EXPLORE THE
CAVE TEMPLES
OF
PALLAVAS
PALLAVAS
The period covered by the later half of the sixth to the first half of the tenth century forms an important landmark in the political and cultural history of South India. It marks the rise to power and the decline of three great dynasties, the Chalukyas with their capital Badami (Karnataka), the Pallavas at Kanchi and the Pandyas at Madurai.
The founder of Pallava dynasty of Kanchi was Simha vishnu (circa 550-580)or Avanisimha, son of Simhavarman who is known only from the records of his successors and the contemporary Ganga and Chalukya grants. He was the first pallava sovereign, who extended his influence beyond Kanchipuram as far as Tiruchirapalli in the south, as is evidenced by subsequent inscriptions.
Mahendravarman | (circa 580-630), who succeeded Simhavishnu, inherited the
vast kingdom extending south up to the Kaveri. He must have had a fairly long reign of fifty years to account of all his achievements in the novel method of excavating rock-cut shrines. From his reign onwards, stone inscriptions begin to appear. Although Mahendravarman and his sucessors did not date their records according to any era, their chronology can be fixed with the help of information regarding their relation with Chalukyan kings of known dates.He was the originator of rock cut architecture in south india.
MANDAGAPATTU
The cave temple on the hill at Mandagapattu. Forms the first of the series of cave temples excavated by Mahendravarman |, His inscription in which he styles himself as a vichitra-chitha
(curious minded)calls this temple Lakshitayana dedicated to Trimurthi.
This brickless,timberless, metalless and mortarless mansion of Lakshita was caused to be made by King Vichitra-chitha for Brahma, Eswara and Vishnu.
The temple is called dyatana, dedicated to the Hindu Trinity, and is one of the few such known examples. It is significant to note that Mahendra dedicated his first cave-temple to the Trinity, most of his other cave temples being Saivite and a few others Vaishnavite.
Thalavanoor
The almost finished cave temple at Thalavanur is a very interesting early Pallava example.The exavation is on the southern scarp of the huge rock running east west The interior of the shrine chamber measures 8 feet square.the cylindrical lingam and its circular peetam in the centre are seperate pieces and are not hewn out fo the rock.
There are three inscriptions one on the southern face of the western pilaster of the facade next to the upraised arm of western ‘dwara pala’, another on southern and eastern faces of the lower sathuram of the southern pillar of the shrine porch inside and a third on the western face of the eastern pilaster.
The first is a sanskrit inscription in pallava grantha mentions that the cave temple on the hill was caused to be made by King Narendra (alias satrumalla Jand was named “Satrumallesvaralaya ) the abode of the lord Siva.
Attempts have been made to fix the authorship of the cave by the surname Satrumalla known to be one of the many surnames of Mahendravarman | and on the assumption that Narendra was also one of the birudas of Mahendravarman.
Singavaram
The rock cut cave temple of Sri-Ranganatha swami in Singavaram as well as the image of vishnu sleeping on the serpent are said to be cut out of the rock. The body of the sleeping god is very large in size and extends from one end of the “cave” to the other. This cave consists of two verandhas with two pillars inside two others at the facade. The style of the sanctuary to know if its architecture would allow its being classed among the pallava temples.
At either end of the facade of the rock cut temple there are two ‘dwarapalas’ that mostly resembles those found at the entrance to the shrine at thalavanoor. Therefore no doubt that the shrine at singavaram belongs to the time of Mahendra.
Melacherry
The shrine of the temple to Madidilesvara to the north of the village and the lingam in it, are cut out of the solid rock of low hill there.
“The siva temple named Sri Sikhari Pallaveswaram was built by King Chandratitya. the Emperor. May success attend”. The Alphabet used in this inscription resembles that of Narasimha varman | at Mahabalipuram. It seems however to be somewhat less ancient.
it is therefore probable that the temple at Melacheri belongs to the middle of the VII century (about 650) and that Chandraditya was one of the names of Pallava kings either Narasimhavarman | or Parameswaravarman |.
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |