefor the blunder which is not theirs.'1
Successors of Simhavarman IL—Very little is known aboutthe successors of Simhavarman II till we come to the accessionof Simhavishnu. The Vayalur pillar inscription which isrelied upon by"Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil for this period1 givesthe names of the following kings in the .order of successionmentioned below : —
Simhavarman II (a.d. c. 436-460).
Vishnugopavarman II.
Simhavarman III.
Simhavishnu (a.d. c. 575-600).The Velurpalayam plates give the following names for thisperiod. After a host of kings passed away with Vishnugop.a,came Nandivarman who is reported in this record to havecaused a 'powerful snake' to;dance. Then followed Simhavar-man who is said to have wiped off the.pride of his enemies.After him came Simhavishnu. As we already saw there is aslight discrepancy in the order of succession-herein stated andthose given in other plates. The probability seems to be-thatsoon after the reigns of Simhavarman II and SkaiidavarmanTI ~the contemporaries of the Western Ganga kings Ayya-varman and Madhavavarman II' about the close of the fifth
1J. I. H., vol.ii, p. 56.

===== PAGE 103 =====
Marly Paltavas of the Sanskrit Records 69
?n~Uhry Am - ,thG Pa"aVa kingS Kum^ishnu II wh0 capturedKanchi, Nandxvarman I, Simhavarman Hi occumS ^Pallava throne before Simhavishnu, about the^^L ofthe s^h century, commenced to rule at Kanchlpuram Practically nothmg xs known of the reign of these kings from thecopper-Plates and inscriptions of this period until we arrTve alhe reign 0f Simhavishnuvarman, or Mahendravarman 1 Json and successor, whose accession marks the commencement
cent *S\ °f ^ Great PaUaVaS Which la«ted for twocenturies and a half from about a.d. 600 to 850.

===== PAGE 104 =====
CHAPTE.R V
CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL POWERS. THESALANKAYANAS, KADAMBAS, ETC.
THE most important among the contemporary royaldynasties that ruled in the Dakhan during this period,contemporaneous with the Pallava kings of the Sanskritcharters, were the Kadambas, the Vakatakas, the Salanka-yanas, the Western Gangas, the Vishnukundins, and thechieftains of various places in the region around the mouthof the Krishna and the Godavari figuring in the Allahabadpillar inscription already noticed, one of whom was prqbablya Salankayana-Hastivarman of Vengi. It is unnecessary togive here an account,of all these powers from the availablerecords. A short account of the Salankayanas, the Kadambasand the Vishnukundins who appear to have come into close*contact with the Pallavas are given here as far as theinformation from the records permits.
The chronology of the Kadambas cannot be regarded ashaving been definitely fixed. The period of the earliest of theKadamba kings Mayurasarman who is described as a Brahman'in the Talgunda pillar inscription has been fixed by scholarsfrom internal evidence and palaeographical indications as themiddle of the fourth century, though Mr. Shama Sastriar inhis Mysore Archizological Reports is inclined to carry back hisperiod considerably earlier.1 "■"--
The Talgunda pillar inscription of Kakutsthavarman gives aglimpse into the circumstances leading to the establishmentof the political power of this.Brahman dynasty in the Dafekan.This record in graphic language describes how the first"member of this dynasty Mayurasarman, a Brahman belongingto the Manavyasa-gotra, and a native of Sthanukundur came
1 See the Mys. Arch. Report, 1923,/-— •

===== PAGE 105 =====
Contemporary Political Powers 71
to the city of Kahchipuram for completing his Vedic studies,how he had a quarrel with a Pallava horseman, and how notbearing to be told that the Brahman caste was inferior to thatof the Kshatriyas he put himself at the head of a band ofadventurers and attacked the Pallava sovereigns in the in-accessible forests of Sri-Parvata. Then with the aid of theBriha^-Banas and others he founded the Kadamba kingdom ofwhich Banavasi was the capital. The Pallava kings had toadmit his claims as a ruling power and had to effect, atemporary compromise. Now we must try to find out whatwas the probable period of Mayurasarman and who his Pallavacontemporary was. As we have already suggested, thisdismemberment of the Pallava kingdom must have followedthe confusion which resulted from the invasion of Samudra-gupta about a.d. 340. The Kadamba Prakrit inscription ofMalavhlli] written as it is in Prakrit, though it does notmention the name of the king, may be taken to refer to themost ancient king of the Kadambas presumably Mayurasar-man. In regard to his Pallava contemporary only the vaguestguess can be made. As we have assigned Mayurasarman toabout a.d. 350 his Pallava contemporary must have beeneither Vishnugopa or his immediate successors Virakurcha orSkandavarman I.
Of the successors of Mayurasarman, Kangavarman andBhagiratha attributable to the second half of the fifthcentury a. d., probably carried on hostile operations againstthe Pallava kings of the period. Of the others it appearsthat Raghu, Kakutsthavarman, Santivarman and his two sonsMrigesavarman and Mandhatrivarman ruled during the sixthcentury A.d. and were evidently contemporaneous withViravarman, Skandavarman II, Simhavarman, and Skandavar-man III cf the Pallavas. The southern conquest ofPrithTisena, the Vakataka king, who, according to the
Aianta inscription2 is described as having defeated the0
1 Ind. Ant., vol. xlvi, p. 154.
* gave No. 16, Arch. Sur. W. Ind.., vol. 4, p. S3 ff.

===== PAGE 106 =====
72 History of the Pallavas of South India
i
Kuntalas, i.e. the Kadamba kirigl, probably took place aboutthe period, A.n. 350-360 and the Kadamba king must havebeen Kangavarman who is described in inscriptions as havingbeen engaged in ' lofty exploits and in terrible wars.' Of theothers we know that Kakutstha, who is ascribable to the firstquarter of the fifth century, was the donor of the Talgundainscription. The marriage of Narendrasena, the grandson ofPrabhavati Gupta with the daughter of the king of Kuntala .named Ajjhitabhattarika is probably to be attributed as Prof.Jouveau-Dubreuil suggests to Kakutstha's reign. Thus itturns out that Kakutsthavarman's boast, in the Talgundainscription, that he gave his daughter to Guptas and otherkings would be correct if the Gupta-Vakataka king, Narendra-sena, was the son-in-law of this king. According to ourarrangement of Pallava chronology he must have been acontemporary of Simhavarman II and it was probably 'duringthis period that the installation of the Western Ganga kingsAyyavarman and M'adhavavarman must have taker? place.Of Santivarman who succeeded Kakutsthavarman on the
®
Kadamba throne very little is known. Of his sons Mrigesa-varman and Mandhatrivarman who together ruled for the re_stof the fifth century we have some records. According to theHalsi plates dated in the eighth year of his reign Mrigesauprooted the Gangas and was a very fire of destruction to thePallavas.1 We learn from another record2 that his queenwas called Prabhavati who,'was born in the Kaikeya family.Almost contemporaneous 'with the reigns of Santivarman,Mrigesavarman and Mandhatrivarman, a.d. 450-500, theyounger branch of the Kadamba family Krishnavarman I, theson of Kakutstha and the elder brother of Santivarman withPrince Devavarman as Yuvamaharaja ruled at Triparvata.Soon after the death of Mandhatrivarman the throne_of theKadambas passed to Ravivarman who, according -to the^.Halsiplates, is said to have acquired regal power by the strength
n
1 Halsi plates, Ind. Ant., vol vi, p. 24.
2 Mys. Arch. Rep. for 191Q-11, p. 35,
/-

===== PAGE 107 =====
Contemporary Political Powers 73
and prowess of his own arm which means that there was sometrouble in his succession and that he had to fight for thethrone. According to another record,1 he is said to haveslain Vishnuvarman, presumably a collateral cousin anddescendant of Krishnavarman, and uprooted Chandadanda ofKanchi. Records dated in the fifth year of Ravivarman, andthe thirty-fifth year have been discovered. He was followed byHarivarman at Vaijayanti till about a.d. 550 when the riseof Pulakesin I probably put an end to, or obscured, his power.The subsequent history of the Kadambas does not concernus here. Krishnavarman, his son Ajavarman, Bhogivarmanand Vishnuvarman are known to have ruled as kings fromrecent records. That the Kadambas continued to be powerfulas late as the end of the eighth century is seen from themention in the Velurpalayam plates2 that the Pallava kingDantlvarman married Aggalanimmati, ' the daughter of thecelebrated king and a crest-jewel of the Kadamba family.'3
Ss.la.nkayanas, circa A.D. 350 to 500.—Almost contempora-neously with the Pallava kings of the Sanskrit charters, maybe placed the Salankayana dynasty. The word Salankayanaappears originally to have been the name of a Vedic Rishi.There are nearly five grants for this dynasty that areavailable to us. If Hastivarman of Vengi, who figures amongthe adversaries of Samudragupta in the Allahabad inscription,was a Salankayana (identified by Vincent Smith as a Pallava)he may be regarded as the earliest member of this familyknown hitherto. The Ellore Prakrit4 plate the alphabets ofwhich closely resemble the Pikira, Mangalur and Uruvapalliplates, are dated in the thirteenth year of Maharaja-Vijayade-vavarman, and were issued from Vengipuram. These platesdescribe Vijayadevavarman as the performer of the Asvamedkathe fervent Mahesvara and the devotee at the feet of the HolyChitrarathasvami. The grant is addressed to the villagers ofEllora which may be identified with the modern town ofEllore.'''
1 Ind. Ant., vol. vi, p. 30. 2 S.I.I., vol. ii, part v, p. 511.
3 Ibid., verse 18. * Ep. Ind., vol. ix, p. 56.
10

===== PAGE 108 =====
74 History of the Pallavas of South India
Another grant1 of the Salankay4nas written in Sanskrit andtherefore considered to be posterior to the Prakrit charteralready mentioned, records that Vijayanandivarman sonof Chandavarman issued it in the, eighth year of his reignfrom the city of Vengipura. As regards the popular identifi-cation of Vengi with the Pedda Vengi2 it must be pointed outthat, as there are no less than four places bearing the name ofVengi in the Northern Circars alone, it is possible that the usualidentification should not be regarded as final on the matter.
Recently two more copper-plates 3 have been discovered bythe late Mr. K. V. Lakshmana Rao which, along with theother records, give nearly six generations of the dynasty : —
The following is the order of succession adopted by Mr.Lakshmana Rao :—
C. 350. Hastivarman of Vengi
I375. Vijayadevavarman
I400. " Vijayanandivarman
I425. Buddhavarma.
450. Chandavarma
I475. Vijayanandivarman
I500. Vijayaskandavarman
; I 'The first of the newly-discovered Kanteru plates records
a grant of Vijayaskandavarman, who is there described as
meditating on the feet of the holy Chitrarathasvami and as
belonging to the family of Salankayanas, Jo one Jsivaraya in a
village called. Chinnapura in the Kudraharavishaya in the, fifth
year of the king's reign on the full moon day in the month of
Vaisaka.
The second registers a gift to one Svamichandra a piece of
/and in the village of Kuruvada byjMaharaja Sri Nandivarman.
1 Ind. Ant., vol. v, p. 175 and plate.
2 Mad. Jour, of Lit. and Scz\ vol. xi, p. 392.. 3 Viz. Col. Mag., October, 1922,

===== PAGE 109 =====
Contemporary Political Powers "j^
A word may. be said about the religious leaning of thesekings and their relation with the Pallava kings. As regards thefirst we can only say that the peculiar cult of the Salankayanaswho called themselves Bhagavat-Chitrarathasvami-PadS,-nudy&ta may have reference to their tutelary deity, the God ofChitraratha. This term probably refers to the worship by theSalankayanas of the Sun-god, and the representation of thefigure of the sun in some of the charters issued by thesesovereigns, lends some support to this view.
As regards the other point, namely, the relation of theSalankayanas with the Pallavas the following points may benoted. To begin with, there is a close resemblance betweenthe names of the members of the two dynasties such asSkandavarma, Buddhavarma and Nandivarma which alsooccur in the Pallava copper-plates. The figure of the seatedbull which frequently finds a place in the seals of the Pallavacharters also figures in the Salankayana charters. Finally thefact that for more than six generations the Pallavas and theSalankayanas are never known to have come into conflicteven once is a significant one, and probably indicatesthat the Salankayanas were on friendly terms with thePallavas and continued to rule independently along withthem in amity. This probably indicates that the two families, were in some manner, hitherto unknown, related to oneanother. It is just possible that the Pallavas and theSalankayanas had a common ancestry as Salankayana is aGotra belonging to the Bharadvaja-clan. The Salankayanasappear to have exercised political power from about a.d. 340to about a.d. 480, when the rise of Vishnukundins, and theascendency of the Vakatakas put an end to the political powerof these people who are no more heard of in South Indianhistory.
The Vishnukundins, circa A.D. 4-50 to 550.—The originand significance of the term Vishnukundin like that of otherdynastic names is buried in obscurity. The conjecture hasbeen put forward that their name is connected with Vinukondain the Krishna District, which appears to have been the cradle

===== PAGE 110 =====
76 History of the Pahavas of South India
of their power. The first Vishriukundin king Madhavarman Iappears to have owed his throne to his marriage with aprincess of the Vakatakas, though ithe Chikkula plates 1 whichmention the fact do not specify whose daughter the princesswas.
The only class of evidence available to us to write an accountof the Vishnukundins is the inscriptional one. About fqur re-cords have been discovered. These include the Ramatrrtham,Chikkula and Pulimboru grants all! of which were discoveredonly in comparatively recentyears. The first two of these havebeen critically edited in the volumes of Epigraphia Indica.According to these records, Madhava I was succeeded on thethrone by his son Vikramendravarman I, then by Indrabhatta-rakavarman and Vikramendravarman II. The last mentionedrecord takes the line still further and mentions the names ofVikramendra, Govindavarrhan, and Madhavavarman II. Prac-tically nothing is known of the first two sovereigns—MadhavaI and Vikramendravarman I. The Ramatirtham plates2help us to know that Indrabhattarakavarman must have ruled (at least for a period of thirty-seven years as these plates wererecorded in that year. This document consists of three_copper-plates from Ramatirtham written in Sanskrit prose, andrecord the fact that Indravarman granted to a certain Brahmanthe village of Peruvadaka in Plaki-Rashtra (1. 6). The record,also mentions that Madhavavarman performed eleven horse-sacrifices, and hundreds of J other sacrifices. Then aftermentioning that Vikramendra was an ornament of both thefamilies, the Vakatakas and the Vishnukundins, the recordstates the important fact that Indravarman encountered ' inhundred-thousands of battles numerous four-tusked elephants '(1. 5) a probable allusion to the fact that this king spent themajor part of his reign in fighting with his enemies.3 _^
The last of the Vishnukundins, known as Madhava IE, -is
I / «;.
1 Ep. Ind., vol. iv, p. 193 ff. \Ibid.
3 According to Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil there was a coalition of kingswho attacked this sovereign which' probably included Hariseha, theVakataka. Cf. Ancient History of Deccdn, p. 91.
/

===== PAGE 111 =====
Contemporary Political Powers J*}
credited with the achievement of having crossed the Godavarievidently with a view to extend his dominions. Unfortunatelythe Western Chalukyas under Pulakesin had grown powerfulin this reign, and the advance of the Vishnukundin power wasnot only stopped but their dominion appears to have beenannexed to that of the Chahikyas.
Acaording to M. Jouveau-Dubreuil the rock-cut monumentsof Undavalli, Sittanagaram, Bezwada, and Mogulrazapuramwere the work of the Vishnukundins.1 There is, however,considerable difference of opinion on this matter.
Before concluding the account of the Vishnukundins, theirrelationship with the Pallava dynasty may be alluded to. Atpresent this theory of the Pallava-Vishnukundin relationshiprests almost entirely on the mere resemblance of names of thetwo dynasties and is open to suspicion. Dr. Jouveau-Dubreuilnoticing for the first time the resemblance of the names of theVishnukundin king Vikramendra and Mahendravikrama, thePallava king, was led to postulate an unrecorded marriage-j-elation between the daughter of Vikramendra I and Simha-vishnuvarman whose son through this Vishnukundin alliancewas named according to the usual Hindu custom after thename of the grandfather on the mother's side as Mahendra-vikrama.2 According to the same authority the rock-cuttemples excavated by Mahendravarman I, in the various partsof the Tamil country, coupled with the mention of the nameof the king Mahendravikrama in the Trichinopoly caveinscription lend considerable support to this relationship ofVishnukundins and the Pallavas. But at present this theoryrests purely on the resemblance of names and is unsupportedby any piece of positive evidence, literary or other, discoveredso far. In none of the published inscriptions is it so much as
1 Pallavas, p. 33.
2 This is far too fanciful to build such a theory on. Mahendravikramameans possessed of the valour of Mahendra. Vikramendra means anIndra in valour. They may amount to the same in point of sense ulti-mately ; but they are different names and differently formed. The twoterms are not without substantial difference of meaning to theSanskritist. Ed.

===== PAGE 112 =====
7§ History of the Pallavds of South India
alluded to that Simhavishnu, the! father of Mahendravarmanand the founder of the line of the great Pallavas of Kanchi,entered into a matrimonial alliance with the Vishnukundins ;nor is the mere resemblance of the names1 alone sufficientfor postulating such a relationship as this. Nor is theresemblance between Vikramendra and Mahendravikrama quiteso close. Finally there is no clear evidence that the style ofMahendravarman cave temples were borrowed from Vishnu-kundin examples on the banks of the Krishna. The origin ofthe Undavalli caves and the actual kings who excavatedthem cannot be considered as finally settled, and notuntil this is done is it possible to assert that the art ofMahendravarman was derived from it. Mr. Sewell thoughtthat these caves were the work of,the Chalukyas.2 Mr. KrishnaSastriyar was struck with their resemblance with the caves ofOrissa and would take them to the Andhra period.3 Thegenealogy of the Vishnukundins so far known may berepresented as follows':— *
Combined genealogy obtained from the RamatirthameChikkula and Pulimboru grants :
Circa 475..
Madhavavarman I
IVikramendravarman I
Indr abhattarak avarman
IVikramendravarman II
, Vikramahendra ^~
IGovindavarman
IMadhavavarman II
1 The similarity does not take us far. They are hardly names butmere descriptive titles. See note on previous page. Ed.
2 List of Ant., vol. i, p. 77.
3 Ep. Rep., Madras for 1909, part ii, p. 75.

===== PAGE 113 =====
CHAPTER VI
THE PALLAVA ASCENDENCY—' THE DYNASTYOF SIMHAVISHNU,' a.d. 575-900
Introductory
Tj^ROM the beginning of the reign of Simhavishnu, also known•"- as Simhavishnupottarayan and Avanisimha, about the lastquarter of the sixth century, a new epoch begins in the historyof the Pallava power. From this period onward the Pallavaauthority begins to penetrate much farther into the Tamilcountry than before. Again during this period flourished thegreatest of the Saiva and Vaishnava saints, the majority of theAlvars and the Nayanmars who by their memorable religiouspropagandicwork handed down in their hymns, were destined torevolutionize South Indian religious thought and outlook. Inanother respect also, this period of Pallava history is of specialimportance in South Indian history. It was during this periodthat a beginning is believed to have been made in the Tamil landto build temples and other monuments in stone instead of inperishable material such as wood and brick. This importantchange in the building material was destined in the course of afew centuries to cover the whole of the Southern India with anetwork of temples dedicated to Siva, Vishnu and Brahma.Above all, the active spread of Sanskrit culture and learningin the Tamil country was systematically and sedulously en-couraged by the Pallava kings of this period, and recentresearch seems to support the view that some of the greatestpoets 'and rhetoricians including Bharavi and Dandin theauthors oiKiratarjunlya and KavyadarSa, flourished in this ageat the Pallava court at Kanchipuram.
Sources of Information for this Period.—For the earlier we hadto depend almost wholly on copper-plate charters, But during

===== PAGE 114 =====
80 History of the Pallavas of South India
this period (a.d. 575 to 900) inscriptions on stone appear to havebecome very popular in the Tamil country. We have thereforein addition to copper-plate grants large numbers of thesestone inscriptions scattered throughout the Pallava dominions.Though some of these have been critically edited by Messrs.Hultzsch, Venkayya and others, the larger part of these stillremain unedited and even unpublished. Of the stone inscrip-tions so far discovered nearly a hundred records are connectedwith the members of the Simhavishnu dynasty and bear theregnal years of these kings. They have for their object theregistering of gifts of gold or land for temple services, orendowments for religious and secular learning by the kings, orother persons of distinction. These inscriptions which are forthe most part very short, unlike the copper-plate records, do notfurnish a genealogy. They mention usually the year of theruling king when the inscription was put up and the gifts made.They consequently furnish little information either as regardsthe ancestry of the ruling sovereign or of any of his politicalachievements. But they give details as regards how theKvarious gifts should be appropriated and furnish valuableglimpses into the social, economic and administrative arrange-ments of the times.
Apart from the inscriptions and copper-plate records dateddirectly in the years of the Pallava kings and discovered in thevarious parts of the Pallava kingdom, we have also recordsfrom the other contemporary dynasties such as those of WesternChalukyas, the early Pandyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Gangas,Kadambas, the Banas and the Muttaraiyans. The records ofthis period also mention the Pallavas coming into contactwith the Malavas, Kalabhras, Cholas, KeraTasT5i'nria!as, Tulusand the Konkanas; but we do not know muGh about the politi •cal condition of these people during this period, __^
Many of the inscriptions of the Pallava kings- appear- intemples and other monuments that they constructed during thisage at Kanchipuram, and other places. The earliest of these arefound in the cave-temples of the South Arcot, Trichinopoly andQhingleput Districts, and are dated in the reign of Mahendra-

===== PAGE 115 =====
Pallava Ascendency : Dynasty of Simhavishnu 81
varman I. The others are found in the structural temples atthe Seven Pagodas and at Kanchipuram, such as the Kailasa-natha temple. The rest are distributed in various villages.
Literature.—We turn from the inscriptions and monumentsto the evidence furnished by literature, both religious 'andsecular. The bulk of the religious literature embodied in theTevJram of Appar, Sambandar, and Sundarar and theVaishnava Nalayiraprabandha belong to this period as alsothe Sanskrit works Mattavilosa and perhaps Kirai&rjuniya, etc.These, however, do not compare favourably with the inscrip-tional records as historical documents. For one thing thehymns of the saints hardly mention contemporary political orother events with exceptions such as those in the poems ofTirumangai-Alvar. In the next place there is no secular workin Tamil belonging to this period with the exception ofNandikkalambakam. The recently-discoveredSanskrit: Sanskrit work entitled Mattavilasa-Prahasana,
PrahasanT' though mainly devoted to the description of the
> \ drunken revelry of a Kapalika, incidentally
throws much light upon the contemporary religiousatmosphere in the city of Kanchipuram. Moreover the workhaving been composed by one of the Pallava kings Mahendra^vikrama, has a special interest to the student of Pallava history.
• Of greater importance, as throwing light on the encouragementof Sanskrit learning under the Pallava kings of this periodmay be mentioned the recent discovery of'Dandin's Avantiswv-darikathasara by the officers of the MadrasAvantisundari- Oriental MSS. Library. This work mentions theChalukya Vishnuvardhana and the Western GangaDurvinita as having been contemporaries of Simhavishnu, andthus establishes a valuable synchronism in South Indian historyhitherto unknown. By mentioning Bharavi and Dandin asliving in the Pallava court, it puts beyond all doubt thatKanchiparam the capital of the Pallavas was during this age avery important centre in the south for Sanskrit learning andculture. This is independently corroborated by the inscrip-tional evidence furnished by the Sanskrit charters.

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82 History of the Pallavas of South India
Among Tamil works of the later Pallava period we maymention Perundevanar's Bkaratavenbs. believed toThe Bharata- be composed in the ninth century. It is believedPerundevanar originally to have consisted of 12,000 stanzasthough only about 800 so far have come down tous. The author of this work is supposed to have lived duringthe reign of Nandivarman III, the victor in the battle at Tellaruand is also taken to be the one who edited the classical antho-logies. In the invocatory verses prefixed to the Udyoga-Parvaof the Bhclraiaveiiba the author mentions the victory of this kingat Tellaru, and we may therefore infer that he was a contem-porary of this king and composed his Ehdratavenba inthe reign of Nandivarman III. As to his having editedthe classical anthologies the identification presents greatdifficulties. / e
The only Tamil historical piece, as distinguished fromreligious works of which as we said, there is a
Nandikkalam- iarge quantity that has come down to us" frombakam , , . ,
Pallava times, is the poetical work entitled •
Nandikkalambakam, which in a hundred and ten stanzas
commemorates the martial exploits of a certain Pallava king-
Nandi, probably Nandivarman III. This king, as we shall see,
lived in the second quarter of the ninth century. The meagre-
nessof purely Tamil literary enterprise, if we except the Tevdram~
and Vaishnava Prabandham, probably indicate that the Pallava
kings were essentially patrons of Sanskrit learning and
Brahmanic culture. The bulk of Tamil literature known as the
Sangam works preceded, as we stated above, the advent of the
Pallava kings of Kanchlpuram. -~^
Along with these we have the impressions; ~of the Chinese
pilgrim and Master of Law—Hiuen-Tsang—Chinese regarding the .city of Kafichi about the-year
Htoen-Tsang a.d. 640. His notes furnish a description td£-
contemporary religious and secular life. Wehave already noticed the historical value of Mahavamsa forthis period of Pallava history.The Great Pallavas, Simhavishipu Dynasty. Simhqvishny,-

===== PAGE 117 =====
Pauava Ascendency: Dynasty of Simhavishnu $3
varman, A.D. 575 to 600.—The Kasakkudi plates1 taken alongwith the Kuram,2 and the Velurpalayam3 give us the followinggenealogy of the Pallavas of this period :—
Nandivarman
j
Simhavishnu
IMahendravarman I
Narasimhavarman II
IMahendravarman
II
Paramesvaravarman I
INarasimhavarman II
Parames varavarmanII
MahendravarmanIII
Bhlmavarman
I
Buddhavarman
_ . I
Adityavarman
Govindavarman
Hiranyavarman
I
Nandivarman II
Dantivarman
I
Nandivarman III
I
Nripatungavarman
Aparajita
The genealogy for this period is full, and there is not theuncertainty of the early Pallava history either about thereigns of this period, or about the order in which the kingssucceeded one another as most of the documents give theabove order without substantial change. It would be noticedthat from the days of Simhavishnu in the third quarter of thesixth century for a period of 125 years the throne remained inthe hands of the direct successors of this king. We do notknow what position the members of the collateral line, ofwhom the Kasakkudi plates mention Bhimavarman, Buddhavar-man, Adityavarman, Govindavarman and Hiranya, occupied.They evidently occupied a subordinate position as the
1 S.I.I., vol. ii, part 3, pp. 346-53.
2 Ibid., vol. i, p. 152.
3 Ibid., vol. ii, part 5, p. 508 S.

===== PAGE 118 =====
S4 History of the Pallavas of South India
viceroys under these kings. Not until we come to the daysof Paramesvara II in the beginning of the eighth century dowe find that a descendent of Bhima, the younger brother ofSimhavishnu, effecting a change of dynasty by succeedingto the Pallava throne:
No inscription or copper-plate ascribable to this kingSimhavishnu has yet been discovered. But his name isperpetuated in the historical introduction to the work alreadyreferred to wherein the author says that Bharavi, one of his pre-decessors, went to his court by invitation. In the Mattavilasa-Prahasana, written by his son Mahendravarman I, he isreferred to in the prologue in terms of praise.1
As regards his achievements we read in verse 10 of theVelurpajayam grant that his prowess was widely known onearth, that he quickly seized the country of the Cholas,embellished by the daughter of Kavera, whose ornamentsearethe forests of paddy-fields, and where are found brilliantgroves of areca.2 From this we may infer that this king whois called Avanisimha for the first time extended the Pallavaterritory as far as the delta of the Kaveri. In doing so hehad to encounter the individual and united opposition of thesouthern powers who are referred in the Kasakkudi plates,3 "among the vanquished: the Kalabhra, Malava, Chola, Pandyaand the Simhala proud of the strength of their arms.
That this conquest of the Tamil regions was no mere formalpraise drawn from the imagination of the writer of the docu-ment is seen in the absence of reference to any similar achieve-ment in the records of his son Mahendravarman I, and suggest
i
Maiiavildsa, Sthapana, p. 3.8 S. 1./., vol. ii, part 5, p. 510. 3 Ibid.
/

===== PAGE 119 =====
Pattava Ascendency : Dynasty of Simhavishnu 85
clearly that he must have inherited the region around theKaveri as part of the ancestral dominions which his father hadleft, him-. Of the earlier Pallava kings we know of only oneking Buddhavarmau who is said to have encountered theCholas, and who is described in the Velurpalayam plates asbeing the submarine fire to the ocean-like army of the Cholas.( Whether he conquered the region watered by the Kaveri is,however, not known. We may, therefore, take it that theregion was for the first time brought under the Pallavas underSimhavishnu.
Our knowledge of the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Kalabhrasand the Malavas * whom Simhavishnu is said to have defeatedis: very limited, in the present state of our knowledge.
1 We do not know who these Malavas were and whether they areidentical with the Malavas of the north. They are probably to beassociated with the people of Malanadu who figure in early Tamilliterature.
As regards the Kalabhras we find that their history is equally obscure.These people figure also among the kings conquered by the Chalukyaking Vikramaditya and Vinayaditya. They seem to have invaded theR-inoyan capital and having routed the ruling king established theirrule. According to the Velvikudi plates the Adhiraja was ousted fromPower and the country occupied by the Kalabhras. {Tiruvilaiyadal-Puranam). Mr. Venkayya relying on the evidence of Periyapuranamwhere the Karnatakas are said to have invaded and occupied Madura,proposed to identify the Kalabhras with the Karnatakas {Ep. Rep. for1908, paras 25-26). Mr. T. A. Gopinatha Rao deriving the word Kalabhrafr/jm Kalavara tries to identify the Kalabhras with the Muttaraiyar men-tioned in the Sen-talai Pillar inscription. {Efi. Ind., 15).
Kalabhras cannot be Karnatakas obviously, as the Chalukyas themselvesmust have ruled over Karnataka and therefore over the Karnatakas.Kalabhras must, therefore, be people different from the groups known tous otherwise. There was a people occupying the Pallava territory—thenorthern part in particular—whose name has hitherto been read as Kalvarin the S"angam works. They had a chief by name Pulli with headquartersat Vengadam (Tirupati). It is these people that are called Kalabhras ina Sanskritized form. Kalvar later Kallar in Tamil are called Kalamal inSanskrit. This seems to indicate a form Kalavar in Tamil which wouldbecome Kalabharu in Kannada, Sanskritized into Kalabhra. I amassured by Pandit Mahamahopadyaya Svaminatha Aiyar that the read-ing of t!ae MSS. is Kalavar and not Kalvar. It is the irruption of thesepeople into the south through the advance of the Pallava dynasty thatbrought abcvt a great revolution in the Tamil country. The Malavasare a similar ethnic group with almost similar habits. They also occupiedthe territory on the northern and western border of the Tamil land. Theirchiefs took the Tamil title Malavaraiyan which has become Malavarayanwhich is still a common name in the Tamil country of Kallar families.

===== PAGE 120 =====
86 History of the Paltavas of South India
Simhavishnu's religious leanings were towards Vaishnavismwhich his very name suggests. It should, however, be re-membered that the Pallava kingsjof Kanchipuram were some' of them devoted to Siva and some to Vishnu as the names ofthe Pallava kings indicate. Thus for instance, while there arenames like Vishnugopa and Kumaravishnu which suggest thatthe kings who bore such names were devoted to Vishnu, it isa fact that their sons and grandsons bear names like Skanda-varman and Paramesvaravarman which indicate their devotionto Siva while names like Buddhavarman possibly indicate theBuddhistic leanings of this Pallava sovereign. But in thecase of Simhavishnu the Udayendiram plates x of Nandivar-man II clearly call him Bhaktyar&dita-Vishtiu-Simha-Vishiiuin terms which leave no possibility of escape from regardinghim as a Vaishnava.2 None of the temples that this sovereignmight have constructed for Hindu gods has been discoveredas yet, though Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil puts forward thesuggestion that the Ssiyyamangalam cave temple which con-tains an inscription of Avanibhajana, identified by Hultzschwith Mahendravarman I, might have been excavated* bySimhavishnu. ' It may not be impossible,' says he, ' that theSiyyamangalam temple which contains the images of the lionand the inscription of King Avanibhajana belongs to the daysof king Simhavishnu (called Avanisimha in the Kasakkudiplates). It is not impossible, in fact, that the birudas suchas Satrumalla, LalU&nkura), Avanibhajana were borne alsoby Mahendra and by his father Simhavishnu.' 3
It is a remarkable fact that no inscription dated in thereign of this sovereign has come down to us although fromthe later copper-plates and stone inscriptions, as well as therecently discovered manuscript Avantisimdarikathasara wemay be sure that Simhavishnu actually ruled as a king for a
The Tamil Malavar changes into Malavas by falseanalogyGin Sanskrit,Malavaraiyan becoming Malavarayan even in Tamil at a later period. Ed.
'f S.I.I., vol. ii, p. 74, 11. 11-12.
2 Early History of Vaishnavism in South India, p. 95., 3 Pall. Ant., vol. i, p. 40.

===== PAGE 121 =====
Pallava Ascendency: Dynasty of Simhavishnu &j
period of time. His name moreover figures in the tworecords which indicate that his kingdom comprised at leastthe regions where these records are found. Manali, a villagenear Tiruvorriyur (not far from Madras), was called in ancienttimes Simhavishnu-Chaturvedimangalam. Similarly, No. 265of 1907 calls Kanjanur in Kumbhakonam Taluk, Simhavishnu-' Chatupvedimangalam which shows that it must have been sonamed during the reign of this king. The region from Manalito Kanjanur where this sovereign should have reignedprobably constituted the kingdom. It is possible that thediscovery of fresh inscriptions will throw new light on thematter.
A Relief of Sipihavishnu.—One of the most interestingdiscoveries of the Epigraphy Department in recent years hasbeen ,£he identification of royal sculptures at the Adivaraha-svami temple at Mahabalipuram.1 These reliefs relate to twokings cut in bas-relief in the Varaha cave in the village ofMahabalipuram and were noticed as early as 1913,2 by<Mf^, Krishna Sastri in his report although no identification hadbeen then attempted by him. This was due to the failure tonotice the inscriptional label that is put over the bas-reliefs whichhave now been copied and read. From these it is now clearthat the representations are those of Simhavishnupotarayaand Mahendravarman I. These kings are here represented withtheir queens in an attitude of adoration. The ArchaeologicalSuperintendent's Report for 1922-23 says on page 94, ' No. 661of 1922, is engraved on the portal of the north niche in theVaraha cave, and consists of the name Sri Simmavinnu-Potadhirajan in the Pallava-Grantha characters. The nichebelow this inscription contains the seated figure of a kingwith a high crown (kirtta), and chest and ear ornaments flanked
1 These reliefs and the inscriptions at the Adivaraha temple have beenstudied by^Rao Bahadur H. Krishna Sastri in a recent Memoir issuedby the Archaeological Survey of India.
2 The figures in the interior of this temple are first mentioned in one ofthe Mackenzie MSS. accounts and in The Cave Temples of India byFergussonand Burgess (1890) although no identjficatipn is attempted,

===== PAGE 122 =====
81
listory of tlu Pallavas of South India
on either "side by a standing female figure representingtheir crowns, his queens . . . No. 662 of 1922 cut on thetop of the corresponding niche on the south side of the maincave, and opposite to the image of Simhavishnu referred toabove, consists only of the name Sri-Mahendra-potadhiraja.The niche contains the standing image of a king distinguish-ed by his crown and ornaments. His half-raised hand, pointstowards the shrine of the God evidently—whither he appears tobe leading the nearer queen by her right hand. The abovetwo inscriptions serve as labels to show whom the imagesrepresent. . . .'
One explanation of the presence of the image of Simha-vishnuvarman in the Adhivaraha temple at Mahabalipurammay be that the monolith was excavated by him. If this is soit shows that some of the monuments of the Seven-Pagodasare as old as the days of Simhavishnu. This would throw newlight on the real age of the monuments of the Seven-Pagodas.1
Mahlndravarman I. A.D. 600 to 630.—Mahendra'varman,known also as Mahendravikrama, and by surnames such arMattavilasa, Gunabhara, etc., came to the throne after Simha-vishnu about the beginning of the seventh century. His reignis memorable in many respects. In the first place he isbelieved to have given for the first time a real start to exca-vating temples out of solid stone. In the second place hisreign synchronized with the religious activity of Appar, andthe literary efforts of Bharavi in the field of Sanskrit letters.From a purely administrative point of view his governmentprovided the quiet atmosphere for the peaceful pursuit ofavocations to his subjects hitherto , tormented by wars.From a military point of view his rule witnessed the beginningsof the Pallava-Chalukya and Pallava-Pandya conflicts whichwere destined to be continued by his successors for over acentury and a half. Considerable impetus was given to pro-ductions in the fields of drama, music, painting and other
I
g, by
arts.
I
1 Hultzsch Insc. of Seven-Pagodas, Ep. 2nd., vol. x, p. 1,

===== PAGE 123 =====

===== PAGE 124 =====

===== PAGE 125 =====
Pallava Ascendency : Dynasty of Simhavishnu 89
The most powerful contemporary of Mahendravarman I andhis son Narasimhavarman I was Pulakesin II. The actualcauses of the conflict between the Chalukyas and the Pallavakings lie buried in obscurity. Among the wild guesses madein this direction the most ingenious is that of Mr. Rice whoconsiders that their (Chalukya) name bears a suggestiveresemblance to Seleukia, and that they should be probablyassociated with Seleucidae1 in which case the Pallava-Chahikyaconflict would only be a natural sequel to their original warfareon the banks of the Tigris.
It was about the beginning of the seventh century thatPulakesin II made himself Master of Vengi which till then wasunder the Pallavas, and established his brother Kubja-Vishnuvardhana as his viceroy. His descendants afterwardsbecame independent making him founder of the EasternChalukya dynasty. It was in the course of his southern warsthat Pulakesin came into conflict with the Pallavas at Kanchi-puram.J The Aihole inscription2 which enumerates hisexploits says of his encounter with the Pallavas that ' hecaused the splendour of the Lord of the Pallavas who hadopposed the rise of his power to be obscured by the dust ofhis army and to vanish behind the walls of Kanchipuram.'This important reference would suggest a defeat and retreaton the part of Mahendravarman I before his Chalukyanadversary, but we learn however from the Kasakkudi plates 3that Mahendravarman I gained a victory at Pullalur which hasbeen identified by Dr. Hultzsch with Pullalur (Polilore inearly British period of Indian history and now Pallur) in theConjeevaram taluk in the Chingleput District. This was thescene of two other battles between the English and the Frenchin the British period. It is not stated who the enemies of thePallavas in this victory were. But it is extremely likely thatthey were no other than the Chalukyas who in a later recorddescribedithe Pallavas as their ' natural enemies.'
1 Mys. Gaz., vol. i; also Mys. and Coorg from Ins., p. 62.
2 Ep. Ind., vol. vi, p. 11. 3 S./J., vol. ii, part, 3, p. 343.
12

===== PAGE 126 =====
go History of the Pallavas of Soutk India
Religion.—According to tradition Mahendravarman I wasoriginally a Jain and was given to persecuting the votaries ofother religious denominations. , In the Periyaptiranainaccount his conversion to Saivism was brought about byAppar otherwise known as Tirunavukkarasu. Appar was oneof those who is believed to have been thus persecuted, but hiswonderfully miraculous powers, especially the manner in whichhe escaped the tortures to which he was subjected by theJains, moved the Pallava king to embrace the Saivism ofAppar.
This event which may have taken place in the middleof his reign marks an important epoch in the history ofSaivism. There is probably an allusion to this event in theking's life in the Trichinopoly rock inscription x which refersto him as having turned back from hostile conduct to theworship of the linga (emblem of Siva). We have at pfesentno means of ascertaining the exact circumstances connectedwith this event. It happened presumably sufficiently .early inhis reign as the number of Siva rock-cut temples excavatedby him are numerous and must have taken many years tocome into existence. All these cave-temples as they arestyled have a peculiarity in shape and have been discovered atVallam (Chingleput), Mahendravadi (North Arcot District),Dalavanur (South Arcot District), Siyyamangalam and Pallava-ram. He probably originated the habit of inscribing the surname'sof the reigning monarchs in the pillars and walls of the varioustemples that he built. Among the surnames that this kingassumed may be mentioned those of Gunabhara, Puru-shottama, Satyasanda, Avanibhajana, Sanklrnajati, Vichitra-chitta, Narendra, Chetthakari, Aluptakama,, Kalabapriyah,Lalitahkura, Satrumalla, etc. Of these the biruda Chetthakari,if it is really an equivalent with Ghaitya-kari, would indicatethe temple-building propensities of the king. This probably _has reference to the rock-cut temples of Mahendravarman I~all over the Tamil country. The Telugu birudas' such as
/
1 S.I.I., vol. i, No. 33, p. 29,
/

===== PAGE 127 =====
Paltava Ascendency : Dynasty of Simhavishnu 91
Nilvilonayambu, Pasarambu, Ventulavittu, etc., occurring inthese inscriptions have been taken to indicate the Teluguorigin of Mahendravarman's style. It must not be imagined^that this sovereign's zeal for Saivism blunted his sympathyfor other religions, a feature of his character in pre-Saivadays. Though he may have professed his devotionto Siva he caused to be cut out in rock a Vishnu templecalled MahBndravishnugr ha ] on the banks of Mahendra-^Tataka in Mahendravadi. This inscription records inPallava-Grantha that Gunabhara caused to be cut out of rockthe temple of Mahend.ravishij.ugrha in Mahendrapura. Thisplace has been identified by Dr. Hultzsch with Mahendravadi,near Arkonam. This catholicity was due to the generaltendency of the age when Vishnu and Siva had not begun tohave, their separate followers and-were placed in the sametemple without distinction as we find in the monuments of thePallavas at the Seven-Pagodas and elsewhere. The Manda-gappattu inscription of this king for instance records the fact> King Vichitrachitta caused to be constructed a temple toBrahma, Isvara and Vishnu without the use bricks, timber,metal and mortar. In other words it was a monolithic rock-temple that was excavated.2
The Matendra Style.—The principles of the style of architec-ture adopted and popularized by Mahendravarman I have beenstudied in full by Prof. JouveauJJubreuil in his PallavaAntiquities and by Mr. A. H. Longhurst of the ArchaeologicalDepartment. According to the former scholar the monumentsof Mahendravarman's period discovered hitherto are cavesexcavated in rocks. The pillars are formed of two cubical
1 Ep. Ind., vol iv, p. 152f.
2 T. A. G. Rao. Ibid., vol. xvii, p. 14. This short record is of import-ance inasmuch as it records that before the time of Vichitrachitta bricks,timber, metal and mortar were the common temple-building materials.This ;falSlfies the notion that structural temples were non-existent beforethe seventh century A.D. in South India, a view based on the absence ofthe remains of any previous to this period. This statement in theMandagappattu inscription warrants the conclusion that such templeswere in existence before.

