Pallavas

Pallavas

2020-04-27 12:01:42

---

Brief and Sources

• Established by Simhavarman I in 275 AD till 897 AD, ruled from Kanchipuram.
• Mahendravarman I and Narasimhavarman I were most imp rulers
• constantly in feud with Chalukyas of Badami, Cholas and Pandya rulers.
• known for their architecture viz Shore temple
• sources for this period is the
  • copper plate grants of Sivaskandavarman (early 4th century AD) found in Kanchipuram
  • Inscription of Simhavarman found in Guntur district.
• were associated with Tondaimandalam ie land b/w north Penner and North Vellar rivers.

Various Theories of Origin of Pallavas

• Andhra origin theory - proponents are KAN Sastri, S Krishnaswami Ayangar. It says that they were feudatories of Satavahanas and Subsidiaries of the Andhra Ikshvakus.
• R. Sathianathaier, DC Sircar, Burton Stein have propounded the Naga origin theory through matrimonial relations.
• VA Smith - they were not distinct but a mixed population partly of foreigners and partly south Indian.
• Lewis Rice - Pallava is a corrupt form of the Pahlavas who were Persian invaders

Pallava Rulers

• Assimilation of Aryan culture and emergence of Tamil personality
• Simhavishnu ruled from AD 555 to 590 is the founder of the line of Greater Pallavas.
• Mahendravarman I AD 590 to 630 succeeded him and patronised Tamil culture
  • Beginning of hostilities b/w Pallava-Western Chalukyas
  • Pulakesin II’s Aihole inscription says that he defeated Mahendravarman
  • Originally Jaina converted to Saiva by Appar(Tamil saiva saint), built many rock cut temples
  • Mandagapatti inscription mentions him as a builder of temples and of being Vichitrachitta
  • Kudimiyamalai inscription - composed 2 works in Sanskrit, Promoted irrigation in the region
• Narsimhavarman I AD 630 to 668 succeeded him
  • Known as Mamalla/ Mahamalla
  • Won several victories against Chalukyas. Defeated Pulakesin II in AD 642 with the help of price of Sri Lanka Manavarma.
  • Occupied Vatapi and assumed the title of Vatapikonda
  • Naval campaign against ruler of Ceylon
  • Patron of Art and Architecture and built the 5 temples/ rathas of Mahabalipuram.
• Mahendravarman II succeeded was defeated by Chalukya king Vikramaditya I after which he (Vikramaditya I ) assumed the title of Rajamalla.
• Paramesvara Varman I won against Chalukyas - Udayendram Plates. Devotee of Shiva
• Narsimhavarman II AD 700-728
  • Titles like Rajasimha, Agampriya, Sankarbhakta
  • Built the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchi, Shore temple at Mahabalipuram
  • Sent embassy to China, patronised poets like Dandin
• Dantivarman the son of Nandivarman was next great king ruled rom AD 796-847
  • Was born to Rashtrakuta princes
  • Constructed Vaikuntha Perumal temple at Kanchi was a Vaishnavite
  • Faced invasion of Govinda III of the Rashtrakutas
  • Disintegration started from his reign
• Overthrown 893 CE by Chola king Aditya I

Polity and Adminsitration of the Pallavas

2020-04-27 12:05:55

---

• King

  • Claimed descendants from Brahma, hereditary
  • Assumed high sounding titles viz Maharajadhiraj etc
  • Performed Vedic sacrifices for political legitimacy

• Ministers

  • Semi-royal titles
  • Appointed among subordinate allies or feudatories
  • Yuvaraja or Crown prince played imp role in wars etc

• Nadu was the main unit of administration under it was the Village w/ Sabha and UR

• King high titles like maharaja, bhattaraka, dharmamaharaja dhiraja, etc

• Kingship was governed by Vedic ideal and they performed various sacrifices like Vajapeya, Rajasuya etc

  • done to underline independence, had special political meaning but did not have social significance

• Minsiters and Princes/Yuvaraja were also there to assist the King

• In Pallava kingdom Nadu emerged as the main lasting unit of administration. Nadu also meant arable land and Kadu meant non arable land

  BD Chattopadhyay - no dichotomy between lineages and states, lineage ties were central to political formations

• High level of spatial mobility of political elites and military build ups comprising of Mercenaries

• Interaction of tribal and Brahmanical cultures can be seen from inscriptions of Assam, south east Rajasthan’s - Bhils

• Political hierarchies are revealed through Prashasti’s

• Political paramountcy was reflected in the use of titles such as Maharajadhiraja, Parameshvara and Param Bhattaraka

• [[#Local Government]]

• Kingship is associated w/ performance of sacrifices.

