Pallavas – Society and Architecture

Introduction

Pallavas were commonly known as the followers of Hinduism and they offered lands and gifts to the Gods and Brahmins as a part of their traditional values. The people of the Pallava dynasty used to follow Aswamedha and Vedic rituals.

It was also known that they had almost 100 Buddhist monasteries and 80 temples in Kanchipuram. This information was noticed by the Chinese monk Xuanzang when he visited India during the Narasimhavarman reign. During this period, there were political tensions related to geopolitical aspects, which led to a strife between the Pallavas of Kanchipuram, the Chalukyas of Badami and the Pandyas of Madurai.

The Pallava Dynasty

The Pallava dynasty was built in the Southern India which spanned from 275 CE to 897 CE. The main figure behind this establishment is Simhavishnu. This dynasty influenced the South Indian culture the most through their philosophy, art, religion and architecture. Kanchi or Kanchipuram was so-called the capital of Pallava Dynasty.

The most influential times of the Pallavas were during the ruling time of Mahendravarma I and Narasimhavarman I. Pallavas are mostly remembered for the architecture of the Shore temple in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu.

Image 1 − A portion of a ruined Pallava palace in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, built around the 7th century A.D., probably originally used as a stable. (Ravages on Flickr, Pallava palace ruins in Kanchi, CC BY-SA 2.0 )

Pallava: Society and Culture

The Pallava society was mainly modeled from the Aryan Culture where the Brahmins were worshipped by the Kings.

Brahmins even received various lands and villages and this ritual was known as the Brahmadeya. The caste system was highly maintained and most of the power was in the Brahmin’s hands.

The Pallava kings were rigid and they were the worshippers of the lord Shiva and Vishnu. They resided along with Buddhists and Jainists but they did not have much faith in Buddism and Jainism as these religions lost their popularity during this time.

The educational, religious, literature and administrative aspects of the Pallava dynasty are discussed below −

• Education − Kanchipuram was the main learning centre for the Pallavas and the Kanchi University, also known as Ghatika, played an important role to circulate the Aryan culture in South India. The aryanisation of Southern India was fully developed during this period. Vatsyayana was a famous teacher and author of the Kanchi University and Nyaya Bhashya, respectively.

• Literature − Kiratarjuneeyam and Dashakumaracharita these two masterpieces were the creation of Bharavi and Dandin respectively, who lived in the Pallava courts. The most flourished literature of this reign was Vaishnava and Saiva literature and the common language among the scholars and nobles was Sanskrit. Some inscriptions, however, also used the Tamil language along with Sanskrit. The common people were forced to follow the Vedic traditions by the saints.

• Religion − The Tamil saints were divided into two categories; Saivite were those who were worshippers of the Shiva and Vaishnavaite were those who were worshippers of the Vishnu. The Saivite saints were also known as the Nayannars and the Vaishnavaite saints were also known as the Alwars. Some of the famous Saivite saints were Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar and Manikkawasagar. The name of the only female Alwar saint was Andal and Alwar saints used to compose Tamil hymns. All the big temples used to have their own dancers.

• Administration − The locality of the Pallava was divided into three places and these were Ur, Sabha and Nagaram. Ur was the place all the peasants lived and these peasants were led by someone who was in charge of collecting and paying taxes. Sabha or also known as the Agrahara village was the land that was gifted to the Brahmins and these lands did not need any taxes. Nagaram was the place where traders and merchants used to live.

Pallava: Architecture

Image 2 − Pallava Architecture Styles

The lavish and crafty architecture of the Pallava dynasty was divided into four sections and each section represents a different style. The Mahendra Style referred to the era of 600-625 AD; the Mammala Style referred to the era of 625-674 AD.

On the other hand, the Rajasimha and Nadivarman Style referred to the era of 674-800 AD and the Aparajita Style referred to the era of the early 9th century. The architecture of the Pallava period had gone through a transformation of the rock-cut to free-standing temples.

The first rock-cut temple Mandagapattu was built by Mahendravarman, the pioneer of this type of architecture. The Kanchi Kailasanatha temple was built by Rajasimha or also known as Narasimhaverman II at the end of the 7th century AD.

Rajasimha also built the oldest structural temple of Mahabalipuram, South India, known as the Shore Temple. Also known as the Seven Pagodas, this temple got declared as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1984. The Vaikunta Perumal temple of Kanchipuram is a classic example of the Nandivarman monument style.

The Pallava architecture gained its total maturity during this time. The monuments of this period worked as a model of the Brihadeeswarar Temple and Gangaikonda Cholapuram. The Cholas built the huge Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur and many other architectural pieces were also constructed during this period. The Pallava dynasty was also the founder of the Dravidian architecture style.

Conclusion

The official languages of the Pallavas were Sanskrit and Prakrit and they were used in all the official works. There were some inscriptions in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka that were written in Sanskrit and Prakrit languages. The commonly used language by the Pallavas was Tamil and most of the inscriptions were written in this language. The ancient Cambodian and Java culture also indicates the influence of the Pallava architecture.

FAQs

Q1.What was the Dravidian architecture style?

Ans.It was a type of architectural style that developed during the Pallava dynasty. This type of monument witnessed the gradual transformation of the rock-cut temples to the free-standing temples.

Q2.What was the capital of the Pallavas?

Ans.Kanchipuram was known to be the capital of the Pallavas and it also became their educational hub. They ruled for almost 600 years in the Tamil region from the 6th to 9th century AD.

Q3.Were Pallavas Tamil?

Ans.Pallavas were not Tamilians but they started worshipping Hindu gods and goddesses by getting guidance from the Saint Thirunavukkarasar. However, many Buddhists, Jainists and other religions resided among the Pallavas.