===== PAGE 128 =====
92 History of the Pallavas of South India
parts separated by a prismatic part. . . . These caves are allof them situated in Tondamandalam and Tamil land, andare distinguished by (1) Sanctuaries destitute of Somaskandaimage, (2) Circular litigants, (3) iDvarapalas of a peculiarposture, (4) Double-arched Tiruvatchi (firabha toranas), (5)Cubical pillars. All of them are, besides subterraneanmandapas. The Archaeological Report for 1918-19, Section 26,says : ' A very characteristic feature about the temples in"this style is the type of pillar found in them. These areabout two feet square in section and seven feet in height.The upper and lower portions are cubical while the middleportion of shaft has the angles levelled off which makesthe middle third octagonal in section. Sometimes the cubicalportions are decorated with a conventional lotus flowerdesign similar to the lotus medallions appearing on thestone rails of the Amaravati stupa. The capitals of thepillars are simple corbels or brackets supporting the archi-trave above. . . . Each pillar has a corresponding sidepilaster.'
Pyllava Painting.—A vestige of Pallava painting has alsobeen discovered in recent times in the Pudukkotta State, atSi ttannavasal. The style of the rock-cut temple at Sittarinavasalis identical with that of Mamandur cave built by Mahendra-varman I. This cave temple seems to have been at one timefully painted but the painting on the upper part of the edificeis alone visible now, namely,)'the painting on the ceiling, thecapitals and the upper parts.of the pillars. 'The principalsubject that is preserved is a grand fresco which adorns thewhole extent of the ceiling and the verandah. This frescorepresents a tank covered with lotusesT~Tn- the ,midst of theflowers are found fishes, geese, buffaloes, elephants and threemen who surely are Jains holding lotuses in their hands.Their pose, their colouring and the sweetness of theh counten-ance are indeed charming. . . . Therefore the decoration
Vl
of the capitals of the pillars in the facade is well preserved.It consists of lotuses whose blooming stems intertwine withelegance. The two pillars in the passage are adorned with

===== PAGE 129 =====
Pattava Ascendency : Dynasty of Simhavishnu 93
the figures of dancing girls.'1 It is presumable, as Jouveau-Dubrenil suggests that the art of dancing was encouraged byMahendravarman I who probably wrote a treatise on thesubject. The Mamandur inscription2 of this king alludes tothe work Dakshinachitra probably a treatise on painting andother works on music composed by him.
The^Musical Inscription at Pudukkotta.—To this period is alsoascribed the musical inscription at Kudumiyamalai3 in the Stateof Pudukkotta. The Epigraphy Report for 1906 says that theinscription was engraved at the instance of an unnamed kingwho was a disciple of a certain Rudracharya who composedthe svaras for the benefit of the pupils. Relying on thepanegyric given in the Mamandur record, and the reference toValmiki of the svaras and varnas of music therein detailed,and to the Mattavilasa-Prahasana, as also the close resem-blance between the Kudumiyamalai inscription and theMahendravarman inscription at Trichinopoly, scholars4 haveconcluded that Mahendravarman I was an accomplishedmusician and that the Kudumiyamalai musical inscriptionwas engraved at his order.
Mahendravarman I as an author.—In the previous paragraphsit was mentioned that the Pallava court in the days of Simha-vishnu was a centre of Sanskrit culture. The occurrence ofthe name of the work5 Mattavil&sa-Prahasana in theMamandur inscription indicates that there was in existence atthe time, a work bearing that name. No one knew of thiswork until the Oriental MSS. Department of the TravancoveState discovered this work some years ago. It has nowbeen published as one of the Travancore Sanskrit Series by
1 This subject is treated by N. C. Mehta in his ' Studies ia Indian Pain-ting' where four of the fresco paintings of this temple have been re-produced. Mr. Mehta, however, doubts that the temple is a Jain one.Studies in Indian Painting, pp. 11-12.
2 Q.'J.M.S., vol. xiii, p. 572. 3 No. 354 of 1904.* G. Jouveau-Dubreuil, Pallavas, p. 23.
5 The work was probably modelled on another early Prahasana Bhaga-vadajjukam recently published and which is attributed to Bodhayana.The name of this prahasana also occurs in the Mamandur inscriptionof Mahendravarman I in the line preceding the one where Mattavilasa ismentioned. (Seel.H.Q., vol. i,p. 263, Note 3.)

===== PAGE 130 =====
94 History of the Pallavas. of South India
Mahamahopadyaya Pandit T. Ganapati Sastri. This work isof great value in enabling us to know the nature of religiousand secular life led by people during the days of Mahendravar-man I, in the first quarter of the seventh century.
The Contents of this Work.—The work describes the drunkenrevelry of a Kapalika with a female-companion, his falling outwith a hypocritical Sakyabikhshu, believing him to havetstolenhis Kapala (alms-bowl) which had been carried away by a dog,his having recourse to a degenerate Pasupata for the settle-ment of the dispute and finally the recovery of the Kapalafrom a mad man. We have already seen that the titlesMattavilasa, Avanibhajana, Satrumalla and Gunabharawere borne by Mahendravarman I and occur in variousinscriptions. Of these the title Satrumalla is mentioned inthe concluding lines of the play ; and that of Avanibhajana isreferred to in the fourth pada of the mangala sloka . . . andGunabhara and Mattavilasa are also Jound in the words ofNatl in the sthapana. The virtues of the king are eftlogizedin the opening portion of this work.1 « 0
•
Light thrown on Contemporary Lite by the Work.—This littleplay is full of interest to the student of religious history as it-affords valuable material regarding the extinct Kapalika faith,and the vices of the Sakyabikshus and the views regarding theteachings of the Buddha held by the followers of other religions,such as the Kapalikas. ' From the MattavilOsa-Prahasana itbecomes clear that to a Kapalika, the Kapala is as essentialas is a sacred thread to a Brahmana. If he loses it he shouldprovide himself with another in a stated time. He shouldcover his body with ashes and make himself hideous; and drinkliquor from skull of a human being. . . . One-of his articles of
NO
3Wre%lcW wm ^m qrm q*Tcfi <$$\
cF^qpa 3Tn?if3;srf?q^ ^n*ter ss '11
Mattavilasa, p. 3, T. Sans, Ser., No. LV.

===== PAGE 131 =====
Palldva Ascendency: Dynasty of Simhavishnu 95
faith is that the effect always resembles, to a certain extent, thecause;, therefore, from the practice of austerities in this lifeone cannot obtain bliss in another life since austerities andbliss are of opposite nature. The Kapalikas carried inaddition to the Kapala, a cow's horn both for blowing duringtheir worship and drinking from. The people of this faithassociated freely with women-Kapalikas. . . . The opinionsheld by the particular Kapalika, Bhatya-Soma of our play,regarding the Sakyabhikshus are that the Sakyabhikshusindulged freely in animal food and fattened themselvespecuniarily by being the managers of several viharas, and leda comfortable life, against all the rules of their order: theycovered themselves only to conceal their foibles. Theirteacher Buddha, did nothing more than steal his doctrines fromthe Vedanta and the Mahabharata of the Brahmans, and compiledtherefrom his doctrines.'1 The mention of Buddhas, Bikshus,Kapalikas and Pasupatas, in his burlesque by Mahendravarman Ias among the inhabitants of Kanchipuram bear out thesurmise that Buddhism nourished there till at least theseventh century a.d., and that the statement of Hiuen-Tsangregarding the existence in Kanchipura of a large number ofviharas2 finds support in this work of Mahendravarman.
The reign of Mahendravarman I synchronized with theperiod of decay of Buddhist and Jain religions at Kanchipu-ram and the Tamil land. The Saiva saints Appar, andTirugnana-Sambandar were actually engaged in propagatingthe Saiva faith. According to the testimony of these saints, asrepresented in their references to the Sakyas, we have to inferthat the Buddhists and Jains of this period were in a degenerateposition then. They are mentioned in the same strain also inseveral verses in the Vaishnava work N&layiraprabhandam.3
1 M.C.C. Mas-, vol. 34, p. 413. -2 Beal's Rec, vol. ii, p. 229.
s^Miupqspptoff^a aBG&ruQffBi Q&LLuQingirth. Tivutn&ltti, V. 7.
Qaietefiajfff Qua^iujB-i «rairi#«fuf ggiQarp anrsirjr^, P. T. VOl. IX, p. 7. V» §.
^^ajBd^meturiraJ^jgBi uaj^f
&putilfimtiu£i-ri. Nan. TirUy v, <?,

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96 History of the Pallavas of South India
The reign of Mahendravarman I is believed to have beenthe period of the Vaishnava saint Tirumalisai and thereforealso that of the first three Alvars'; by certain scholars. Mr.M. Srinivasa Aiyangar1 in his , Tamil Studies expressesthe view that the Gunabhara mentioned in the Nanmugan-Tiruvandadi is a reference to Mahendravarman I, and con-cludes, on this basis alone, that he was his contemporary. Buta careful examination of the context and meaning of this stanza2shows that the Gunabhara of the Alvar cannot be interpretedas alluding to any mortal man.
1 Tamil Studies, pp. 305-6.
s ssuLf mpiejgr$QtUGnr ttetaeeaQar Qtue&riS(jftltuar
Q<sff©j4£«rfl;£j5 QaeQemt (g«raruuirC?snr/ fijjr&ar
tBi—p&exRajtr Qm<uQ$e8B&tiprih, (St. 93, Natl. TitU.\
2 See also Early Hist, of Vaiihnavism in South India^ p* 54. «

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CHAPTER VII
NARASIMHAVARMAN I (MAHAMALLA) A.D. 630-660
NARASIMHAVARMAN I succeeded Mahendravarman Ion the Pallava throne about a.d. 630. He is calledin some of his inscriptions, Vatapi-Konda-Narasimhavarmanand this alludes to his supreme achievement, namely, thecapture and destruction of Vatapi (Badami in the BijapurDistrict). He is one of the most remarkable sovereigns of theline of Simhavishnu, and the Pallava empire must have beenconsiderably enlarged during his reign. His reign is well-known for the following :—(1) Invasion and capture of Vatapi ;(2) Invasion of Ceylon ; (3) The excavation works at Mamalla-puram j (4) The visit of the Chinese pilgrim to Kanchlpuram.j&The Chalukya-Pallava Relations.—It has already been seen thatin about the middle and closing years of his father, Pulakesin IIadvanced as far as the city of Kanchl, forcing ' the lord ofthe Pallavas to retreat behind the walls of Kanchlpuram.'1The Kuram plates 2 belonging to the reign of Paramesvara-varman I mention the important fact that Narasimhavarman Iinflicted a crushing defeat on Pulakesin, in the battles ofPariyala, Manimangala and SQramara. The exact localitycorresponding to these places cannot, at this distance of time,be made out except in the case of Manimangala which may besafely identified with the modern village of Manimangalam,situated at a distance of only twenty miles from Kanchi.This reference in the Kviram plates indicates another Chalukyainvasion early in Narasimhavarman's reign on which occasionthe Ghalukya army would appear to have advanced very nearthe Pallava capital itself before it sustained the defeatmentioned in the record.
1 Ep. Ind., vol. vi, p. 11. * S.I./., vol. i, p. 152.
13

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98 History of the Pallavas of South India
Raid on Vatapi.—Shortly after the repulse of the Chalukyaarmies from the neighbourhood of Kanchipuram, Narasimha-varman I made serious preparations for a counter-invasion intothe Chalukya territory. This expedition was entrusted to thecommand of Siru-Tonda who was known otherwise asParanjoti. That this aggressive expedition under thecommand of Siru-Tonda marched against the Chalukyacapital, captured it and returned with great spoils to Kanchiis learnt from the life of Paranjoti,1 otherwise Siru-Tondar inthe Periyapuranam. The Velurpalayam plates refer to thisexploit:—'From his son Mahendra was born Narasimhavar-man I famous like Upendra (Vishnu) who, defeating the hostof his enemies took from them the pillar of victory standing inthe centre of Vatapi.'2 This is also referred to in a mutilatedinscription found at Vatapi3 and written in characters of thisperiod, probably put up by Narasimha to commemorate hiscapture of the city. This record, although mutilated, containsthe surname Mahamalla, and the words Kshitibhujam-agrSsaraPallava and (Nara) simha-vishnu. From these it is clear t]jatNarasimhavarman I captured the city of Vatapi; and probablyset up a pillar of victory at this place recording this achieve-ment. There can, therefore, be no doubt regarding thecapture of the city by the Pallava king.
Ceylon Invasion.—The circumstances that led to the interven-tion of Narasimhavarman I in the affairs of Ceylon aregathered chiefly from the, Mahavamsa.* It appears fromthis account that Manavamma, a Ceylon prince, having becomean exile fled to India, and, arriving at the city of Kanchipuram,managed to enter service under Narasimhavarman I with aview to secure his aid and ultimately to gairr-thg_Ceylon throne.
uaJnocBuflu/ iG£l&(gjesiaiii]ib uxCt^.esrQpih uiflpQpiraDSiyih
Per. Pur., Life ofParanjoti, v. 6.
2 S.I.I., vol. ii, p. 508, verse 11. 3 Ind: Ant., vol. ix, p. 199.
* The Mahavamia, ch. 47 (Tumour's translation).

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JVarasimhavarman I (Mahamalla) A.D. 630-660 99
Here he is described as having constantly engaged himself inservice of the king and proved his trustworthiness by many anact of bravery and loyalty. The Mahavamsa mentions ingreat detail the various acts of Manavamma, particularlyhis services to Narasimhavarman I in his wars against theVallabha,-the Chalukya king: how once king Vallabha cameto make war against Narasimha and how the Pallava king witha view to test. Manavamma left him at his capital city andproceeded to the battle-field alone, and how Manavamma'saffection caused him to leave the safety of the fortified capitaland join his king in the field of battle in victory, defeat, ordeath. Such action was* bound to increase Narasimha'sesteem for him, and it is therefore not surprising that when theCeylon prince prepared to go back to his country Narasimha-varman I gave him a strong escort and an army with which hewas able to secure the Ceylon throne. But this success didnot last long. Soon after, his army deserted him and thePrince of Ceylon came back once more to seek the help ofNarasimhavarman I. Again Narasimhavarman I gave him anarmy much bigger than before, and this time the Pallava kinghimself accompanied his troops as far as the harbour where hismen went on board on their voyage to the shores of Ceylon. Itis noteworthy that this naval expedition of Narasimhavarman Iset sail from the ancient Pallava port, Mahabalipuram, which,according to contemporary account was a harbour at this time.It is worthy of note that Hiuen-Tsang1 who stayed in the cityfor a considerable time (circa 642) recorded the fact that shipsgo to Ceylon from Kafichi, and that it extended by twenty milesto the coast.2 Tirumangai Alvar also records that Mahabali-puram was a busy port in his hymns on this place and parti-cularly notes that in its harbour ride at anchor ' vessels bent
-1' Beal, Records, vol. ii, p. 228.
&euma€fiiuB<gib laevfai&ai—e&r /oAi&u^scu^iLJraniniftiE?Q«ffQr wajrfiprraiOBB aievmQaireir crdawi—Qts^jQe-
Peria Tirumoli, Kadanmallai Hymns, 6.

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loo History of the Pallavas of South India
to the point of breaking laden as they are with wealth, bigtrunked elephants and nine gems 'in heaps.'
This- second naval expedition was a complete success andmust have made a profound impression on the contemporarypowers of South India.1 The Kasakkudi plates which confirmthe conquest of Ceylon justly compare this achievement ofNarasimhavarman I with that of Rama's conquest of Lanka.'Prince Manavamma was firmly placed on the throne, and notuntil Narasimhavarman Fs death did' trouble overtake himagain.
Monuments of Narasimhavarman I. Improvement of MahCLbali-puram.—Like his father, Narasimhavarman I was a lover ofbuilding temples all over his kingdom. Some of his earliermonuments such as the cave temples at Trichinopoiy districtand Pudukotta were excavated from out of rocks as those ofMahendravarman I. The peculiar features of the monumentsof Narasimhavarman have been described by A. H. Longhurstas follows':—' The cave temples are,excavated in the face ofthe rock in the same manner as those belonging to the earlierperiod, but their facades are usually more ornamental and ctn&rtain pillars of a different variety. On plan the interiors are muchthe same as those of the cave temples of the Mahendra style,with similar small square shrine chambers cut in the back wallwhich are usually free from ornament within. The pillared-hall in front of the shrine often contains large panels cut inthe side walls filled with sculptural figures in high relief.These are usually of great beauty and executed with
1 ' It is certainly astonishing that in the inscriptions of the Pallavasand other Southern dynasties no reference whatever is made to the rela-tions which in those days must have existed^between Coromandel andthe Far East. The explanation probably is that thds'e-relations, of whichthe accounts of the Chinese pilgrims have left us such a valuable recordwere of a perfectly peaceful nature. Suppose the powerful Pallava jprinces of Kanchipura had equipped armadas and carried their aims tothe remote shares of Campa and'Java, may we not assume thafe their _conquests on the far side of the ocean would have been extolled in theirprafastis with no less effusion than we find lavished pn the»r victoriesover the Chalukyas ? '—J. Ph. Vogel— The Yupa Inscriptions of KingMulavarman.
2 S.I.I., vol. ii, p. 343, verse 22.
•

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Narasimhavarman I (Mahamalla) A.D. 630-660 101
remarkable skill. The interior too of the more ornamentalcave temples is provided with cornice and plinth mouldings.
' The most striking feature about the Mamalla style is thecurious shape of the pillars.1 The square heavy pillars withcorbel-capitals of the earlier period are replaced by pillars ofa more elegant shape and better proportion. The base of thepillar is carved in the shape of a conventional lion sitting veryerect-find carrying the shaft of the column on the top of itshead. This shaft is still octogonal in section but of betterproportion and crowned with a bulbous capital having a flatabacus. Between the capital and the architrave is usually adouble-bracket supporting the cornice. This latter feature isobviously a stone copy of a wooden-model.' 2
According to Mr. Longhurst examples of Mamalla style areonly found at the Seven Pagodas. ' It will be remembered,'saySjhe, ' that it was Mamalla who founded Mamallapuramnaming the town after himself.3 Although most of the monu-ments there may be said to be in the Mamalla style it is quitecertain'that all of them could not possibly have been excavatedfaring his life time, as the work must have taken over acentury and even then was never finished. Therefore we maypresume that Mamalla's son and successor Mahendravarman IIand also the latter's son Paramesvaravarman I, carried onthe work begun by Mamalla 'keeping more or less to theojiginal style. . . .'
Dr. Hultzsch on the age of the Seven Pagodas.—About theexact age of the monuments of the Seven Pagodas the viewsof scholars differ considerably. According to Venkayya4
1 Note by Editor.
2 Arch. Report for 1918-1919, p. 26 ff. Also see same writer's remarks inPallava Architecture, Part i, Memoirs of the Arch. Surf. India, No. 17,p. 11.
3 In the opinion of the late James Fergusson derived from a study of thesculptures and the architecture the date of the Seven Pagodas is some-what earlier than 700, but their execution may have been spread overhalf a century or even more and that a.d. 650 or 700 may be safely reliedupon as the date at which the rocks were carved into the wondrous formswhich excite our admiration. Cave Temples of India, p. 110.
* A.S.R., 1906-7, p. 234.

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102 History of the Pallavas )f South India
' Mahabalipuram was founded by. Narapmhavarman I, surnamed\ Mahamalla,1 after his own surname and that the earliest ofthem cut out by him. \
The place is ordinarily supposed by'most official Epigraphistsand Western archaeologists to have had no previous history2 orexistence although the mention of this place by the earliestAlvars and the recent discovery of inscribed statues of Simha-vishnu and his son Mahendravarman I clearly goes againstsuch a presumption. According to Dr. Huitzsch the majorityof short epigraphs on the monolith now styled DharmarajaRatha resemble those of the Mahendravadi and Siyyamangalamcave inscriptions of the Pallava king Mahendravarman.Among the names and surnames of the king who excavated jthe Dharmaraja Ratha, we find twice the name of Narasimha Iwhich seems to have been his actual name while the remaining '-designations look like mere surnames. Among the successors !of Mahendravarman I there are two kings named Narasimha-varman. As the type of the alphabet is more archaic than thatof the second of the inscriptions which probably belongs toParamesvaravarman I, father of Rajasimha, Narasimhavarman*of Dharmaraja Ratha inscriptions maybe identified with Nara- isimhavarman I, the son of Mahendravarman I. This identifi- ■cation is rendered almost certain by a reference to the publishedfacsimile.3
About the year a.d. 642, the celebrated Chinese pilgrim and"Master of Law, Hiuen-Tsang, visited the Pallava capital andappears to have stayed there a considerable time. He describedthe country round the capital by the name of Dravida, andextending about 6000 // in extent. The soil was fertile andiproduced abundance of crops. He founcK4;he climate of the
'Note by Editor on the age of Mahabalipur. ._
2 According to Jouveau-Dubreuilv the monuments at the Sgyen.Pagodas do not go back prior to the seventh century, a.d. see his~Archaeo-logie du sud de L'Inde, tome i, pp. 74-102. His theories on tillage andthe evolution of Pallava monuments' are generally followed by A. H.Longhurst, V. A. Smith and Ananda C. Coomaraswamy in his recentwork on the History of Indian and Indonesian Art. (pp. 102-104.)
3 Huitzsch, Ep. Ind., vol. x, p. 1 S.

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Narasimhavarman I (Mahamalla) A.D. 630-660 103
region hot, and the character of the people courageous. Thepeople were deeply attached to the principles of truth andhighly esteemed for their learning1 a fact which is also noted byone of the Tevaram hymnists.2
As regards Buddhism the pilgrim found some hundred^Sangharamas, and 10,000 priests all of whom studied the teach-ing oi the Sthavira school of Mahayana Buddhism. The Hindu,including the Jaina temples numbered about eighty and in otherparts around he found that the sect of the Digambaras hadmany adherents. Hiuen-Tsang also refers to the traditioncurrent then that the Tathagatha in olden times when he livedin this world frequented this part very much and convertedmany men. Therefore Asoka the Buddhist emperor is believedto have built a large number of stupas here traces of which thepilgrim was able to notice in many places around Kafichi. TheChinese pilgrim also refers to the tradition that Kanchipuramwas the birth place of Dharmapala, the well-known metaphy-sician who preceded Silabhadra as head of the great University£f Nalanda. -The pilgrim also visited Mojo-kiu-chi (the Pandyacountry) where he found some of the inhabitants following thetrue doctrine, but others impetuous and wholly given tocommercial gain. The Buddhist pilgrim also found that in thePandya country his religion was in a state of decay thoughtraces of monasteries were found everywhere.3
Mahendravarman II.—About a.d. 655, Narasimhavarman I,the Mahamalla, died having raised the Pallava power to a gloryunprecedented in Pallava history. The exact period of the dura-tion of Narasimha's reign is not known, but from the evidenceof the Mahtivamsa, and the prolonged stay of Manavamma at thecourt of this king as well as the military and naval enterprisesassociated with his reign, his reign must have lasted a fairlylong time. He was succeeded by Mahendravarman II about
1 Beal, Records, vol. ii, p. 228.
2 acooSCiu asroffttScvffff tBn^t$mTEB& — Appar, Tevaratn, Tirukachchimerr&liPatikam, verse 8.
3 Peal, Records, vol. ii, pp. 228-30,

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104 History of the Pallavas of South India
whom practically nothing is known, except the reference in theKuram plates that he ' thoroughly enforced the sacred law ofthe castes and the orders.'1 This probably indicates a peacefulreign free from disturbances of hostile invasions from outside.According to Mr. M. S. Ramaswami Aiyangar, Mahendra-varman II was the contemporary of Appar.2 But there is noevidence to show that Mahendravarman II was a Jairfin theearlier part of his reign and that his conversion to Saivaism wasbrought about by Appar. On the other hand, as we saw already,Appar was a contemporary of Mahendravarman I, the son andsuccessor of Simhavishnu (a.d. 600-630).
Paramesvarayqrman I .{circa 600 to 680).—With the accessionof Paramesvaravarman I we once again find ourselves in verystirring times. Invasions and counter-invasions of the Pallavasand the Chalukyas become once more the order of the day.His great Chalukyan contemporary was Vikramaditya Iwho, according to the, Gadval plates,3 conquered Kanchi,defeated Isvarapotaraja and destroyed the Mahamalla family.This grant also giT7es the very important particular that at0fflt>time of the southern invasion, Vikramaditya I was encampedat Uragapura4 on the southern bank of the ,KaverirThese plates furnish the details of date, i.e. the year both of
1 The Velurpalayam plates omit his name altogether from thegenealogical list. Ibid., S.I.I., vol. ii.
2 Studies in South Indian Jainism, p. 66.
3 Ep. Ind., vol. x, No. 22, pp. 100-6.
* As regards the identification of Uragapuram the statement in theplates that it was on the southern 'bank of the Kaveri makes it clear thatit must have been the ancient Chola capital Braiyur near Trichinopoly.Dr. Hultzsch was inclined to identify it witfT^Magapatam, takingUragapura to be a literal translation in Sanskrit of the Tamil word Naga-Pattinam. (Ep. Ind., vol x, p. 102.) Attempts have been made to identifyit with Parnbur. But the fact that Peruvalanallflr, where a battle wasfought between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas, lies about twelve milesfrom Trichinopoly (north-west) shows the camp where Vikramaditya."stayed and made this grant could not have been very muph fartherAccording to Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil|(/W/az>a.$, p. 43) Uragapuram isthe ' City of Ranarasika,' of the Kailasanatha temple inscription (S.I.I.,vol. i, p. 13). But it seems more sound to regard that Paramesvara-varman I led another invasion against Badami, and that the Kailasanathatemple inscription has reference to this achievement.

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Narasimhavarman I (Mahamalla) A.D. 630-660 105
the reign and of the Saka era. The actual date of the grantas given in the record is the full-moon iiihi. of Vais&kha in thetwentieth year of the reign, which was current after 596 Sakayears had passed. According to Dr. Fleet the equivalent maybe taken as Tuesday, 25th April, a.d. 674, which fully confirmsthe correctness of other dates obtained for the reign by Prof.Kielhorn.
The details of the Pallava-Chalukya campaign are not clearlyknown from any records, but it is certain that success did notuniformly attend on the Chalukya invader. The Kuram recordalready referred to, which belongs to this period, after givingan elaborate account of the martial exploits of Paramesvara-varman I mentions in particular the fact that he made Vikrama-ditya ' whose army consisted of several lakshas take to flightcovered only by a rag.'1 Similarly the Velurpajayam record2make's pointed reference to Paramesvaravarman havingcrushed, the conceit of his enemies like the sun destroying themists. , Neither of these grants furnishes any detail whichmight help us to locate the exact place where the Pallava andthe Chalukyan forces met in battle. This very important detail isobtained from the Udayendiram plates3 which mention the nameof the site of battle as Peruvalanallur which we may correctlyidentify with the village of Peruvalanallur in the Lalgudi talukof the Trichinopoly District. As we know that the Gadvalplates mention the important detail that the Chalukya emperorwas encamped in Uragapuram, this identification receives addedconfirmation, especially as this place lies a few miles from thisvillage. The campaign between the Pallavas and the Cholasmust have been therefore conducted in and around the town ofTrichinopoly. A glowing description of the battle is given inthe Kuram plates from which we learn that Paramesvara-varman's war-elephant was called Arivarana and that his horsewas.,known as Atisaya.4
1 S.I..!., vol.i, p. 144.
2 v. 11, Velurpalayam plates, ibid., vol. ii, p. 508.
3 Ibid., vol. ii, p. 371.
4 ' At the head of a battle,—in which the disk of the sun was caused toassume the likeness of the circle of the moon through the mist of the
14

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io6 History of the Pallavas of South India
This king appears to have been a [great devotee of Siva andpleased that God by constructing . large numbers of Sivatemples all over the kingdom. From the inscription on theGanesa temple at Mamallapuram,1 Dr. Hultzsch has concludedthat Atyantakama after whom the temple is named must havebeen a surname of Paramesvaravarman I himself
dust, there was produced by the marching of the countless troops ofmen, horses and elephants, which was terrible through the thunderlikesound of drums, which teemed with unsheathed swords that resembledflashes of lightning, in which elephants were moving like clouds, andwhich therefore resembled an unseasonable appearance of the rainyseason ; in which tall horses looked like billows, in which elephantscaused distress on their path, just as sea-monsters produce whirlpools, inwhich conches were incessantly blown and which therefore resembled thegaping ocean ; which was full of swords and shields, just as of rhinoceros,creepers and varana trees, which was crowded with heroes who possessedbows and mighty elephants, as if it were crowded with Sara (grass) andwhich was agitated by a violent wind in which the path of the ''windwas obstructed by arrows, that flew past each other on the bows, whilethese were bent by the warriors ; in which javelins, pikes, darts, clubs,lances, spears, and discuses^were flying about; in which troops of furiouselephants firmly impaled each other's faces with the piercing thunder-bolts of their tusks ; in which squadrons of horsemen were connectedby their swords, that had struck each other's heads, in which there ware*8soldiers who were noted for their dexterity in fighting with sword againstsword, pulling of hair against hair and club against club; in which theground was thickly smeared with saffron as the blood was mixed with-copious rutting juice of the elephants that, issued in consequence of theirconsidering each other as equals, or despising each other ; in which bothlarge armies had lost and dropped arms, necks, shanks, thigh bones andteeth ; in which, owing to the encounter of the armies, both sides weiebroken, urged on, put to flight and prostrated on the ground ; which wasattended by the goddess of fortune fitting on the swing of the doubt aboutmutual victory or defeat; in which'braye warriors were marching on theback of lines of, fallen elephants, that formed a bridge over the flood ofblood, in which soldiers stood motionless, if their blows did not hit eachother's weak parts ; which was covered here and there with shattered ban-ners and parasols with fallen elephants andwith dead and half dead soldierswho had done their duty whose strong arms^still^raised the, weaponwhose lips were bitten and whose eyes were deep red with fury; in whicha multitude of white chamaras was waving ; in which tiaras, armlets,necklaces, bracelets and ear-rings were broken, crushed and pulverised,in which the kushmandas, rakshasas and pisachas were singing, intoxicatedwith drinking the liquor of the blood ; and which contains, hundredsof headless trunks, that were vehemently dancing together in a fearful-manner according to the beaten time hfe, unaided, made Vikramaditya,whose army consisted of several lakskas take to flight, covered only bya rag.' (Kuram plates; Dr. Hultzsch's Translation, S.I.I., vol. i,p. 153 ff.)1 Ep. Ind., vol. x, p. 8.

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Narasimhavarman I (Mahamalla) A.D. 630-660 107
' The second and very florid alphabet found in the inscrip-tions of the Pallava king Atyantakama on the monolith nowstyled Ganesa temple (No. 20), in the two caves called Dharma-rajamandapa and Ramanujamandapa. The same alphabet isemployed in the Kanchi inscriptions of Rajasimha and his sonMahendravarman III. The Kanchipuram inscriptions statethat Rajasimha was the son of Ugradanda the destroyer ofRana'rasika's city and that the epithet Ranarasika refers tothe Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya I (a.d. 655-680).The alphabet of the Atyantakama's inscription at the SevenPagodas resembles so closely that of Kailasanatha templeepigraphs that both must be assigned to the same period.That Atyantakama's actual name was Paramesvara is seenfrom verse 2 of No. 20.'' I propose to identify this Atyantakamawith either Paramesvaravarman I, the father of Rajasimha orPartJmesvaravarman II, the son of Rajasimha preferably withthe former.'
It thus appears that the rock-cut monument known as theGanesa temple as well as the Ramanujamandapa were probablyexcavated at the orders of Paramesvaravarman and that theformer one was a Siva temple. From the eleven flokas in theGanesa temple inscription we learn that Paramesvaravarman Ihad Chitramaya, Gunabhajana, Sribhara and Ranajaya as sur-names. Vidyavinita Pallava was another title of Paramesvara-varman I. In the village of Kuram Paramesvaravarmanappears to have built a structural temple to Siva, called in theplates Vidyavinlta-Pallava-Paramesvaragrha. The object ofthe Kuram grant is a gift of the village of Paramesvara-mangalam (evidently named after the king) made to the templeof Siva which had been built at Kuram by Vidyavinita Pallava.The village was probably named after the king himself anddivided into twenty-five parts of which three were to be enjoy-ed b,y two Brahmans Anantasivacharya and Pullasarman wholooked after the divine service of the temple. The fourth partwas set aside for the providing of water and fire for the templemandapa, the fifth for the reading of the Bharata at this placewhile the remaining twenty parts were given to twenty

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io8 History of the Pallavas of South India
Chaturvedins. Kuram is described here as belonging to Manya-vantrarashtra of Nirvelur, a division of Urrukattukottam.
Narasimhavarmanll—Rajasimfia, circa 680-700.—Narasimha-varman II succeeded his father towards the close of the seventhcentury. His reign appears to have: been completely peacefuland free from foreign invasions. Among the temples built byhis king may be mentioned the Kailasanatha temple,called the Rajasimhesvara after his surname Rajasimhfi, theAiravatesvara temple at Kafichi, the Shore-temple near thesea at Mahabalipuram, and the Panamalai temple all of whichcontain his inscriptions. The habit of registering the surnamesof the ruling king begun by Mahendravarman I appears to havebecome exceedingly popular now and was extensivelyput into practice by Rajasimha more than 250 of his birudasbeing found in the walls of the Kailasanatha temple alone.1Some of these are:—' Rishabalanchana', ' Sri-Sanfeara-bhakta ', ' Srivadyavidyadhara ', ' Sri-Agamapriya ', ' Sri-Pratimalla ', ' Siva-Chudamani', etc. These titles are sugges-tive of his personal tastes, his accomplishments and religiousinclinations. The inscriptions .of the Kailasanatha temple*3besides the birudas of this king, include those of his sonMahendravarman III and his queen Rangapataka whose names "are associated with the erection of a part of the temple.2 ThisRangapataka appears to have been one of Rajasimha's queensand her record consists of three Sanskrit verses in characterssimilar to Rajasimha's inscription. This inscription registersthe fact that the small Siva shrine was constructed by Ranga-pataka3 the Queen of Narasimhavishnu, or Kalakala whose signwas the bull. <
1 S.I.I., vol.i.'Nos. 25 and 26, pp. 14-18. '~~---
2 Ibid., p. 23.
3 Ibid. , / 9

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Narasimhavarman I (Mahamalla) A.D. 630-660 109
The Monuments of Rajasimha.—The most important among the 1temples now existing, built by Rajasimha is that at Kanchlpuram !known as the Kailasanatha temple. One of the inscriptions in '.this temple records the construction of this temple by Rajasimha.There is a story in the Periyapuraimm account of Pusalar'Nayanar * which mentions that a Kadava king built a temple \to Siva and heard a celestial voice directing the postpone-ment of the consecration by a day as on the day appointedhe had to be present at the temple of the devotee Pusalar for asimilar function. This presumably has a reference tothat erected by Rajasimha as it is mentioned that Rajasimhaheard a celestial voice in one of the inscriptions theKailasanatha temple in itself.2 The construction ofthis temple is also referred to in the Velurpalayam plates inthe following terms:—Verse 13 ' His (Paramesvaravarman Vson's son was Narasimhavarman II who equal to Mahendnonce again organized the ghatika of the twice-born and buillof stone a house for the moon-crested Siva which was comparable to the Mountain Kailasa. Among the other temples builduring this period we may mention the Siva temple aPanamalai, the Shore-temple at Seven Pagodas and theAiravatesvara temple at Kanchipuram. It has beendoubted in some quarters whether or not the Shore-templeat Mahabalipuram is a Pallava structure. Recently aboutsix Sanskrit verses in Pallava script have been discoveredround the plinths of the two baliplthas here. The recordis not complete but contains an eulogy of a Pallava kingwhose surnames were Atyantakama, Aparajita, Sivachudamani,
*■ xti—aii QxBtDnsbr 3*W&&pp«B Quj^^^Qfipp$$i—UB&}j$mpjgiri*Dr$ 0gt-$&(gj (flSDT(«pdr qpot^wot
dassfrrliiu Qeiu'fcoBrlBB Qtur$&;g>i3eb QstetmtQueigjj
— Per. Pur. Pus. Nay. v. 9 and 10,B5././.,vol. i, p. 12. \

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11 o History of the Pallavas1 of South India
etc., attributes that we nowkn^w belonged to Rajasimha.Another verse refers to him as Rajasimha, Ranajaya,' Sribharaand Chitrakarmukha and is identical with verse 12 of theKafichipuram inscription of Rajasimha. The mention in therecord of the king as the ruling sovereign makes it almostcertain that he was Rajasimha, son of ParamesvaravarmanI, who bore the surnames Kshatriyasimha and Rajasimha.The two Siva temples of the Shore-temple Khatriyasimha.Pallavesvaram and Rajasimhapallavesvaram were apparentlycontemporary with Rajasimhapallavesvaram of Kafichipuram,and have been named after Rajasimha-1.1
Literature and Literary Patronage.—The age of Narasimha-varman II was one of intense literary activity. It hasbeen already pointed out that Sanskrit poets and Sanskritculture were specially patronized by Pallava kings.2 Itis suggested that Dandin, the well-known Sanskrit writer,probably flourished for some time in the Pallava court atKafichipuram, and references to Kafichipura and its rulesbave been discovered in his works. In his Kavyadaria3Dandin mentions a Saiva king Rajavarma who judging fromthe way in which he is spoken of must be regarded as hiscontemporary and probably was Rajasimha Pallava whoaccording to his inscriptions is known to have been a verydevout Saiva.4 Prof. M. Rangachariar has also quoted atradition with reference to chapter v of Ks.vya'dars'a* that itwas composed by Dandin for giving lessons in rhetoric to aroyal prince at Kafichipuram who in all probability was
1 Mad. Ep. Coll., 566 of 1912. 'Also see Antiquities of Mahabalipuram,Ind. Ant. for 7977, p. 49 ff. ^-^
2 In the, Velurpalayam plates Rajasimha is recordecttbhave revived theghatika of the twice-born. The nature of learning acquired at theBrahminical ghatikais described in the KaSakkudi plates 11. 71 ff {S.I.I.,vol. ii, p. 358). ' ™.
3 Ch ii, p. 279. v ' .__ js _ .
4 Tesharnvamseprasutat-Ranarasikapuron-nidrdhanat UgradandatSubramanyakumdro Guha iva Parimtddlsvardddttajanma^Saktikshunndrivarggoviditabahunayas Saivasiddhdntamdrggo.S~rlnianatya.ntakdm.ah kshata Sakalamalo dhurdharah Palldvdndm.'
S.I.I., vol. i, No. 24, 5, 6,
5 Ind. Ant., 1912, p. 90 ff. J

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Narasimhavarman 1 (Mahamalla) A.D. 630-660 111
Rajasimha's son.1 All these references, taken along with thepassage in Kavjtadarsa where Dandin illustrates a particularform of composition by a couplet2 which refers to the cityof Kanchi3 and its rulers the Pallavas and the evidencefurnished by the recently-discovered Avantisundarikathd,make it clear that Dandin lived for a considerable period at thePallava court in Kanchipuram.
Whether the series of dramas published at Trivandrum asBhasa's, were really composed during the reign of Rajasimhait is not possible to say. But certain scholars hold thatSvapnav&savadatta' and other works of the series wereabridged editions of the works of Bhasa prepared for thestaging of them before the court of a Pallava king, presum-ably Rajasimha from the colophons of these plays. Theseplays bear a close resemblance to Mattavilasaprahasana ofMahendravarman I. The evidence available seems to favourthe view that the Pallava rather than the Pandya court wasresponsible for the production of these plays, if these arenot Bhasa's own.
Pttramesvaravarman II, A.D. 700-710.—About the close ofthe first decade of the eighth century Rajasimha was succeededon the Pallava throne by Paramesvaravarman II. The reignof this sovereign appears to have been shortlived. TheVirattanesvara temple inscription of this king is dated in thethird year of his reign. The Kasakkudi plates record of himthat he ' conquered the coquetish ways of the Kali age, thathe led the way of policy, which had been prescribed byDhishana (Brhaspati) and that he protected the worlds.' 4
1 It is Rajasimha himself that appears to have been AcharyaDandin's pupil from the slokas under reference if the altered readingproves to be correct. Ed,
2 Kav. Bar., ch. 3, p. 114.
3 ' Nasikyamadyaparitah chaturvarnavibhushUa.
Ahikachitpuriyasyam-ashtavarnahvayonrpah.
j ATa»., iii, 144.
In commenting on this well-known enigma in Dandin's work Taruna-vachaspati explains it as meaning Kanchi ruled over by Pallava kings,(Age of Dandin, Ind. Ant. for 1912, p. 91).* Verse 26, S.I.I., vol. ii, No. 7S\ p. 357.