Local Government of the Pallavas

2020-04-27 12:06:02

---

• characteristic feature especially of Pallavas
• presence of various groups based on caste, craft, profession etc there emerged these small governing units
  • Ur was a non brahmanical village assembly
  • Sabha consisted of only brahmans
  • Nagaram was assembly of merchants
• functioned autonomously based on their own customs and usage etc.
• helped ease the burden of governance.
• Kings did not interfere in their works but often worked to bring the Brahmans closer to them to strengthen their own base.
• were given Brahmedya villages.
• Later Sabhas developed a committee of variyam system under Parantaka 1 Uttirramerur inscription which was governance through committees. ^0c6193
• Gamunda was the village headman who did not enjoy autonomy and were closely supervised by state officials.

![[#^e33818]]

• Village headmen was the leader and mediator with the Gov
• Land revenue rights was given to big landlords
• Importance was attached to local groups based on caste, craft, profession or religious faith, They had their own code of conduct through which they governed themselves.
• They had autonomy and solved their problems based on mutual consultation, old customs and traditions
• Brahmadeya and Devadana villages were created became predominant
• The Variyam of committee system : self-government supervised maintenance of roads and tanks, charitable donations, regulation of irrigational rights and temple affairs ^e33818
• 2 types of tax collected
  • Land revenue at 1/6th - 1/10th of produce
  • Local taxes

Romila Thapar - revenue from taxes was small due to paucity of trade and commerce

• Feudatories did not provide soldiers, they maintained a standing army

Society under Pallavas

• Aryan acculturation led to Brahmins raised in status and grants of lands
• Jaina’s and Buddhists lost royal patronage
• Ghatikas were educational centres for Brahmanical religion, every temple had one - slowly became centres of political activity
• Kanchipuram developed as a centre of education
• Institution of Mathas as a combination of rest house, feeding centre and seminary became imp
• Sanskrit was court language
• Tamil devotionalism/ Bhakti became popular
• Music became part of temples, instruments like flute and dance forms like Bharatnatyam

Art and Architecture of the Pallavas :

Views

• Percy Brown : Pallavas provided the foundation to the Dravidian style
• KAN Sastri : Pallavas bridged transition from rock archi to structural stone temples

• [[Refer Stages of Temple Development Next Section]]

Conflict b/w Chalukyas - Pallavas and also Pandyas

#MainsPYQ

Views

KAN Sastri : From the middle of 6th century AD history of South India is story of mutual conflict among three powers

• Tungabhadra natural boundary fertile rice growing region, high land revenue, prestige, political supremacy -> this is the reason Why? hostility started b/w Pallavas and Chalukyas.
• Hostility started during Mahendravarmans reign.
• Pulakesin II’s Aihole inscription - he defeated Mahendravarman, P ceded northern areas to him
• Narsimhavarman I
  • Defeated Pulakesin II who died in battle in AD 642 w/ help of prince of Sri Lanka Manavarma,
  • Occupied Vatapi and assumed the title of Vatapikonda
• Mahendravarman II succeeded was defeated by Chalukya king Vikramaditya I
• Paramesvara Varman I won against Chalukyas - Udayendram Plates
• Chalukya king Vikramaditya II in 733 AD is said to have run over Kanchi for over 3 times. Pallavas were completely routed and were no longer a threat. A century later they were wiped out by the Cholas.
• Significantly weakened both Kingdoms Chalukyas were wiped by Rashtrakutas around 750 CE
• Pandyas were a third party to the war they sided with Vikramaditya II to defeat the Pallavas.
• led to new rivalry b/w Rashtrakutas and Pallavas.

PYQs

1. Discuss critically the main aspects of polity and society under the Pallavas. [1981, 60m]

• [[11.2 Pallavas#Polity]]
• [[11.2 Pallavas#Society under Pallavas]]

Answer

Main aspects of Polity :

They claimed to be descendants of Brahma and ruled by divine right. They had a centralized administration with a council of ministers and officials. They divided their empire into provinces called mandalas, which were further subdivided into districts called kottams or nadus. They delegated some authority to local assemblies or sabhas, which had autonomy over taxation, justice, irrigation etc. They maintained a large army, navy, and bureaucracy. They had a long rivalry with the Chalukyas of Badami over the control of south India. They established diplomatic relations with foreign countries such as China, Sri Lanka, Cambodia etc.

