Pallava

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Pallava Kingdom

Pallava kingdom c.645 CE during Narasimhavarman I
Official languages	Tamil
Capital	Kanchipuram
Government	Monarchy
Preceding state	Satavahana, Kalabhras
Succeeding states	Cholas, Eastern Chalukyas

The Pallava dynasty was a Dravidian Tamil dynasty that ruled northern Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh with their capital at Kanchipuram. They rose in power during the reign of Mahendravarman I (571 – 630 CE) and Narasimhavarman I (630 – 668 CE) and dominated the Telugu and northern parts of the Tamil region for about six hundred years until the end of the 9th century.

Throughout their reign they were in constant conflict with both Chalukyas of Badami in the north and the Tamil kingdoms of Chola and Pandyas in the south and were finally defeated by the Chola kings in the 8th century CE.

Pallavas are most noted for their patronage of Dravidian architecture, still seen today in Mahabalipuram. The Pallavas, who left behind magnificent sculptures and temples, established the foundations of classical Dravidian architecture. Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang visited Kanchipuram during Pallava rule and extolled their benign rule.

Some sources describe Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen school of Buddhism in China, as a prince of the Pallava dynasty, a contemporary of Skandavarman IV and Nandivarman I,^[1] and the son of Simhavarman II, but this is debatable.^[2]

Contents 1 Origins 1.1 Pallavas and Pahlavas 1.2 Indigenous Origin Theories 2 Pallava Chronology 2.1 Early Pallavas 2.2 Later Pallavas 2.3 Kadava kingdom 3 Religion 4 Pallava architecture 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Origins

The Vanniakula Kshatriyas of Tamil nadu are descendants of King Pallavas.

[edit] Pallavas and Pahlavas

The Pahlavas are a people mentioned in ancient Indian texts like the Manu Smriti, various Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Brhatsamhita.

In some texts the Pahlavas are synonymous with the Pallavas, a dynasty of Southern India: While the Vayu Purana distinguishes between Pahlava and Pahnava, the Vamana Purana and Matsya Purana refer to both as Pallava. The Brahmanda Purana and Markendeya Purana refer to both as Pahlava or Pallava. Bhishama Parava Mahabharata 6.11.66 . of the Mahabharata also does not distinguish between the Pahlavas and Pallavas.

The Pahlavas are said to be same as the Parasikas. According to P. Carnegy ^[3], the Pahlava are probably those people who spoke Paluvi or Pehlvi, that is the Parthian language. Buhler similarly suggests Pahlava is an Indic form of Parthava meaning 'Parthian' ^[4]. In a 4th century BCE, Vartika of Katyayana mentions the Sakah-Parthavah demonstrating an awareness of these Saka-Parthians, probably by way of commerce ^[5].

[edit] Indigenous Origin Theories

All pallava grants right through their rule between some time in B.C.E and last regnal year of 1279.C.E, report that they had their origin in the brahma-kshatra clan of sage bharadwajan. Aswattaman the son of Drona is known to be originator of this clan. pallava literature inform that once as the brave aswattaman " who during that night of the war fought valiantly the terrible rakshasa(demonic) army of ghatotkacha "(with reference to aswattama's defiant valour against the demonic onslaught led by bheema's son ghatotkacha as the war progressed through the night. The power of demons are said to multiply as night progressed.) being renounced of worldly life had sat meditating in funan province in southeast Asia, celestial nymph menaka upon a visit to earth sought his hand. From the resulting marriage a "handsome prince" called pallava was born. As from the beginning he had as ancestors a sage(aswattaman) and a celestial nymph(menaka), the race of pallavas came to be regarded as mixed one. Several legends associated with ancient south east Asia involve many characters from Ramayana and mahabharatha. That includes aswattaman. Also the pallava insignia consisting of mace of lord sivan called khatvangam in their flag and the conch samudraghosham were also the insignia of aswattaman. some places in south east are said to be founded by Lord Indran, sage kauniyan, Lord vishnu etc. The grants coming from these places refer to these legends.This was further incremented by almost total identification with cholas and cheras who came from prastara danda. Sree Mahendravarman grants inform us that pallavas were a sankirana jati or mixed caste of brahmin-rajanyas. Several pallava kings were said to be great practitioners of agamic worship ritual(sarva agama sastra para drushtva) along with science of weapons. The grant issued by king Rajasimha during his coronation traces a pallava lineage of 54 kings through epochs of kritam and dwaparam with 47 kings following aswattaman up to sree rajasimha pallava. many pallavas who took to throne in kanchi actually came from south east Asia.