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U2 History of the Pallavas of South India
In the Velurpalayam plates he is described as the chastiserof the Kali and that he governed according to the laws ofManu.1 As we have no inscription!dated in the years subse-quent to his third regnal year we may 'presume1 that his reignwas very short.
1 Verse 14, S.I.I., vol. ii, part v, p. 511.

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CHAPTER VIII
DYNASTIC REVOLUTION. HIRANYAVARMAN AND
HIS SUCCESSOR PALLAVAMALLA
HIRANYAVARMAN I
THE Kasakkudi plates of Nandivarman Pallavamalla pass onfrom Paramesvaravarman II to Nandivarman, thedescendant of Bhimavarman, thereby suggesting that thePalla.ya throne passed into the hands of Nandivarman II imme-diately after Paramesvaravarman II. The circumstances thatled to a change in the family are not stated. According to theUdayendiram plates it appears that Paramesvaravarman IIleft a young prince called Chitramaya whose cause wasespoused by the Dramila princes. The recently-discoveredKorrangudi plates dated in the sixty-first year of NandivarmanII Pallavamalla, mention after Virakurcha and others oneHiranyavarman who is said to have ruled as king. TheVelQrpalayam plates do not mention this fact. But theTandantottam plates * record of him that he was born for thegood of the world and that he made his enemies settle in^forests and was the asylum of those who eagerly desiredprotection. His place in the Pallava family may be indicatedin the following table :—
Simhavarman
I I
Simhavarman Bhimavarman
= I
Mahendravarman Buddhavarman
_ . IAdityavarman
; IGovindavarman
. IHiranya I
I• Paramesvara II Nandivarman II
Chitramaya
1 Tandantottam plates.'V. 1, S.J.I., vol ii, part 5, p. 528.' IS " >

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H4 History of the Pallavas of South India
Sculptures in the Vaikunthaperumal Temple at Kaiichi.—Thesculptures inside the Vaikunthaperumal temple at Kanchlpuramthrow some light upon the history of'this period. The originalsculptures were considerably mutilated, but the temple authori-ties have tried to repair them with brick and mortar. Theexplanatory notes have not been filled in completely but are foundon a small portion of the south verandah and explain thirteencompartments of the upper row of sculptures. The first ofthese notes refers to the death of Paramesvaravarman of thePallava family which was descended from the God Brahma andmentions the ministers, the Ghatikaiyar, the Mulaprakrti andHiranyavarma Maharaja. It is partially damaged but endswith the word ' place '. The second compartment ends withthe words enru sonnet^ idam, I the place where he said that'.The fourth mentions Srimalla, Ranamalla, Sangramamalla, andPallavamalla as Hiranyavarma's four sons and ends with'thewords ' Paramesvaran nan povln enru toluduninra idam ', ' theplace where Paramesvara stood in a -worshipping posturesaying he would go '.1 Then Hiranyavarma Maharaja andDharanikondaposar are mentioned ; also the Nagarattar i.e.,""*the citizens of Kanchlpuram, the Mulaprakrti and the Kataka-Muttarayar. Mention is also made of the coronation"{Abhisheka) of young Pallavamalla under the style Nandivarma.2The Probable Interpretation of the Sculptures.—The sculptural• representations in these panels taken along with the infor-mation contained in the Kasakkudi plates3 help us toestablish that there was a change of dynasty on the deathof Paramesvaravarman, and that Nandivarman II, till thennamed Paramesvaran Pallavamalla was chosen to occupythe Pallava throne by the people. In this enterprise Nandi-varman II appears to have received considerable help fromHiranyavarman I, and his trustworthy general Udayachandrawhose exploits for the cause of his master are described in detailin the Udayendiram plates.4 The Kasakkudi plates daTed in the-
1 The actual text has been published in S.I.I', vol. iv, pp/10-12.s Ibid.
3 Verse 27, S.I.I., vol. ii, part 3, p. ?,57.
4 Ibid., S.I.I, pp. 37-72. //

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Dynastic Revolution 115
twenty-second year of this king records the important factthat ' he was chosen by his subjects '. The sculptures at theVaikunthaperumal temple have been interpreted as indi-cating a general election to the Pallava throne on thedeath of Paramesvaravarman II. ' The Kasakkudi plates1of Pallava king Nandivarman Pallavamalla tell us, that,after^the death of Paramesvaravarman II, Nandivarman, son of jHiranyavarman, was chosen by his subjects. It may thereforebe concluded that this part of the sculptures were intended torepresent the various events connected with the succession ofNandivarman who might be the prince referred to in the notesas Pallavamalla. As the Vaikunthaperumal temple was calledParamesvaravinnagaram, very probably after the Pallava kingNandivarman Pallavamalla called also Paramesvaravarman2it may be supposed that both the sculptures and the explanatorynotes accompanying them were cut out soon after the templeitself was built.'
It would be more accurate to consider that the sculptures ata.the Vaikunthaperumal temple at Kanchipuram taken as a wholerepresent the whole history of the Pallava family rather thanthe immediate events connected with the accession of Nandivar-man Pallavamalla about the beginning of the eighth, century.It is well known that the explanatory notes have not beenfilled in completely for all the long series of bas-reliefs ofwhich only a small number could be interpreted with the helpof inscriptions.3 It is therefore incorrect to regard all thesesculptures as.being connected with only the immediate eventsrelating to the accession of Nandivarman II. If we examinethe sculptures from the commencement, almost from the firstpanel which presents Vishnu, to the following which representBrahma, Angirasa, Brhaspati, Bharadvaja, Drona and Asvat-thaman, the birth of Pallava, is found to be graphically repre-sented while the rest illustrate and continue the family history.
1 S.I.I., vol. ii, part 3, p. 344.
2 Paraniesvaran Pallavamalla was the name and Nandivarman was thetitle of Nandivarman Pallavamalla. See S.I.I., vol. iv, No. 135, p. 11
3 Para 2 of M.E.R. for 1906.}

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116 History of the Pallavas of South India
Then again it is not necessary to infer that Paramesvaravar-man II should have been either deposed or forced to retire fromthe "throne.1 The inscription here Requires to be thoroughlyre-interpreted. The correct explanation of the scene is theselection of Nandivarman Pallavamalla, then called Parames-varavarman Pallavamalla, to the throne from among the foursons of Hiranyavarman. The details (See footnote be.low)furnished in the descriptive labels fully confirm the statementin the Kasakkudi plates that he was raisedto the throne by thegeneral approval of the citfzens and thoroughly falsify the•usurpation theory put forward by some writers.
The Position of Hiranyavarman.—The only difficulty stillfacing us is with reference to Hiranyavarman who is describedin the newly-discovered copper-plates from Korrangudi ashaving actually ruled as king. The Tandantottam plates makea glowing reference to him and describe his stirring prowess2in the field of battle, giving the impression that he was aruling sovereign of Kanchi. The Velurpalayam plates and the
1 It has been generally supposed that Nandivarman Pallavamalla*usurped the Pallava throne soon after Paramesvaravarman II. This is not
•at all supported by the evidence furnished by theVaikunthaperumal templesculptures which represent the events that' took place immediately after—
'the death of ParameSvaravarman II leading to the accession of Pallava-malla. The inscriptional evidence has been translated thus in the Epig.Indica : ' After the death of Paramegvaravarman II, a deputation con-sisting of the Matras, the Malaprakrths and the Ghatakayar waited onHiranyavarma-Maharaja and represented the fact that the country waswithout a ruler and requested him ;to grant them a sovereign. Thereupon king Hiranyavarman sent for the' chief potentates {Kulamullcvn)and enquired which among them would accept the sovereignty. All ofthem refusing, he asked his sons Srimalla, Ranamalla,*Sangramamallaand Pallavamalla. Pallavamalla humbly offered to go, but king Hiranya-varman was at first unwilling to risk hisrson, who was then only twelveyears of age, in such a perilous undertaking. "-But Hiranyavarman "wassoon persuaded by Daranikondaposar to give'-his consent- Receiving theweapons presented to him both by his father and ^Daranikondaposar,Pallavamalla proceeded to Kanchipuram, crossing oh his way severalhills, rivers and forests. Hearing of his'approach a certain Pallavadi-Araiyar came, with a large force, andplacedhim on an elephant's back andreturned to the city where he was received by the feudatory"chiers, the - ~members of the merchants' guild, the mulaprakritis, and ,„Kadakka-Muttaraiyar. He was then crowned king under the name Nandivarmanand with the insignia of Videlvedugu, Samudraghosha, Khatavanga-davaja and Vrishabha lanchhana by the ministers' feudatories, thegkatakayar and the ubkaiya-gana.' Epj7g. Ind., vol. xviii, p. .117.z Verse 1, Tandantottam plates, S.I.//., vol. ii, part 5, p. 520.

===== PAGE 153 =====
Dynastic Revolution 117
Bahur plates omit his name alogether. There cannot be anydoubt that Hiranyavarman mentioned in the Kasakkudilplates as the immediate ancestor of Nandivarman II andthe sixth descendant of Bhimavarman, the brother ofSimhavishnu, is the same as the Hiranyavarman figuring in theTandantottam plates2 as well as the bas-reliefs in theVaikursthaperumal temple just mentioned. According toMr. Krishna Sastri, this Hiranyavarman was really Dantivar-man, the son of Nandivarman II and the Tandantottam platesbelonging to Nandivarman III, the son of Dantivarman, thedonor of the Velurpalayam plates. He observes 3 : —
'The first plate of the preserved portion begins byreferring to a king who conquered the south and states that acertain Hiranyavarman was born again " for the welfare of theworld,". . . . The father of Vijayanandivikramavarman ishere stated to have been Hiranyavarman ; while the father of"Vijayanandivikramavarman is here stated to have beenHiranyavarman ; while the father of Vijayanandivikramavar-man according to the Velurpalayam plates was Dantivarman.If the proposed identity of Vijayanandivikramavarman withVijayanandivarman is accepted, the apparent discrepancy inthe name of the father could be explained. The statementthat Hiranyavarman was born again, evidently indicates ase^pnd king of that name and we may suppose that Danti-varman, the father of Vijayanandivikramavarman, was alsocalled Hiranyavarman like his grandfather Hiranyavarman I,the father of Nandivarman Pallavamalla. If the foregoingsurmises are confirmed by future researches the Tandantottamgrant would be fifty-two years later than the Velurpalayamgrants of the same king.'
There arise, however, many difficulties in accepting thisview and regarding that the Hiranyavarman of the Tandan-tottain plates is the same as Dantivarman, the son of Nandi-varman Pallavamalla. For one thing there is no evidence
1 Vide ante S.I.I., vol. ii, > 520. 2 Ibid.
3 SMI., vol. il\ part v, p. 518.

===== PAGE 154 =====
n8 History of the Pallavas of South India
that Dantivarman had the surhame Hiranyavarman asis supposed by Mr. Krishna Sastri. In the second placeEkadhira, a surname that occurs in the Tandantottam platesfor Nandivarman II, also occurs in ,the Kasakkudi plates of thesame king thus proving that the donor of this grant was thesame as the grant of Kasakkudi. The palaeography of theseplates (Tandantottam) is according to scholars much tooarchaic to be assigned to the middle of the ninth century A.u.and really belongs to the middle of the eighth century,1 andare akin to the Kasakkudi plates. The objection to the highregnal year usually given for Nandivarman II by the epigra-phists cannot be considered valid any longer as he is knownto have succeeded to the throne in his twelfth year2 and as wehave inscriptions and copper-plates of this sovereign dated inthe forty-seventh, fiftieth, fifty-second, sixty-first, sixty-secondand sixty-fifth years of his feign. Again the Tandantottam^platesdescribe Nandivarman II as a devout worshipper of Vishnu, andthis is in perfect accordance with all facts known about himand we cannot therefore imagine that he was also a devoutworshipper of Siva as the donor of the Velurpajayam plates issaid to have been. It is therefore very probable that Hiranya-varman mentioned in the Tandantottam as well as in theKorrangudi plates, dated in the sixty-first regnal year ofNandivarman II is identical with Hiranyavarman I, thefather of Nandivarman II. Whether Hiranyavarma Maharajawas an independent ruler ofj Kafichi as hinted in the Korran-gudi plates and whether he ruled for a long time, cannotbe ascertained in the present state of our knowledge. It looksvery probable that during Paramesvaravarman II's reign hewielded considerable power and was possibly placed in chargeof a pari of the Pallava dominions. The dgath of this rulergave him an opportunity to install his son who was very youngat the time of his accession as" a ruler of Conjeevaram, arid who_reigned for an exceptionally long period as seen from inscrip;tions dated in the sixty-fifth year! of his reign.3
1 Jouveau-Dubreuil, Pallavas, p. 61,/ ' 2 S.I.I., vol. iv, No'. 135.3 Ep. Coll., No J566 of 1922.

===== PAGE 155 =====
Dynastic Revolution 119
Reign of Nandivarman II Pallavamalla, circa A.D. 710to 775. — Let us first take up the duration of the reign.There is considerable difference of opinion as to the exactperiod of his reign. Certain scholars, including the officers ofthe Bpigraphical Department3 do not believe that NandivarmanPallavamalla had anything like a length of reign indicated bythe Tandantottam and Korrangudi plates, and the inscriptionsof Tiruvallam and Seven Pagodas all of which they wronglyassigned to Nandivarman III. It will be recollected that theTiruvallam record is dated is the sixty-second year and that theinscription discovered at the Seven Pagodas2 is dated in thesixty-fifth year of Nandivarman. So far as we know this is thelongest reign in the Pallava family and this is all the more re-markable because it was followed by another long reign namelythat of Dantivarman, one of whose inscriptions is dated in thefifty-fii*st year of his reign,3 the two reigns together covering116 years. The officers of the Epigraphical Departmenthowever have been continuously attributing the high regnalyears to Nandivarman III4 son of Dantivarman for reasons notaltogether convincing or clear. Even in the Epigraphy Reportfor 1922-23 we come across with the following remarks : —
' From the high regnal years given in the lithic regards5of Mahabalipuram and in this copper-plate (Korrangudi plates)grant, the kings Nandipotavarman and Ko-Vijaya Nandi-
1 It is very unlikely, observes H. Krishna Sastri in Mad. Epig. Rep. for1912 ' that a usurper like Pallavamalla with so many enemies to opposeand disturb his peaceful rule, could have continued to occupy the Pallavathrone for so long a period as SO years. His latest sure date, however,must be the 22nd year in which the KaSakkudi plates were issued.' Thisis generally based on the assumption that no stone inscriptions hithertodiscovered should be attributed to Nandivarman Pallavamalla. Mr. K. V.Subramanya Aiyar definitely opposed this view as early as 1917 in hisHistorical Sketches of Ancient Dekhan (p. 49) and the discoveries of.subsequent records as well as the fresh interpretation of the Vaikuntha-perumal inscriptions above referred to have amply proved the correctnessof his inference. He has discussed the matter in detail in the Epig. Ind.,vol. xviii, pr). 116-117, while editing the Pattatattamangalam grant ofNandivarman.
2 EP. Coll., No. 666 of 1922.
3 Madras Ep. Coll., No. 262 of 1904.* S.I.I, vol. ii, p. 518. »■
5 No. 666 of App. B.

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120 History of the Pallavas of South India
vikramavarman mentioned in thenji respectively must be iden-tical with Kovijaya Nandivikramavarman (Nandivarman III) ofthe Tandantottam plates and the Tiruvallam rock inscription.'1But some of the exploits recorded, of this king in this record',conquest over the Vallabha, Kalabhra, Kerala, Pandya, Chola,Tuluva and Konkana as well as the invocation to Vishnu in thecommencement of the record militates strongly against theview which attributes this record to Nandivarman III whosesole achievements that we know of were the series of victoriesending with that at Tellaru mentioned frequently in. hisinscriptions. It is therefore probable more especially asNandivarman II is described to have followed Hiranyavarmanthat this record belongs to Nandivarman II.2 The duration ofhis reign may therefore be definitely taken as not less thansixty-five years so far as present epigraphic evidence goes andthat Nandivarman Pallavamalla lived at least to the Ige ofseventy-seven.
Events of His Reign.—The most important events of hisreign may be ascertained from his own copper-plates of whichwe have no less than four (viz.) the Kasakkudi plates dated 'inthe twenty-second year of his reign, the Udayendiram platesdated in the twenty-first year of his reign, the Tandantottamand the Korrangudi plates dated in the fifty-eighth and thesixty-first years of his reign. Of these the Udayendiramrecord gives valuable information regarding the militaryachievements of this period while the Kasakkudi and theKorrangudi plates furnish details of his personal accomplish-ments and the culture of the period. The contemporaryrecords such as the Kail'asanatha temple inscription ofVikramaditya II, at Kanchipuram the ~ Vakkaleri plates ofKirtivarman, the KendBr plates, as well as the Pandya recordsfrom Velvikkudi and Sinnamanur throw some light., on therelations that subsisted between these powers andjhe ^allava_king. The Vakkaleri plates3 in particular furnisb. detailed
i-M.E.R., 1902-3, p. 95. , 2 Note by Editor.
3 Ind. Ant., vSi. viii, p. 23.

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Dynastic Revolution 121
information relating to the invasion of Kanchi by the Chalukyanemperor Vikramaditya II and his exploits there.
The Chalukyan Invasion of Kanchi.—The Pallava-Chalukyawars which had been lost sight of since the days ofNarasimhavarman I, the Mahamalla, appear to have beenonce more renewed. The Kendur plates of Vikramaditya IIdescribe an actual invasion into the Pallava dominions{Tundakarashtra) and the capture of the city in somewhatgraphic terms :—Being resolved to uproot completely hisnatural enemy {prakrti-amitra) Vikramaditya II (A.d. 733 to746) reached Tundaka-Vishaya, ' beat and put to flight, at theopening of the campaign, the opposing Pallava king namedNandipotavarman, took possession of particular musicalinstruments called Katumukhavaditra^ the Samudraghosha,the khatvankhadvaja, many excellent and well-known intoxi-cated elephants and a heap of rubies which dispelled darknessby the brilliancy of the multitude of their rays. . . enteredwithout destroying the city of Kafichi, which was as it were a,girdle adorning yonder lady, the region of the south . . .rejoiced the Brahmanas, and poor and helpless people by hisuninterrupted liberality . . . acquired high merit by restoringheaps of gold to the stone temple of Rajasimhesvara, andother gods which have been caused to be built by Narasimha-potavarman . . . distressed by the Pandya, Chola, Kerala,Kalabhra and other kings. . . . '2
The above extract from the Kendur plates distinctly makesit clear that Vikramaditya II actually captured the city ofKanchi from the Pallava king Nandipotavarman, that is,Nmdivarman Pallavamalla, and occupied it for a period oftime during which he endowed some of its temples withgrants. This occupation of the Pallava capital by Vikramadityais further confirmed by the discovery of a Kanareseinscription of Vikramaditya engraved on one of the pillars of
1 These are alluded to in the hymns of Tirumangai Alvar in theParamesvaravinnagaram verses in expressions which are literal transla-tions in Tamil of the Sanskrit names of the war instruments. They alsofigure in the mutilated inscriptions at the Vaikunthaperumal temple,Kanchipuram. \ 2 Ep. Ind., vol. ix, p. 205.
16

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12 2 History of the Pallavas of South India
the mandapa in front of the Rajasimhesvara shrine. Thisinscription which has been published1 by Dr. Hultzsch recordsthe fact that Vikramaditya Satyasraya, after his conquest ofKahchi, did not confiscate the property of Rajasimhesvaratemple, but granted large sums to the same, and ends with animprecation. The Chalukyan attack on Kanchi was thereforeapparently different in character from the raid of the Pajlavaking Narasimhavarman I on Vatapi which involved muchdestruction if the Periyapuranam account2 is to be believed.
When did this expedition on Kanchi start ? Though nodefinite answer is possible it is presumable that this tookplace in the earlier half of Nandivarman's reign, in allprobability between a.d. 733 to 746, when the Pallava kingwas preoccupied with wars against the southern powers.3 Inany case the occupation of the city by the Chalukyan armydoes not appear to have lasted for any considerable period.Nandivarman II was not slow in summoning his forces, todrive out the foreign invader from Kafichipuram. How thiswas brought about and when it was brought about are notclearly known. Whether the achievement was effected "bythe single-handed efforts of his own generals unaided by acoalition of other powers of the Tamil land, it is not alsopossible to say. It is however clear that NandivarmanPallavamalla recaptured Kanchi, and continued to carry on theadministration undismayed by the Chalukya invasion that tookplace. It is a mistake toj suppose that the Chalukyaninvasions in the reign of Pallavamalla either exhausted theresources, or cut short his reign. On the other hand in spiteof the rude shocks that the raids of Vikramaditya andKIrtivarrhan must have caused, Nandivarman-IX continued inpower as ruler of Kanchi for the unusually, long period of
1 Ep. Ind., vol. iii, p. 359. Vtde-App. A. _J~ ^
2 Periapuranam, Siruttondanayanar Purdnam, v. ft. ■ -.'
3 This is confirmed by the presence of/ an inscription of Vikramaditya(II) in the Kailasanatha temple which records that Vikramaditya after hisconquest of Kanchi did not confiscate the property of the Rajasimhesvaratemple but enriched it by granting large sumsof gold. {Ep. Ind., vol. iii,p. 359). Similarly the Vakkaleri plates/also make reference to this event(Ind. Ant., vol. viii, p. 23). i

===== PAGE 159 =====
Dynastic Revolution 123
sixty-five years as we may safely ascribe the inscription re-cently discovered at the Seven Pagodas1 to him.
Other Campaigns of Pallavamalla.—The reign of Nandivar-man II appears to have been almost literally crowded withmilitary engagements, sieges, invasions, and counterinvasions. It has already been noticed that the WesternChalukya invasion of Kahchi2 which probably took placeearly in his reign resulted in the capture of the city by theenemies. The southern campaigns may now be noticed.Although the causes that brought about the conflict with thepowers of the south especially the Pandyas of this period areby no means clear it may be surmised that the southernpowers who were somehow dissatisfied with the accession ofPallavamalla to the throne of Kahchi, in supersession of theregular family, now espoused the cause of Chitramaya a youngprince who presumably had some claims by descent fromParamesvaravarman II. This involved Nandivarman II in along and deadly campaign against the Dramila (Tamil) powers.t In this campaign he seems to have received valuable helpfrom his trusted general Udayachandra, the lord of Villivala,whose services are enumerated in the Udayendiram plates datedin the twenty-first year of his reign. The victories enumeratedin the Velvikkudi and Sinnamanur plates for Arikesari-Parankusa-Maravarman at Neduvayal, Kurumadai, Mannikuri-chchi, Kodumbalur, Puvalur, Tirumangai, Kulumu'r, andSankaramangai probably form part of the campaign ofPallavamalla and assigned to this period. Some of thesebattles such as those of Mannai, Neduvayal, Nenmali, etc., arereferred to in the Paramesvaravinnagaram hymns ofTirumangai Alvar.3 Many of these places also occur amongthe examples quoted in the commentary upon the Tamil work
1 Ins. No. 666 of 1922. This inscription is wrongly ascribed to Nandi-varman III in M. R. 1923. The reference in (verse 7) the Patattal-mangalg.rn grant of Nandivarman II that he ruled as King while yetvery young and the statement in the Vaikunthaperumal temple inscriptionsthat the prince was twelve years old at the time of coronation confirm thelongevity of this reign.
2 Raid on the south by Vina^aditya, son of Vikramaditya.
3 Per. Tir. ii, 9.

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124 History of the Pallavas of South India
Iraiyanar-Ahapporul which also mentions- many other placesnot mentioned in the inscriptional records Kottaru, Naraiyaru,Vilifiam, etc. j
Siege of Nandipura.—One of the; most important of theachievements of Udayachandra whose exploits are enumeratedin the Udayendiram plates1 was the release of Nandivarman IIfrom the fortified town of Nandipura which was besieged byhis enemies the Tamil kings. Nandipura which is identicalwith Nandipuravinnagaram of Tirumangai Alvar is situatednot far from the modern town of Kumbhakonam, and is now-a days known as Nathan-Kovil. During the later Pallava ageespecially in the eighth century, this place appears tohave served as the seat of Pallava power in the southerndistricts, and was presumably fortified. It is noteworthythat the hymns to this shrine of Tirumangai Alvar, who wasa contemporary of Pallavamalla, have a clear reference toNandivarman.2 The circumstances that led to the siege ofthis place by the southern powers are hot clear. But it hasbeen presumed that the Tamil powers joined together in agreat coalition espousing the cause of Chitramaya, tilePallava prince, and attacked Pallavamalla at a time when hehad been staying at Nandipura. The circumstances relatingto the release, and list of the other battles are described 'inthe Udayendiram plates.
Udayachandra's Exploits.—Udayachandra is described in therecord as the lord of the River Vegavati, and of the cityVilvala,3 the ornament of the whole world. Born of the raceof Puchan, which had been in the uninterrupted hereditaryservice of the Pallava race .' . . ' when he perceived thatPallavamalla was besieged in Nandipura: -by the Dramija
1 11. 37 to 62.
m&fsluee&QfiLipmsi ff&plLiireSet&Teixsiginb aexta^iaaaQia !
; See Nandipuravinnagarapatikam, Perk Tiru., v. 10.3 Identified with Vilvalanagara-villivalam in the Chingleput District.

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Dynastic Revolution 125
princes, unable to bear this, like the visible death ofthe crowd of enemies of Pallavamalla, (he) slew with(his) sharp sword which glittered like a petal ofwater-lily, the Pallava king Chitramaya and others; hedefeated the hostile army on the battle-fields of NimbavanaChutavana, Sankaragrama, Nellur, Nelveli, Suravalundur, andso forth, and thus bestowed the whole kingdom many timeson the Pallava. . . . He split the opposing Sahara kingcalled Udayana, in the terrible battle of Nelveli, which couldhardly be entered by a common man, and seized his mirrorbanner made of a peacock's tail; who in the northern regionalso, pursued the Nishada chief, called Prithivi-Vyagra whodesiring to become very powerful was running after the horseof the Asvamcdha, defeated him and ordered him out of thedistrict of Vishnuraja, which he subjected to the Pallava, andseized faultless pearl necklaces of excellent lustre, an imme-surable heap of gold, and elephants ; and he destroyed thefort of Kalidurga, which was protected by the Goddess Kali,and defeated the Pandya army at the village of Mannaikudi.' 1Among the localities mentioned wherein Udayachandraachieved victories for his master occurs, Nellore which isidentical with the headquarter station of the modern NelloreDistrict. Nelveli is probably identical with Nenmali men-tioned by Tirumahgai Alvar in his Periya-Ttrumoli.2 It isidentified by Dr. Hultzsch with modern Tinnevelly. If theSabaras are identical wich the modern Sauras of the Ganjamand Vizagapatam District it would not be correct to identifyNelveli where the Sahara king is said to have been killed(1. 52) with Tinnevelly. It is therefore to be identified withsome other place on the border of the Telugu districts. Wemay identify the Vishnuraja with the Eastern Chalukya kingVishnuvardhana III who was a contemporary VikramadityaII. The Sankaragrama mentioned in the Udayendiram plateshas been identified with Sankaramangai mentioned in the larger
1 11. 37 to 62, Udayendiram plates ; S.I.I., vol. ii, part 3, p. 372.
t3tf-00 usa>i—p$pffj. uw6\)«<j(?«fiOTr—ii, £y 8.

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126 History of the Pallavas of South India
Sinnamanur plates, while Mannaikiidi is identical probably withthe Mannikurichchi of the Velvikudi plates where K6-Sadaiyanclaims a victory over the Pallavas. Mannaikudi may beidentified with the village of Manakudi in the Arantangi Talukof the Tanjore District. The battle-fields of Nimbavana,Chutavana and Sankaragrama may be similarly identifiedwith Veppangadu, Kovilur (Tiruvusattanam of the Tevaram)and Sankaranarkudikadu.1 The region in and around theseplaces in the Tanjore District appears to have figured largelyin the campaigns of the Pallavas against the Pandyas, and areevidently alluded to in the hymns of Tirumahgai Alvar, in theParamesvaravinnagarapatikam.
One of the references in the Udayendiram plates, namely,the Asvamedha horse which was detained by Prithivi-Vyagrahas been interpreted as containing a reference that Nandivar-man Pallavamalla performed an Asvamedha sacrifice2 tocelebrate his supremacy.
Rashtrakuta Invasions on Kanchi.—The Rashtrakuta kingswho were contemporary with Nandivarman Pallavamalla claimvictories over the Pallavas and their city. The Kadabaplates3 distinctly mention Vayiramega as a surname ofDantidurga Rashtrakuta. Now, Vayiramega is mentionedin Tirumahgai Alvar's hymns on the deity of Ashtabhuja inKahchipuram along with the local ruler of Kanchi.4 Theverse under consideration has reference to two rulers* thelocal Pallava ruler of Kanchi and the foreign Rashtrakutaruler Vayiramega in occupation of Kanchi just then. The
x Sen-Tarn., vol. xxii, pp. lO.'ll.
2 1. 56, Udayendiram plates. P. T. Simivasa Aiyangar's . Pallavas.There are no independent references in the pubHslied.records to provethat Pallavamalla performed an Asvamedha sacrifice. The reference tothis sacrifice in the Udayendiram plates does not specify that it- was per-formed by this Pallava King.
3 Ep. Ind., vol. iv, p. 334. * , —
4 For a discussion on the identity of Vayiramega see Quarfc JouP: Myth-.Society, vol. xiii, pp. 581-8 and pp. 698-700.
mesreaHis^ir ionio$5leir wthons GaiEpsa SBtO(!5@n&&ei$aeiirt$ (9)S&t{g^straB<3neiuiipQ#BeneBr Q^^Q^jsuiojr&u €t£@eii&ieji7ffg£lL-w emeitqijmpQta.
' P. ,T. ii. 9.

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Dynastic Revolution 127
conquest of Kaiichi is also alluded to in the Ellora inscriptionas well as in the Bagumra plates ' of Govinda III from whichwe learn that Dantidurga first reduced the lowermost(southern) country, then turned his enemies to Madhyadesaand finally conquered the city of Kanchi.2 From the Velur-palayam plates we learn that Nandivarman Pallavamalla'squeen^was called Reva and that his son was called Dantivar-maii. From this it has been conjectured that there was soonafter the invasions of Kahchi by Dantidurga a marriagealliance3 between the Pallava king and the daughter ofDantidurga, and the son born to the Rashtrakuta princess wascalled Dantivarman after the maternal grandfather. ThisRashtrakuta-Pallava pact does not appear to have preventedGovinda III from leading another invasion on the Pallavacapital and levying tribute from Dantiga of Kahchi.4
Expedition against the Gangas.—The military exploits ofNandivarman II thus appear to have filled every part of hisreign and almost all contemporary dynasties of the day seemtp have come into hostile contact with him. To these powers,thePandyas, the Rashtrakutas, the eastern Chalukyas, thewestern Chalukyas, may be added the Gangas. What led tothe conflict with the Gangas is not clearly stated, but verse 6of the Tandantottam plates make a specific reference to thefact that Nandivarman took away a neck ornament from whichcontained in it the gem called Ugrodaya.5 Although thename of the Ganga king is not mentioned, it may be presumedthat he must have been either Sivamara or Sripurusha. Asthe earlier plates dated in the twenty-first and twenty-secondyears of his reign do not specify this detail this achievementprobably took place in the later half of his reign.
Religious Leanings.—The religious leanings of NandivarmanPallavamalla were towards Vaishnavism. His celebrated
0
1 Efi. Ind., vol. ix, p. 24.
2 Verse vi, Ep. Ind., vol. ix, p. 24.
3 VelurpalayaOLplates, verse 18.* Ind. Ant., vol. x, p. 125.
5 S.I.I., vol. ii, pirt 5, p. 519.

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128 History of the Pallavds of South India
contemporary seems to allude to lais worshipful attitude in thepresent tense in his hymn on the God of Ashtabhujaat Kaflchi. His copper-plates describe him as never ac-customed to bowing ' excepting to, the pair of worshipful feetof Mukunda ' (Vishnu)1 as worshipping the feet of Hari.2The newly-found plates of Korrangudi devote several invo-catory verses to Vishnu (verses 1 and 2). The unnamed^JPallavaking who is mentioned by Tirumangai Alvar as havingworshipped at Srirangam is presumably Nandivarman Pallava-malla3 as also the king called Nandi in the Nandipuravinnaga-rapatikam.
Slate of Learning during Nandivarman's Reign.—The copper-plates of this and following period give excellent glimpsesinto the nature of learning during this period as well as ofgovernment, etc. The donees enumerated in the Kasakkudiplates and the TandahtSttam plates numbering several
1 Verse 12, Tandantottani plates. Ibid.
2 Verse 30, Kasakkud'i plates. Ibid.
3 Other details of the king in somewhat exaggerated terms arealso available from this copper-plate grants. Some interestingpersonal accomplishments and qualities are furnished in the prasasliportion of the KaSakkudi grant composed by Trivikrama. Inverse 29 we read:—' This Sndhara (Pallavamalla) resembles"Vijaya in battle, Karnisuta, in acquaintance with the arts, Ramain archery, the king of Vatsa with reference to the science ofelephants and to music, Kama in the opinion of women, the firstpoet (Valmlki) in the composition of poetry, the master of nplicy(Brhaspati) himself in suggesting expedients, and (Dharma) Yudhi-shtira in delighting the subjects.* Verse 2 of the Tandantottam platessay of him :—' From him (Hiranyavarman) was born the wise and theprosperous king called Nandivarman who was the home of prowess andconqueror of the hoards of his enemies, whose victorious elephant reachedalmost the shores of the four oceans, whose fame extended to the fourquarters and who was praised in'battle for his knowlede in the use ofall weapons. Verse 3 of the same record sa"y9y '.The only one'of nameRaja that did not bow to him was the dead-rayed~^moon and the onlycountry in this world that did not pay tribute to hirn_was that where nomen exist. And while this king comparable to Indra was ruling theearth, there was nothing unapproachable by the people except perhapsthe way leading to hell.' " ' ^
' He is the lord of the circle of good people as Hari is the possessorof the powerful weapon Chakra, him the wise cling to/as G£ds to Sakra(Indra). 1
' He wore on his breast, as it were the lord of serpents-, the bed ofAchyuta dwelling near his heart a necklace, which he had snatchedaway from the Ganga king and in which was the gem called Ugrodayalike the Kaustuba {verse 6).'

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Dynastic Revolution 129
hundreds are many of them, if we may judge from their titles,masters of three and four Vedas of the six angas, etc. Of the244 and odd names that are mentioned in the Tandantottamplates no less than a hundred were Chaturvedis, 18 wereShadangavids, while there are several Kramavids, Bhattas andTrivedis. The accomplishments of an average South IndianBrahrjian scholar in the field of Sanskrit learning during theeighth century may be gathered from the following descriptionof the donee of the Kasakkudi charter dated in the twenty-secondyear of Nandivarman II's reign the object of which was" toregister a gift of village to a Brahman scholar whose namewas Jyeshtapada Somayaji. The extract gives some idea ofwhat the average Brahmanical educational curriculum consistedin those times :—
^ While the twenty-second year of his reign was current, thisRajadhiraja-paramesvara, the Maharaja called Nandivarman,who is engaged in ruling the kingdom of Paramesvarapota-raja, . . . was himself pleased to give as a Brahmadeya, asrequested by Brahmasriraja . . . who just as Brhaspati isminister of Indra, the lord of heaven, is the chief minister ofthe handsome Nandin, the lord of the earth and the chief ofthe Pallavas, to Jyeshtapada Somayajin, who has masteredthe ocean-like Vedas, who chants the Saman hymns which arepleasant on account of their melody (rasa) ; who has complet-ed the rehearsal and the study of the six auxiliary works,namely, the ritual of the Veda, grammar, astronomy, etymo-logy, phonetics and metrics ; who knows the properties ofwords, sentences and subjects ; who has drunk the elixir of thesruti and smrti; who is learned in the portion referring torites (Karmakanda) and the portion referring to knowledge(Jttnakanda) ; who is skilled in the ways of the world and inthe knowledge of the arts; who is versed in the poems,dramas, stories, epics and legends ; in short who is skilled inall branches of (holy and profane) knowledge ; who is expertin the performance of all rites; who is of good conduct;(who illumines) the worlds as a lamp does a house ; who iscourteous (in spite of) thr honour paid to him and of noble17 )

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130 History of the Pallavas of South India
birth ; who is the only sun of the middle world, namely earth,because he has dispelled all ignorance or darkness ; who isconsidered the best of fathers arid grandfathers who ranksfirst among the twice born ; who knpws the Vedas ; who con-forms to the precepts of the Vedas; who follows theChandoga-sutra, who has performed Vajapeya and othersacrifices ; who belongs to the Bharadvaja-Gotra ; who residesat Puniya, an excellent settlement of Brahmanas, in theTundakarashtra; who is poor in sins, who is distinguished byhis dress, who is a unique person; who cares for both worlds ;who accomplishes the three objects of human life, who knowsthe four Vedas ; whose chief objects are the five primaryelements (Panchamahdbhuta), who knows the six auxiliaryworks, who resembles the sun, who possesses good qualitiesand who is an excellent Brahman,—a whole village, etheoriginal name of which was Kodukolli which on becoming aBrahmadeya received the new name of Ekadhiramangalam, inUndivanakosthaka in the same rashtra. . . .' 1
Some Celebrities of the Period.—It has already been pointed6out that the king himself like other royal members of thefamily was a scholar of considerable reputation and is com-■■■pared to Karnisuta for his acquaintance with arts and to Valmikithe first poet in the composition of poems (v. 28) while verse 4of the Tandantottam plates record the fact that the learnedpeople cling to him as the( gods to Sakra. 'Among theSanskrit poets of this period mentioned in the royal chartersmay be mentioned Paramesvara, Uttara Karanika, and Trivi-krama the composers of the prasastr- in the Udayendiram.; Tandantottam and Kasakkudi plates. Ihe celebrated scholarand saint Tirumangai Alvar was his contefeporary and isanother product of the times reputed foT his skill indialectics and known as the master of four kinds of poeticalcompositions. (Chatushkavi, Nalukaviperumal). His work-in the Nalayiraprabhandam exceeds those of >arfy otherVaishnava saint excepting that of 'Nammalvar and forms one
111. 71 to 103, Kasakkudi plates, S.I.I., vol. ii, part 2, pp. 358 flE. ,

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Dynastic Revolution 131
of the most precious collections that have come down to us.His great regard for the Pallava family and individual Pallavakings and their services finds continuous mention in his hymnsto an extent far greater than in the Tevdram hymns, or otherworks by the Vaishnava Alvars themselves. He was for sometime a petty chieftain of Alinadu in the Cholamandala beforehe became a devout Vaishnava saint. His contribu-tions ° in the Nalayira-prabhandavi are Periya-Tirumoli,Tirnkurundandakam, Tirunedundandakam, Siriya-Tirumadal,Periya-Tirumadal, Tiruvelukkurrirukkai.
Among the temples attributable to Nandivarman II may bementioned the Kesavaperumal temple at Kuram, the Muktes-vara temple at Kanchipuram, Virattanesvara at Tiruvadi andthe Kunrandarkovil at Pudukotta. The Vaikuntaperumaltemple at Kanchl, the Paramesvaravinnagaram of TirumangaiAlvar probably owes its origin to this king and named afterhis personal name which was Paramesvaran. Extensiverenovation works must have taken place in a large number ofother temples, if we could judge from grants recorded to manyt)f these.
The reign of Nandivarman Pallavamalla lasted for sixty-five years according to the inscription discovered recentlyat Mahabalipuram x and covered the greater part of the eighthcentury. He was succeeded on his death by his son calledDantivarman through the Rashtrakuta princess Reva about A.d.775. The notion that his reign was short having beendistracted by continuous wars as a result of which his kingdomwas much reduced now appears to be incorrect. The inscrip-tions so far discovered of his reign and that of his son. havebeen found in regions as distant as Trichinopoly to Tirupatiwhich probably comprised the extent of his dominions.
1 Ep. Coll. 666 of 1922.