1. Trace briefly the history of the struggle between the Chalukyas and the Pallavas. Analyze its causes and bring out its importance. [1985, 60m]

• [[11.2 Pallavas#Conflict b w Chalukyas - Pallavas and also Pandyas MainsPYQ]]

Answer

• ! Answered below.

1. Give an account of the struggle for supremacy in South India between the Chalukyas of Badami and the Pallavas. [2000, 60 m]

• Refer above [2. Trace briefly the history of the struggle between the](onenote: [[5. PYQs]] %20 and%20 Answers&section-id={762 B 0 AE 5-2 A 23-4 D 1 F-9 D 30-89664 CBE 1143}&page-id={5 E 93 C 217-B 8 A 5-4096-BBBD-899 DAAE 068 C 7}&object-id={F 1278141-9042-45 D 8-BD 0 F-4 F 7 B 2 D 460 CA 0}&26&base-path= https://d.docs.live.net/bbc8be5bd337910c/Documents/History%20Optional/Ancient%20History/Part%20II/Regional%20States%20during%20Gupta%20Era.one )

Answer

The struggle for supremacy in south India between the Chalukyas of Badami and the Pallavas was a long and fierce one that lasted from the 6th to the 8th centuries CE1. The main reason for the conflict was over the control of the land lying between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, which was rich in resources and strategic importance.

The first clash between the two powers occurred during the reign of Pulakesin II (609-642 CE), who defeated Mahendravarman I, the Pallava king, and occupied some of his territories. However, Mahendravarman’s son Narasimhavarman I avenged his father’s defeat by invading Vatapi (Badami) and killing Pulakesin II in 642 CE. He also captured some Chalukyan lands and assumed the title of Vatapikonda (the conqueror of Vatapi).

The war continued between Narasimhavarman’s successors and Pulakesin’s son Vikramaditya I, who recovered Vatapi and some other regions from the Pallavas. He also defeated Harshavardhana on the banks of Narmada river and established his supremacy in north India as well.

The next phase of conflict began when Vikramaditya’s son Vinayaditya attacked Narasimhavarman II, who had succeeded his father Paramesvaravarman I as the Pallava king. Vinayaditya was repulsed by Narasimhavarman II, who also invaded Chalukyan territory and plundered their capital. He built a new city called Kanchipuram after his victory.

The final phase of conflict took place during the reigns of Vikramaditya II (733-746 CE) and Nandivarman II (732-796 CE) of Chalukya and Pallava dynasties respectively. Vikramaditya II launched a series of campaigns against Nandivarman II and defeated him several times. He also captured Kanchipuram twice and looted its wealth. However, he did not annex any Pallava territory or destroy their temples. Instead, he showed respect for their culture and religion by making donations to their shrines.

The struggle between Chalukyas of Badami and Pallavas ended with Vikramaditya II’s death in 746 CE. Both dynasties declined soon after due to internal dissensions and external invasions by other powers such as Rashtrakutas, Pandyas, Pratiharas etc.

1. Give an account of the rise of the Chalukyas of Vatapi and their struggle with other rulers. Write a note on their patronage of arts. [2004, 60m]

• Refer this 2. Trace briefly the history of the struggle between the
• Struggle other than that of Pallavas

Answer

The Chalukyas of Vatapi (modern Badami) were a powerful dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and 8th centuries CE1. They emerged as the successors of the Vakatakas in western Deccan and established their capital at Vatapi23. They united the whole of south India under their rule and expanded their influence to Gujarat, Maharashtra, and parts of north India.

Their most famous ruler was Pulakesin II (609-642 CE), who was a contemporary of Harshavardhana. He defeated Harsha’s army on the banks of the Narmada river and prevented him from expanding his empire to the south5. He also successfully resisted the invasion of the Pallavas, who were his main rivals in south India. He had diplomatic relations with the rulers of Persia, as evident from a copper plate inscription found at Mandasor.

The Chalukyas of Vatapi were great patrons of art and architecture. They developed the vesara style in building structural temples, which combined features of both Nagara and Dravida styles67. They also carved out magnificent rock-cut cave temples at Badami, Aihole, and Pattadakal, which are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These caves display exquisite sculptures and paintings depicting Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain themes89. The Chalukyas also encouraged literature, especially in Sanskrit and Kannada languages. Some of their notable poets were Bharavi, Dandin, Ravikirti, Pampa, and Ponna.