[edit] Pallava Chronology

The rule of the Pallavas apparently starts as early as 275 CE, but their greatest epoch corresponds to the 7th and 8th century.^[6]

[edit] Early Pallavas

The history of the early Pallavas has not yet been satisfactorily settled. The earliest documentation on the Pallavas is the three copper-plate grants,^[7] belonging to Skandavarman I and written in Prakrit.^[8] Skandavarman appears to have been the first great ruler of the early Pallavas, though there are references to other early Pallavas who were probably predecessors of Skandavarman.^[9]

Skandavarman extended his dominions from the Krishna in the north to the Pennar in the south and to the Bellary district in the West. He performed the Aswametha and other Vedic sacrifices and bore the title of 'Supreme King of Kings devoted to dharma'.^[8]

An absence of documentation about the Pallavas following Skandavarman is broken by the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta, which indicates that he defeated the Pallava Vishnugopa (350–355 CE). With Samudragupta's expedition the Pallava eclipse set in.^[10]

In the reign of Simhavarman IV, who ascended the throne in 436 CE, the fallen prestige of the Pallavas was restored. He recovered the territories lost to the Vishnukundins in the north up to the mouth of the Krishna. The early Pallava history from this period onwards is furnished by a dozen or so copper-plate grants in Sanskrit. They are all dated in the regnal years of the kings.^[10]

With the accession of Nandivarman I (480-500 CE), the decline of the early Pallava family was seen. The Kadambas had their aggressions and attacked even the headquarters of the Pallavas with the Pallavas taking retaliatory measures by expelling and invading Kadamba territories in Karnataka. In coastal Andhra the Vishnukundins established their ascendency. The Pallava authority was confined to Tondaimandalam.

With the accession of Simhavishnu, father of Mahendravarman I, c. 575 CE, the Pallava revival began in the south.

[edit] Later Pallavas

The incursion of the Kalabhras and the confusion in the Tamil country was broken by the Pandya Kadungon and the Pallava Simhavishnu.^[11][12] The Pallava kingdom began to gain both in territory and influence over the South Indian peninsula and were a regional power by the end of the 6th century.^[13] The Pallavas exercised control over their southern neighbours of Cholas and Pandyas. But their history is marked by the continuous conflict with the Badami Chalukyas.^[13]

Narasimhavarman I and Paramesvaravarman I were the kings who stand out with glorious achievements in both military and architectural spheres. Nandivarman II built the Shore Temple.

[edit] Kadava kingdom

During the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries CE, a small principality of the Kadava dynasty came into brief prominence. These rulers claimed descent from the Pallavas. The notable rulers of this dynasty are Kopperunchinga I (reigned c.1216 - 1242 CE), and his son and successor Kopperunchinga II (c.1243 - 1279 CE). Together they extended the influence of their kingdom and played a major part in the ultimate demise of the Chola dynasty.

[edit] Religion

Pallavas were followers of Hinduism and made gifts of land to gods and brahmins. In line with the prevalent customs, some of the rulers performed the Aswamedha and other Vedic sacrifices.^[10]

They were, however, tolerant of other faiths. The Chinese monk Xuanzang who visited Kanchipuram during the reign of Narasimhavarman I reported that there were 100 Buddhist monasteries, and 80 temples in Kanchipuram.^[14]

Mahendravarman I was initially a patron of the Jain faith. He later re-converted to Hinduism under the influence of the Saiva saint Appar with the revival of Hinduism during the Bhakti movement in South India.^[15]

[edit] Pallava architecture

The Pallavas were instrumental in the transition from rock-cut architecture to stone temples. The earliest examples of Pallava constructions are rock-cut temples dating from 610–690 CE and structural temples between 690–900 CE. A number of rock-cut cave temples bear the inscription of the Pallava king, Mahendravarman I and his successors.^[16]

The greatest accomplishments of the Pallava architecture are the rock-cut temples at Mahabalipuram. There are excavated pillared halls and monolithic shrines known as rathas in Mahabalipuram. Early temples were mostly dedicated to Shiva. The Kailasanatha temple in Kanchipuram and the Shore Temple built by Narasimhavarman II are fine examples of the Pallava style temples.^[17]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Avari, Burjor (2007). India: The Ancient Past. New York: Routledge. 
• Dubreuil, G. Jouveau; Dikshitar, V. S. Swaminadha (1995). The Pallavas. India: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 8120605748. 
• Hermann, Kulke; Rothermund D (2001) [2000]. A History of India. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-32920-5. 
• Minakshi, Cadambi (1938). Administration and Social Life Under the Pallavas. Madras: University of Madras. 
• Nilakanta Sastri, K.A (2002) [1955]. A History of South India. New Delhi: OUP. 
• Prasad, Durga (1988). History of the Andhras up to 1565 A.D.. Guntur, India: P.G. Publishers. 
• "South Indian Inscriptions". Archaeological Survey of India. What Is India Publishers (P) Ltd. http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/. Retrieved on 2008-05-30. 

[edit] External links

• Iranchamber.com
• Pallavas of Kanchi by Jyotsna Kamat