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CHAPTER IX
SUCCESSORS OF PALLAVAMALLA
TT has already been pointed out that the newly discovered-"- Inscription of Nandivarman at the Adivaraha temple atMahabalipuram dated in the sixty-fifth year probably re-presents the last year of Nandivarman Pallavamalla. If thisis a genuine record the reign of this king must havecome to a close about the year a.d. 775. For thesucceeding period of a century and a quarter during which thePallava power continued before the region comprised in theirkingdom was annexed by the Cholas, we come across with thenames of a number of kings who, to judge from their names,must have been members of the Pallava family. Of theseit is a little difficult to separate the lineal descendants of Nandi-varman Pallavamalla from the rest. We have for instancestone inscriptions or copper-plate records for Dantivarman,Nandivarman, Nripatungavarman, Kampavarman, Isvara-varman, Narasimhavarman, Vayiramegavarman and Chandra-ditya, all of whom are ascribable to this period (circa a.d.800-900). The task of distinguishing these kings andassigning them to particular periods on the evidence ofinscriptions has been rendered not a little difficult by the useof certain prefixes and affixes to names which have bewilderedsome scholars and led them to postulate~-stxange theories.The most important of these is what is known, as the ' Ganga-Pallava theory ' which was adopted by the official epigraphists1almost until recently. This may be illustrated by _a specific
/ (j
1 Ep. Ind., vol. iv, p. 182 ; S.I.I., vol. ii, p. 344 ; Ibid., p. 505.The tmtenability of this theory is discussed by the late T. A. Gopinatha
Rao in the Madras Christian College Magazine, vol. xxiv, pp. 530-9 and
by Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil in his Pallavas, pp. 47-58.

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Successors of Pallavamalla 133
example. The Pallava king Dantivarman who is known tohave ruled for over fifty years and succeeded NandivarmanPallavamalla figures in inscriptions as Dantivarma-Maharaja,Dantivikramavarman, Dantipottarasar, Dantivarman of thePallavatilakakula, and Ko-Vijaya-Dantivikramavarma. Simi-larly in the case of Nandivarman it is equally difficult as thisname occurs in the inscriptions and copper-plate records inthe following varieties':—Nandipottarasar, Vijaya-Nandivikra-mavarman, Nandivarman of the Bharadvaja Gotra, thevictorious Nandipottarayar of Tellaru and Danti-Nandivarman.The difficulty is also intensified as the inscriptions of thesekings have been found not indistinctly separate localities butindiscriminately throughout the region of the Pallava kingdom.As none of these records is dated in the Saka or any knownera their date has to be determined independently by meansof palaeography and other details noted in inscriptions.
The Probable Order of Succession.—It is well known thatTondamandalam was conquered by Aditya before the twenty-first year of his reign. It is also clear that Paranta'ka ISscended the Chola throne in the year a.d. 907.*• As theBrahmadesam and Tirukalukkuhram inscriptions are dated inthe twenty-seventh year of Rajakesarivarman, who is identicalwith Aditya I, it may be presumed that the first year of hisreign was a.d. 880. One of his inscriptions in the NorthAroot District in the twenty-first year of his reign whichrecords a donation near Kalahasti shows that by a.d. 900 hisempire had extended as far as Kalahasti thus covering thePallava empire.2 The reigns of Dantivarman, Nandivarman,Nripatungavarman, Aparajita, Kampavarman and the othermiscellaneous kings of the Pallava family whose inscriptionshave been discovered in these regions have to be assignedto the period between about a.d. 900 and the last quarter ofthe eighth century when Pallavamalla ceased to rule. Omit-ting the reigns of the miscellaneous rulers like Kampavarman,Vayirame'ghavarman, Kaftirai, etc., we find that the total
1 Ins. 735 of 1905. * 2 Ep. Rep., 1907, p. 11.

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134 History of the Pallavas of South faidia
reigns of the others so far known comprise a period ofroughly 118 years.1
If the conquest of the Tondamandalam and the victory overAparajita recorded in the Tiruvalangadu plates,2 maybe assigned to the year a.d. 893, we may, by calculatingbackwards, assign the above-mentioned kings to the followingperiods which is in complete accordance with the evidenceobtainable from contemporary Pallava inscriptions and (Copper-plates.3 The reigns of the Pallava kings named VijayaKampavarman, Narasimhavarman, etc., most probably over-lapped those of the last two members above mentioned. Theprobabilities seem to be that towards the last quarter of theninth century several members of the family began to ruletheir own small territories styling themselves kings, and thesechiefs largely figure in the inscriptions that have come downto us along with the others. o
Dantivarman {circa 775 to 826).—We have ascertained theexact period of his accession to the throne of Kahchipuram bycalculating back from the conquest of Tondamandalam byAditya. We possess inscriptions for Dantivarman dated fromthe second year of his reign (No. 256 of 1922) to fifty-firstyear (No. 262 of 1904). His records have been found from-Trichinopoly District in the south to Tiruchchanur in the north.According to the Velurpaiayam plates {verse 16) issued duringthe reign of his son Nandivarman III he was descended fromNandivarman Pallavamalla through Reva the Rashtrakutaprincess.4 Reva is here described as the chief queen who
1 Dantivarman ... ... ... ... 51 years.
Nandivarman (of Tellaru) ' ... ... ... 23 „
Nripatunga '.'.. ... ^trt- „ ... 26 ',,
Aparajita ... ... ... "_*"■—.-.. 18 „
Total ■"" ... 118 „
2 S.l.l., vol. iii, p. 396, verse 49.v '_--•■-
3 Dantivarman ... ... ... ... 775-826
Nandivarman III ... ... ' ... .-.. «>82(37849
Nripatungavarman... ... i ... - ... 849-875
Aparajitavarman ... ... f ... ... 875-893
4 S.I.I., vol. ii, part 5, p. 501. &

===== PAGE 171 =====
Successors of Pallavamalla 135
'like the river Reva had her birth from a great king (froma high mountain).'1 Dantivarman is stated to be 'a mani-festation of the lotus-eyed Vishnu himself, who was the delightof the earth whose object was the protection of the three worldsand in whom the group of pure qualities such as prowess,charity, and gratitude, attained eminence, as it were, after along time enjoying the pleasures of each other's company.' 2From verse 18 we learn that Dantivarman married a Kadambaprincess called AggalanimmatI described as the daughter of aKadamba king—the crest-jewel of the Kadamba family. Thename of this Kadamba king is not known. About the yeara.d. 804 Govinda III, the Rashtrakuta king, appears to haveinvaded Kafichi. A Rashtrakuta grant, dated Thursday thefifth tit hi of the dark fortnight of the month of Vaisaka of theyear(gubhanu, Saka 726, expired, corresponding to Thursday,4th April, a.d. 804, claims that Govinda III had conqueredDantiga, the ruler of Kafichi and levied tribute from him.3The reasons prompting this Rashtrakuta attack on Kafichiespecially as Dantivarman the Pallava king was presumablya grandson of Dantidurga are not clear.
One of his Tamil inscriptions dated in the twelfth year ofhis reign has been discovered at the Parthasarathi temple atTriplicane (Madras).4 This inscription consists of nineteen linesof Tamil prose and is on a stone close to the entrance of thegarbhagrha of the temple. Dantivarman is here described as' the ornament of the Pallava family ' and as belonging to theBharadvaja Gotra. The object of the inscription is to recorda gift of land. It is clear from this record that the Triplicanetemple which is mentioned also in the hymns of the firstAlvars, continued to flourish during this period. TirumangaiAlvar, one of the Vaishnava Alvars, refers to this templeand the locality, and has recorded the important fact that aPallava king constructed the temple.5
1 Ibid., p. 508, vv. 16, 17. 2 Ibid., p. 508, vv. 16, 17.
3 Ind. Ant., vol. xi, p. 127. X * Efi- In&-> vo1- v™. P- 291.
5 This Pallava king referred to by Tirumangai Alvar was presumably anearlier king of Kanchi who preceded Dantivarman.

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136 History of the Pallavas of South India
Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil argues,1'from the fact that the in-scription of Dantivarman ranging from the sixteenth year of hisreign to the fifty-first year does not occur in any of the monumentsfound on the banks of the Kaveri while a dozen inscriptions ofthe Pandyan king Maran Sadaiyan are found in the same region,that Dantivarman temporarily lost a part of his dominions inthe south owing to the incursions of the Pandyas. Accordingto him Varaguna-Maharaja led an invasion into the Pallavaterritory in xthe reign of Dantivarman. The Ambasamudraminscription of the sixteenth year of this king is dated whenthis king was encamped in Araisur on the banks of the Pennar.In the north, the Gudimallam inscription shows that the Banaking Vijayadityamavalivanarayar was a feudatory of Danti-varman. This record is dated in the forty-ninth year ofDantivarman.2 ^
Nandivarman HI {circa A. D. 826 to 849).—Dantivarman wassucceeded on his death by his son Nandivarman III known inhis inscriptions as Tellarrerinda Nandivarman, i.e. Nandivarmanwho defeated his enemies at Tellaru. According to the Velu^palayam plates issued by this sovereign in his sixth year he issaid to have, on the eve of his acquiring sovereignty, killedhis enemies on the field of battle.3 In the picturesquewords of this record ' Nandivarman puffed up with theprowess of his arms acquired the prosperity of Pallavakingdom not easy for others to obtain by killing his enemieson the battle-field which was laughing as it were with thepearls dropping from the frontal globes of elephants slainby his unsheathed sword.' A contemporary Tamil work isNandikkalambakam. A short account cjf this work appearedin the Indian Antiquary (vol. 37, pp. 170-173), The text ofthe poem which has long been tout of print was published in
1 Pallavas, p. 77. z Ep. Ind., vol. xi, p. 254. "*'
/ v. 20.

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Successors of Pallavamalla 137
1926 by Pandit V. Gopala Aiyar states that Nandivarmanwon a great victory against his enemies at the battle of Tellaru.In the light of the information obtained from his other stoneinscriptions it becomes clear that this must be the battlereferred to in the Velurpalayam plates quoted above. It hasalready been mentioned that towards the close of Danti-varman's reign the Pandyan forces under Varaguna madeconsiderable inroads into the Pallava empire and had reachedas far north1 into Tondamandalam as Araisur on the banks ofthe Pennar. By the time that Nandivarman III ascended thethrone the forces Of the opposing Pandyan king must havereached near Tellaru not very distant from the Pallava capitalwhen the forces of Nandivarman III inflicted a crushingdefeat on them. Tellaru the site of the battle may be correctlyidentified with the village of Tellaru in the Wandiwash Talukof North Arcot District.
Other Battles.—This victory against the Pandyans gave himthe title by which his inscriptions thereafter mention him,namely, Tellarrerinda Nandipotarayar. The Tamil panegyricin addition to the battle of Tellaru 2 also refers to the othervictories of Nandivarman such as those of Palayaru,3Veljaru,4 Nallaru,5 and Kurugodu.6 This series of furthercampaigns were evidently directed against the Pandyasthemselves whom the Pallava king apparently pursued asthey were retreating and inflicted defeats at Vellaru, Palayaru,etc. One of the stanzas in the poem says that the Pallavaarmy advanced as far as the banks of the Vaigai.7 If thisis correct we may presume that Nandivarman III marchedas far as the Pandyan capital and defeated the Pandyasthoroughly.
■ Light thrown by ' Nandikkalambakam'.—This work makes itclear beyond doubt, that Nandivarman was a member of the
1 Ep. C&l. No.105 of 1905.
2 Verses 28, 33, 38, 49, 52, 53, 71, 75, 79, 80, 85, 86 and 96. Thenumbers refer to those of a MS. Edn., the work with the author.
a Verse M. * Ve>se23. * Verse 61.
0 Verses 2, 35 and 84. ' St. 4 and 81.
18

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138 History of the Pallavas of South India
Pallava family as it calls him Pallavarkon several times.The poem throws some light on the race of the Pallavafamily. Verse 39 refers to Nandiyarman as ' Chandrakula-Prakasan' thus indicating that the Pallava family claimedtheir descent from the lunar race, a fact which is nothowever mentioned in any of the inscriptions. It is alsoclear from this work that Kanchipuram, Mallai (Mahabalipu-ram) and Mayilai (Mylapur) were the chief Pallava citiesduring this period. The sway over these places is associat-ed with the name of Nandivarman III by such referencesas ' Mallai- Vlndan ', ' Mayilai-Kavalan'. In this work his ruleis also associated with the region of the Kaveri (Kavirivala-nadan), the Kongu country, the Chera land, the western regionsas well as the northern. Inscriptions found in the northernregions of Pallava kingdom such as those of the Bana kingVikramaditya clearly prove that his sway over the Banaswas not merely a poetic boast but real.1 This king appears tohave indulged his fancy in the assumption of a large number ofsurnames. This Tamil work enumerates the followingsurnames of this sovereign ' Avani-Naranan ', ' Videlvidugu ','Ugrakspan', ' Kuvalaya-Ma.rtand.an'', 'Mariodaya ', ' Vara-tungan ', etc. Nandivarman III appears to have patronizeclthe Tamil poets very largely as is evident from allusion to thisin verses 104 and 107 of the work. The author of the Bharata-Venba, Perundevanar, is taken to have nourished during 'hisreign. The invocatory verses attached to the Udyogaparvaof this work, which alone has come down to us, mentionsthe defeat inflicted by Nandivarman III on his enemies atTellaru.2 '
Some interesting details may be gathered-frora the copper-plates of this period regarding the king and his rule. Verse 14of the Bahur plates says that Nandivarman III had for_hisqueen a Rashtrakuta princess" called Sanka ' who_was«vkind
1 No. 229 of 1903 and S.M., vol. viii, p. 93.
2 Note by Editor,

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Successors of Pallavamalla 139
to the people like a mother, was resplendent as Lakshmiincarnate.'
Verse 21 of the Velurpalayam plates says of his rule :' Never shone so (thoroughly a garden with the advent of)spring, nor men of high birth with (good) qualities, norwomen with morality, nor a millionaire with charity, norhumility with knowledge, nor a lotus tank with the sun,nor the expanse of the sky with the moon at the endof the rainy season, as the people of this earth shone withthe king.'
From the same record we learn that Nandivarman III wasa devout worshipper of Siva1 and this is corroborated by verse97 of Nandikkalambakam.
Nripatungavarman {circa 84-9 lo 875).—Nripatungavarmanknown also as Nripatungavikramavarman and Nripatungapo-tarayar succeeded his father Nandivarman about a.d. 850.The resemblance of his name to the Rashtrakuta Amoga-varsha Nripatunga as well as the fact that his mother, thequeen of Nandivarman III, is stated to be a Rashtrakutaprincess in the Bahur plates 2 would indicate that this kingwas a grandson on the mother's side from Amogavarsha.Nripatunga appears'to have continued the campaigns againstthe Paiidyas who made inroads into the Pallava territory. TheBahur plates mention 'one of his victories on the banks of theAri'chit (apparently a Sanskritized form of Arisil) whichhas been identified with River Arasalar which flows near
1 Sf afasqsi^ imfa f^51FW^55?qfc1^n^JIHTiir-
effrf H 5././., vol.sj, part v, p. 509, 11. 64-5.i Ibid., vol. v,,p. 515.

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140 History of the Pallavas of South India
Kumbhakonam by the late Mr.l T. A. Gopinatha Rao.1His adversary at this battle was probably Varaguna'sson Sri-Mara Parachakra-Kolahala who according to the Tamilportion of the Sinnamanur plates p is described as havingrepulsed the Gangas, the Pallavas, the Chojas, the Kalingas,and the Magadhas who attacked him at Kudamukku, the nameby which the modern town of Kumbhakonam was known inthe period before the tenth century.3
Extent of Empire.—The inscriptions of Nripatungavarmanhave been discovered all over the region from Pudukotta in thesouth to Gudimallam in the north. From an inscription 4of the Bana king at the latter place—Vidyadhara—weiearn that Nripatunga's sway was acknowledged by thisBana chief. The Narthamalai inscription of the Muttaraiyanchief Sattan-Paliyili in the south who was one of Nripatunga'svassals shows that the authority of this king extended to theregion of Pudukotta.5 From the description contained in theBahur plates that the glory of Nripatunga extended to otherworlds as that of Rama, we may presume that here is an
qreft%a*Rqsrr&T5 fwfsfcm u v. 29.
v. 16. S.I.I., vol. ii, part 5, p. 515.
The translation of the late T. A, I Gopinatha Rao which Prof. Jouveau-
Dubreuil follows requires to be reconsidered in view of an altered reading
of the verse given in Dr. Hultzsch's of verse 16 (p. 50, Pallavas) text
{Ep. Ind., vol. xviii, p. 10) in which the sixteenth verse reads as follows :—
Yatprasada(r)jjitasena Pandyena Samare pura |
Parerichitsarajagnirddadaha ripusamhatim ||
We have, here no reference to the defeatsusfemed (by the Pallavas) atthe hands of the Pandyas referred to in Gopinatha^ Rao's translation.Dr. Hultzsch translates the verse thus :—Resembling fire, this king(Nripatunga) by whose favour the Pandya had obtained an army formerlyburnt a confederation of enemies on the further bank of the Arichit river.The supply of an army by Nripatunga to the Pandyan king, ifjhe readingis correct, will necessitate a revision of our present views of the relation-ship of the Pallavas and Pandyas during'this period, o **
2 M.E.R., 1907, pp. 63 fiV i -
3 Inscription No. 13 of 1908 dated intjie reign of Maran-Sadaiyancalls the place Tirukudamukku. The Ttvaram hymners also call thetown Tirukudamukku.
4 No. 228 of 1905 » No..365 of 1904.

===== PAGE 177 =====
Successors of Patlavamalta " 141
allusion perhaps to an unrecorded invasion of Ceylon duringhis reign.1
Educational Facilities.—A glimpse into the educational grantsof the period is obtained from the Bahur plates2 which wereissued in the eighth year of this king. This record has for itsobject the registering of the gift of three villages—Chettupak-kam, Jraipunaicheri and Vilangattangaduvanur to the Vediccollege at the village of Bahur3 near Pondicheri in Aruvanadu.The grant was made by a member of the Pusali family and adescendant of the Kuru race {verse 18). This chief was theminister of Tungavarman, that is, Nripatunga who issued thenecessary order for the grant of the villages (verse 21)!The college at Bahur consisted of fourteen ganas, and wascontrolled by the learned men of the village, being organizedand maintained by them. The fourteen ganas 4 are presumablythe fourteen divisions of learning and consisted of—theVedas (4), the Angas (6), Mimamsa (1), Nyaya (1), Purana (1)and the Dharma-Sastra (1).
•-, Apardjitavarman {circa A.D. 875 to 883).-—The order ofsuccession after Nripatungavarman is not quite clear. Accord-ing to the late Mr. Venkayya, Aparajita is the name of theson Nripatungavarman while T. A. Gopinatha Rao pro-pounded the theory that the name Aparajita is merely anothername for Nripatunga. In the inscriptions of this period wecome across with several names such as Vijaya-Kampavarman,Vayirameghavarman, Aparajitavarman and others. Of thesewe have inscriptions for Aparajitavarman ranging from thethird to the eighteenth years of his reign in the region aroundMadras mostly from Tiruvorriyur and Satyavedu. It is
1 Ibid., verse 17, S.I.I., vol. ii, p. SIS.
2 This record which is now preserved in the Bibliotheque Naiionale,Paris,has been recently re-edited with English translation and notes by thelate .pr. E. Hultzsch who also furnishes two diagrams indicating theposition of the villages granted in the charter which are reproduced else-where in tiis,work. A palm-leaf MS. of this copper-plate containingdifferent readings is now with Dr. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar. Ep. Ind.,vol. xviii, p. S.
3 Vahur and some of theNillage names mentioned in the detaileddescription of the boundaries in the grant survive to the present day.
4 See S.I.I., vol. ii, p. 514 footnote.

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142 History of the Pallavas of South India
presumed that Katnpavarman and Ijsvaravarman as well as theother chiefs such as Vayirameghan, whose inscriptions havebeen discovered at Kaveripakkam, lUttaramallur, Olakkur andother parts of Chengleput District enjoyed the rule of a partof the Pallava dominions along with Vayirameghavarman.
Two important events are known regarding Aparajita.The first of these is the campaign against the Pandyas inwhich the Pallava king was allied with the Ganga kingPrithivipathi. According to the Udayendiram plates1 whichenumerate the military exploits of the West Ganga Prithivi-pathi I, he is described as ' having defeated by force thePandya lord Varaguna at the head of a great battle ofSripurambiya and having thus made his friend's title Aparajita(the unconquered) significant, this hero entered heaven bysacrificing his own life.' We may identify Varaguna with thePandya king of that name, Varaguna II, for whom we havea date for accession to the throne, namely, a.d. 862-863.The place of the battle 'Sripurambiyam has been identified byDr. Hultzsch2 with Tirupurambiyam near Kumbhakonarn,' How . the Western Ganga king Prithivipathi I whosedominions lay at least partly in the Mysore State and whose•capital was Kolar, came to fight against the Pandya kingVaraguna at Tirupurambiyam was hitherto inexplicable.From the two Ambur inscriptions3 of the Ganga-Pallava kingNripatung avikramavarman we know that Prithivipathi was'hisfeudatory. It may, therefore,' be presumed that Aparajita forwhom the Western Ganga king fought was a Ganga-Pallava.If this be true Aparajita was perhaps the successor andpresumably his son.'a The battle of Sripurambiyam may bedated with approximate accuracy about the year. a.d. 880.
The Chola Conquest of Tondamandalam.—It has already beenindicated that the Chola king Aditya I who was makingconsiderable inroads into the'Pallava country brought aboutthe defeat and ultimate conquest of the Tondamandalam about
1 5././., vol. ii, p. 384, verse.VS. * Ibid., vol. ii, part 3. p. 381.
3 Ep. Ind., vol. iv, p. 182. * M.E.Rf (or 1906-7, p. 47.

===== PAGE 179 =====
Successors of Pallavamalla 143
the close of the ninth century. This corresponded to theperiod before twenty-first year of Aditya. The latest of theTirukalukkunram inscriptions1 is dated in the twenty-firstyear of Rajakesarivarman. ' Taking this provisionally as thelast year of Aditya's reign and deducting it from a.d. 907,the date of accession of his son Parantaka I we get roughlyto about a.d. 886 for the commencement of Aditya's reign.'It is presumable that the conquest of Tondamandalam waseffected considerably late in his reign and may be datedtowards the end of the ninth century. The Tiruvalangaduplates say of the "Choja king Aditya I, son of Vijayalaya,2that ' having conquered in battle the Pallava with his brilliantarmy, though (he was) Aparajita (the unconquered) of hisqueen (viz.) and accomplished his object in this direction too.'In other words, the Chola king Aditya I defeated the Pallavaking Aparajitavarman and added the Tondamandalam to hisdominions. Thus the kingdom of Pallavas passed into thehands of the Cholas with the death of Aparajita.
The monuments belonging to this period are in the Aparajitastyle and, in the opinion of Jouveau-Dubreuil, very rare.The Virattanesvara temple at Tiruttani, which contains in-scriptions dated in the eighteenth year of Aparajitavarman isattributable to this king the Tamil verse3 which is inscribedin this temple being supposed to have been composed bythe king.
Other Miscellaneous Kings.—Some observations may bemade on Kampavarman and Vayirameghavarman before closingthe survey. Over twenty inscriptions have been discovereddated in the regnal years ranging from the sixth to thetwenty-fifth years* of Kampavarman who according to Hultzsch
1 Ep. 2nd., vol. iii, p. 379. 2 v. 49. 3 Ins. No. 433 of 1905.
4 H,is inscriptions have been found at the following :—
Sixth year ... ... ... Uttaramallur
Eighth year ... ... ... do.
Tenth year ... ... ... Ukkal.
Fifteenth year ... ... ... Uttaramallur
Seventeenth year ... ... Kaveripakkam...
Twenty-third year ... ... Uttaramallur.

===== PAGE 180 =====
144 History of the Pallavas of South India
was a brother of Nripatungavaijman. Whether this kingsucceeded Nandivarman III as king, or whether in the con-fusion that followed the death of Nripatunga he made himselfan independent ruler in the North Arcot District and the regionround about Kanchi it is not clear from present evidence.
The inscriptions of this king are for the most partdonative and do not furnish any historical details other thanone record x which refers to the destruction of Olakkur and thedeath of a hero. This record is on a slab set up near thevillage-munsiff's savadi at Olakkur and is a Viragal of theperiod of Kampaperumal who may be identified with Kampa-varman. It records the death of a hero on the occasion ofthe destruction of the place in the later part of the ninthcentury.
Vayirameghavarman.—Two stone records have been dis-covered at the Agastyesvara temple at Poyyanur in" theArkonam Taluk which mentions the name of a new king ap-parently belonging to the Pallava family dated in the secondyear. According to the late V. Venkayya, the name Vayira-megha was a biruda assumed by Dantivarman, and is the samename occurring in th eexpressions Vayiramegatataka, Vayira-meghavaykkal, etc., mentioned in the inscriptions. It has tobe presumed that the name is more like Pallava than otherdynastic names.
Chandraditya {No. 284 oi 1916).—This is a record written inthe Pallava-Grantka on a pillar in the rock-cut temple atMelaicheri in the Gingee Taluk of the South Arcot District. Itstates that the Siva temple called Sri-Sikhari-Pallavesvaramwas excavated by Chandraditya at Simhapura (Singavaram).Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil who discovered thisjnscription con-siders it probable that Chandraditya was one of the names ofNarasimhavarman I or Paramesvaravarman I. This is, however,uncertain. There are in addition to these a few2 inscriptions
of this period belonging to Kattirai, Vijaya-Narasimjiavarmah
©
1 No. 3S7 of 1909.
2Nos. 3 of 1899, 119 of 1897, also Ep. Irfd., vol. vii, p. 24, and vol. iv,p. 177.

===== PAGE 181 =====
Successors of Pallavamalla 145
and Vijaya-Isvaravarman which need not be examined hereas their position in the Pallava family is not clear.
With Nripatunga or Aparajita, the main line of the Pallavakings appears to have come to an end. But, however, a branchof them known as the Nolambas claiming descent fromTrnay ana-Pall ava continued to exercise sovereignty atNojar^bavadi—thirty-two thousand. This region comprised themodern Bellary District and portions of Mysore. Here, as therecords show, the Nolamba chiefs continued in power as lateas the thirteenth century a.d. The Hemavati Pillar inscription,which gives a genealogy of the Nolambas, mentions that Iheybelonged to the Isvaravamsa and enumerates the names ofseveral kings of this line. These include Mangala, Simhapota,Charuponnera, Nanniga, Anniga, and Dilipa. Brief accountsof these are given in L. Rice's Mysore and Coorg fromInscriptions.1
L. Rice, Mysore and Coorg from Inscriptions, pp. 55-59.

===== PAGE 182 =====
CHAPTER X
i
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS OF PALLAVA RULEIN SOUTH INDIA
HE rule of the Pallava kings in the Tamil land for anunbroken period of nearly eight centuries resulted instamping the administration of the country with a particulartype of culture some of the aspects of which may now be brieflyindicated. This is visible not only in the administration ofgovernment by the central and local authorities of the Pallavatimes (a.d. 200 to 900), but in practically every aspect of life;in religion, literature, art, etc. In studying the Pallava
(ST-
administration, literary history, art and religious movements?we are unfortunately not in the possession of all the materialsthat would help us to reconstruct the history of the cultureand civilization of the times. We are dependent for the mos,tpart on the inscriptions and copper-plate grants of this periodas well as the few monuments that have survived. It isLtherefore, not strange that the picture obtained by'us hasmany gaps that have to be filled up by future discoveries.
Administration.—In the numerous copper-plate chartersthat have been discovered from time to time by the officersof the Government Epigraphy Department and by the laboursof private scholars we obtain excellent glimpses of certainaspects of Pallava polity. From the earliest of these, namely,'the Hirahadagalli copper-plates issued from the capital Kanchi-puram we learn that already in the middle oi-the.third centurythere prevailed a system of administration with the kingat the top and the provincial governors and several depart-mental ministers in charge of parks, public baths, fojrests,reminding us in several details of the M'auryan ane& in somerespects the Gupta administration. From the grant of theking made at his palace office -m the head-quarters inKanchipura addressed to the provincial Viceroy at

===== PAGE 183 =====
Pallava Rule in South India ■■ 147
Amaravati1 and several others which were issued in the f ollow-ing'periods it is evident that during the early Pallavadays theempire of the Pallavas was not unlike those of modern timesdivided into bigger and smaller divisions for the government ofwhich officers of the state were appointed. The heads of depart-ments were selected from among the members of the royalfamily such as the younger sons and distinguished membersof ftih army. In Tondamandalam the distinct division2into twenty-four kottams appears to have been introduced
1 Liiders, Ep. Ind., vol. x, App.
'From Kanchlpura the righteous supreme king (Dhartnamaharaja)of the great king of the Pallavas, Sivaskandavarman, a Bharadvaja andan officer of Agnishtoma, Vajapeya and Asvamedha sacrifices issues thefollowing orders : —
We send greetings to the princes (Rajkumara), rulers of districts(Ratthika), chiefs of Madambas (customs officers),local prefects:(Desadhi-kata) . . • the free-holders of the various villages (Gama-gamabbo-jaka^> . . . ministers (Amachcha), guards (Arakhadikata), captains(Gumikas), Dutikas'( Messengers ?), spies (Sanjarantakas) and warriors(BhadamanuSas).
2 These are enumerated in the Mackenzie MSS. as well as the Chingle-put District Manual App. H. p. 438 and in The Tamils 1800yearsago andare as follows :
1 _ (1) Pulal-Kottam, (2) Ikkuttu-Kottam, (3) Manavfr-Kottam, (4)Sengattu-Kottam, (5) Paiyur-Kottam, (6) Eyil-Kottam of which theprincipal town was Kanchlpuram, (7) Damal-K6ttam,_(8) Urrukattu-Kottam, (9) Kalattur-Kottam, (10) gembur-K6ttam,'(ll) Ambur-kottam,(12)' Venkunrakottam, (13) Palakunra-Kottam, (14) Ilangattu-Kottam,(15) Kaiiyfir-Kottara, Q6) Sengarai-Kottam, (17) Paduvurkottam^ (18)Kadikur-Kottam, (19) Sendirukkai-Kottam, (20) Kunravattana-Kottam,(21) Vengada-Kottam, (22) Velur-Kottam, (23) Settur-Kottam and (24)Puliyur-Kottam. This division of Tondamandalam, the TundakaRashtraoi the copper-plates, seems to have come into existence prior tothe period of the Pallava kings known to us from epigraphy, probably inthe period of Chola viceroyalty of Tondaman Ilam-Tirayanat Kanchi.Although these districts do not figure in the early copper-plates of thePallavas they are rather frequent in the later stone inscriptions datablefrom the eighth and the ninth centuries. Pulal-Kottam with its sub-division figures in the Velurpalayam plates of the sixth year of Nandivar-man III (S.II, vol. ii, p. 509) while Kalattur-Kottam,Ikkattu-Kottam, andPaduvur-Kottam are mentioned in inscriptions dated in the fourteenthyear of Nandivarman III, and the eleventh and the twenty-sixth years ofNripatungavarman, (Eg. Col. 349 of 1911, and 460 of 1905). Eyil-Kottamthe division around Kanchlpura also figures in the inscription dated inthe fifteenth year of Nripatungavarman (Ep. Col. 461 of 1905). For thestudy of t&e ancient historical geography the references in the laterPallava inscriptions to these are very helpful. Some of the places suchas Kalattvir, Damal, and Urrukkadu which originally must have beenimportant places after which*the divisions were named have survived tothe present day.

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148 History of the Pallavas of South India
in an earlier period retained unaltered during the ageof the Pallavas as we find them commonly figure intheir inscriptions. The Rashtras which appear to be theequivalent of the mandala were thus parcelled out into thehands of the viceroys called Vishayikas while the smallerdivisions such as the Koshtakas (kottam) and Gramas, wereplaced in charge of desatikadas and vapittas. The ministersand rahasy&dikadas (privy councillors) were examineti andconsulted on state matters by the sovereign. Royalorders such as the one embodied in the Hirahadagalli plateswere drawn by the king's private secretary. It is alsolearned from the early documents that there were officers incharge of the customs and the places or offices where theywere collected were called mandapa and the officers who wereentrusted with the collection of the customs were known asmandapis. There were also during this period special offesersposted at bathing pools and tanks whose chief duties consistedin looking after the convenience of the bathers and theirsafety. They are called in this record as Tirthikas (Superin-tendents of bathing places). The persons mentioned by thSname of the Gumikas who are taken by some scholarsas captains appear to have been officers in charge of, forests?a fact which shows that there was something like a forestdepartment. The term neyka which resembles the Sanskritname Nayaka probably stands for the military officer whosestatus was next to those of Senapatis or Commanders of thearmy. All these clearly indicate an elaborate system ofgovernmental organization which as already indicated aboveresemble the North Indian li rather than any southern systemof administration that we know of. ^^
The nature of village government at this period'.—Whether ornot the self-governing village corporation which, from theearly Chola times as we are „ familiar with, prevailed in the
1 The administration of Government in North India was conducted inaccordance with a series of books some of which were pre-christian andothers post-christian. The chief works in» Jhis series were Kautilya'sArtkasastra-, Kamandaka's Nltisastra and Sukrantti.

===== PAGE 185 =====
Pallava Rule in South India 149
early Pallava days we have not the material to judge from theascertained facts at our disposal. But it appears that thislater village organization with the characteristic features ofcommittees, managing general village administration econo-mic, financial, and judicial, existed in the later Pallava daysfor which we possess good evidence. That the system ofgovernment and administration was highly systematic, andeven bureaucratic, we learn with the help of certain of theearly Sanskrit charters mentioning the minute details of theboundaries of gifted lands and denning its situation—a factwhich shows the efficiency, of the land survey departments ofthe Pallavas. The Uruvapalli plates 1 give a typicalexample of such detailed-land survey. This is by no means theonly instance of the elaborate arrangements and precautionstaken in marking the village boundaries in the inscriptions.Th^ Bahur plates belonging to the ninth century in recordinga gift of the three villages near Pondicherfy give similardetails. ' According to the report submitted by the headmanof the nadu the boundaries of the land granted (to the BahurCollege) were as follows : Of the two villages of Vilangattan-gaduvanur and Settuppakkam, the eastern boundary is to thewest of the boundary of a forest and of the boundary ofNenmalippakkam; the southern boundary is to the north ofthe boundary of Nenmalippakkam, of the boundary ofNelvayippakkam, and of the boundary of Urattur; thewestern boundary is to the east of the boundary of Mam-bakkam and of sixty rice-fields which form a Brahmadeya
1 Ind. Ant., vol. v, 1876, p. 50.
' ... In this village there are 200 entire nivartanas. Thelimit of these nivartanas are :—On the west the boundary of the Kendu-kura village, are the limit; on the south River Suprayoga is the limit;on the east the same is the limit; to the north by the south there is arock on the side of the great road proceeding thence to the north, there isa tamarind tree, proceeding thence to where there is a rock on the roadto the village of Kurupura, and to the village of Kundukura ; proceedingthence to the? north there is a heap of rocks ; proceeding thence to thenorth there is rock on the limit of the cultivated field of the Brahman asin the village and proceeding to the west, the limit is the edge of theboundaries of the village of Kondamuruvidur.'

===== PAGE 186 =====
150 History of the Pallav'as of South India
near Vilangattangaduvanur; and the northern boundary isto the south of Vagur.1 ..." It will be gathered from theserecords that the village and the central government of thisperiod took the greatest pains in maintaining a detailedrecord of all the arable and waste lands, lakes, tankSj wellsand rivers, rocks and even trees, for purposes of not onlygrants of land to temples and Brahmans, but also for revenuepurposes. e
Taxation and revenue.—From these we shall now proceed tothe sources of taxation in the Pallava age that are mentioned inthe records of the Pallava kings. We have no direct evidence ofcentral or local finance during the early Chola or Pallava times
1 Dr. Hultzsch furnishes the following interesting plan indicating therelative position of the villages and boundaries referred to in the Tamilportion of the Bahur plates. Ep. Ind., voL.xviii. pp. 8-9. "^
Vagur
Kirirnanpatti
A
Brahma-
deya
Mam-bakkam
Vilangattan-gaduvanur
N
Settuppakkam
Aforest
Vagur
Nen-
malip-j
pakkam
N
Iraippunai-chcheri
Aforest
a 5! 5!
Of these villages, Vahfir survives as ]Bahur, while Vilangattangadu-vanur and Kirmanpatti are identical with Kaduvanur and Kilmam-bakkam situate to the west and 'north-fast of- Bahur, an importantlocality south of Pondicherry.

===== PAGE 187 =====
Pallava Rule in South India 151
as none of the large number of records that have come downto us were intended to set forth exhaustively the financialmachinery for the enlightenment of the modern scholar; wecan however infer from the list of exemptions stated in thevarious records of lands and other grants at our disposal whattaxes and dues a village was ordinarily subjected to if it was1 other than a land gifted to Brahmans or a temple in which casethe exemptions were secured to the donee.: First may benoted some of the seignorial rights mentioned in the earliestPallava copper-plate charters. The Hirahadagalli plates alreadymentioned are very interesting in this respect. This recordstates that the garden Chillerakodumka the object of the grantis to be free from the taking of sweet and sour milk andsugar . . . from taxes . . . forced labour free from thepayment of the oxen in succession, free from the taking ofgrass and the wood . . . from the taking of vegetables andflowers. ... It also mentions the important particular towardsthe close of the grant where it says that with these and otherimmunities of the eighteen kinds it must be exempted. It isthus clear from this early Pallava record that about the firstquarter of the third century Pallava kings had laid claim to notless than eighteen1 kinds of dues from the villagers (Ashia-dasapariharas) which they ordinarily could claim exceptin cases of gifted lands. The Mayidavolu plates of thePallava king Sivaskandavarman 2 mentions among the immuni-ties secured for the village of Viripara which was the objectof the grant, freedom for the diggings of salt which showsthat salt-manufacture was a royal monopoly, from the supplyof bullocks in succession, the entrance of soldiers, the supplyof boiled rice, etc. As we do not come across with some of
1 It is important to note that these were not at all in the nature of taxesbut more of free-will offerings of first fruits by gardeners to kings and ofsupplies of means of transport to royal officers while on tour. Mr.Longhurst cis therefore wrong when he remarks on this that ' it is thusobvious that trie people were liable to all these taxes and imposts on theordinary necessaries of life,' and that it clearly shows that in the fourthcentury at any rate there was'^no ' Golden Age' in Southern India. (An.Rep. of the Arch. Dep. of Southern Circle 1918-1919, Part II, p. 21.)
2 Ep. Ind., vol. vi, pp. 88 ff.

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152 History of the Pallavas of South India
these rights in the later records of] the Pallavas it is probablethat some of these rights fell out of use.
Passing on from the days of the early Pallavas to that ofthe later Pallavas, we notice in I the Sanskrit charters ofParamesvaravarman I, Nandivarman Pallavamalla and that ofhis grandson Nandivarman III more details regarding the rightsof the Pallava kings of the period to other items of taxes andduties, are available. From a study of the Tamil portions ofthe Kasakkudi, Kuram, the Tandantottam, Velurpalayam andthe Bahur plates we learn that during this period there were,what have been called profession-taxes but are really exciseon local products,on oil mill-owners, potters, goldsmiths, toddy-drawers, as well as duties on areca-nuts exposed for sale andsold in the markets, duty on looms, presents on the occasionof new marriages and royalty on the manufacture of <salt.Some of these such as the Ilamputchi1 and Puthali areinexplicable. Good specimens of this .royal exemption orderare contained in the Tamil portion of the Tandantottam platesdated in the fifty-eighth year of Nandivarman II, Pallavamalla^the immunities evidently indicate some of the taxes which werecustomary:—
' No tax of any kind such as duty on oil-press and looms,Ulaviyakuli, the fee on marriages, urettu fee on potters,tattukayam, duty on toddy-drawers and shepherds, fee, onstalls, brokerage fee, tirumugakktinam, royalty paid for themanufacture of salt, the good'cow, the good bull, vallinali, feeon basket of grain exposed for sale in the market, areca-nutsexposed for sale in the shops, Budanali, and others whichthe kingi could take and enjoy. -Damanagam may beplanted ; mansions and large edifices may .fie""built of burntbricks ; reservoirs and wells may be sunk; cocoanut trees
1 Of these terms some are obscure. Putchi seems to mea(j alcind of dueand Ilamputchi might mean a duty on Ilavar or toddy drawers^ Tirumu-gakkanam apparently means a fee for |he messenger bringing royalmessages or orders. Ulaviyakkuli has been taken to mean the hire forwell-diggers. The terms putali kannittukanam, arikoli, nedum paraiand urettu are not clear. ,

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Pallava Rule in South India 153
may be planted in groves; and large oil-presses may*beused. . . .*
The emperor in these records is called Maharaja andDharmamaharaja. In the Gupta inscriptions of North Indiaalso, the emperor is called Maharajadhiraja and Paramesvara.In the Gupta Government the emperor is the centre of a groupof subordinate kings. The territory of the empire was calleda Rajya in the Gupta inscriptions as well as Rashtra, andDesaanA Maydala which occur also in the Pallava inscriptions.The territories in the Pallava Empire are divided in therecords into Kottams and Nadus on the lines of the Guptaadministration where they are similarly divided into Bhukti,Vishaya, and Grama. There is a close resemblance between thesources of taxation and revenue between the early Pallavarecords and Gupta inscriptions. These may be gatheredfrom the inscriptions recording various grants. These includeseveral items such as Uparikara, Vata Bhuta, Hiranya,Adeya, etc. Several of the Gupta inscriptions as well asPallava inscriptions indicate negatively the obligationsimposed by the state. Several of the Gupta Inscriptions, maybe compared with portions of the Pallava records dealing withexemption from taxes.2
About the beginning of the ninth century stone inscriptionsof the Pallavas become abundant and in these we find interest-ing particulars of the activity of the village Sabhas all overthe empire particularly in the Chingleput District. A perusalof the stone records of this period relating to these dated inthe years of the later Pallava kings, Nandivarman II,Dantivarman, Nandivarman III and Aparajita shows that thefollowing figure among the large numbers of places thatenjoyed self-governing village Sabhas: Adambakkam,
1 S.V. I., vol.ii, pp. 530-31.
2 It (tho village rendered free) is not to pay taxes ; it is not to beentered by the regular troops or by the umbrella.bearers ; it does notcarry with it the right to cows and bulls in succession of production, orto the abundance of flowers ilnd milk, or to the pasturage, hides, andcharcoal, or to the mines for the purchase of salt in a moist state
(>. G.I., p. 242.)
20

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154 History of the Pallavas of South India
Avaninarayanachaturvedimangalami (Kaveripakkam), Manali,Tiruvorriyur, Kuram, Perumunaiyur, Tiruviprambedu, AnbilVenkuiiram, Uttaramallur, Perunguli, Tirukoilur, and Ukkal.An account of the activities of these village assemblies inrepairing tanks, accepting deposits for charitable purposes andother works has come down to us.
The Assemblies.—Though we know the existence of thevillage assemblies in the various parts of the Pallava empirewe do not know the nature of the rules Miat regulated theirconstitution and working, their exact sphere of action and therelation of this to the central government. Inscriptionscopied in the Chingleput District alone indicate that duringthe ninth century different types of village assembliescarried on their work. One of the most important of these wascalled the Sabha. These were usually to be found in Brahma-i deya villages granted to the Brahmanas and therefore werealmost entirely run by the Brahmans. The rules laid down inthe Uttaramallur inscription1 for the membership of the villageassemblies applies in all probability to such Sabhas. A recentlydiscovered inscription2 dated in the thirty-first year of Maran-sadaiyan throws some light on some of the rules of membershipof the village Sabhas which differ from all those known till now.(i) It is stated in this record that of the children of the share-holders in the villages, only one who is well versed in theMantra-Brahmana and one Dharma, and well-behaved, maybe on the village assembly and only one of similar qualificationsmay be in the assembly for' a share purchased, receivedas present, or acquired by him as Strldhana; (ii) that,'shares purchased, presented, or acquired as Strldhana'could entitle one if at all, only to a full membership inthe assembly, and in no case will quarter or half orthree-quarter of the membership be recognized; (iii) thatthose who purchase shares should elect only such—men to-.,represent their share in the assembly as have critically studieda whole Veda with their pariiishtas ; (iv) that those, who do
o
1 A,S.R, for 1904-5, pp. 13-145, ' z M.E,R. tor 1913, para 23,
/
/I-

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Pallava Rule in South India 155
not possess full membership as laid down by Rule II cannotstand on any committee for the management of the villageaffairs ; (v) that those who satisfy the prescribed conditionsshould in no case persistently oppose the proceedings of theassembly, by saying nay, nay, to every proposal brought upbefore the assembly ; (vi) those who do this together withtheir supporters will pay a fine x of five kasu on each item inwhich they have so behaved and still continue to submit tothe same rules.2
The activities of the Sabhas were varied in character and «-they dealt with all important aspects of village life. From thePallava inscriptions alone we gather that these Sabhas lookedafter the temple and its administration, and received theendowments made on behalf of temple services. In additionto this many of these Sabhas looked after the supervision andrepairs to the village tanks which were brought into existencewith considerable labour at the instance of the Pallava kings.Some of these immense irrigational tanks which must haveengaged the skilled labour of a vast body of men havesurvived to our own times. These include, the Parames-vara Tataka in Kuram near Kanchipuram, the MahendraTataka in Mahendravadi not far from Arkonam, Tirayaneri,Vayiramega Tataka in Uttaramallur, in the MadurantakamTaluk, Chitramegha Tataka, Veiled and probably the largetank at Mamandur which now irrigates a large area. The
1 The last provision is rather ingenious in as much as it shows that asearly as the ninth century the necessity to deal with the refractory andobstructionist tactics had been felt though the safeguard does not appealto the modern mind.
2 Fuller details are available in Chola inscriptions such as those ofParantaka and his successors when the village assemblies not onlymanaged all local affairs such as the collection of revenue, upkeep oftanks and irrigation canals, administration of temples but also lookedafter the local judicial administration, the education religious and secularof the young as well as the adult, and maintenance of hospitals for thediseased. 'Tlje principle of election and the ballot box became verypopular and local administration was conducted very efficiently. Theannual change of office-beaj-ers in the various committees extended toevery villager the opportunity of getting acquainted with practicaladministration.

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156 Mis lory of the Pallavas of South India
irrigation channels figuring in the Pjallava inscriptions includethe Perumbidugu Vaykkal, the channel cut from the Palarto Kuram and the Vayiramega Vaykkal, both of whichprobably owe their origin to the Pallava kings bearingthese surnames. The supervision and upkeep of thesetanks and channels must have entailed a great deal of labourand attention on the part of the village Sabhas many of^whichhad a separate Tank Supervision Committee as is clear fromone of the later inscriptions.1 The great tank at Uttara-mallur owes its origin to one of the Pallava kings namedVayiramegan and figures frequently in the inscriptions relatingto the activities of the Uttaramallur Sabha during the reignof Dantivarman and Vijaya Kampavarman.2
The other important work of the village Sabhas of the Pallavaage was the management of temple property and service. Thetemple appears to have played an important roie in theage of the Pallavas and must have attracted large numbers ofpeople for various purposes. A close study of the inscriptionsof this period shows that the Pallava kings took a great deajof interest in the building of these temples as well as theirproper upkeep. These are scattered all over the Tamildistricts, some of the most beautiful and important ones-beingfound at the capital of the kingdom, Kanchipuram. Theinscriptions at the Rajasimhesvara and at the Vaikuntaperumaltemples bear ample testimony to the great devotion of'thePallava kings but details of their management in those daysare not available. It is quite probable that their managementwas entrusted to the temple committee of the city council in>the days of Rajasimha and Paramesvaravarman. In the actual"1management of the temple administration which-involved thelooking after of lands, appointment of contractors for the day-to-day supply of rice, ghee, flowers,etc., defalcations sometimes
1 No. 84 of 1898, dated in the twenty-first year of Kampavarmanmentions the name of this Committee as the Eri-Variya-Perumakka!.
2 Ep. Col., No. 74 of 1898, dated in the ninih year of Dantivarman;'andEp. Col,, No. 61 of 1898, dated in the twenty-first year of the same'kins;
"and Ep. Col., No. 84 of 1898, of Kampavarman.

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Pallava Rule in South India \'^]
occurred even leading to the reduction in the actual offering tothe deity. One such instance is recorded in the Triplicaneinscription of Dantivarman, dated in the twelfth year of hisreign.1 The temple management {kulankilar) having mort-gaged one of the temple fields in Karumaracheri, the offeringto the God fell short. This was restored however by the, pious pffices of one Pugaltunai-Vissiyarayan who redeemedthe mortgaged field.
Literature during the Pallava Age.—Another importantbenefit of the Pallava rule in South India was the impetusgiven to literature," particularly Sanskrit. The age of thePallavas is also the period of the celebrated movements of theAlvars and the Adiyars which so much revolutionized thereligious outlook of the people at that time. The Pallava kingson account partly of their having come from the north haddistinct leanings from the beginning for Sanskrit literatureand all their early charters with the exception of a few arewritten in Sanskrit. The prasasti portions in the later copper-plate charters such as the Kasakkudi plates of NandivarmanPallavamalla wtfich furnish a historical account of the family ofthe donor appear to have been written by poets of considerableability who adorned the contemporary Pallava court. It isonly in the later Pallava period that a Tamil portion came to beadded to the charters. The prafasti portions as well as thedescriptive accounts (such as those of the battle of Peruvalanal-lur)2 of some of the plates compare very favourably withsome of the best Sanskrit style of the classical kavis. We donot unfortunately possess any means whereby the names of theearly Sanskrit poets of the Pallava kings before Simhavishnucould be gathered. There is, however, no doubt whatever thatKanchlpuram almost from'the beginning of the Pallava rulewas a centre of Sanskrit learning. The city appears to havebeen famous as a seat of Sanskrit learning as early as the secondcentury B.t.; Patanjali discusses the derivation of the word
1 Triplicane inscription of Dantivarman, Ep. Ind., vol. viii, pp. 291 ff.8 Kurani plates ; 5. /. /., vol. i, p. 153.

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158 History of the Pal lavas of South India
Kanchipuraka, possibly because itjwas famous for Sanskritlearning even then. Even in the Sangam age it will be re-membered that Aravana Adigal taught Buddhistic philosophyat this place and at a subsequent period Dignaga the logicianwho is believed to have been the author of Nyayapravesa spentconsiderable time at Kanchi and was perhaps a product ofmediaeval Pallava culture. Later, Mayura Sarman, the pro-genitor of the Kadamba family, had to proceed to this placefor the completion of the Vedic studies. It is not surprisingtherefore that Simhavishnu about the close of the sixthcentury when he heard of Bharavi staying with Durvinita,the Western Ganga king, invited him to his court according tothe Avantiiundarikathdsdra.1 It is by no means unlikely,that Kirtarjunlya the well-known work of this poet wascomposed about this period'.
Of Mahendravarman I, the illustrious son and successor ofSimhavishnu, more is known. His great command of Sanskritis fully seen in his work Mattavilasa Prahasana which hassurvived to our times. This has already been noticed whiledealing with this king in an earlier chapter. The great musicalinscription atKudumiyamalai about the same period, as well asthe beautiful Sanskrit compositions at the Trichinopoly rock"cut temple and elsewhere are also indicative of the refined tastefor Sanskrit composition at this period. It was during thereign of one of his successors that Dandin, the celebratedsavant, spent considerable time in the Pallava court, even pay-ing a visit to the wonderful sculptures of Mahamallapuram.It is not improbable that this was towards the close of theseventh century a.d. The Avantisundarikathasara containsinteresting details of an earlier sojourn" oi^_Dandin ' in thesouth, while quite young, when Kanchipuram^was in the throesof foreign invasion and siege by the Chajukyas, when thecitizens of the place had to desert the city temporarily. Dandjnreturned to Kanchi long after and in all probability0nourished_for long at the Pallava court. Matridatta, a poet and scholar
1 See App. Avantisundarikathasara.
/
/ST"

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Pallava Rule in South India 159
and Rama Sarman, also figure among the friends of Dandin andwereperhaps associated with him atKanchipuram. The namesof Sanskrit poets at the Pallava court during this period otherthan these are not known. It is held by some scholars thatthe Sanskrit plays published recently in Trivandrum asBhasa's were abridgements made during this period ofearlier works of Bhasa and Sudraka for being staged at thePallava court. It has been suggested by Mr. L. D. Barnettthat these are the works of an anonymous author in the courtof the Pandyan King Rajasimha.1 But as we have gotevidence that the Pallava court was the great centre ofSanskrit learning during this period it seems to be morecorrect to regard that the dramas referred to above wereintended to be staged at the Pallava court as is evident fromthe colophons of some of these plays.2 It has been presumedalso that the work was composed at Kahchl from the occurrenceof the name of Dantivarman in the manuscripts of Mudra-rakshasa found in Malabar in the last benedictory verses.
The Tevaram and the Nalayira Praoandham hymns werealso produced during the age of the Pallava monarchs. Wehave already seen that Appar, the first of the Tevaram hymnistswas the well-known contemporary of Mahendravarman Iwho was converted to Saivism by him. His hymns in theTevaram collection number over 3000 and are full ofSanskrit expressions and Brahmanical culture and tradition,Tirunana-Sambandar was his younger contemporary andflourished during the reign of Narasimhavarman I. Duringhis period Saivism was very much in the ascendant andSiva temples were very numerous in South India. Accordingto the Pcriyapuranam account he is said to have succeededin converting Nedumaran the contemporary Pandyan King toSaivism after a successful disputation with the Samanas who
1 y.ft.A.S. for 1919, p. 233.

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160 History of the Pallavas of South India
were very powerful at this period at Midura. His poems inthe Tevaram number nearly 4000. Sundarar the last of thesixty-three Saiva saints appears to have lived in the ninthcentury and mentions Appar and Sambandar who precededhim. His Tirultondatokai was the basis on which NambiyandarNambi composed his Andadi and these two formed the mainsources of Sekkilar for writing the Periyapuranam. Suncjanar'shymns amount to eieven hundreds nearly in the Tevaram.
About the age of Manikkavasagar the well-known authorof TiruvcLsakam and Tinikkovai, there exists some doubt.According to some Tamil scholars he preceded the threeTevaram hymnists. But as he clearly refers to the PandyanKing Varaguna in his works there cannot be any doubt thathe flourished in the earlier half of the ninth century. HisTimvasakam is a very popular work and celebrates Siva'smiracles in a simple and attractive style. His activities wereconfined to Chidambaram and its adjoining places and he doesnot appear to have come into active contact with the Pallavas.
Of the twelve Vaishnava saints known as the Alvars someof whom flourished during the Pallava age the first four—Pey alvar, Budattalvar, Poygaialvar and Tirumalisaialvar,appear to have been contemporaries and lived at a timebefore the advent of the Pallavas to Kanchlpuram. Traditionhowever records that Tirumalisai was a contemporary of oneof the Pallava kings, perhaps Tondaman-Ilamtiraiyan. Ofthe others Tirumangaialvar is the most important and hasalready been referred in a previous chapter. There is acredible Vaishnava tradition that he held a successful dispu-tation with the &aiva saint Tirunana-Sambandar. If this can berelied on he should have lived an exceptionally long-period oftime. His work exceeds that of any other Alvar except Nam-majvar and his peregrinations were spread all over South India._His great Pallava contemporary wasNandivarman Pallavamallawho reigned for an exceptionally long period pf*sixty-fiveyears. This Alvar unlike the other Alvars makes freguentmention of contemporary political occurrences including themartial exploits of the Pallava King referred to above. One
J- ,

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Pallava Rule in South India 161
of his verses contains an allusion to the repulse of theChahikyan King: which is corroborated by inscriptions. Thewar implements of the Pallavas as well as their other insigniaalso find mention in his hymns. The other Alvars, such asKulasekhara, Nammalvar, Periyalvar, Andal, etc., did notflourish in Tondamandalam and did not come into contactwith the Pallava Kings.
The' origin and evolution of Pallava art and architecturedoes not properly belong to this work and may be studiedelsewhere.1 It may be however noted here that it is amistake to suppose that, temples did not exist in South Indiabefore the Pallava age, for mention is made of them in earlySangam works. They were then built only of wood andperishable material and consequently have not survived. Theearliest inscriptional mention, in a Pallava record, of a temple"ocwirs in the grant of Charudeyi which evidences a donationof land to the temple of Narayana at Dalura early in thefourth century. During the reign of Mahendravarman I, acommencement was made 2 in the art of monolithic temple.building. The first specimens were all of them excavations ofhillsides into temples such as those at Trichinopoly, Vallamand Mamandur, modelled after the caves at Undavalli. A laterdevelopment was from the cave temples to the Rathas likethose of Mahabalipuram. From these, in due course ofevolution, came structural temples, among the earliest and bestknown of which are the Shore-temple at the Seven Pagodas,the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchi and at Panamalai. Theevolution continued in the days of subsequent Pallava kingstill the rise of what is a distinct Chola style.
1 See the works of Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil and Mr. Longhurst.2According to Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil.
21

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===== PAGE 199 =====
APPENDIX A
A CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX OF PALLAVA, INSCRIPTIONS
1. Nasik Buddhist Inscription of Sri-Pulumayi. Ep. hid.,
vol. viii, pp. 60ff.The inscription records in Prakrit, the gift of a cow tothe community of monks, by Queen Gotami Balasrl,mother of Gotamiputrasatakarni, king of Asmaka,Mulika, etc., who destroyed the Sakas, Yavanas, andthe Pahlavas. A village was granted by the queen's■» grandson for the embellishment of the cave.
2. Junagadb Rock Inscription of Rudradaman. Ep. hid.,
vol. viii, pp. 36ff.Sanskrit fragment. Records the restoration of lakeSudarsana, situated at some distance fromGirinagara(Girnar). The work was executed by Suvisaka, theson of Kulaipa, and a Pahlava, who had been appointedto rule the whole of Anarta and Surashtra. He isdescribed as having been able, patient, not wavering,not arrogant, upright, and by his good govern-ment and proper views and dealings in thingstemporal and spiritual, to have increased theattachment of the people and the spiritual fame andglory of his master.
3. The Myakadoni Inscription of Pulumavi. Ep. Ind., vol.
xiv, p. 153. Also Rep. forEpig., Madras, for 1915-16,part ii, p. 112. Insc. No. 509, App. B.Prakrit record. This is dated in the eighth year of theJ ^.ndhra king Sri-Pulumavi, king of the Satavahana(family) and records the sinking of a reservoir by aresident of V^puraka, belonging to the Captain-Kumaradatta, in the country of Satavahani-Aharawhich belonged to the (great general) Mahascnapati-

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164 History of the Pallavas of South India
Khandanaga (Skandanaga). This inscription isimportant in so far as it establishes that the sway ofthe Satavahanas extended to the south of theKrishna.
4. Mayidavolu plates of Sivaskandavarman. Hultzsch. Ep.
Ind., vol. vi, p. 84.
Eight copper-plates with a seal bearing in relief «a bulland the legend Sivaskandavarmana. The languageis Prakrit, dialect different from literary Pali, and thealphabet is considered an epigraphical curiosity.
The grant was issued by the heir-apparent (Yuvamaha-rdja) Sivaskandavarman of the Bharadvaja-gotra andof the Pallava family, and records the gift of a village(Viripara) to two Brahmans. The village is said tohave belonged to Andhrapatha and has not beenidentified. The record is dated in the fifth tithi, ofthe sixth fortnight of summer, in the tenth year ofthe reign of Sivaskandavarman's predecessor. Theimmunities secured by the village included, freedom*from the diggings for salt, the supply of bullocks,in succession, the entrance of the soldiers, cots anddwellings.
5. Hirahadagalli plates of Sivaskandavarman. Buhler,
Ep. Ind., vol. i, p. 5. Final corrections by Hultzsch,Ibid., vol. vi, p. 88. \
Eight plates from Hirahadagalli, in the Bellari District.Prakrit. Records that the Pallava king Sivaskanda-varman of Kafichi, who 'belonged to the Bharadvaja-1 gotra and is said to have performed Agnishtoma,
Vajapfya and Asvamedha sacrifices, confirmed andenlarged in the eighth year of his reign a grant madeformerly by the great-king, the Lord-Bappa (his"father), to certain Brahmans residing at Arjitti' andwho are described as bho'jakas, of the ^village ofChillarekakodumka, in the Sstahanirattha. The giftconsisted of a garden irKthe above village, the incomeof which was to be divided in a specified manner.

===== PAGE 201 =====
Appendix A 165
The writer of the grant was the Privy-Councillor—{Rahasadhikatd) Bhatti-Sarman. Among the otherofficials mentioned in this record are the Lords ofProvinces, Royal Princes, Rulers of Districts, Custom-House Officers, Prefects of countries, Forest-officials,Sergeants, roaming spies, and others.
6. British Museum plates of Charudevi. Noticed by Fleet.
Ind. Ant., vol. ix, pp. lOOfL Ep. Ind., vol. vi, p. 88,No. 10. Final correction by Hultzsch, Ep. Ind., vol.viii, p. 143. .
The original copper-plates secured by Sir WalterElliot, are now in the British Museum. Languageis mostly in Prakrit prose and partly in Sanskritverse. The seal contains a standing animal,apparently a bull, the crest of the Pallavas.
The grant is dated in some year of Vijayaskandavarman(illegible). It records an order by the Queen Regentin behalf of the heir-apparent Vijaya-Buddhavarmanwho is described as a Pallava and affiliated toBharadvaja-gotra. Dr. Hultzsch has read the nameof the queen as Charudevi and that of the princewhose mother she claims to have been as Buddh(yan)kura. The grant supplies the genealogical orderMah. Vijayaskandavarman, his son YuvamaharajaVijaya Buddhavarman and his son Buddhyankura.
The object of the grant is to register a gift of land madeby Charudevi consisting of a field near the king's tankto Narayana of the Kujimahataraka temple, at Dalura.The village authorities were required to exempt thefield from all immunities.
7. Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta. Fleet,
Cor. Insc, Ind., vol. iii, pp. 1-17.The, inscription is written in an Asokan sandstone pillar.
The" characters belong to the Gupta alphabet, the
language is partly Sanskrit prose and partly verse.The record is undated. It gives abundant details as
regards the conquests of Samudragupta, the divisions

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166 History of the Pallavas of South India
and kings of India in the fourth century a.d. Amongthe southern kings that Samudragupta conquered andreleased, the record mentions Mahendra of Kosala,Vyagraraja of Mahakantara, Mantaraja of Kaurala,Mahendra of Paishtapura, Svamidatta of Kottura onthe hiM, Damana of Erandapalla, Vishnugopa ofKamhi, Nilaraja of Avamukta, Hastivarmsn ofVengi, Ugrasena of Palakka, Kubhera of Devarashtra,Danamjaya of Kausthalapura, and all other kings ofthe region of the south. The inscription proves thatVishnugopa of tKanchi, one of the several southernkings defeated by Samudragupta, nourished in thesecond quarter of the fourth century a.d.
8. Chendalur plates of Kumaravishnu II. Ep. hid., vol.
viii, p. 233. <-?>
Five copper-plates from Chendalur in the Ongole Taluk
of the Nellore District.Language is Sanskrit prose and the alphabets closelyresemble those of Pikira, Uruvappalli, and Mangalu?plates. The inscription is an edict issued fromKanchipura in the second year of the reign of the-Pallava-Maharaja Kumaravishnu (II) who is describedas the son of Mah. Buddhavarman, the grandson ofMali. Kumaravishnu (I), and the great-grandsop ofMah. Skandavarman. ! The object of the grant is toregister the gift of the king to a Brahman in thevillage of Chendalura in Kavichakardbhoga, a sub-division of the district of Karmankarashtra. Of thelocalities mentioned in the record- Kanchipuram is thewell-known capital of the Pallavas and Chendalur avillage in the Nellore District.
9. Orhgodu plates of Vijayaskandavarman (II). H7\K.
Sastri, Ep. bid., vol. xv, pp. 249ff. ~ * ~--
Four copper-plates. Language, SanskritJ charactersbelonging to the southern class. The' grant isaddressed from the Royal Camp the victoriousTambrapasthana. The record mentions in chrono-.

===== PAGE 203 =====
Appendix A 167
logical order Mah. Kumaravishnu, who is describedas a Pallava king of the Bharadvaja gotra and aperformer of the Asvamedha sacrifice, his son Mah.Skandavarman who acquired his kingdom by his ownprowess, his son Viravarman victorious in manybattles and his son Vijayaskandavarman, the donor.The grant conveys an order to the officers ofOrhgodu and the residents that the village was givenas a Satvika gift with the eighteen kinds of exemptionsto Golasarman of the Kasyapa-gotra, a student of twoVedas, and well versed in the six Angas. The grantwas engraved in the victorious year 33, on thethirteenth day of the third fortnight of winter.
10. Darsi copper-plate fragment. Hultzsch, Ep. Ind.,vol. i, p. 397.Language and script: Same as above. The grantconsists of the beginning of a Sanskrit inscriptionengraved on one side of a copper-plate. The nameof the donor of the plate is lost but the record givesthe name of his great-grandfather —Sri Virakorcha-varman—the laudatory verses attributed to himagreeing literally with those attributed to the Pallavakings Skandavarman I and Skandavarman II. Theking's order was addressed from Vijaya-Dasanapura.
11: Pikira Grant of Simhavarman. Hultzsch, Ep. Ind.,vol. viii, p. 159.Five copper-plates with seal much worn but bearing inrelief an animal perhaps the bull. Language isSanskrit prose excepting the final imprecatory verses.The alphabet closely resembles the Uruvappalliplates.The record opens with an invocation to Vishnu {Bhaga-vat) and proceeds to record the grant of a villagenamed Pikira in the district of Mundarashtra. It isdated in the fifth year of the reign of Mah. Simhavar-man and issued from the camp at Menmatura, in theNellore District. Mah. Simhavarman, the donor is

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168 History of the Pallavas of South India
described as the son of Yuva Mali. Vishnugopa, thegrandson of Mah. Skandavarman (it) and the great-grandson of Mah. Vfrava'rman. The term Yuva-maharaja which is prefixed to Vishnugopa in thepresent grant as well as in the Uruvappalli grantsuggests that he probably never ruled.
12. Mangalur Grant of Simhavarman. Fleet, bid. Ant.,
vol. v, p. 154. »
Six copper-plates. Language, Sanskrit in the southerncharacters. The grant which was issued from Dasana-pura registers the gift of the village of Mangadur,situated in the country of Vengorashtra to certainBrahmans. The record is dated in the eighth year ofthe reign of Simhavarman who is stated to havebeen the great-grandson of Mah. Srl-Viravarman,the grandson of Mah. Skandavarman. Dr. FJeetconsidered that Simhavarman was an elder brother ofYuva Maharaja-Vishnugopa one of whose grants isdated in the eleventh year of Simhavarman's reign.
13. Uruvappalli Grant of Yuva Mah. Vishnugopavarman.
Fleet, Ind. Ant., vol. v., p. 50. Also the BombayGazetteer, part ii, p. 320. ;
Language and characters same as above. The grantwas issued from Palakkada and is dated in theeleventh year of Mah. Simhavarman. It mentionsin genealogical order the names of four kings, Mah.Sri Skandavarman, his son Mah. Srlviravarman, hisson Mah. Skandavarman, and his son Yuva Mah.Vishnugopavarman 'the donor who is described asthe most divine worshipper^of^the divine one(Paramabhagavata). The object o"f_ the grant is toregister a gift of 200 nivartanas of land in the villageof Uruvappalli in the Mundarashtra country to thetemple of God Vishnuh&ra established bft SenapatiVishnuvarman at the! village of Kundukura. Aminute description of the boundaries of'the land i sfurnished.

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Appendix A 169
14. Omgodn Plates of Simhavarman II. H. K. Sastri, Ep.
Ind., vol. xiv, p. 252; also Mad. Ep. Rep. for 1916,Pt. ii, p. 113.
Five copper-plates on a ring with no seal. Sanskritlanguage : characters same. The object of the grantis to register a gift of the village of Orhgodu in
, Karmarashtra to a certain Devasarman, who was aresident of Kendur and belonged to Kasyapagotra.The grant was made in the fourth year of the reign,in the month of Vaisakha Suklapaksha Panchami.It is taken as having been given on the occasion ofan eclipse. The donor Simhavarman (II) is stated tohave been the son of Ynva Maharaja Vishnugopa,grandson of Mah. Skandavarman, and the great-grandson of Mah. Vfravarman.
15. Udayendiram plates (spurious) of Nandivarman. Kiel-
horn, Ep. Ind., vol. iii, p. 142 ; also Ind. Ant., vol. iii,p. 167.( Three copper-plates with a circular seal containing inbas-relief a standing bull. Language, Sanskrit in thesouthern script.The donor of the inscription is said to have been adevout worshipper of Vishnu and the law-abidingMaharaja Nandivarman of the Bharadvajagvira. Heis said to have been the son of Mah. Skandavarman,the grandson of Mah. Simhavarman, and the great-grandson of Mah. Skandavarman. It registers theorder of the King conveyed from Vijaya-Kanchlpurarecording a gift of the village of Kanchivayil, andfour pieces of forest land situated in the district ofAdayara to a Brahman inhabitant of Kanchivayil namedKulasarman. The grant was issued in the fifth lunar, day of Vaiiakha in the first year of the reign. TheT&mil endorsement on the first plate which isdated in the twenty-sixth year of Madiraikonda-Ko-Parake~$ari records the amalgamation" of twovillages.22

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170 History of the Pallavas of South India
16. Chura Plates of Vijaya-Vishnugopavarman. Mad. Ep.
Rep. for 1914, part ii, p. 82;Sanskrit and Telugu. This record which is not dated,was issued from Vijayapalotkata and registers a grantof land by the donor Vijaya-Vishnugopavarman, to acertain Chasmisarman of the Kasyapagotra and aresident of Knndur. According to this record VJjaya-Vishnugopavarman was the son of Simhavarman,grandson of Mah. Vishnugopavarman and the great-grandson of Skandavarman.
17. Talgunda Pillar Inscription of Kakutsthavarman. Buhler,
Ind. Ant., vol. xxv, p. 27 ; Fleet, Dynasties, pp. 286 ff ;Rice, Ep. Cam., vol. vii, p. 200 ; Kielhorn, Ep. Ind.,vol. viii, pp. 24 ff.The inscription which was discovered by L. Rice is^,,written in Sanskrit in the box-headed variety of theSouthern characters. It relates to the excavation ofa. tank near an ancient Siva temple at Sthanukundur,commenced by the Kadamba king Kakutsthavarmanand completed by his son Santivarman. The authorof the record which is written in high Kavya stylewas Kubja. The greater portion of this inscriptionis devoted to an account of the early kings ofKadamba dynasty which is interesting for the informa-tion it gives of the relation of the Kadambas with' thePallava kings, the Banas, etc. According to theinscription the Kadambas were a Brahman familybelonging to the Mdnavyasagotra and descended fromHarltiputra. In this ,,family^jvas wn Mayurasar-man who went to Kahchi in order- to study andthere was involved in a quarrel with the Pallavarulers. He took up arms against them and^aftera prolonged struggle, the kings of Kancht, con-ferred upon him the territory between Atuararnavaand Premara. He was succeeded by his sonKangavarman, his son Bhagiratha, and his two sonsRaghu and Kakutsthavarman. His successor was

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Appendix A 171
Santivarman during whose reign this record wascomposed.18. The Penugonda Plates of Madhava II. Rice, Ep. bid.,vol. xiv, pp. 331 ff. also Mad. Ep. Rep. for 19H,p. 83, para 3.Old type of Kannada Characters. (Telugu-Canarese).
, The plates mention in order Konkanivarma Dharma-Mahadhiraja of the Kanvayanagotra, his son MadhavaMahadhiraja I, who was an able exponent of thescience of polity, his son Aryavarman who is describedto have been ' duly installed on the throne bySimhavarma-Mahar'aja, the lord of the prosperousPallava family' and his son Madhava Mahadhiraja IIwho was duly installed on the throne by the» illustrious Pallava king Skandavarman. The object
of the grant is to register sixty-five paddy-fields inParuviviskaya to Kumara-Sarman of the Vatsagotra.Exception has been taken by Dr. Fleet to this copper-plate grant. He considers them genuine as againstothers and the mention of the contemporaneousPallava kings Simhavarma-Maharaja and Skanda-varma-Maharaja is important. It is probable thatthey were related as father and son.19. Slyamangalam Cave Inscription of Mahendravarman.Madras. Ep. Coll., No. 67 of 1900 ; Hultzsch, Ep.Ind., vol. vi, No. 32, p. 319.
This inscription is engraved on the rock-cut pillars inthe Siva temple called Sthambesvara, in the villageof Slyamangalam, Wandiwash Taluk, North ArcotDistrict. It consists of a single Sanskrit versewritten in an archaic alphabet resembling the caveinscriptions at Trichinopoly and Mahendravadi, and
3 records the fact that the temple called Avani-bhajana-Pallavlsvara was caused to be excavatedby a king called Lalitankura who has beenidentified with Mahendravarman I of the Pallavakings*

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If2 History of the Pallavas of South India
20. Vallam Cave Inscription of iMahendrapotaraja. Hult-
zsch, S.I.I., vol. ii, part iii^ pp. 34ff.This inscription, written in archaic Tamil, is engravedon the upper portions of the doorpillars of theVasantesvara temple at Vallam, near Chingleput.It records that one Vasantapriyaraja, the servantof Pahappidugu alias Lalitankuran, Satrumallan,Gmiabharan, Mahendrapota-Raja caused the temple tobe executed. The surnames belong to Mahendra-varman I.
21. Mahendravadi Inscription of Gunabhara. Hultzsch, Ep.
hid., vol. iv, pp. 152fLThis inscription is written in the same archaic Pallavaalphabet as the Trichinopoly rock inscription andconsists of a single Sanskrit verse in the kokila^gjmetre, inscribed on the pilaster on the left end ofthe facade in the rock-cut temple here. It records thefact that Gunabhara caused the temple to be cut outof the rock and that it was dedicated to Vishnu and*bore the name Mahendra Vishnugriha, i.e. theVishnu temple of Mahendra, that it stood on the bankof the Mahendratalaka, i.e. the tank of Mahendra andthat it was situated in Mahendrapura, the City ofMahendra. Mahendrapura is probably identical withMahendravadi and Gunabhara with Mahendra-varman I.
22. Trichinopoly Cave Inscriptions of Mahendra. Hultzsch,
S.I.I., vol. i, pp. 28-30.Two inscriptions in Sanskrit in archaic Pallava-Granthacharacters on two pillars in the "upper cave of theRock at Trichinopoly record that J~a king calledGunabhara, who bore the birudas, Purushottama,Satyasamdha and Satrumalla, constructed -a temple- "on the top of the mountain and placed',in it alinga and a statue of himself. As the,Kaveri ishere called ' the beloved of the Pallavas' and asthe inscription is found in the, Choja territory it

===== PAGE 209 =====
Appendix A ij§
is clear that the Pallavas had extended their domi-nions during this period to the region of the Kaveri.
23. Mandagappattu Inscription of Vichitrachitta. Jouveau-
Dubreuil, Conjeevaram Insc. ot Mahendravarman, p. 2.Ep. bid., vol. xvii, p. 14.The record is written in the Pallava-Grantha characters, of the seventh century a.d., and is a Sanskrit versein the Giti metre. It is somewhat damaged andcan be read only with difficulty. It states that KingVichitrachitta caused to be constructed a temple forBrahma, Is'vara and Vishnu, without the use of bricks,timber, metals and mortar. Vichitrachitta is asurname of Mahendravarman I.
24. Dalavanur Cave Inscription of Narendra. Hultzsch, Ep.--, bid . vol. xii, p. 225 ; Ep. Col., Nos. 50 and 51 of 1905.
Sanskrit and Tamil. The inscriptions are written ona pillar in a rock-cut cave at Dalavanur in the Tindi-vanam Taluk of the South Arcot District. The first> inscription consists of a single Sanskrit sloka which
states that the cave-temple containing the inscriptionwas executed at the order of Satrumalla and namedSatrumallesvaralaya. The second is divided into twosections of which one is Tamil verse and the otherprose, and records the same fact. The name of thelocality is stated to be Venpattu. Narendra is onlya surname of Pallava Mahendravarman I and thereference to the donor as Tondaiyamtarvendan con-firms this surmise.
25. Pallavaram Inscription of Mahendravikrama. Mad. Ep.
Rep. ior 1909, p. 75.
This inscription written on the beams of the upperand lower verandahs of the cave temple at Palla-
> varam in archaic Pallava-grantha-characters. Frag-ment. It gives a list of birudas of which some areSanskrit, others Telugu. Of these Sri-Mahendra~vikrama, Maitavilasa, Chethakari, Vichitrachitta,Aluptakama, Kalahapriya, and Sankn-najati are in

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i 74 History of the Pallavas, of South India
Sanskrit and Nilvilonayamau, Veniulavittu, etc., arein Telugu. Some of these birudas ' are those ofMahendravarman. I
26. Conjeevaram Inscription of' Mahendravarman. Ep.
Col., No. 82 of 1921. Also see Jouveau-Dubreuil, Con-jeevaram Inscription of Mahendravarman. Pallava-Grantha. «,
This is engraved on the pillar of the PaurtiamiMandapa to the south of the central sanctuaryof the Ekambaranathasvami temple, and consistsof a series of birudas of the king who gotthem engraved such as Abhimnkha, Chitrakarap-puli, Vambara, Drdabhakti, etc. As some of thesesurnames occur in his other cave inscriptions it isprobable that they belong to Mahendravarman I.
27. Kudimiyamalai Inscription of music. P. R. Bhandar-
kar, Ep. Ind., vol. xii, p. 226;, Mad. Ep. Rep. tor1905, p. 47 ; Ep. Col., No. 354 of 1904.The inscription is written in Sanskrit in the Pallava-sgrantha characters of the seventh century, on arock behind the Sikhanathasvami temple in Kudumiya-malai (Pudukotta State). The inscription is dividedinto seven sections, corresponding to the sevenclassical ragas and was engraved at the instance ofan unnamed king who was a disciple of Rudra^charya for the benefit of his pupils.
28. Aihole inscription of Pulakesin II. ,Kielhorn, Ep. Ind.,
vol. vi, p. 4.Sanskrit in characters of the southern class. Theinscription is a poem by a certain- Ravikirti whoduring the reign of Pulakesin II founded the templeof Jinendra on which it is engraved. It, bears thedate Saka Samvat 556 corresponding to A.Df634-35.-It gives an eulogistic account of the' 'history ofChajukya ,-family- \especially, of the exploits ofPulakesin Jl who is described to have besiegedBanavasi, subdued the Gangas, the Alupas, and the-

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Appendix A 175
Mauryas in the Konkanas, besieged Pnri, subdued the• Latas, Malavas, and the Gfirjaras, defeated Harsha ofKanauj, fought with the Kalingas and the Kosalas,captured Pishtapura, fought at the Kaunala, defeatedthe Pallayas of Kaiichipuram (' causing the splendourof the lord of the Pallavas who had opposed the riseof his power to be obscured by the dust of his army,and to vanish behind the walls of Kaiichipuram '),crossed the River Kaveri and caused prosperity tothe Cholas, Keralas and the Pandyas. The fame ofthe composer of this poem is said to have exceededthat of Kalidasa and Bharavi, thus showing thatalready in the seventh century the fame of Kalidasahad spread so as to be quoted in contemporaryinscriptions.
29. Tirukkalukkunram Inscription of Rajakesarivarman.
Tamil. Venkayya. Ep. Ind., vol. iii, p. 276.This inscription is dated in the twenty-seventh year, of the reign of Rajakesarivarman and records that
at the request of a certain Puttan a grant which hadbeen made by Skandasishya and confirmed by Vatapi-konda-Narasingapotarayar was renewed. The giftwas originally made to the Mulasthanattu-Peruman,which has not been identified. Both the kings arespokenof as former kings. On paleographical groundsthe grant may be dated in the ninth century a.d.Tirukkalukkunram is spoken of as being in theKalatturkottam. Skandasishya may be Skandavar-man and Vatapikonda-Narasingapotarayar is Nara-simhavarman I.
30. Badami Stone Inscription (fragment). Fleet, hid. Ant.,
vol. ix, p. 99.,This fragmentary inscription engraved on the northb'ide of a shapeless rock lying to the north-westof the temple of Jeggina Irappa in the BadamiTaluq in the Biyapur District. The characters are ofthe same type as those of the Pallava grants of

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176 History of the Pallavas of South India
Vishnugopavarman. The ' fragment is of greatinterest as mentioning Badami under the ancientname of Vatapi and speaking (J. 4) of ' thePallava, the foremost of kings '. It refers also toNarasimhavishnu and contains a, reference to theoccupation of the city by Mamalla.
31. Dharmarajaratha Stone Inscription at Mahabalipur^m—
Hultzsch, Ep. hid., vol. x, pp. 5fL, also S.LI., vol. i,p. 1.These inscriptions consist of a number of words inthe nominative case. The characters resemble theMahendravadi and Siyamangalam inscriptions ofMahendravarman I. The language is Sanskrit. Theydo not contain any date and their approximate timehas to be fixed on palseographical grounds. Thev^»appear from a comparative study to belong toNarasimhavarman I. Narasimha is twice men-tioned. From the archaic nature of the alphabetsDr. Hultzsch thinks .that the Narasimha of the,Dharmarajaratha may be identified with theNarasimha I of the Pallavas. The identification is.made almost certain by a reference to the publishedfacsimile of the Badami stone inscription of Nara-simhavarman I the alphabets of which are nearlyidentical with those of the Dharmarajaratha Inscrip-tions. Dharmarajaratha was probably sculpturedin the first half of the seventh century a.d.
32. Ganesa temple Inscription of Paramesvaravarman I.
Hultzsch, Ep. Ind., vol. x, pp.^SfL Eleven verses inSanskrit. ' ."'
This inscription records that the" monolith onwhich it is engraved was a Siva temple and-wascalled the Isvara temple of Atyantakama-Pallava.From sloka 2 of this inscription Dr.'Hultzsch hasconcluded that Atyantakama must be either Para-mesvaravarman I, father of Rajasimha, or Parames-varavarman II, his son, preferably the former. The

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„*>
Appendix A 177
alphabets of Atyantakama's inscription of the SevenPagodas bear so close a resemblance to Kailasanathatemple epigraphs of Rajasimha that both of them maybe assigned to about the same period (viz.) the thirdquarter of the seventh century a.d. Among Atyan-takama's surnames the following are given—Srinidhi,Sribhara, Ranajaya, Tarutiankura, Kamaraga.33.' Dharmaraja Mandapa Inscriptions. Hultzsch, Ep. Ind.,vol. x, No. 22, pp. 10 and 11.This is a duplicate of Ganesa temple inscription andproves "that the cave-temple now called DharmarajaMandapa was in reality a Siva temple and thatit was erected at the orders of the Pallavaking Paramesvara, who named it Atyantakama-Pallavesvara after one of his own surnamesAtyantakama.
34. Inscription of Paramesvaravarman at the Ramanuja
Mandapa. Ibid., p. 11.This inscription consists of the last Uoka of the preced-ing inscription and the cave-temple on which it isinscribed accordingly was a Siva temple having beenexcavated during the reign of the Pallava kingParamesvaravarman.
35. Saluvankuppam Inscriptions of Atiranachanda.
Hultzsch, Ep. Ind., vol. x, p. 12.This inscription on the left of the cave-temple atSaluvankuppam records that the excavation was atemple of Siva and that it was made by KingAtiranachanda who named it after himself Atirana-chandesvara. Verses 1, 2 and 4 are identical withParamesvaravarman's Mahabalipuram inscription.It contains the birudas, Atyantakama, Srlnidhi,3 Kamaraga, Sribhara, Ranajaya, Anugrahla, Kala-1 kala, Samaradanamjaya and Sangramadhtra. Mostof these are applied to Rajasimha in his inscrip-tions at Kanchl. The alphabet resembles thoseof Kasakkudi plates of Nandivarman II. The23

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178 History of the Pallavas of South India
name Atiranachanda is ' unknown from othersources.Nos. 24, 25 and 26 are Nagari 'copies of the above.36. Kuram plates of Paramesvaravarman I. Hultzsch,SJ./., vol. i, pp. 144ff.Seven copper-plates from Kuram near Conjeevaram.The seal bears the usual Pallava symbol the seatedbull facing the left. The language is partly inSanskrit verse and prose and the rest Tamil and thescript Pallava-Grantha. The Sanskrit portion openswith benedictory verses of which the first twoare addressed to Siva. Then follows a mythicalgenealogy from Brahma to Pallava after whom arementioned Mahendravarman, his son Narasimha-varman, who is stated to have repeatedly defeated^.'the Cholas, the Keralas, the Kalabhras and thePandyas, and xwho vanquished Pulakesin in thebattles of Pariyala, Manimangala, and Suramaraand destroyed his capital Vatapi. Of Paramesvara- 1varman himself is given a long descriptionof military exploits which mentions that he ...made Vikramaditya whose army consisted ofseveral lakshas take to flight covered only by a rag.The object of the Kuram grant is a gift of thevillage of Paramesvaramangalam made to the templeof Siva which had been built at Kuram by Vidyavinita-Pallava. The village was evidently named after theking himself and divided into twenty-five parts ofwhich three were to be enjoyed^.by two BrahmansAnantasivacharya and Pullasarman who-looked afterthe divine service of the temple. The fourth partwas set aside for the cost of providing water and-firefor the temple mandapa, the fifth for the reading of-_-the Bharata at this place while the remaining'twentyparts were given to twenty Chaturvedins. Kuramis mentioned as belonging to Manyavantararashtra ofNirvelur, a division of Urrukattukkottam. The

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Appendix A 1^9
village of Paramesvaramangalam belonged to Panma-Nadu Patmamanyavantararashtra, a sub-division ofManavirkottam.
37. Gadval Plates of Vikramaditya, a.d. 674. Hultzsch,Ep. Ind., vol. x, No. 22, p. 101.Three copper-plates. Language is Sanskrit prose andverse ; alphabet like other Chalukyan grants. Theinscription records the grant of land by the Western-Chalukya king .Vikramaditya I, the son of Satyasraya,(Pulakesin II) grandson of KIrtivarman (I) and greatgrandson of Pulakesin (I). Several surnames of theking are mentioned such as Srivallabha, Ranarasika,Rajamalla, Sloka 3 states that he defeated Nara-simha, Mahendra and Isvara, the three successivePallava kings, Narasimhavarman I, MahendravarmanII and Paramesvaravarman I. Sloka 4 alludes to theconquest of Kanchi the capital of the Pallavas. Sloka5 states that Vikramaditya first destroyed theMahamalla family. At the time of the grant Vikra-maditya's army having invaded the Chola provincewas encamped in Uragapura on the southern bankof the Kaveri (ii. 25ff). The date of the grant wasthe full-moon tithioi Vaiiakha in the twentieth year ofthe reign which was current after 596 Saka, equivalentto Tuesday, 25th April, a.d. 674. (Dr. Hultzschidentified Uragapuram with Negapatam in the TanjoreDistrict and Venkayya with Uraiyur near Trichi-nopoly Town, the ancient Chola capital.)
38. Panamalai Inscription of Rajasimha. Mad. Ep. Rep. tor1916, p. 114; Ep. Col., No. 616 of 1915 ; also, PallavaAnt., vol. i, p. 1.The beginning and end of" this inscription found in> the Talapurisvara temple at Panamalai are coveredby a paved floor. The record which consists of sixverses is in the floried Grantha-Pallava charactersand is written right round the temple as in theKailasanatha temple inscription of Rajasimha at

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loo History of the Pallavas of South India
iKanchipura. The existing portion mentions Asvat-tama, his son Pallava, whol was the progenetor ofthe great Pallava family the members of which,washed their sins away by Aivamedha sacrifices andbelonged to the Bharadvajavamsa. Rajasimha isdescribed as a famous king of the line who was bornfrom Paramesvara as ' Guha from Siva'. Undes hiscare the tree of Dharma is said to have thriveneven though oppressed by the hot sun, the Kali age.
39. Rajasimhesvara Shrine Inscriptions of Rajasimha.
Hultzsch, SJ.I., vol. i, No. 24, p. 13.Twelve Sanskrit verses in the Grantha-Pallava runninground the outside of the central shrine. The record,opens with a benediction addressed to Ganga, andthen gives a mythical pedigree of Pallava fronj„(Brahman). It further says that in the race of thePailavas was bom Ugradanda, the destroyer of thecity of Ranarasika whose son was Rajasimha whobore the surnames Aiyantakama, Ratiajaya, Sribhara ;he is said to have built the Siva temple round whichthe inscription is written and called it after his own .name Rajasimha-Pallavesvara or Rajasimhesvara.
40. Inscription of Rangapataka. Hultzsch, S.I.I., vol. i,
No. 29, pp. 23-24.The record consisting (of three Sanskrit verses incharacters similar to Rajasimha's records that thesmall Siva shrine was founded by Rangapataka thewife of Narasimhavishnu or Kalakala whose signwas the Bull. -^. .
41. Panamalai Cave Inscription of RajasimliaT" Hultzsch,
S.I.I., vol. i, No. 31, p. 24.This record consists o£ a single Sanskrit sloka-inGrantha-Pallava characters and is identical withvthe"* —last verse of Rajasimha's KanchI inscription (S.I.I,,vol. i, No. 24). It mentions the birudas of Rajasimha,Sribhara, Chitrakarmuka, Ekavira, and Sivachuda-maitii. Dr. Hultzsch from a study,of this inscription.

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Appendix A 181
concludes that the Panamalai cave was founded byRajasimha and that the PallaVa rule extended as farsouth as Panamalai at this period.
42. Shore Temple Inscription of Rajasimha. Ep. Col., 566
of 1912. Mad. Ep. Rep. for 1913, paras 8 and 9.This record consisting of about six Sanskrit verses is., inscribed round the plinths of the two bali-plthasrecently excavated in the shore-temple. The recordis not complete but contains an eulogy of a Pallavaking whose attributes were Atyantakama, Aparajila,Sivachudamani, etc. Another verse refers to him asRajasimha, Ranajaya, Sribhara and Chitrakarmukaand is identical with the twelfth verse of the Karichi-puram inscription of Rajasimha. The mention inthe record of the king as the ruling sovereignmakes it probable that he was Rajasimha son ofParamesvaravarman I, who bore the surnamesKshatriyasimha and Rajasimha. The two Sivatemples of the Shore Temple Kshatriyasimha andRajasimhapallavesvaram were evidently contempor-ary with Rajasimhapallavesvaram of Kanchipuramand named after Rajasimha.
43. Vayalur stone pillar Inscription of Rajasimha. Mad.
Ep. Rep. for 1909, part ii, para 16, p. 17. Joveau-Dubreuil, Pallavas, ch. ii, pp. 19-21; Ep. Col., No. 368of 1908; H. K. Sastri, Ep. Ind., vol, xviii, p. 145.This record is engraved on a cubical pillar in theVyaghrapurisvara temple at Vayalur. It is writtenin the usual Grantha-Pallava characters of the floridtype used in the Ramanuja mandapa and the Ganesatemple inscriptions at Mahabalipuram, and the Kaila-sanatha inscription at Kafichipura. It gives a list, of the Pallava kings in genealogical order. Beginningwith,the names of Brahma, Angirasa, etc., itproceedsto mention the names of Asoka, Harigupta, Aryavar-man, Bhutadatta, etc. and a long list of furthernames obviously in the order of descent. These

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182 History of the Pallavas of South India
include Suryavarman, Rppamalla, Dhritaka ViriialaKonkanika, Kalabhartr, , Chuta-Pallava, Virakurcha,Vishnugopa, Skandavarman, Kumiravishnu, amongthe early Pallava kings of ' the copper-plates. Thenare mentioned the names of Simhavarman,Nandivarman, Simhavishnu, Mahendravarman,Narasimhavarman and iParaniesvaravarman andRajasimha. The value of the record consists inthe connection which it establishes between thePallavas of the Prakrit charters and those of theSanskrit charters and the connection of these againwith those of the Simhavishnu line.
44. Inscription in the Kailasanatha temple of Mahendravar-
man II. Hultzsch, S.I.I., vol. i, No. 27, p. 22.The record consists of four Sanskrit verses in Grantha-Pallava characters of Rajasimha's period and registersthe fact that Mahendra, the son of Rajasimha andgrandson oi'Lokaditya built a temple of Siva andcalled it Mahendresvara after his own name. Therecord is engraved r6und the smaller shrine whichstands in front of Rajasimha's Kailasanatha shrine.It speaks of Lokaditya that ' his valour dried up thearmy of Ranarasika, just as the heat of the sun doesthe mud.'
45. VTrattanesvara temple Inscription of Paramesvaiavar-
mari II. Ep. Col., No. 56 of 1903. Tamil.This inscription engraved on a slab lying in front of theVirattanesvara temple at Tiruvadi records in Tamil agift of gold and is dated in the third year of Para-'mesvarapotarayar. ~~-— •
46. Vaikunthaperumal Inscription. Mad.'-Ep. Rep. (or 1906,
part, ii, pp. 62-63; Ep. Col., No. 37 of 1888. JText,S.LI., vol. iv, pp. lOff. Also see Ep. Ind^vo). xviii,p. 117. - °
This is not a single record but a series of inscriptionseach explaining the group of sculptures below whichit is put up. They are in the nature of explanatory

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Appendix A 183
notes denoting particular events in Pallava history.The portion relating to the events leading to theaccession of Pallavamalla is very important andcontains a full account of the circumstances underwhich Nandivarman (II) succeeded to the Pallavathrone which is depicted in twelve sculptured scenes
> on the south wall of the veranda running round thecentral shrine. It is stated therein that afterthe death of Paramesvaravarman II a deputation' ofthe officials and citizens waited on Hiranyavarma-Maharaja for the selection of a sovereign to thePallava throne. Hlranyavarman, thereupon, held animportant consultation with the chief potentates andhis sons. Ultimately Pallavamalla the twelve-year-old son of Hiranyavavman was selected'by commonconsent and was crowned king under the nameNandivarman, and with the Pallava insignia andwar instruments—Samudraghosha, Khatvangadhvaja
1 and Vrishabha-lanchana. The members of the
Merchants'-guild, the City-Council, and the Ubhaiya-gana of Kanchi are also mentioned as having takenan important part in the above events.
47. Sthambesvara Temple Inscription of Vijaya-Nandi-
vikramavarman. Ep. Col., No. 68 of 1900.Tamil record, dated in the third year of Vijaya-Nandi-vikramavarman records the building of a templemandapa at Sthambesvara temple at Siyamangalam(South Arcot District).
48. Virattanesvara Temple Inscription of Nandivikrama-
varman. Ep. Col., No. 300 of 1902.Tamil record inscribed on a rock in the prakara of theVirattanesvara temple, Kilur, near Tirukkoilur, dated
> in the fourth year of Nandivikramavarman registeringgift of gold for lamp.
49. In the same place. Ep. Col., No. 295 of 1902. Tamil
inscription dated in the eleventh year of Vijaya-Nandivikramavarrnan records a gift of gold,

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184 History of the Pallavas of South India
50. Ep. Col., No. 49 of 1905. '
This is a Tamil inscription found on the south wall ofthe rock-cut cave at Dalavanur (South Arcot Dis-trict,) is dated in the 'fifteenth year of Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman. Much damaged.
51. Ep. Col., No. 296 of 1902.
Tamil inscription, dated in the sixteenth year of^Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman recording gift of gold for a lampfound in the prakara of the Virattanesvara temple atKilur near Tirukkoilur.
52. Ep. Col., No. 220 of 1902.
Tamil inscription dated in the ninteenth year of Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman found on the west wall of theRishabhanatha temple records gift of paddy.Incomplete.
53. Udayendiram Plates of Nandivarman PallavamaJla.
Hultzsch, S.I.I., vol. ii, p. 365. Sanskrit and Tamil.The grant consists of two parts, the first a grantof the Pallava king Nandivarman PallavamaJlain the Sanskrit, and the other an inscription of thetime of the Chola king Madiraikouda-Ko-Parak?sari-varman in Tamil.The object of the Sanskrit portion is to register a grantmade at the request of one of his military officersUdayachandra by Nandivarman Pallavamalla in thetwenty-first year of the reign. Udayachandra isdescribed as belonging to the PQchan family and asresiding in the city iof Villivala on the River Vegavati., The record gives the mythieal genealogy, >and therace of Simhavishnu and his successors. It describesNandivcirman-PaUavamalla as the son of Paramesvara-varman II. The most interesting part of the^grantis that relating to the services rendered_byc Udaya-chandra to Pallavamalla which included trfe release ofhis sovereign from Nandipura where he was besiegedby the Tamil kings, the killing of Chitramaya, defeatof the Sahara king Udayana, the Nishada chief

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Appendix A 185
Prithivl-Vyaghra, and the subjection of the district ofVishnuraja to the Pallava, etc. The donees werehundred and eight Brahmans, while the grant con-sisted of Kumaramangala-Vellatur and two water-levers. The Tamil endorsement dated in the twenty-sixth year of Ko-Parakesarivarman relates to thei agreement of two villages Udayachandramangalamand the neighbouring village of Kanchivayil to formone village of the two.54. Kasakkudi plates of Nandivarman Pallavamalla. Elevencopper-plates with a seal containing the figure of abull facing left. Hultzsch, S.I.I., vol. ii, p. 346.Sanskrit and Tamil. The characters of the plates belongto the Pallava-grantha, and bear a close resemblanceto the Kuram plates. The grant part of the record ispreceded by an account of the ancestors of the donorNandivarman Pallavamalla which was composed byTrivikrama. After the mythical genealogy fromj Brahma to Asokavarman, the record mentions the
Pallava kings Skandavarman, Kalindavarman, Kana-gopa, Virakurcha, Virasimha, Simhavarman andVishnusimha. Then are mentioned Simhavishnucalled Avanisimha, Mahendravarman (I), his sonNarasimhavarman(I), his son Mahendravarman II, hisson Paramesvaravarman(I), his son NarasimhavarmanII, his son Paramesvaravarman (II). The donorNandivarman Pallavamalla in whose twenty-secondyear the record is dated is described as being de-scended from Simhavishnu's younger brother Bhima-varman, between whom and Nandivarman (II) thereintervened the kings Bhimavarman, Adityavarman,Govindavarman and Hiranya, the father of Nandi-1 varman. The object of the grant which wasm^de at the request of Brahmasriraja was Kodukolliwhich received the name of Ekadhiramanga-lam. The donee was Jyeshthapada-Somayajinwho belonged to the Bharadvajagdtra a Vedic
24

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186 History of the Pallavas of South India
scholar, and a student of Kalpa, Vyakarana, Jyotisha,Nirukta, etc., and who lived in Piiniya in Tundaka-Rashtra. There is an interesting list of immunitiessecured by the donee. Mention is also made of localofficials and His Majesty's Treasurer Sri-Paramesvara-Mahdkoshthagdrin.
55. Ep. Col., No. 14 of 1893. Tamil.
This inscription found in the west and east walls of theMuktesvara temple of Conjeevaram is dated in thetwenty-eighth year of Nandivarman and gives theancient name of the temple as Dharmamahadevisvaraevidently after Dharmamahadevi, a Pallava Queen.
56. Panchapandavamalai Inscription of Nandipottarasar.
Ep. Col., No. 10 of 1895.This inscription written in very archaic Tamil charactersconsists of a single sentence in Tamil, records in thefiftieth year of Nandipottarasar an inhabitant ofPugalalaimangalam caused to be engraved an imageof Ponniyakkiyar attended by the preceptor,Naganandin.
57. Ep. Col., No. 27 of 1887.
Tamil fragmentary inscription on a stone in the Grama-devata temple at Sadupperi is dated in the fifty-secondyear of K6-Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman.
58. Ep. Col., No. 154 of 1921.
Tamil inscription, dated in the fifty-second year ofVijaya-Nandisvaravatman found in Kuludikkai, NorthArcot District, records the death of Kannadu-Perungangar, chief of Karkattur who at the instanceof the great Bana king fought and "felLon the day ofthe great Pallava invasion against Pifirmanadigal andthe destruction of Perungulikottai.
59. Tandantottam plates of 'Rovijaya-Nandiviki'.amavarman.
H. K. Sastri. S.I.L, vol, ii,. part v, p. 517.. AlsoMad. Ep. Rep. for 1912, paras 4 and 5.Fourteen copper-plates from Tandariotttam with sealbearing in relief a couchant Bui] facing right.

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Appendix A 1S7
Sanskrit and Tamil in the Grantha-Pallava characters.Some of the introductory plates containing tbegenealogy, of the Pallava kings are missing. Theexisting plates commence with the information that aparticular king conquered the south, after which thebirth of Hiranyavarman is recorded. From him was-, born Nandivarman who bore the biruda Ekadhira.Of him it is recorded that he took away from anunnamed Ganga-king a neck ornament which containedin it the gem called Ugrodaya. The inscription alsogives the name of Nandivarman's elephant asPattavardhana (v. 7.). The object of the grant was toregister the gift of a village called Dayamukha-mangalam to 308 Brahmans learned in the Vedas, andSmrtis who were Chaturvedis, TrivSdis, Somayajins,Bhattas, Shadangavids, Kramavids, etc. Provisionwas made for the conduct of worship to the localVishnu and the Siva temples, and also for the
, recitation of the Mah&bharata in the temple-hall.
The Sanskrit part of the record ends with the portionwhich mentions that the agnapti of the charter wasKumara, the Chief of the Treasury, and the composerof the Prasasti, the poet Paramesvara-Uttarakaranika,the Tamil portion is dated in the fifty-eighth year ofKdvisaiya-Nandivikramavarman and records an orderwhich was issued to the residents of Tenkarainadu, adistrict of Solanadu. The donees whose enumerationoccupies more than eleven plates, number 244. Tojudge from their titles it may be presumed that mostof them were learned. The concluding portionenumerates the obligations and the immunities oftaxation secured by the donees.
60. .Tiruvallam Rock Inscription of Vijaya-Nandivikrama-
Varman. Ep. Col., No. 76 of 1899 and S.I.I., vol. iii,
p. 90.
Tamil record. This inscription is engraved on the
surface of a large boulder in the bed of the Niva

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188 History of the Pallavas of South India
river, near Tiruvallam, and is written in archaicGrantha-Tamil characters. It is dated in the sixty-second year of Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman whileMavali-Vanaraya was ruling, the Vaduga-vaii-Twelve-thousand ; it registers a gift of land for the renewalof a temple Vadasikharakovil, at Vanapuram by agoldsmith called Aridhlran, a resident of Aling^anap-pakkam in the district of Urrukattukottam.
61. Korrangudi Plates No. 5 of App. A, 1922-3. Q.J M.S.,
vol. xiv.pp. 125-139. Also Ep. hid., vol. xviii, pp. 115 rf.Five copper-plates written on eight sides unearthed froma hamlet of Kottamangalam in Tanjore District. Theengraving is partly in Grantha and partly Tamil. Therecord consists of eleven Sanskrit verses and a prosepassage in Tamil. It opens with invocatory verses toVishnu. Then is given the usual mythical genealogyof Pallava through Brahma, Angiras, Brahaspati, etc.Verses 4 and 5 give a panegyric account of thePallava family. The historical account which begin^with (v. 6.) states that after Virakurcha and others hadgone to heaven, Hiranyavarma became king. Thencame Nandivarma while yet he was very young andhis conquests over Vallabha, Kalabhra, KeralaPandya and Chola, are detailed. The Tamil portionis dated in the sixty-first year of the reign" ofKo. Vij. Nandivikramavarrhan and registers a gift ofland which was received by the Brahmans ofNalgur. The names of the donees are then enumerated-
62. Adivaraha temple inscription of Mahabalipuram, No. 666,
1922. Ep. Col. No. 666 of 1922?^-^
This Grantha-Tamil inscription is written on two sidesof a slab lying in the court-yard of the Adivarahatemple at Mahabalipuram. It is dated in__the.65thyear of Nandipotavarman;and registers a gMt of landby purchase from the citizens of Mahamallapu'ram.
63. Kafichi inscription of Vikramaditya II. Dr. Hultzsch,
Ep. Ind., vol. iii, p. 359. The inscription is in

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Appendix A 189
Kanarese prose and is engraved on the back of thepillar of the mandapa in front of the Rajasimhesvarashrine. It records that Vikramaditya Satyasrayaafter his conquest of Kafichi, did not confiscatethe property of Rajasimhesvara temple but grantedlarge sums of money to the temple. The inscriptionends with the imprecation that those who destroythe letters of the record and the stability of theking's charity, shall incur the sin of those whokilled the men of the assembly of the city (Ghati-kaiyar).64. Vakkaleri plates of Kirtivarman. Rice, Ind. Ant.,vol. viii, p. 23, also Kielhorn, Ep. Ind., vol. v, p. 200.
Five copper-plates first brought to notice by L. Rice.The language of the record is Sanskrit and mostlyprose. The record belongs to the Western Chalukyaking Kirtivarman II whose ancestors are mentionedbetween lines 2-59. The object of the inscription, is to record in the eleventh year of his reign, 679
Saka, the gift of Sulliyur and two other villagesto Madhava-Sarman. The gift was made whilethe king was encamped on the northern bank ofBhlmarathi.
The historical portion of the grant mentions the originand exploits of the early Chalukyan Kings, Pulakesin,Satyasraya-Vikramaditya of whom it is said that heforced the king of Kafichi' who had never bowed toany man to lay his crown at his feet '. Of his sonVinayaditya it is said that he captured the whole armyof Trairajya-Pallava and also levied tribute from therulers of Kavera, Parasika, Simhala, and other islands.Then Vijayaditya's exploits are mentioned and isfollowed by an account of Vikramaditya who immedi-irtely after his coronation, being resolved to root outthe Pallavas (who are described as the obscurers ofthe splendours of the former kings of his line andtheir natural enemies) entered the Tundakarashtra,

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i^o History of the Pallavas of South India
' slew the Pallava king Nandipotavarman, captured histrophies, elephants and rubies, etc., triumphantlyentered Kafichi and without^ plundering it caused thestatues in the Rajasimhesyara to be overlaid withgold. Of Klrtivarman the donor of the grant, theinscription records that, while yet a Yuvar&ja, hemarched into the city of Kafichi scattered the forges ofthe Pallava king who had to take refuge in a hill-fort,and returned with a large booty which he delivered tohis father and in due course became a Sarvabhauma.
65. Kendur plates of Klrtivarman II. Pathak, Ep. Ind.,
vol. ix, p. 200, Saka 672.
The record belongs to the Western Chalukya kingKlrtivarman II. The language of the inscription isin Sanskrit and in prose while the characters belongto the southern class of alphabets.
After recounting the exploits of Klrtivarman I andPulakesin II it says of Vikramaditya I, that herecovered part of the Chalukyan dominions by meansof his horse Chitrakantha which had been previouslyoverrun by the Pallavas and had obeisance done tohim by them. Vijayaditya though he was takenprisoner, contrived to effect a skilful escape. OfVikramaditya II the record says that he led anexcursion to the Tnndakavishaya, defeated his naturalfoe, entered the Pallava capital Kafichi and restoredto Rajasimhesvara and the other temples, heaps ofgold and rubies which had been taken away fromthem. He was succeeded by^Klrtivarman II, thedonor of the grant. The object of the grant is toregister the gift of the village iof Bepatti made at therequest of his queen in the sixth year of his reignjnSaka 672 on the occasion of a lunar eclipse. — ©
66. Velvikkudi Plates of Nedunjadaiyan. Mqda fep. Rep.
for 1908, p. 62; Ep. Ind., vol. xvii, pp. 291 ff.The record consists of Sanskrit and Tamil, the Sanskritportion being written in Grantha characters while the

===== PAGE 227 =====
Appendix A 191
Tamil portion is written in Vatteluttu characters. TheSanskrit portion after giving a mythical origin ofthe Pandya kings mentions Maravarman who is saidto have performed the tulabhara ceremony ; his sonwas Ranadhira; his son was Maravarman Rajasimhawho is stated to have defeated Pallavamalla in battle,and performed the tulabhara and hemagarbha cere-monies. Jatila was his son born through a Majavaprincess whom he had married. His son was Raja-simha the donor of the present record. The praiastiwas composed by Varodayabhatta.The Tamil portion refers to the- grant of Velvikkudi byPalyagasalai-mudukudumi-peruvaludi to Korkaikilan-Narkorran and mentions the Kalabhra-occupatibn ofthe country. Then it proceeds to record the re-establishment of the Pandya power under Kadungonwhose son was Adhiraja-Maravarman-Avani-Sulamani.His son was Seliyan-^endan famous for his heroism,his son Arikesarin Asamasaman-Maravarman ofwhom it is recorded that he overcame the ocean-like army of the Vilveli in the battle of Nelveli,conquered the king of Kerala and performed severaltimes the ceremonies of Hemagarba and theTulabhara. His son K6-Sadaiyan is said to havedestroyed at Marudur the army, and at Mangalapurathe Maharatha who was overcome and destroyed.Ter-Maran, his son, fought the battles of Neduvayal,Kurumadai, Manni-kurichchi, Tirumangai, Puvalur,Kodumbalur, and Kulumbur against the Pallava. Heis further credited with having subdued Malakongam,entered into relations with the Gangaraja, renewedthe walls of Kudal, Vanji and Koli. His son wasTennan-vanavan-Nedunjadayan, who is stated to haveConquered at Pennagadam, the Ayavel and theKurumbas at the battle of Nattukurumbu. In thethird year of his reign he renewed a land grantmade by Palyagasalai-mudukudurni-PeruvaJudi to

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192 History of the Pallavas of South India
the, palace singer. The agnapti of the grant wasMaran-Kari and the poet who composed the Tamilportion of the grant was Enadi alias Sattan. ..67. Bigger Sinnamanur Plates of 1 Rajasimha. Mad. Ep.Rep. for 1907, pp. 63 ff.Sanskrit and Tamil in Grantha and Vatteluttu characters.The Sanskrit portion occupies four plates. eAfterenumeration of the names of a number of mythicalkings are mentioned Arikesarin, Jatila, Rajasimha,Varaguna, and Maravarman who held the birudasEkadhfra and Srivallabha. He is said to have con-quered Mayapandya, Kerala, Simhala and Pallava,and Vallabha; Varagunavarman, Parantaka andRajasimha are then mentioned in order, the lastbeing the donor of the grant, the object of whichwas to record the gift of Narcheigai-puttur in Alanaduto one Parantaka of Kausika-gotra.The Tamil portion which is written in Vatteluttucharacters after mentioning the mythical and semi1mythical exploits of early Pandyan kings makesmention of the Tamil translation of the Mahabarata, .and the establishment of the Madura College(J§angam). Then are mentioned Parankusa who issaid to have conquered the Pallavas at Sankara-mangai, his grandson Rajasimha Varagunamaharaja,his son Parachakrakolahala, who gained victoriesat Kunnur, ^ingalam, and Vilifiam, and defeatedat Kudamukku, the Gangas, the Pallavas, the Cholas,I the Kalingas and the Mag^dhas: then came
Varagunavarman, his younger brother-Parantakan.Ssadaiyan who fought at Kharagiri -"and destroyedPennagadam ; then came Rajasimha the donor. _„68. Madras Museum Plates of Jatilavarman. Venkayya;-,bid. Ant., 1893, pp. 57fr. /The Sanskrit/portion is inGrantha characters and' the Tamil in Vatteluttucharacters. After invocatory verses to Brahma,Vishnu and Siva, Maravarman is mentioned as having

===== PAGE 229 =====
Appendix A 193
been born in the Pandya race and is credited withhaving destroyed the Pallavas. In the Tamil portionhis son Jatila is described as having destroyed hisenemies at Vilinam, Seliyakkudi and Vellur and ashaving advanced against an enemy who was joinedby the Pallava and the Kerala. He is also statedto have captured the Western-Kongu king, entered' the village of Kanchivayil and there built a temple toVishnu. He also destroyed the town of Vilinamand the king of Ven. (Venadu or Travancore.) Theobject of the record is to register the gift of a villageVelangudi to Sujjalabhatta, a learned Brahman.
69. Ep. Col., No. 256 of 1922. Tamil.
This record written on a slab built into the floor ofthe mandapa in front of the Vanadhfsvara temple,Vayalakavur (Conjeevaram Taluk) is dated in thesecond year of the reign of Vijaya-Dantivikrama-varman and registers a gift of paddy by five privateindividuals for offerings and lamp for the Bhatara' of the village.
70. Tiruveljarai Inscription of Dantivarman. Fifth year.
Ep. Col., No. 541 of 1905. K. V. S. Ayyar, Ep. Ind.,vol. xi, p. 156.Tamil prose and verse. This inscription is engravedin one of the stones of the well, south of thePundarikaksha Perumal temple at Tiruveljarai nearTrichinopoly. The object of the inscription is torecord the construction of a well called Marpidugu-perunginaru by one Kamban-Araiyan, the youngerbrother of a certain Visaiya-Nallulan of Alambakkam.The work was commenced according to the record,in the fourth year of Dantivarman of the Pallava-tilaka family and sprung from Bharadvaja-Gotra, and'-> 3completed in the fifth year. The village and thetank may be identified with the modern village andtank of Alambakkam situated at a distance of twelvemiles from Lalgudi in the Trichinopoly District.25

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194 History of the Pallavas of South India
71. Tondur Inscription of Dantivikramavarman. Tamil.
Ep. Col., No. 283 of 1916. 'This is a Tamil inscription on a boulder in a field nearthe Vinnambarai rock near Tondur. The object ofthe inscription is to register in the sixth year ofVijaya-Dantivikramavarman a gift of gold byVinnakovaraiyar to the temple of Kunranar-Bhattarifor the merit of Udaradhi and Nambi who feH in acattle raid. The gold was received by the residentsof Kilvali-Aruvagur in Singapuranadu.
72. Tamil Record at Uttaramallur. Ep. Col., No. 80 of
1898. Fragmentary-Tamil inscription is dated inthe seventh year of Dantivarman recording sale ofland.
73. Uttaramallur Inscription of Dantipottarasar. Ep. Col.,
No. 74 of 1898.This is a Tamil inscription engraved in the southwall of the Vaikunthaperumal temple at Uttaramallurdated in the ninth year of Dantip5ttarasar. Theobject of the inscription is to register a gift of gold0for digging a tank.
74. Uttaramallur Tamil Inscription. Ep. Col., No. 51 of
1898. This Tamil fragmentary inscription found inthe Sundaravaradaperumal temple at Uttaramallur isdated in the tenth year of Vijaya-Dantivikrama-varman. I
75. Triplicane Inscription of Dantivarman. Venkayya,
Ep. Ind., vol. viii, No. 29, p. 291.This inscription consists i of nineteen lines of Tamilj pros,e and is found in the guxbhagrha of the
Parthasarathi temple at Triplicane. It-isUated in thetwelfth year of Dantivarma-Maharaja whois describedas the ornament of the Pallaya family , and as-belonging to the Bharadvnja-gOtra. The object ofthe inscription is to record that the priasts of, thetemple had mortgaged a field belonging to thetemple and in consequence the interest of forty-five

===== PAGE 231 =====
Appendix A 195
kadis of paddy fell short in the rice-offeringspresented to the God. This was restored by acertain Pugaltunai-Visaiyarayan who redeemed thegold by a gift of thirty kadis' of paddy and fivekalanjus of gold.
76. Uttaramallur Tamil Inscription. Ep. Col., No. 61, of 1898.
This inscription engraved on the south wall of theVaikunthaperumal temple at • Uttaramallur is datedin the twenty-first year of Dantivikramavarmanand records a certain resolution of the VillageAssembly.
77. Ep. Col., No. 262 of 1904.
This inscription is written on a detached stone lyingoutside the temple at Tiruchanur dated in the fifty-first year of Vijaya-Dantivikrama records a giftof lamp by Ulagaperumanar to the shrine ofTiruvilangovil-Perumanadigal in Tiruchohinur in, Kadavur-Nadu, a subdivision of Tiruvengadakottam.
78. Ep. Col., No. 226 of 1903. Venkayya, Ep. Ind., vol. xi,
p. 224.Tamil. This record written on a stone in theParamesvara temple at Gudimallam. It is dated inthe forty-ninth year of Vijaya-Dantivikramavarman,while Vijayaditya-Mavalivanarayar was ruling theearth, and registers the gift of land called Nandikundilto the tank Velleri. Out of the produce of this landwas to be met the charges for digging pits in thetank and depositing it in the bund.
79. Ep. Col., No. 89 of 1921. Tamil.
This inscription dated in Dantivikramavarman's reignis engraved on a slab in the shrine of Tirumerrali in, Pillaipalayam. It mentions a certain MuttaraiyanVh,o had petitioned for certain charities to the templeof Tirumerrali and a certain matha attached. Theportion recording the regnal year in which the recordwas inscribed is damaged.

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196 History of the Paltavas of South India
80. - Govinda's Copper-plate Inscription. A.d. 804. hid.
Ant., vol. xi, p. 125.This copper-plate grant records the grant made byGovinda III while encamped on the bank of the RiverTungabhadra to Gorava a Saiva priest. The recordis dated Thursday, the fifth tit hi of the dark fortnightof the month of Vaisaka, of the year SubhlmxipSaka.726 expired, corresponding to Thursday, 4th April,A.d. 804. The record mentions that Govinda hadconquered Dantiga the ruler of Kanchi and as having-levied tribute from him.
81. Ep. Col., No. 347 of 1914.
This is a Tamil inscription written in the rock-cut caveof Parvatagirisvara temple at Kunnandar koil (Pudu-kotta) in the third year of Nandipottarasar andregisters a gift of rice for feeding 100 persons onthe day of TiruvSdirai by a resident of Valuvur.
82. The Velurpalayam Plates. H. K. Sastri, S.I.I., vol. ii,
No. 98, pp. 507 ff. ©
Five copper-plates in Sanskrit and Tamil, the seal bear-ing a Pallava bull in a recumbent posture facing theproper right. After invocatory verses to the supremebeing, the legendary origin of the Pallavas is givenfrom Vishnu to Pallava through Brahma, Angirasa,Brhaspati, Samyu, Bharadvaja, Drona and Asvattama.Then occur the names of Asokavarman, Kalabhartr,his son Chuta-Pallava, Viirakurcha, of whom it is statedthat he acquired the' emblems of sovereignty onmarrying the daughter of the .Lord °f the Serpants.Their son Skandasishya is said to have—seized theGhatika of the Brahmans from Satyasenar After himwas born Kumaravishnu who is stated to have,captured Kanchi. His son Buddhavarman is describedto have been a submarine fire to the oQean of theChola army. After Vishndgopa and several^ otherkings had passed away .Nandivarman I was born whois credited with having subjected a powerful snake

===== PAGE 233 =====
Appendix A 197
called Drishtivisha. Simhavarman is introduced inverse 10 as the father of Simhavishnu the latter beingdescribed as the conqueror of the Chola country.The subsequent verses repeat the names and exploitsof the members of the Simhavishnu line suppliedby Kasakkudi and other plates. Two successionsj after Nandivarman Pallavamalla are supplied by theseplates. Dantivarman was the son of Nandivarman IIthrough Reva {Sloka 18). His son through Aggala-nimmati the Kadamba princess was King Nandi-varman III, the donor. The object of the grant whichwas made in the sixth year of the reign was the giftof the village of Srikattupalli to the Siva temple builtby a certain Yagfiabhatta on the request of a CholaMaharaja, Kumarankusa. A long list of exemptionsstating sources of royal revenue is given. The villagehas been identified with Kattupalli in Ponneri Taluk.
83. Ep. Col., No. 52 of 1895.
1 This is a Tamil inscription dated in the tenth year of
Tellarrerinda-Nandipottarayar, (i.e.) Nandipottarayarthe victor at Tellar, engraved in the entrance ofGrithasthanesvara temple at Tillasthanam. Theobject of the inscription is to register a gift of goldfor a perpetual lamp.
84.' Ep. Col., No. 11 of 1899. Twelfth year. Tamil.
This inscription which is written in the first pillar in themandapa of Sundaresvara temple at Sendalai, recordsin the twelfth year of Nandipottarayar who defeatedhis enemies at Tellaru, a gift of land to the temple.
85. Tiruvallam Inscription of Vijaya Nandivikramavarman.Hultzsch, S.I.I., vol. iii, p. 93.Tamil. This inscription which is found in the Siva, temple of Bilvanathesvara at Tiruvallam belongs tothe;-, seventeenth year of the reign of Vijaya Nandi-vikramavarman three villages which were clubbedtogether and called Videlvidugu-Vikramaditya-Chaturvedimangalam, were given away to Siva at

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I98 History of the Paltavas of South India
Tlkkalivallam in MTyarunadu|, a subdivision of thePaduvurkottam. It stipulates that the Assemblyshould pay 2000 kadi of paddy and twenty Kalanju ofgold to the temple for the feeding of Siva Brahmans,the dram-beaters and other temple servants includingthe singers of Tirupadiyam as well as for perpetuallamps, anointment of idols, temple repairs, etc„ Themention of Tirupadiyam at this early period issignificant.
86. Ep. Col., No. 12 of 1895. Venkayya. M.C.C. Mag.y
vol. viii, p. 102.This is a Tamil inscription engraved on a stone builtinto the veranda round the garbagrha of theUlagalanda-Perumal temple at Kanchrpuram, dated inthe eighteenth year of the Nandipottarayar who wasvictorious at Tellaru. It registers a license to thevillagers of Videlvidugu-Kudiraicheriyar to carry ontrade in all goods from camphor on one side andshoes on the other side. This was done at the requesiof Anuttara-Pallavarayan.The Agnapti was KadupattiTamilapperarayan.
87. Ep. Col., 283 of 1901.
This inscription is engraved into the entrance to theSadaiyar temple at Tiruchannambundi near Koviladi,Tanjore District and registers, in the eighteenth yearof Nandipottarayar who, was victorious at TeUaru, agift of two lamps to the'temple.
88. Ep. Col., No. 180 of 1907.
This inscription engraved in the twenty-second year! of Nandipottarayar, the victor "at '-Tellaru, in- a
stone in the north wall of the Adimulesvara templeat Tirupalatturai registers a gift of gold fortwo lamps in the tempte of Mahadevabh'atara atTiruparayturai. , °
89. Gudimallam Bana Inscription of the twenty-third year of
Nandipottarasar. Venkayya. Five Bana inscriptionsof Gudimallam. Ep. Ind., vol. xi, pp. 224 ff.

===== PAGE 235 =====
Appendix A 199
This is a Bana inscription in Tamil found in the Parames-vara temple at Gudimallam. It records, in thetwenty-third year of the glorious Nandipottarasar,while Vikramaditya-Mavalivanaraya was ruling theVadugavalimSrku, one of the members of the com-mittee administering the Tiruviprambedu, purchasedby a deed of sale a field from one Agnisarman andmade a gift of it to the God Mahadeva of the templeof Parasuramesvara for ghee and sacred lamps. TheAssembly accordingly ordered that all the oil-millsin the village should be set up and the oil secured.
90. Ep. Col., No. 68 of 1908.
This Tamil inscription, dated in the sixth year ofNripatungapotarayai is written on a slab set up nearthe sluice of a tank at Valuvur and registers theconstruction of a sluice by a private individual.
91. Ep. Col., No. 365 of 1904.
Tamil, dated in the seventh year of Vijaya-Nrpatunga-
varman and engraved in the north base of a ruined
1 mandapa in a rock-cut Siva shrine at Narttamalai
refers to the excavation of the temple by Sattan
Paliyili, son of Videlvidugu Muttaraiyan.
92. Bahur plates of Nripatungavarman. Hultzsch. Ep. Ind.,
vol. iv, pp. 180 ff. Text of the record in H. K. Sastri,S.I.I., vol. ii, part v, p. 515. Translation of Sanskritportion in Jouveau-Dubreuil's Pallavas, pp. 49 ff.Freshly edited with text and translation in Ep. Ind.,vol. xviii, pp. 5 ff. by E. Hultzsch.
Original plates missing. The record which is inSanskrit and Tamil consists of about thirty verses inSanskrit. The first contains an invocation to Vishnuwhile the next five furnish the mythical pedigree fromBrahma to Pallava, through Angirasa and Samyu,
> Pjharadvaja, Drona and Asvattaman. In the lineageof the Pallava was born Vimala, Konkanika, etc., afterwhose demise came Dantivarman a devotee ofVishnu who was equal to Ipdra and who had obeisance

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200 History of the Pallavas of South India
done to him by other Kings.i From Dantivarman.was born the powerful Nandivarman, who is describedas having taken the earth unaided in battle, andwho had married Sanka born in the Rashtrakutafamily. Their son was Nrpatungadeva who wasthe donor famous in other worlds, as Rama was andwho is said to have been victorious in the battle ofKalava (?) and who defeated the Pandyan cfrmieson the banks of the Arichit. The object of the recordis to register the gift of three villages, Chettupakkam,Vilangattukaduvanur, and Iraippunaicheri to theCollege of Vedic studies at Bahur (Vidyasthana).The villages were freed from all taxes. The Tamilportion dated in the eighth year of Vijaya-Nrpatun-gavarman records the announcement of the gift tothe residents of the Bahur village and refers to Videl-vidugu-Kadupatti-Tamilaperaraiyan as the Agnapti,and that the villages as being situated in the sub-division of Aruvanadu.93. Ep. Col., No. 460 of 1905. . *'
This is a Tamil inscription found in the first prakara wallof the Natarajasvami shrine, in the Vataranyesvaratemple at Tiruvalangadu records in the eleventhyear of Nrpatunga's reign that the QueenKadavan Mahadeviyar made a gift of 108 kalanjuof gold to the temple! of Tiruvalangadu in thePalayanurnadu. ,
94. Ep. Col., No. 457 of 1912.
This is a Tamil stone inscription written in a slab lying| in a big irrigation tank in the vfrlage^of Marudadu
which records that in the twelfth year of Ko-VijayaNrpatungavarman a certain Kongarayarnihra-Peru-man constructed a bank of stones to the tank atMarudadu and also renovated the hea^J' of theirrigation channel. ; ' /
95. Ep. Col., No. 257 of 1912. Tamil Sixteenth year o:
Nrpatunga,

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Appendix A 201
This is a Tamil inscription found near a Ganesa imageoutside Kailasanatha temple at Paramesvaramangalamand registers a gift of eleven kalanjus of gold in thesixteenth year of Nrpatunga for offerings to the GodMahadeva in the temple of Sailesvara at Parames-1 varamangalam. The amount of the gift was deposit-
4 ed on interest with the Ganaperumakkal of Sailesvara
by Nandiniraimati.
96. Ep. Col., No. 33 of 1900. Tamil record on the north
wall of the Kesavaperumal temple at Kuram registei sa sale of land:
97. Ep. Col., No. 277 of 1902. Venkayya, Ep. Ind., vol. vii,
p. 139.This inscription records in Tamil that in the twenty-firstyear of Vijaya-Nrpatungavarman—one NannanKorran made a gift of twelve Kalanju of goldfor a perpetual lamp to the God Mahadeva ofTiruvlrattanam temple at Tirukovilur situated inKurukkaikurram, a sub-division of Miladu. Thecitizens of Tirukovilur accepted the gift and promisedto carry out the donor's wish.
98. Ep. Col., No. 303 of 1902.
99. Ep. Col., No. 300 of 1901.
This is a Tamil inscription dated in the twenty-secondyear of Vijaya Nrpatungavikramavarman and is foundon a pillar in the Sadaiyar temple at Tiruchennam-bundi near Koviladi. The object of the inscriptionis to record the gift of gold by a Pallava Queen tothe temple of Tirukadaimudi-Mahadeva.
100. Ep. Col., No. 301 of 1901. Same year, gift by another
individual to the same temple.
101. Ep. Col., No. 17 of 1895.
This inscription is found at the Virattanesvara templeat Kandiyur and is dated in the twenty-first year ofVijaya-Nrpatungavikramavarman.
102. Ep. Col., No. 37 of 1900.
This is a much damaged Tamil inscription engraved on26

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202 History of the Pallavas of South India
a pillar on a Siva temple and dated in the twenty-firstyear of Nrpatungavarman's reign. It records aresolution of the Assembly at Kuram.
103. Ep. Col., No. 84 of 1892.
This Tamil inscription found in a niche of the northwall of the pr&kara of the SaptarshTsvara temple atLalgudi is dated in the twenty-second year of K6 vijayaNrpatungavikramavarman and registers a gift oflamp and offerings to God.
104. Ep. Col., No. 179 of 1915.
This is a Tamil inscription inscribed on a beam in theVenketesaperumal temple at Tirumukkudal in theMadurantakam Taluk dated in the twenty-fourth yearof Vijaya Nrpatungavarman. Its object is to registera gift of gold to the temple of Vishnubhatara byArigandaperumanar, son of Kadupatti-Muttaraiyar.The Assembly of {siyyapuram in the Urrukattukottamtook charge of the-gift.
105. Five Bana inscriptions, hid. Ant., 1911, April, p. 113;,
T. A. G. Row, Ep. Col., No. 228 of 1902.This inscription found in the Paramesvara temple atGudimallam in Kalahasti zamindari is dated in thetwenty-fourth year of Vijaya Nrpatungavarmanwhile Mavali-Vanaraya was ruling the west of theVadugavalimerku. It makes mention of the membersof the Assembly of Tiruviprambedu, which ismentioned as being situated in Silainadu a sub-division of Tiruvengadakottam.
106. Ep. Col., No. 397 of 1905. '
This Tamil inscriptional fragment found oruthe ceiling "of the mandapa in front of the Varadaraja temple atKaveripakkam records the gift of gold in the twenty^fifth year of Vijaya Nrpatungavikfama. __
107. Ep. Col., No. 394 of 1905. Undated. /"
This inscription found in the north wall of the mandapain front of the Varadaraja temple at Kaveripakkammentions Mangadunadu, a sub-division of Paduvur-

===== PAGE 239 =====
Appendix A 203
kottam and Kavidipakkam, alias Avaninarayana-chaturvedimangalam in the same kottam.
108. Two Ambur Inscriptions. Hultzsch, Ep. Ind., vol. iv,
pp. 182, 183 and plate.The two slabs bear on their top a Tamil inscription andbelow on a counter-sunk surface a bas relief represent-ing a warrior holding a bow and sword. These aredated in the twenty-sixth year of K6-VijayaNrpatungavarman and record the death of the servantof Pirudi Gangarayar when the army of the Nolambaattacked Amayur, in Mel-Adayarunadu, a sub-divisionof Paduvurkottam for lifting cattle. (Dr. Hultzschheld the view that Pirudi-Gangarayar of these inscrip-tions is perhaps identical with the Western-GangaKing Prthivipati I.)
109. Copper-Plate Inscription of the sixth year of Nrpatunga-
varman. Sewell's List of Antiquities, vol. ii, No. 209,p. 30.} A set of seven copper-plates having a seal with
several emblems the principal figure being abull. The language of the first three plates isSanskrit in the old Grantha characters, the remainingplates in Tamil. The object of the record is to recordthe grant of Sri-Nrpatunga, in the sixth year of hisreign, a gift of the village of Pratimadevi-Chaturvedi-mangalam to certain Brahmans. The genealogy ofthe donor is traced from Vishnu to Pallava throughAngirasa, Bharadvaja, Drona and Dioni, and fromPallava througn Hangupta, Asokavarman, Kalarvya-varma, Narasimha, Mahendra, Nrpati, Rajasimha, to&ri-Dantivarman the father of the donor.
INSCRIPTIONS OF MISCELLANEOUS PALLAVA3 CHIEFS OF THE SECOND HALF OF THENINTH CENTURY
110. Kampavarman. Ep. Col., No. 64 of 1898.
Tamil insciiption dated in the sixth year of Vijaya-

===== PAGE 240 =====
204 History of the Pallavas of South India
Kampavarman recording gift | of gold to the Vishnutemple at Govardhana at Uttaramallur.
111. Another Tamil Record, Ep. CW.,jNo. 398 of 1905, dated
in the sixth year of the same king's rule butfragmentary, is found in the Varadaraja-perumlltemple at Kaveripakkam.
112. Ep. Col., JSo. 3.of 1898.
Tamil inscription written in the west wall ofthe Vaikuntha-perumal temple at Uttaramallurrecords the gift of gold to the Mahadeva in theneighbouring village in the eighth year of the reign.
113. Ep. Col., No. 85 of 1898. Records a sale of land, in the
eighth year.
114. Ep. Col., No. 6 of 1898, found in the Vaikuntha-
perumal temple wall records a gift to Mahavishnu,and is dated in the eighth year of the same reign.
115. Ep. Col., No. 7 of 1898.
Tamil inscription in the walls of the Vaikunthaperumaltemple at Uttaramallur. Incomplete. Records a.isale of land in the ninth year of Vijayakampavarman'sreign.
116. Ep. Col., No. 429 of 1902 ; Ep. Ind., vol. vii, pp. 192-3.Tamil inscription, dated in the eighth year of
Vijayakampavarman's reign written in a long stonein a tope opposite to the ruined Isvara temple* atSolapuram near Vellore. j The record consists of twoSanskrit verses and a half in the Grantha charactersand a passage in Tamil prose. The Tamil portion, which is dated in the eighth year states that a chief
named Rajaditya built a Siva temple ancLa- tomb inmemory of his deceased father PrithividGangarayar.The mutilated Sanskrit portions give a genealogicaj_account of Rajaditya and mentions Madhava^as theearliest ancestor of his son Atvivarman, and anotherwhose name is illegible. Rajaditya is described asthe son of Prthivi-Gangarayar and the contemporary■ - of Vijayakampa.

===== PAGE 241 =====
Appendix A 205
117. Ep. Col., No. 11 of 1898.
Damaged Tamil inscription at Uttaramallur Vaikuntha-perumal temple, dated in the tenth year of the sameking.,118. S.I.I., vol. iii, No. 8, p. 13. Hultzsch.
This Tamil inscription on the south wall of the Vishnu
1 temple at Ukkal records in Tamil that one Sadaiyan
gave 400 kadis of paddy to the villagers of Ukkal in
the tenth year of Kampavarman to feed the Brahmans.
119. Ep. Col., No. 207 of 1901.
Tamil inscription on the south wall of the Lakshmi-Narayana temple of Kavantandlam records in thefourteenth year of Kampavarman that one Manasarpaan inhabitant of Kulanur in Vengai Nadu made a giftof land to the Vishnu temple at Kavantandlam.(Chenglepat District).
120. Ep. Col., No. 42 of 1898.
Tamil record in the Vaikunthaperumal temple at> Uttaramallur registers a gift of gold to the temple in
the fifteenth year of Vijayakampavarman.
121. Ep. Col., same place. Another damaged. Tamil
inscription in the fifteenth year of the same king.
122. S.I.I., vol. iii, No. 5, p. 8. Hultzsch.
Tamil inscription engraved on the south wall of theVishnu temple of Ukkal, dated in the fifteenth yearof the reign of Kampavarman. The inscriptionrecords that a certain Sadaiyan gave over 1000 kadiof paddy to the Assembly of Ukkal, who pledgedthemselves to supply in return 500 kadi of paddyper year for some unspecified purpose.
123. Ep. Col., No. 391 of 1905.
This is a Tamil inscription engraved on a stone builtinto a floor close to the south wall of the Varadaraja-"perumal temple at Kaveripakkam. It is dated in theseventeenth year of Vijayakampavarman and recordsa gift of gold and mentions Avani-Narayanachatur-vedimangalam, an alternative name of Kaveripakkam.

===== PAGE 242 =====
2b6 History of the Pa/lavas of South India
124. Ep.'CoL, No. 208 of 1901. j
This Tamil inscription put up in the south wall of theLakshml-Narayana temple at • Kavantandlam recordsin the eighteenth year of Kampavarman the celebra-tion of certain festivals at Manasarpa-Vishnugrha.
125. Ep. Col., No. 84 of 1898.
This is a Tamil inscription at the Vaikuntha-perumaJtemple at Uttaramallur and records the gift of goldin the twenty-first year of Vijayakampavarman forthe repair of a local tank.
126. Ep. Col.. No. 86 of 1898.
Tamil inscription on one of the walls of the Vaikuntha-perumal temple of Uttaramallur records, in thetwenty-thiid year of Kampa-Peruman, an allotment ofgold and paddy.
127. Ep. Ind., vol. vii, p. 93. Solapuram Tamil inscription.
This inscription in the north wall of the Perumaltemple at Solapuram near Vellore records thebuilding of a temple of Narayana at Kattutumbnr,that is, Solavaram called Kanakavalli-Vishnugrhaidentical with the temple in which the inscriptionis engraved. Kattutumbur is described as being inPangala-Nadu, a subdivision of Paduvur-kottam.
128. Ep. Col., No. 174 of 1912.
This is a Tamil inscription engraved in one of*theslabs built into the floor'of the Adhipuresvara templeat Tiruvorriyur. The object of the inscription is torecord a gift of twenty-seven kalanjus of gold forofferings by Pudi-Arihdigai wife of VidelviduguIlangovelar of Kodumbalur in Konadu..^The amountwas placed in the hands of the residentsof Vaikattur,a suburb of Tiruvorriyur on interest at three manjadiper kalanju per annum. v - ~"
129. Ep. Col., No. 357 of 1909. , » "* 'This inscription is written on a slab set°up near the
Village Munsiff's savadi at Olakkur and is a 'Viragalof the period of Kampaperumal. It records the

===== PAGE 243 =====
Appendix A 207
death of a hero on the occasion when the town wasdestroyed. The characters in which the inscriptionis recorded are old enough to be ascribed to thetime of the later Pallava kings of the ninth century.The hero who met with his death is represented by astanding figure with a drawn sword in the right hand.
130. Ep. Col., No. 351 of 1908.
This inscription found in the slabs at Vallesvaratemple at Mangadu records in the third year ofKd-Vijaya-Aparajitavarman a gift of gold for lampand offerings to the temple of Tiruveilikil-Mahadevaat Mangadu in Kachchipedu.
131. Ep. Col., No. 158 of 1912.
This is a Tamil inscription engraved on a slab in thefloor of the verandah of the Adhipuresvara shrineat <Tiruvorriyur belonging to the fourth year ofK6-Vijaya-Aparajitavarman. The object of thisrecord is to register the gift of thirty kalanjus of, ilrkarchemmai gold for a lamp to the god of Tiru-
vorriyur (Mahadeva) by Amatti alias Kurumbakolaria concubine of Vayirameghan alias Vanakovaraiyarson of Perunangai. The amount was depositedwith the Assembly of Adambakkam a hamlet ofTiruvorriyur and the Amirtagana (committee) on1 interest of three manjadi per kalanju, every year.
132. Ep. Col., No. 31 of 1912.
This Tamil inscription written on a stone lying in theMatangesvara temple at Satyavedu is dated in thefourth year of Aparajitavarman records the villageof Turaiyur with its income consisting of pon andpuravu for worship in the Mahadeva temple atMatangapalJi in Tekkurnadu a sub-division of Paiyur-Iiangottam by Kumarandai-Kurumbaradittan aliasKadupatti Perariyan of Seranadu.
133. Ep. Col., No. 161 of 1912.
This is a stone inscription in Tamil dated in the fourthyear of Ko-Vijaya-Aparajitavarman, and records the

===== PAGE 244 =====
208 History of the Pallavas of South India
gift of thirty kalanju of gold fbr a lamp to the templeof Tiruvorriyur Mahadeva by Sappakkan alias Patra-dani who was a concubine of Vairameghan aliasVanakovaraiyan son of Sami-Akkan. It mentionsthe assembly of Adambakkam a suburb of Tiruvorri-yur and Amrtaganattar, the village committee whotook charge of the money-gift.
134. Ep. Col., No. 32 of 1912.
This is a Tamil inscription engraved in the Ardha-mandapa of the same temple records in the fifthyear of Aparajita gift of 100 sheep for a lampby Porrinangai wife of Kadupattiperariyan, achief mentioned in a previous inscription. Italso mentions the measure called the Vidsl-vidugu.
135. Ep. Col., No. 190 of 1912.
This Tamil inscription records that in the sixth year ofKo-Vijaya-Aparajitavarman a gift' of gold for twolamps by the community of the Mahesvaras which wa|accepted by the assembly of Manali a village nearTiruvorriyur.
136. Ep. Col., No. 162 of 1912.
This Tamil inscription on a slab inside the Adhi-puresvara temple records in the seventh year ofKo-Vijaya-Aparajitavarman a gift of gold for a lampto the temple by the Queen Mahadevi Adigal. TheAssembly of Adambakkam received it on interest.
137. Ep. Col., No. 159 of 1912.
This is a Grantha-Tamil inscription of the eighth yearof Eo-Vijaya-Aparajitavarmah eng'raved__on a slabbuilt into the veranda of the Adhipure|yara templein Tiruvorriyur. The object of the inscription is torecord the gift of fifty kalanju of urkarchemmai gold"for offerings and a lamp by ^aittangikandari', criief ofKatttir in Vadagarai-Innambarnadu in *Cholanadu.The provisions made were elaborate and includedrice, ghee, plantain, sugar, vegetables, arecanuts,

===== PAGE 245 =====
Appendix A 209
betel-leaves, tender cocoanuts, pancha-gavya, sandal-paste and camphor.
138. Ep. Col., No. 180 of 1912.
This inscription which is found in the temple of
Orrimudur records a gift of land by purchase from
the residents of Iganaimudur for offering to a shrine
, called Cholamallesvara by a donor whose name is
lost.
139. Ep. Col., No. 435 of 1905.
This inscription in Tamil verse on the south wallof the Virattanesvara shrine at Tiruttani recordsin the eighteenth year of Vijaya-Aparajitavarman agift of 1000 kuli of land by Nambi-Appi to thetemple.
140. Ep. Col., No. 433 of 1905.
This is another inscription in Tamil verse in the sameplace and records that a certain Nambi-Appi built atemple of Tiruttaniyal of granite. The verse is said
•> to have been composed by the king whose name is
not however given.
141. Udayendiram Plates of Prithivipati II. S.I.I., vol. ii,part iii, p. 380.Sanskrit and Tamil copper-plates. The Sanskritportion gives a genealogy of the Ganga-Banaking Prithivipati II, surnamed Hastimalla (verses12-23) and the information that, with the per-mission of his sovereign Parakesari-Parantaka Ihe granted the village of Kadaikottur to the villageof Udaiyendra-Chaturvedimahgalam. The Tamilportion gives the boundaries of the granted landand is dated in the fifteenth year of Paiantaka I.The genealogical portion records the militaryexploits of Prithivipati I in several verses one ofWliich (verse 18) says that, ' having defeated byforce the Pandya's lord Varaguna at the head ofthe great battle of Sripurambiya and having thusmade his friend's title Aparajita significant, the hero27

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210 History of the Pallavas of South India
entered heaven by sacrificing! his own life.' (It hasbeen surmised from this that the battle ofSrlpurambiya was fought by the Pallava kingAparajita against Varaguna and that the former hadfor his ally the Western Ganga king Prithivipatiand that the battle ended in favour of Aparajitathough his ally lost his life in it.) ,-
142. Tiruvalangadu plates of Rajendrachola. H. K. Sastri,
S.I.I., vol. ii, part iii. No. 205.The Tiruvalangadu plates of Rajendrachola belongingto the sixth year of Rajendra, while describing theachievements of the ancestors of Rajendra, record(verse 49) that the Chola king Aditya ' having con-quered in battle the Pallava with his brilliantarmy though he was Aparajita, he took possessionof his queen, the earth and accomplished his objectin this direction too'. This Aparajita is evidentlyidentical with the" Aparajita-Vikramavarman whoseinscription at Tiruttani is dated in the eighteenth*year and who, along with Western Ganga kingPrithivipati for his ally, fought against the Pandyaking Varaguna at the battle ofSripurambiya.
143. Ep. Col., No. 119 of 1897.
This is a Tamil inscription of the third year ofVijaya-Narasimhayarman and records that Atimattur-marugan, an inhabitant of Pakkam and a servant ofValimadura having recovered the cattle, in a cattleraid fell in the same cause. '■
144. Hultzsch, Ep. Ind., vol. iv, p. 127. Kil-Muttugur
inscription of Narasimhavarman. T"~—'
This inscription consists of nine lines on a^ough stoneslab in Kil-Muttugur, a village.,in Gudiyattam Taluk,of the North Arcot District The alphabet is in Tp.miland resembles the Vatteluttu inscriptions* lThe, in-scription records in Tamil the1 gift of land and housesat Mukkudur to a Brahman in the eighteenth year ofJCo-Vijaya Narasimhavarman. Below the inscription

===== PAGE 247 =====
Appendix A ill
is a bas-relief with two central figures of elephantand goose from which Dr. Hultzsch has drawn theinference that Narasimhavarman belonged to theWestern-Ganga dynasty.
145. This is an archaic Tamil inscription of the twenty-
fourth year of K6-Vijaya Narasimhavikramavarman, and records the death of a hero in the service ofSkanda, the Adhiraja of the Banas and who fell inthe recovery of cattle lifted by three persons.
146. Vijaya-Isvaravarman. Ep. Ind., vol. vii, p. 24.
This Tamil inscription in Vatteluttu characters recordsin the twelfth year of Vijaya-Isvaravarman thedeath of a hero who was killed by a Bana chiefcalled Karoniri at Siraiyur.
147. Ep. bid., vol. vii, p. 23.
Two inscriptions in a field at Hanumantapuram inDharmapuri Taluk, Salem District, record that inthe seventeenth year of king Vijaya-Isvaravarman,
> Saltan of Pudur and Kadadi Karakkan fell.
148'. Ep. Col., No. 150 of 1916.
This is a Tamil inscription engraved on a slab builtinto the north wall of the Agastyesvara temple atPoyyanur, Arkonam Taluk, records in Tamil the giftfor offerings in the second year of Vayiramegha-varman for the temple of Tiruvagattlsvarmudaya-Mahadeva at Poygainallur in Damalkottam.
149. Ep. Col., No. 152 of 1916.
This is a similar record dated in the second year ofVayirameghavarman and registers a gift for con-ducting Sribali in the temple of TirukulicharattuAlvar at Palakalam.
150. Kattirai, Ep. Ind., vol. vii, p. 25.
,This is a Tamil inscription put up on a rock nearTjyidlam, Arkonam Taluk, dated in the tenth year ofSatti, the king of Kadavas. It consists of twoTamil verses each of which states that a Pallava-maharaja built a sluice for the tank at Tandlam,

===== PAGE 248 =====
112 History of the Pallavas of South India
151. Ep. Col., No. 284 of 1916. Jouveau-Dubreuil, Pall, Ant.,vol. ii, pp. 65-6.This inscription engraved in \Pallava-Grantha on apillar in a rock-cut cave at Melacheri, Gingee Taluk,states that the Siva temple called Sri-Sikhari-Palla-vesvaram was excavated by King Chandraditya atSimhapura. »
SOME INSCRIPTIONS IN ORIGINALMayidavolu PlatesDitha[rh] || Karhchipurato Yuvamaharajo Bharadaya-sagotto Pallavanarh Sivakha[m]da vammo Damnaka-devapatarh anapayati [| ] amhehi dani amha-vejayikeya [dham] m-ayu-bala-vadhanike bamhananarh Agi-vesa sagottasa Puvakotujasa Agi(gi)vesa-sagottasaGonamdijasa Amdhapati (thi) ya-gamo (Viripa)ramamhehi udak-adirh sampadato [j ] etasa gamasa Viri-parasa sava-bamhadeyapa (r)i(ha)ro(re) vitaitma [|]alona [kh]adakarh arathasarh (vi) nayikarh aparam^parabaliva[darh] abhadapapesasam akuracholakavi-nasikhat [a] samvasam [| ] etehi anehicha sava-bamhadeya-majadaya sava-pariharehi pariharito [ j]pariharatha pariharapetha cha[| ] jo amha-sasansmatichhituna pila badh[a]karejja [vata] karapejja vatasa amho Sarira [rh] sasanam karejamo [ |] sa[ln]vachhara [m] dasamam1 10 gimha pakho chhatho6 divasam pamchami 5 [| ] anati sayatti dattapattika [||].
Ep. Ind., vol. vi, pp. 86-8.
t British Museum Plates of ChakudIviSiddha || Siri-Vijaya-Khandavam[m]a-MaharajassaSamvachchar[a] . . . [ j] yuvamaharajassa Bharad^.dayassa Pailavanam si(r)i-Vijaya-Buddhavammassa-devi [Bu'Jddhi. kurajanavi f(janani) Charvftevi ka[dake] viya . . (vlyapatam) Rajatalakahet [|h]epaniya (paniya-kupad) pad pase Atukassa kasita.(Kasitavyarh) chhettam Dalure Kuli-Mahataraka

===== PAGE 249 =====
Appendix A 213
(Mahataraka) devakula [ssa] bhagavan-Narayapassaamham lyti-balavaddhaniyaih katupa bhuml-nivat-tapa chattari 4 amhehim sampadatta [| ] tarn natupagameyi(ya)ka ayutta savva-pariharehi pajriharatha
pariharape [tha] [| ] Anatti Rohan(i)gu[tt]
atti.
Ep. Ind., vol. viii, p. 145.
Trichinopoly Inscription of Mahendravarman I£qt ta ^fsq: fqqipI[W^q ^qf^fa 1
srcif t ftfe-qqiT fqa^ Hag ^qftutf^rPagfci qf$*srefaHT*iat wr^ir *^h. n i «
^fqqq*q H^nftffcfwflf ngrafriftqrtq 1g^l^asqtia^Ctqfw m^ni siftfa: 11 3 1,
irfcf: gftfcfaqfaiw tar §tfa sireat 11 4 11
Cs
fasfjisq =g^5[ guvjrtq ^oj^T^ flfrfT:—
S. /. /., vol. i, p. 28.
Mahendravadi Inscription of Gunabhara
siV/RifimwwR n?^q*
.£>. /««?., vol. iv, p. 153,

===== PAGE 250 =====
214 History of the Pa/hvas of South India
SlYAMANGALAM INSCRIPTION
Ep. hid., vol. vi, p. 320.Dalavanur Inscription of Narendra '
^m%* W^W^ SlSTCg^r^: II
Ep, Ind., vol. xii, p. 225.

===== PAGE 251 =====
APPENDIX B
THE MAHAVAMSA, Ch. XLVII
And "when that King Hattha-datha II was dead Manavammabecame king. (Who is this Manavamma ?), what family camehe from, and whose son was he, and how did he take posses-sion of the kingdom ? He was sprung from the race ofMahasammata, and inherited the great virtues of that line ofprinces. He was the son of Kassapa, who destroyed theThuparama. And his queen was Sangha, the daughter of theRaja of Malaya. After he had obtained the hand of thisprincess in marriage he lived secretly with her in the northerncountry until it came to the ears of Hattha-datha, whereuponhe went over to India and having made himself known toKing Narasiha, he entered his service and with much labourfound favour in the sight of that king. And when he saw thatthe king's friendship was unfeigned, he brought his wife alsoto India and lived there with her, ministering to the king byday and night and another king, Kanduvethi, with whom alsohe had found favour gave him such great possessions that itseemed as if the whole of that king's dominions had beengranted to him ; and while he was living in this way his wifeSangha bore him four sons and four daughters.
And it happened one day as the king, Narasiha, was out onhis elephant on pleasure attended by Manavamma, he becamethirsty and drank of the water of a tender cocoanut sitting onhis elephant and gave the nut (of which he had drunk with thewater that was left therein) to Manavamma thinking him to besome other attendant. And Manavamma took the nut thatwas off3ied to him and communed thus with himself:. 'Thisking is a friend to me and, considered in its true light, what isthere mean or degrading in eating the remnants of that whichanother had partaken ? It can in no wise harm me, therefore,to drink this,' Then he drank off the nut. Yes, so great are

===== PAGE 252 =====
216 History of the Pallavas of South India
the efforts of exceeding prudent men who are resolved toovercome difficulties! And the king (happening at thatmoment to turn round) perceived the error,he had made, andfearing (lest what he had done should grieve his friend, anddesiring also to repair the wrong he had unwittingly done tohim) seized the nut and himself drank off what had been leftin it by his friend. In such manner do honourable* menalways conduct themselves.
Thenceforth the king Narasiha placed Manavamma on anequal footing with himself, regarding food, and lodging, andhonour and equipage.
And while they were living there together, a king, Vallabha,came to make war against Narasiha. And the king Narasihareflected within himself in this wise : ' This man (Manavamma)has served me diligently by day and night, so that with myhelp he might obtain the kingdom which is his birthright.Wherefore if he should now follow me to the place of battleand lose his life in the field, his purpose, and my desire alsoto help him, would be of no avail.' Therefore the king leftManavamma in the city, and went alone to the place of battle,and began to prepare for war against Vallabha. And (afterhis departure) Manavamma thought to himself: 'It wouldadvantage me no wise to survive the king if he should be slainin battle (as I would then be left without a friend and withnone to help me). If such an event should happen, myfriendship should have been formed in vain. For whatpurpose, besides, has the king treated me as an equal (unlesshe expected that I might be of service to him in difficulties) ?Wherefore it is meet that I should follow the. king to the placeof battle, and join him in the field, and share either of defeator victory, of life or of death, with my friend the king.' Andfor this end he raised a large army, and having equipped-itfully, he mounted on a noble elephant and set out'fpr'the"'place of battle, and showed himself before Narasiha. And kingNarasiha was greatly delighted at the sight, and exclaimedwith great emotion, ' Surely, now know I the trust I hadplaced on him has been rightly placed,' /

===== PAGE 253 =====
Appendix B 217
And afterwards the forces of Mana as well as those of theking joined together, and crushed the army of Vallabha.
And Manavamma displayed great valour in the field ofbattle, beating down the enemy 011 all sides like unto Narayanain the battle of the gods. And Narasiha was greatly pleasedwith the valour of Manavamma, and embraced him fondly, andexclaimed, ' Of a truth thou, hast been to me the giver ofvictory ! ' And lie returned thence to his own city and held afeast in honour of his victory, and rewarded the army ofManavamma with all the honours that were due. And incourse of time the king thought thus within himself: ' Thismy friend has left naught undone to prove his love for me;he is no longer my debtor. My debt to him must I iiow repayby what it is my duty to do, even though grateful men arehardly found who know the value of services done for them.'He then assembled his officers together and spake to them inthis wise : ' You yourselves are witnesses* of the deeds ofvalour done by my friend here. And now it is' my duty to do3 for him that which will be a benefit unto him, rememberingthat to give help unto one who had given help in the past, isthe duty of the righteous man.' And when these words weresaid, all the ministers replied, ' Whatsoever your majestydesireth, even that is our desire also.'
And the king then granted unto Manavamma an army withalJ the equipage and material and all kinds of artificers, andgave him leave to proceed (to his country and gain for himselfthe sovereignty thereof). And when Manavamma wasleaving the country together with his army, the king weptsore as if he had been separated from his own son.
Manavamma then took ship and crossed the sea (with hisarmy), and having made a fast voyage, landed at Lanka withhis forces, and began to subdue the country (around).
And when Dathopatissa heard of this invasion, he fled (fromthe capital); and Manavamma entered the city and took it, andtarried not to be crowned, but straightway closely pursuedthe fugitive king (taking with him only a small force). (Buthe was soon compelled to give up the pursuit, for) that portion2§

===== PAGE 254 =====
218 History of the Pallavas of South India
of his Tamil army that he had leftj in the city desertedfrom him when false tidings were brought that he hadbeen stricken wkh a serious illness. And Dathopatissa also,when he ..heard of this defection, raised a large army andprepared for war against Manavamma, who, when he saw that(save a few followers) his whole army had deserted from him,and that (if he should carry on the war with so small a force)his enemy might get a chance to triumph over his defeat andhis death, resolved to return to India and pursuade his friendto help him yet another time, by giving him an army toconquer the kingdom. Accordingly he returned to India,and showed himself again to his friend, Narasiha, and enteredhis service a second time, and having regained his favour,dwelt at his court until four kings had reigned in this island.
And Narasiha thus thought within himself: ' This my friend,who seeketh most resolutely after fame, hath now spent manyyears of his life in my service that so he might get back hiskingdom. And lo ! he willsoon have grown old. How thencan I now .reign (in comfort) and see him (thus- miserable).Assuredly I shall this time restore to him his kingdom bysending my army thither. Else what advantageth my life tome ?' Thereupon the king gathered his army together, andhaving equipped it well, gave Manavamma all things that hedesired to have, and himself accompanied the army to thesea-coast where a mighty array of ships .of burden, gaflyornamented, had been prepared for them.. And when the kingreached the harbour he gave orders to all his officers that theyshould embark and accompany Manavamma; but they allshowed unwillingness to do so (without their king).
And Narasiha, having pondered wellv over-~th_e _ matter,resolved on this stratagem. Keeping himself so fjiat his armymight not see him, he gave over to Manavamma all his retinueand insignia of royalty together with the ornaments with whichhe adorned his person, and sent him ,(secretly) on beard* theship, bidding him take the royal drurh^the koiiha with him,and sound it from the deck of the vessel. And Manavammadid as he was directed ; and the soldiers thinking that it; was

===== PAGE 255 =====
Appendix B 219
the king (who was sounding the call), embarked, leaving himalone on land. Then Mana began his voyage with the armyand all the material of war, which, with the ships in which theywere borne, was like unto a city floating down the sea. Andin due time reached the port and disembarked with the army.And after the men had been made to rest there for a few days,he began to fight, and took the northern country and subduedthe inhabitants thereof, and then put himself at the head of hisinvincible army and marched against the city. And Pottha-kuttha, having heard thereof, went forth with a large army tomeet the enemy. And the two armies encountered each otherlike unto two seas that had burst their bounds. And,Manavamma clad himself in his armour, and led his men,mounted on his elephant; and he broke through the forces ofPottha-kuttha and the king (Hattha-dattha), and scattered themon all sides. And Hattha-dattha, the king, as he was fleeingfrom the field of battle, was seized by some country people.And they cut off his head and brought it to Manavamma.
And Pottha-kuttha, who escaped from the field of battle,took refuge in Merukandara. And the lord of that country(from whom he sought protection), when he saw him (underhis roof), communed thus within himself, ' Yea, now for along time has this man been my friend : how can I reject him,nor yet how can I keep clear of offence to my lord the kingand to this my friend ?' And so (as he could not escape fromthis portion by reason of its hardship, he resolved to killhimself, and) ate of some poisoned cakes, so that he died.And when Pottha-kuttha heard what had befallen his friend, heate also of one of the cakes and died. Thus did the islandfall into the hands of Manavamma, freed from dangerous foesthat are like unto thorns.
And Manavamma then lifted his parasol of sovereignty overthe Jisland, as if he thereby sheltered the inhabitants thereoffrom the afflictions which had rained on them. And the gooddeeds that he did were many in number and of great value.Who can enumerate them all one by one ? And this great andrenowned man built these buildings: the terraced house

===== PAGE 256 =====
52o History of the Pallavas of South India
called Kappagama, Sepanni, Siriat Padhanarakha Vihara, andthe beautiful terraced house at Siri Sanghabodhi Vihara. Hecovered also the roof of the house at Thuparama; And hebuilt a terraced house at the Thuparama and gave it to thePansukulika monks. He repaired also the old canopy on thetop of the Cetiya and many buildings there that had gone todecay.

===== PAGE 257 =====
APPENDIX C
THE 'AVANTISUNDARIKATHASARA'
The Avantisundarikatha and the Avantisundarikathasara aretwo old Sanskrit manuscripts discovered by the search partyof the Madras Oriental Manuscript Library some years ago.l Ofthese the former is a prose work with a poetic introduction whilethe other is a summary of this work in verse. While the MSS.are interesting to the students of Sanskrit literature the poeticalintroduction prefixed to the prose work is of particular interestto the students of-Pallava history inasmuch as it shows theliterary patronage of some of the Pallava kings of the Simha-vishnu line and the connection of some of the well-knownSanskrit poets with Kanchipuram. It is agreed (hat this prosework was written by Dandin and the introductory chapter givessome valuable data for fixing the date and place of Dandin andhis connection with Bharavi as well as the Pallava kings andtheir interest in architecture and literature. The literaryand historical importance of the work have been discussed infull by Mr. Ramakrishnakavi in his paper on ' Avantisundari-katha, of Dandin'2 which may be referred to. Mr. HariharaSastri of 'Trivandrum has questioned the tenability of theidentity of Damodara and Bharavi and the relationship ofBharavi and Dandin suggested by Mr. Kavi in the light of hisdiscovery of the corresponding prose passage from TrivandrumManuscript Library. The following are extracts fromMr. Ramakrishnakavi's edition which has the advantage ofsupplying a number of correct readings not found in theManuscript acquired by the Government Oriental ManuscriptLibrary- '
1 See para 108, of the Report on the working of Perip. party of Gover-nment Oriental Manuscript Library, Madras, for 1916-17 to 1918-19.
3 Proc. and Trans, of the Second Oriental Conference, Calcutta,pp. 192-200. See his paper in the Fourth Session of the OrientalConference entitled ' Bharavi and Dandin '.

===== PAGE 258 =====

===== PAGE 259 =====
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qr iprfana^rn w^rafa^: i
iftnjr3wr?3ft ^qipWq *iffar n 11 ^ 11
qgqq n^fqr^: fe^iiRfa ?*d: 11 u ?3 h
q> fafarq ^rsrarat wwcfcmqwfq ii ii ?v n
3T?gqq"T *Fqq*K wra^fq^r i^^r^%>qf^nq[qTqq3;rqqr 11 n \<\ u
3TH5:3;qtcT fqWr-
WcT ^ftf^ q: D . II ?f II

===== PAGE 260 =====
224 3T^as*5?fai«TrflR:
^=r sprgftfitsffa stqam^Ha: 11 11 ^ n
N3
3tr^5i%^R3 mm. ^t fgjm: ii ii ^ n
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===== PAGE 261 =====
=T^: qflcfi? ifrT c(Fqr§fi; aTOeRU II | ^ ||_
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3Tq3q-a iRfaW STO?qr ST^ST ^ 0 | \\ g
gfir^q q* aRn^ q^qeftqfaa: 1
g g^K STARR: S^TWq^Rqt: " II 3V ||
3J*nspfasftaR: Wm^ ^ ficWR: I
q^ qoqFqvqTft ?qqsf^rer^ ^ U 11?^ 0
awr^a: fg<rftR sRrp^tqjj^ <r 1
sssspfiwiw: s w£ fq^qrrcsq 11 M^ 1
wqfci: ^f^qa? n%i3?lqafi«wpj 11 11 Vs 11
aweqsfifeqaifigsir fforqi: f^q^ffrnq; 1v® a*r*H$wf a^wrewfft^: 1 m* 11
g a Isrfeqwaqrorfij"? *afaqr?*R: 1
Rq?q§rfaqRl?r!»ra ^^SW^M?! |l I ^ |l
°?9

===== PAGE 262 =====
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3Tf7 ^ ^5^' 3 opmfq ?£nj; i i *vi
sfa srsn aa: ntfRcf ft^»qq^5% i
Qffa: 3? cf &f qqt ii* ^ flrfepq^rr I y v\s d
era: sr^fftefe^^psrfsFS'iirr i
Qaran gwfr^iftqr n*mm\ ii ii.v* ii"
q^; q95iq^r«T m$ qfctf ?*.' II » V t

===== PAGE 263 =====
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aftq^ ^ si^l 55$ jwrrforn 13^qr^qR[aW*F^rcfirft mM\ d 0 <\v 11
a=a a?r^'76rt a^rrfaa ?*: '
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nar aq^fr wag spiRffcqal^m 11 11 ^ «
iflSMtsiq ^at&qg s^ifafa 1 « ^ 11
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===== PAGE 264 =====
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===== PAGE 265 =====
ADDITIONAL NOTES BY THE EDITOR
Page 10, note 2.
This work traces the descent of Dandin in its introductorychapter. In doing so it brings his great grandfather Gopalaas a fellow-pupil of Bharavi whom it brings into contactwith three kings of South India, namely, Vishnuvardhana,the father of Jayasimha I of the Chajukyas of Badami; ofDurvinita, among the Gangas who was his own pupil andcommented up on the 15th Sarga of the Kiratarjunlyaand wrote a Sanskrit version of the Brkatkatha and Simha-vishnu of Kanchi. These details come out clearly fromthe MS. copy of the prose work Avantisundarikatha, notthe versified sara or abridgement, as shown by PanditHarihara Sastri, Curator of Sanskrit MSS., Trivandram,in a paper presented to the fourth Oriental Conference inAllahabad.
Page 11, note 2.
The discovery of these panels raises the question as tothe religion of the kings and the existence of the place.Simhavishnu was a Vaishnava as he is described asSimhavishnu who worshipped Vishnu in devotion;BhaklyHradhila Vishtiufp Simhavishnuh. His son andsuccessor Mahendra is said to have been a Jain originallyand then become a convert to Saivism through Appar.It seems likely that he was Jain as in the Mattavilasahe brings into ridicule the Saiva Kapalika and the Sakyasor Buddhists. He has no reference to the Jains. Hisfather's devotion to Vaishnavism may explain its omission.His portrait in the Varaha cave may be due to the fact thathe was there a prince with his father and like him, he maythen have been a Vaishnava. This raises the question of

===== PAGE 266 =====
230 History of the Pallavas of South India
the origin of the place. There is kittle doubt that theplace existed before whatever Mahamalla may have doneto enlarge and beautify it. \
Page 101, note 1.
The style of pillar described does mark a distinct class ofpillars. If Mahamalla originated it, as probably he did,his successors continued it, and we find this kind of pillarin buildings of later times of different ages. To mark itdistinctly as having been originated by Mahamalla wewant a few undoubted examples of these ascribable to hisage. We cannot say we get that in Mahabalipuram.
Page 102, note 1.
There is no evidence in support of the assertion thatNarasimhavarman Mahamalla founded the town. Thetown had the vernacular name Mallai and in that namewas known earlier, as Bhutattalvar, a native of the placerefers to the place by that name. Tirumangai Alvar acontemporary of Nandivarman Pallavamalla refers to theplace as kadal mallai-Talasayanam, meaning Mallai closeto the sea which is otherwise known Talaiayanam, lyingon land. This last is in reference to Vishnu who is abedon the earth, as though on the sea usually, to let a devoteehave a view of him in that posture. It was called kadal-Mallai to distinguish it from other Mallais clearly indicat-ing that it is an ordinary native name. This is distinctfrom the Mamallapuram given to it by Mahamalla, as isvery commonly the case in South India. The village' Mallai became the city Mamallapuram by this»rechristen-ing. Pandit M. Raghavaiyangar has suggested, from areference in the Sangam classic Perumbanarruppadai', theidentification of this place witlTNirpeyarttu in the' poemin the Journal of Oriental Research., This term meano thatwhich has the name of water and the Pandit finite justifica-tion for it in the name Jalasayanam given to the Shore-temple in one of the later inscriptions. Tirumangai AJvar's

===== PAGE 267 =====
Additional Notes by the Editor 231
reference is Talasayanam and not Jalaiayanam. It wouldbe difficult to find a reason for the alteration. It must alsobe noted that Jalasayanam is given to the Siva shrine in theinscription. While the Pandit deserves credit for the sug-gestion, Ntr-peyarttu is more likely to refer to anotherplace Tiru-Ntr-Malai near Pallavaram and the poem has' to be examined closely to see whether this is the placeactually meant. (See Indian Antiquary, 1917; TheAntiquities of Mahdbalipuram, pp. 49 fL)
Page 120, note 2.
The views of the late Mr. H. K. Sastri seem to have beendue entirely to a misconstruction of the ttoka in theTandantottam plates and a misunderstanding of the wordpunah (again). The previous verse refers to the conquestof the south and refers obviously to the exploits ofSimhavishnu of the main line. From these the genealogypasses on to the descendants of his younger brothera Bhlmavarman. The first important character in this line' is Hiranyavarma whose son Nandivarman Pallavamallabecame a great Pallava ruler. The poet apparently spokeof Simhavishnu as an avatar of Vishnu and refers toHiranya similarly as a second avatar of the same Vishnu(Bhuranyutejah). The use of the punah (again) is then•quite justified. There is no need to identify thisNandivarman with Nandi of Tejlaru and create difficultiesto surmount. The first is given his peculiar title Ekadhiraand he is described as a Paramavaishnava. The otheris described as an equally devout Jsaiva. Each of themgives himself credit for such allegiance in religion in theconcluding verses. There is no room for a secondHiranyavarma nor is there any need.
PageT38?nQfe 2.
The name of this author Perundevanar and his work Bharata-venba have been too readily identified with the authorBharatam-padiya Perurhdevanar and his Bharatam. The

===== PAGE 268 =====
232 History of the Pallavas of South India
first refers himself and his work to the reign of Nandi-varman of Tellaru and therefore ;to the ninth centurybeyond a doubt. In regard to the qther however we haveneither the work nor any extracts. tHe is i-egarded as theauthor of the invocatory poems to the eight Sangamcollections of which the Ahananuru collection was madefor Ugra-Pandya by Rudra Sarman. An ancient Pandya,anterior to the genealogical lists, is given credit for havinggot the Bharatam done into Tamil in the larger Sinna-manur plates. This achievement is put on a footing ofequality with the victory at Talaialanganam and theestablishment of the Sangam in Madura. In the face ofthese distinctive features the identifications of the twoPerundevans would be impossible and the Bharatam of theearlier Perundevan cannot be the venba that has comedown to us in part.

===== PAGE 269 =====
ERRATA
Page Line
39 25 for Kulimaharatha, read Kulimahataraka.
42 12 for Simhavarman and Skandavarman, read
Madhavavarman.
,, 15 for Simhavarman, read Madhavavarman.
71 25 for fifth, read fourth.
,, 29 for sixth, read fifth.
104 12 for circa 600, read circa 655.
108 { line 1 } for ^ read ^^
113 Gen. Table /or Simhavarman read Simhavishnu.
116j^negi for Malaprakritis, read Mulafirakritis.
for the work, read of the work.
w{fc|}
160 7 /or Sundanar, rairf Sundarar.
169 2 /or vol. xiv, read vol. xv.
N.B.—h few other errors mostly in diacritical marks have not beennoticed here as being too obvious.
30

===== PAGE 270 =====

===== PAGE 271 =====
INDEX
(References are to pages)
Adambakkam, Assembly of, 154,
207Adeya, 153Aditya I, Chola king, -conquest of
Tondamandalam by, 133, 134Adityavarman, Pallava, 83Adivarahasvami temple, royal
sculptures at, 87Adondachola, 25, 27Adondaichakravarthi, 13, 14Agastyesvara temple, at Poyyanur,
144Aggalanimmati, Kadamba prin-cess, 73. 135Agniihtoma, 34, 37Airandapalla, identification of, 450 Ajavarman, Kadamba king, 73Ajjhitabhattarika, Kadamba prin-cess, 72Alinadu, 131Aluptakdma, (=Mahendravarman
I), 90Amaravati, 34, 37, 41Amatya, 38Amogavarsha, 139Anantasivacharya, 107Andhrapatha, 33, 34, 37Angirasa, 47Ankura, a title, 21Anniga, 145Aparajitavarman—
Campaign against Pandyas, 142Defeat by Aditya, 143Later Pallava King, 141-43Monuments of, 143Appar ( = Tirunavukkarasar), 30,31; age of the activity of, 88,90, 159Ara^ur, Varaguna encamped at,
136? .Architecture, Longhurst, on thevalue of a study of for fixingthe date of monuments, 100-1Areca nuts, duties on, 153
Arichit ( = Arisil), battle of, 139,
140«Arivarana, War-elephant, 105Arivarman (Aryavarman), 42Arthasastras, 38Aruvalar, 9Ashtabhuja, temple of, in Kanchi,
126Ashtadasapariharas, 38, 151Asokaraja, 27, 28, 38Asokavarman, 20, 47, 48, 49, 50Asvamedha, 21, 34, 37, 126«Atliaya, Pallava war-horse of
Pararuesvaravarman I, 105Atyantakama ( = ParameSvaravar-
man I), 107Avanibhajana, identification of, 11,
86Avanindranan ( = Nandivarman
III), 138Avaninarayana-Chaturvedimanga-
lam ( = Kaveripakkam), 154,
205Avanisimha, see SimhavishnuAvantisundarikathdsara, 1, 10, 43,
81, 158. see also App. C, pp.
223 ffAvamukta, Nllaraja of, 45, 47
B
Bahlika, 18Barmr—
Boundaries of villages gifted,150«
Course of Studies offered in, 141
Endowment to, 149-50
Sanskrit College at, 141Bappadeva, 33, 34,35, 36, 38, 39, 50Bhagavadajjukam, Sans. burlesque,
93«Bhagiratha, Kadamba King, 71Ballot-box, principle of, understood
in Chola times, 155«Bana, 6, 136
feudatory of Nripatunga, 140

===== PAGE 272 =====
*36
INDEX
Bhairavakonda, 8
Bharata, reading of at the Ktiram
temple, 107Bharaiavenba, 82Bharavi, 10, 24, 43, 79, 81, 88
at the Pallava Court, 158Bhasa, plays of at the Pallava
court, 111Bhimavarman, Pallava, 83, 84Bhogivarman, Kadamba King, 73BhtUa, fiscal term, 153Bhuvanakosa, 18Brhat-Banas, 71Budanali, 152Buddha, indebted to Vedanta for
his doctrines, 27, 95Buddhavarman, 23, 34Buddhism, 28, 37; Degenerate
state of, 95Buddyankura, 34, 39Burnell (Dr.), 2
Camps, Pallava royal camps, 54 /Ceylon, 13invasion under Narasimhavar-
man I, 99second naval expedition to, 99,
100Chalukyas(W.), 6, 10, 17Chandadanda, 73Chandalur plates, 41Chandraditya, 144Charudevi,_34, 39Charuponnera, 145Chera, 17CheUhakari (--Mahendravarman
I), 90Chicacole ( = (?) Erandol), 45Chintamani, 1Chitramaya, Pallava Prince, 112,
1123,124, 125 _>Chitramegha Tataka, 155Chola interregnum, at Kanchi,
63-6, see also IntroductionChola inscriptions, details on local
administration in, XbSnChutavana, battle of, 125
identification of, 126Conjeevaram, see KanchlpuramCopper-plate charters of the
Pallavas, see App. A, pp. 163-'220
D
Dakshiii&fxttha, 18Dalavanur1, 6Dalura, 35, 39Dandin, 10, 24. 43
At the Pallava Court, 110-111158
Earlier sojourn of, 158
Friends of, 159, see App. C.Dantiga ( = Dantivarman), subju-gation of by Govinda III, 135Danti-Nandivarman, 133Dantipottarasar, 133, see Dantivar-
manDantivarman, 131, 132, 133
Reign of, 134-6Darsi ( = Dasanapura ?), 41, 62Dasriapura, 41, 54-5
Identification of, 62Devarashtra, 45
Identification of, 45«Devendravarman, 45Dhanamjaya, 45Dhanyakata ^ ( = Dharanikotta,)
Amaravati^ 34Dharmapala, 12, 26Dharmarajaratha, 8 J
Digambara Jains, 11, 42Dharanikondaposar, 114, 116»Dillpa, Nolamba chief, 145• Dramas, jintended to be stagedat the Pallava court, 159Durvinlta, Ganga King, 10, 43
E
Election principle of, in Village
Assemblies, 155Elliot (Sir W.), 1Epigraphy, Dr Fleet on the value
of, for research, 4-5Eri- Variya -Perumakkul- { = TankManagement Committee),, mention of, in Pallava inscrip-i tions,"156»
Fergusson (J.), 2
-Fleet (Dr.), on epigraphy, 2, 3, 4 ;Lokavibhaga, 42
/

===== PAGE 273 =====
INDEX
237
Ganesha temple, 106
Ganga-Pallava theory, 132«, see
also IntroductionGangas, 4, 6, 10, 13, 41, 42Gautamlputra Satakarni, 16, 17, 37Genealogy of the Early Pallavas,
56-60Ghatika, 24
Godavari (R.), 37, 45, 46Goldsmiths, duty on, 152Gopala Aiyar (V.), 137Gopinatha Rao (T. A.), 4, 91, 136,
140Governmental organization of the
Pallavas, 146-157 ; affinity to
North Indian ones, 148, 148raGovinda III, Invasion of Kanchi
by, 135Govindavarman, Pallava, 83Govindavarman, Vishnukundin
King, 76Grama, officers in charge of, 148Gudimallam, 140Gunabhajanix ( = Paramesvaravar-
man I)\Gunabhara, see Mahendravarman IGupta Era, initial date of, Shama
Sastri on, 33Gupta inscriptions, compared with
the Pallava, 153Gurjara, 18
H
Ha-ihara Sastri, 43«Harivarman, Kadamba King, 73Hastivarman of Vengi, 45, 47Hemavati pillar inscription, 145Hirahadagalli plates, 19, 33, 35, 37Hiranya, revenue term, 153Hiranyavarma Maharaja, 83, 114Position of in Pallava genealogy',
116Hiuen-Tsang, Chinese Pilgrim, 12-,
27, 28, 82Description of the, city of Kanchi,
102-3On rtate of Buddhism in Kanchi
and Pandya country, 103Visit to Kanchi, 102Hultzsch (Dr.), 2, 6, 33Identification of Sripurambiyam,
142
New reading of the Bahur plates,
140»On the age of Seven Pagodas,
104«On the identification of Uragapu-
ram, 104«On the position of Kampa-
varman, 143, 144Huns, 18
Ikshvaku, 17
Ilam-Killi, 29
Ilam-Tirayan ( = Tondaman Uam-Tirayan, 21, 23, 27, 29, 36 '
Ilamputchi, revenue term, 152
Ilavar, 152 _
Indrabhattarakavarman, Vishnu-kundin King, 76
Inscriptions of the Pallavas, seeApp. A, pp. 163-220
Iraiyanar - Ahapporul, Commen-tary on, 124
Jaina temples in Kanchi, 103Jayavarman, 37Jouveau-Dubreuil—
On the origin of Pallavas, 19On the nature of the Gupta
invasion in the South, 44-5On the Vishnukundin origin of
Pallava Art, 77-8On Uragapuram, 104On Pallava painting, 92-3On Pallava styles of architecture,91Jyeshtapada Somayaji, BrahminScholar, attainments of, 129-30
K
Kadambas, 24, 69-73Kadanmallai, see MahabalipuramKailasanatha temple (= Rajasim-
hesvara), 8, 13Kadavan-Mahadeviyar, Queen, 200Kadayas, 17Kakutsthavarman, Kadamba King,
53 72Kalabhartri, 47, 48, 49, 50

===== PAGE 274 =====
238
INDEX
Kalabhras, vanquished by Simha-' vishnu, 84, 85
Identification of, 85», 120Significance of in PallavaHistory IntroductionKalavali-Narpatu, 30Kallar, 25 ; Relations with ~ Kala-
"bhras, 26Kalumalam, battle of, 30Kamandaka, Nitisara of, 148«.Kamara, 38Kampaperumal ( = K a m p a -
varman), 144Kampavarman (= Vijayakampa-
varman), 132-4Kanagopa, 39
Kanchipuram, Pre-Pallava historyof, 15-31Hiuen-Tsang in, 102-3Invasions of the Chalukyas into,
89, 105, 138Rashtrakuta invasions into, 126,
127State of learning in, 71, 110-11,
157-58Temples of, 109-10, 114, 131 xUnder Karikala, 28-30Under the Pallavas of PrakritCharters, 33 ft'Kangavarman, 71Kanjanur, ancient name of, 87Kapalikas, 10Life of, as described in Matta-vilasaprahasana, 94, 95Karikalachola, 9, 28, 29, 31, 55Karnatakas, identification of with
Kalabhras, 85« ~-
Karnlsuta, 130Karuvur, dest. of, 29Kattirai, 144
Katumukhavaditra, PallavaMusical Instrument, captureof, 121Kautilya, Arthasastra of, 148«Kaveripattinam, 9
Sea-trade with, 26Kavyadarsa, of Dandin, 78, 111, 112
Reference to KanchI in, 111Kavyaniimamsa, 18Keralaputras, of Asokan inscrip-tion, 28Kesavaperumal temple, at Kuram,
131Khatvankhadvaja, Pallava royal- emblem, 12]
Kiili, Chbla chiefs, 21, 29, 30Kilmavilangai, 7Kirdtarjuniya, 78, 81
age of, 158Kirtivarman,raid on KanchI by, 122Kodukolli (= Ekadhiramanga-
lam), 130_Kodumbalur, battle of, 123Kondamudi plates, compared with
Mayidavolu plates, 36Kosala, 44
Koshtakas (Tam. = Kottam), 148Kottams, division of in Tonda-
mandalam, 25, 147Names of, 147«Kovur Kilar, 29Krishna Sastri(H)-Duration of the reign of Pallava
malla, 119Identification of the reliefs at
Mahabalipuram discussed, 87On the Omgodu plates of Simha-
varman, 67Krishnaswami Aiyangar, on the
origin of the Pallavas, 4, 17-18Krishnavarman, Kadamba King,
72, 73Kshatrapas, southward advance of, )
53Kshatryasimhapallavesvara, at
Mahabalipuram, 13, 110Kubera, of Devarashtra, 45Kubja-Vishnuvardhana (E. Chalu-
kya_),89Kudamukku (Tirukudamukku)
(= Kumbhakonam), battle of,
140Kudavayil Kottam, identification of,
: with Kodavasal, 30Knlottungachola, 25, 26, 27KulumSr, battlefield, 123Kundukura, Village of, 149«Kiinrandarkovil, Pudukotta, 131Kuntala, 53 ^~_ _Kflram, Assembly of7"154 -Kuram plates, baf|le of Peru-
valanalliir, description in, 105,
105« _
Kurugodu, battle of, 137 • __KurumbabhQmi (= Tondjiman-
dalam), 27 } , ''
Kurunibas, 14, 24, 25, 26, 28
Subjugation of, 27Kurunilamannar, 25Kustnalapura, Dhanamjaya of, 45

===== PAGE 275 =====
INDEX
239
Land-Survey, in Pallava records,
149-50Literature, value of, for PallavaHistory, 8-13Impetus given to, by the Palla-vas, 157-61Lokavibhaga, Jaina work, 11, 42-3,66-7o
M
Mackenzie (Col. C), work of, 26Mackenzie MSS., 1, 24-5Madhavall (W. Ganga), 42Madhavavarman 1, Vish'nukundin
King, 76Mahabalipuram = Seven Pagodas,Mavalivaram, Mallai, Kadan-mallai, Mahamallapuram, 2,7, 8, 13, 39Discussion on the age of, 101-2Monoliths at, 100-2Naval base for Ceylon invasions,
99Port of, reference in Tirumangai. Alvar to, 99, 99«, 100J Royal statues at,_87-8Mahendrapotadhirajan, see Mahen-
dravarman I, 88Mahakantara, Vyagrarajaof, 44, 45Mahamalla, see Narasimhavarrnan IMahamallapuram, see Mahabali-puramMakdvamia, 13, 98; Accountrelating to Manavamma, App.•B.Mahay&na Buddhism, State of, at
Kanchi, 103Mahendragiri, 45Mahendrapala, 18Mahendrapura (= Mahendravadi),
91Mahend.ratatS.ka_, Pallava tank at
Mahendravadi, 91Mahendravadi, 7, 13
Vishnu temple at, 90, 91Mahendravarman I, 6, 8, 10, 48, 81Literary achievement of, 93-4Milit3ry0events, 89Painting asd music, under, 92-3Reign of, 88-96Religious views of, 90, 91Style of architecture, 91-2Temples of, 90
Mahendravarman II, 103^1Mahendravikrama, see Mahendra-varman 1Mahendravishnugrha, Pallava
temple at Mahendravadi, 91Mahipala, 18Malanadu, 85«Malavas—
Defeated by Simhavishnu, 84, 85Identification of, 85«Mallai ( = Mahabalipuram), 138Mamalla style of architecture, 101Mamandur, Pallava cave at, 6, 7Tank at, Pallava origin of, 155Mambakkarn, 149Manali, ancient name of, 87
Assembly at, 154Manavamma, Ceylon Prince, 98
At the Pallava court, 99Mandagapattu, Pallava monu-ment in, 6, 7Importance of, 91«Mandhatrivarman, Kadamba King,
71Mangala, Nolamba King, 145Manikkavasagar, age and position
'of, 160Manimangala, battle of, 97Manimekalai, 21, 29, 30Manipallavam, 21, 22Mannai, battle-field (=Mannai-kudi, Mamnikurichi. Mana-kndi), 123,'126Mantaraia, of Korala, 45Maran Sadaiyaa, Pandyan King,incursions of into Tondaman-dalam, 136Marriages, fee on, 152Matridatta, 158Mattavilasa, see Mahendravarman
IMattavilasa Prahasana, 10, 11, 81Contents of. 93-4Light thrown by, 94-6Mayidavolu Plates of Sivaskanda-
varman, 19, 33, 37, App. A.Mayilai (=>Mylapore), PallavaCapital, under Nandivannan_ III, 138Melacheri, Pallava temple at, 7Melanga, identity of, 38Menmatura, 54, 55Molo-kiu-chi (= Pandya country)
visit by Hiuen-Tsang, 103MrigeSavarman, 71, 72

===== PAGE 276 =====
J4Q
INDEX
Mudrarakshasa, mention of Danti-
varman in, 159Muktesvara temple of, at KanchI,
_ 131_Mulasthana temple of, at Tiru-
kalukkunram, 54Music, inscriptional treatise on, at
Kudumiyamalai, 93Muttaraiyan, 6, 140
N
Nagas, 19, 20, 21, 22, 30, 50, 51, 52Nalanda, University of, 12Nalayiraprabhanda, 11, 81Napru, battle of, 137Nalukaviperumal ('-- Tirumangai
Alvar), 131Nambiyandar Nambi, 160Nandikkalambakam, 24, 81, 82
Contents of, 136-8Nandipotarayar, 133, see Nandivar-
man IIINandipotavarman, see Nandivar-
man II, PallavamallaNandipottaraSar ( = Nandivarman)-;
138Nandipura (= Nandipuravinnaga-
ram), siege of, 124Nandipuravinnagaram ( = Nathan-
kovil Nandipura), 13, 124Nandivarman III, 11, 46, 47, 82Campaigns against the Pand-
yas, 137Events of the reign, 136-9Nanmugan Tiruvandadi, 96Nanniga, 145Narasimhacharya (R.) on Loka-
vibhaga, 43Narasimhavarman I ( = Maha-
malla), 13Ceylon invasions, 98-100Monuments of, at Mahabalipu-
iram, 100-2 >Raid on Vatapi, 98Reign of, 97-103Narasimhavishou, see RajasimhaNarayana, temple of, at Dalura, 161Narendra (= Mahendravarman I),
90Narendrasena, 72Narrinai, 24Nayanmars, age of, 78Nedumaran, Pandyan king, con-version of, to Saivism, 159
Neduvayal, battlefield, 123Nellur (=;Nellore), battle of, 125Nelvayipakkam, 149Nelveli, battle of (=Nenmali)
identification of, 125Nenmalipakkam, 149Nilaraja, of Avamukta, 45, 47 •Nimbavana—Battle of, 125Identification of, 126NUisara, 148«Nolambas, 145Noiambavadi thirty-two thousand,
'145Nripatungapotarayar ( = Nripa-
tungavarman), 139Nripatungavarman, 139-42Campaigns against the Pandyas,
139-40Educational endowments under,
141Extent of Empire during, 140Rashtrakuta descent of, 139
O
Olakkur, destruction of, 144Orissa, 44
Pahlavas, distinct from Pallavas,
15, 17-18, 22Painting, vestiges of Pallava, at
Sittannavasal, 92-3Palakkada, 41
Identity of, 54«, 55Palakka, Uygrasena of, 45, 47 •Palayaru, battle of, 137Pallava-Chalukya conflicts-Beginnings of, 88Supposed origin of, 89, see alsoi Introduction'Pallava art, origin and evolution of,
161 ~ —^^
Pallava temples, evolution of, 161Pallavamalla, see Nandivarman IIPallavamalla ( = Nandivarman II),113, 114, 116«, 119-31 .Chalukyan invasion of KanchI,
121-2 , j
Duration of reign of ? 119-20Military events, 123-8Religious leanings 127-8State of learning under, 128-30Pallavanlchcharam, 13

===== PAGE 277 =====
INDEX
241
3
Pallavaram, 6, 7,13
Pallava rule, general considerations
of, 146-61Pallavas—Administration of, 147-57Art of, 161Early Pallavas of the Prakrit
Records, 32-40Great Pallavas, 79-131History on the research on, 1-4Later Pallavas, 132^15Literature under, 157-61Materials for the history of, 4 ffOf the Sanskrit plates, 41-69Pallava inscriptions and copper
plates, App. A, 163-214Pallava rule in S. India, general
reflections, 146-61Theories of the origin of, 15-25,also IntroductionPanarashtra, 12
ParameSvaratataka, Kuram, 155ParameSvaravarman II, 111-2ParamesVaravarman I, 41, 104-8ParameSvaravinnagaram, see Vai-kuntha Permal temple, Kanchi,13Origin of, 131Paripadal, astronomical details in,
9Pariyala, battle of, 97Parthasarathi temple, Inscriptionat, 135Pallava origin of, 135/zReferred to by Tirumangai Alvar,135Parthian home of the Pallavas, 25Pasupatas, 95
Patalika ( = PatalIputra}, 12, 44Patanjali, reference in, to Kanchl-
pura, 157, 158Periyapuranam, 1, 12, 90, 98Account of the raid on Vatapi,98, 122Periyatirumadal, 131Periyatirumoli, 10«Persian home, of the Pallavas, 25Perumbanarruppadai, condition of
Kanchi, description in, 28, 29Pereadeyanar, 82 ; identity of see
speciaJNote by EditorPerunguli, Assembly of, 154Peruvalanallur, battle of, 105Pikira, 41, 44Pilivalai, Naga princess, 30
. 31
Pingalandai, on the Pallavas, 10
Pishtapura, 45
Podiika, 38
Pollachi, 45
Potters, duty on, 152
Poygaiyar, identity of with Poygai
Alyar, 30Prabhavati Gupta, 72Prakrit charters, Jouveau-Dub-
reuil on their age, 56Prithivipathi I, Western Ganga,
military exploits of, against
Varaguna, 142Prithivisena I, Vakataka, 53
Southern conquest of, 71, 72Prithivi Vyagra, Nishada chief, 125Prithudaka ( = Pehoa), 18Profession taxes, under the Pallava
kings, 152Pulakesin(ll), S9Pullalur ( = Pallur and Polilore),
batlle of, 89Pullasarman, 107Pulumavi, 34Purananuru, 24, 29Ptirushottama, ( = Mahendra-
varman I), 90Pusalar Nayanar, story of, 109,
_ 109«Pugali, family of, 141Puthali, revenue term, 152Puvalflr, battlefield, 123
* R , . -? . " ' : >.*'J .
Raghu, Kadamba, 71 v ' r !'Rahasyadikadas (= Privy.-coun'cil-
lors), 148Rajakesarivarman ( = AdityaI), 133Rajasekhara, 18Rajasimha, Pandyan king, 159Rajasimha (= NarasimhavarmanII), 6, 48
Dandin at the court of, 111»
Literature under, 110-11
Monuments of, 109
Reign of, 108-12
Surnames of, 108Rajasimhesvara, see Kailasanatha
templeRajavarma ( = Rajasimha), 110Ramakrishnakavi (M.J, 221Rama Sarman, 159Ranamalla, Pallava Prince, 114,' 116«

===== PAGE 278 =====
242
INDEX
Rangacharya (M.), on Dandin'sconnection with Kanchi, 110,111Rangapataka, Pallava Queen, Sivashrine at Kanchi built by, 108,108»Rasanayagam, theory of, examin-ed, 21Rashtrakuta, invasions on Kanchi,126-7Marriage alliance with Pallavas,127Rashtras (-mandala), 148Ravivarman, Kadamba, 72, 73Rea (A.), on the origin of the
Pallavas, 25Reva, Rashtrakuta Princess, 127,
131Rice (L)., on the Parthian oriein
of the Pallavas, 17Rudracharya, 93Rudradaman, 16, 19, 20, 21Rudran Kannanar, 9, 34, 28, 36Rudrasimha (III), Mahakshatrapa,53
Sabaras ( = ? Sauras), 125Sabhas (= Village-Assemblies) —Activities of, 155-7Committees of, 156Different types of, 154Distribution of, in the Pallava
Kingdom, 153-7In Chola times, 155»Membership of, 154-5Sakas, 17
Sakyabhikshus, 10, 95Salankayanas, 47, 73-6Religion of, 75
Relation of, with the Pallavas, 75Salt, manufacture of, royalty on,
. 151, 152Samanas, at Madura, 160Sambandar, see Tlrugnana-
SambandarSamudraghosha,Ya.l\&va. war-drum,
121Samudragupta, 22, 32, 35, 39,
44-7,52Sangam works—Light thrown by, 9Testimony of, 8, 9,_22», 28, 36Sangharamas, in Kanchi, account- of, by Hiuen-Tsang, 103
Sangramamalla, 114, 116»Sankaj Rashtrakuta Princess, 138,
139Sankaragrama, battle of. 125Sankaramangai (-Sankaragrama)Battlefield, 123Identity of, 126Sankirnajali ( = Mahendravar-
man I), 90Sanskrit inscriptions,- Dr. Fleft on,
5Santivarman, Kadamba King, 71Sarvanandi, 66Satahaniratta (= Satahani-Ahara),
34Satavahanas, 28, 36, 39, 51,
52Satrumalla ( =^Mahendravarman
1), 11Satrumallesvaralaya, Pallava -
temple, 13Sattan-Paliyili, Muttaraiya chief
140Satyasandha ( -■= Mahendravar-
man I), 90Satyasena (Svami), 52Sekkllar, sources of, for writing \
Periyapuranam, 160Sehgannan, 30, 31Settupakkam, 149Seven Pagodas, see Mahabali-
puramShama Sastri—On the initial date of Gupta era,
33, 60On the date of Talgunda Pillar, inscription, 71Shepherds, duty on, 155Shore Temple, at Mahabalipuram,
' 109-10Siddhapura, 28Silabhadra, 1'2
Birth place^qf, 103Simhala ( = Ceylorr>,S4 -Simhapota, Nol-Chief, 14Simhasuri, 12 J_
Simhavsrman, 12, 42, 43, 44Sirnhavishnu\ (= Avanisimha)Achievements of, 84 """
Bas-relief of, 87, 88 ' T ().Dynasty of, 82-112 'Reign of, 10, 43, 44, 47, 49, 82-8Religious learnings, 86Sanskrit culture in the court of,84,158

===== PAGE 279 =====
INDEX
243
Simhavishnuchaturvedimangalain,
87Simhavishnupotarayan, see Simha-
vishnu, 79Simmavinnupotadhirajan, see
Simhavishnu, 87Singavaram, 7Siriyatirumadal', 131Sirutonda (^Paranjoti), 98Sittajpnavasal, Pallava vestiges in,
7Sivaskandanaga, 19, 20Sivaskandavarman, 23, 29, 35, 36,
37, 39, 44, 48, SOSiyyamangalam, cave-temple at,
origin of, 86Skandanaga, 51Skandasishya, 52, 53, 54Skandavarma, 43, 48, 55Srimalla, 114, 116 »Sri-Mara Parachakrakolaha'a,
Pandyan King, 140Srinivasa Aiyangar, (P. T.), 4,
126Sripurambiya (= Tirupurambi-
yam) —1 Battle of, 142
' Identity with Tirupurambiyam,. date of, 142Srisikhari-Pallavesvaram, Pallava
temple, 144Sthavira school of Buddhism in
Kafichl, 103Stupas, Asoka's stupas in Kanchi,
103Subramanya Aiyar (K V.), on' the reign of Pallavamalla, 116.119, 123»Sudraka, earlier works of, nature
of, 159Sundarar, position and work of,
160Suprayoga (R.), 149«S*uramara, battle of, 97Surashtra, 20Suravalundur, 125Suvisaka, Pahlava minister, 19,
20Svamidatta, of Kottura, 45SwarLJkppnu Pillai', on the astro-nomical details in the Pari-pSdal, 9Svaminatha Aiyar, Pandit on thereading of Kalavar in TamilMSS., 85»
Tambrapa (= Tambrapasthana)
41, 54, 55Tanks, excavation of, by the
Pallavas, 155-6Tank Supervision Committee, 156Tarunavachaspati, comment by,
111Tathagatha, in Kancbl, 103Taxation and revenue-Compared with the Gupta, 153,
153«Sources and nature of, underPallavas, 150-54, 151«.Tellarrerinda Nandivarman, 136,
see ( = Nandivarman III)Temples—At Kanchi, 109, 131Earliest Pallava inscriptional
reference to existence of, 161Evolution of, 161Impetus to temple building, 159Mahabalipuram, 88, 100-2,
107-8Management of, by village-assemblies, 156, 157Monolithic temples, 7Tevaram hymnists, 10, 11, 30, 159-
160 _Tirayaneri, 155
Tirayar chiefs, identity of, 23, 24Tirthikas, 148
Tirugnana-Sambandar, 30, 95Tirukkalukkunram, Pallava cave
in, 7, 54Tirukkovai, 160Tirukudamukku (=- Kumbha-
konam), 140«Tirukoilur, Assembly of, 154, 201Tirukurundandakam, 131Tirumalisai Alvar, age of, 96Tirumangai Alvar, 31, 39Allusion to victories of Nandi-varman II, 123-4Mention of Pallava war instru-ments by, 121»Reference to Triplicane temple
in, 135,160Works of, 130-31,Tirumangai, battlefield, 123Tirumugakkanam ( = fee on Royal
messages), 152Tirunariyur, 31Tirunavukkarasu, see Appar

===== PAGE 280 =====
244
INDEX
Tirunedundandakam, 131Tirupurambiyam ( = £ripurambi-
yam), battle of, 142Ttruttondatogai, 160Tiruvehka, temple of, at Kanchi,
29Tiruvelukkurrirukkai, 131Tiruviprambedu, 154
Assembly of, 199Tiruvorriyur, Assembly of, 151Toddy-drawers, duty on, 152Tondamandalam (= Tundaka-' rashtr'a) 14, 20, 26, 27, 34,'36Conquest of, by Aditya Chola,
133, 134.Division of, into Districts, 147»Invasion into, by VikramadityaII, 121Tottdamandalapattayam, 22«, 23»Tondaman Ilam-Tirayan, 9,13, 21,
' 22, 24, 28, 29, 30, 35, 51Tondayar, 9, 17Trivikrama, prasasti composer,
130Trnayana Pallava, 145Tundakarashtra, see Tondamanda-lam, 36, 121Tundakavishaya, see Tondaman-dalamTungavarman ( = Nripatungavar-man), 141
U
Udayachandra, Pallava General,exploits of, 123-26
Udayana, Sabara King, 125
Ugrakopan (^Nandivarman III),138
Ugraperuvaludi, 29
Ug'rasena, of Palakka, 45, 47
Ukkal, Assembly of, 154, 205
Ulaviyakfili, 152, 152 n
Undavalli caves, their origin,78
Uparikara, 153
Uragapura, 104,
Identification of, 104»
Urattur, 149
Uttaramallur, 154Assembly of, 195Pallava tank at, 155, 156
Uttarapada, 18
Vaieai, battle of, 137Vagur (.JBahur), 150Vaikunthaperumal temple, KanchiConstruction of by Pallavamalla,
131Sculptures in, 114Their interpretation, 115,116»Vafapeya, 21, 34, 37 -,
-Vakatakas, 52, 53Valaivanan, 21, 30Vallam, Pallava monument at, 6,
7Varaguna (II), defeat at Sri-
purambiyam, 142Varaguna Maharaja, campaigns in
the Pallava territory, 136-7Varatungan (■= Nandivarman III),
138Vasishtlputra Palumavi, 37Vatapi ( = Badami), 97Capture of, by Narasimhavar-man I, 97, 98Vayalur, pillar genealogy of,
49Vayiramega ( =■ Dantidurga), at -\Kanchi, 126-7, '
Allusion to in Tirumangai
Alvar's hymns, 126»Identity of 126», 127Vayirameghatataka, Pallava Tank
at Uttaramallur, 144, 155Vayirameghavarman, Pallava,
position of, in Pallava geneo-logy, 141, 144Vayirmeghvaykltal, Palla'va
I channel, 144Vegavati («..), 124Vellaru, battle of, 137Veiieri, 155
Vengi, identification of, with PeddaVengi, 16V44 47, 74
Venkayya— ~~->-.
Identification of Dasanapura, 62On Chola interregnum in Pal-lava' History, 63-4©n the origin of the Pallavasf"'. -16' Vichitrachitta ( = MahenCfravar-/ m?n !), 90 '■"
Videlvidugu ( =Nandivarman III), ■
133Vidyavinita Pallava ( = ParameS-varavarman I), 107

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IlSTDEX
VihcLras, in Kanchipurani, 95
Vrjaya Buddhavarman, 39, 44
Vijayadevavarman, SalankayanaKing, 73 _
VijayadityaMavalivanarayar, BanaKing, 136
Vijaya-ISvaravarman, 145
Vijayanandivarman, SalankayanaKing, 74
Viiayanandivikramavarman, seeNandivarman III
Vijayaskandavarman, 34, 35, 39,48
Vijayaskandavarman, Salanka-yana King, 74 .
Vikramaditya, Bana Chief, 138
VIkramaditya, I, Southern inva-sion of, 105Vikramendravarman I, VishLu-
kundin King, 76Vikramendravarman II, Vishnu-
kundin King, 76 _Vijangattangaduvanur, 149,150
Village-boundaries, precautions in
the marking of, 149Vilvala ( = Villivalam), 124Vinukonda, 75VIrakurcha ( = VIrakorcha), 20, 48,
50, 51, 52, 54VlrattaneSvara temple, at Tirut-
tani,_143Virattanesvara temple, at Tiruvadi,
131Vhhayikas (= Viceroys), 148Vishnugopa, 22, 23, 32, 33, 35, 39,
44, 47Vishnukundins, 75-78Genealogy of, 78Relation with the Pallavas, 77Rock-cut temples attributed to,77Vishnuraja (= Vishnuvardhana
III, E. Chalukya),'l25Vishnuvardhana, 10, 43Vishnuvarman, 73Vyagraraja, 45