Saturday, November 28, 2009

THE PALLAVAS

THE PALLAVAS

The age of the Pallavas extended roughly from the third century AD to the end of the ninth century AD. The rise of the Pallava kingdom, north of the Chola kingdom of the Sangam Age, coincided with the decline of the Chola, Chera and Pandya kingdoms.

As to who the Pallavas were, there are many theories with regard to their origin: (i) they were descendants of Greek-Parthians who came in the wake of Alexander's invasion; (ii) they belonged to a local clan which grew powerful after the decline of the Andhra dynasty in the Deccan; (Hi) according to M.C. Ramanujam, the Pallavas originated from the Chola-Naga marriage; (iv) they were brahmans of the North whose occupation was service in the army; (v) they were originally robbers who gradually established their rule. However, their origin is not certain.

The Pallavas with their capital at Kanchi, south of Madras, gradually occupied most of the Chola and Chera territories. One of the early Pallava kings, Vishnugopa, was captured and then freed by Samudra Gupta about the middle of the fourth century AD. From some copper plates it is known that 16 kings ruled d~g the period 350-575. Inscriptions mention the names of several later Pallava monarchs whose dominions embraced not only Kanchi but considerable parts of the Telugu and Kanarese districts. The suzerainty of som:e of them was acknowledged by the early Gangas of eastern and southern Mysore and the early Kadambas who supplanted the Chutu-Satakarnis of Vaijayanti. The Lokavibhaga mentions that one of the Pallava kings who bore the name of Simhavarman ascended the throne in AD 436.

However, towards the end of the sixth century the Tamil land was divided betwee~ the Pallavas and the Pandyas. Simhavishnu. (575-600) extended the Pallava king­dom up to the river Kaveri. He is said to have vanquished the Pandyas, Cholas and Cheras, as well as the ruler of Ceylon. He was a Vaishnava, and magnificent reliefs repre­
senting the king and two of his consOfts have been discovered in the Varaha cave at Mamallapuram. His son and successor, Mahendravarman I (600-630), was defeated by the Chalukyan king, Pulakesin II, and with this started the great struggle between the Pallavas and their northern enemies, the Chalukyas of Vatapi, for the mastery of southern India. The struggle continued for several genera­tions. Mahendravarman I was succeeded by his son, Narasimhavarman I (630-668), who is regarded as the most successful Pallava king. In 642 he occupied the Chalukyan capital, Vatapi, and probably killed Pulakesin II. This made the Pallavas the dominant power in the South. Narasimhavarman sent two naval expeditions to Ceylon and placed a nominee of his own on the throne of that island. It was during his reign that the Chinese pilgrim Hsuan- Tsang is reported to have visited Kanchi.

The rivalry between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas was a constant factor in the history of South India in the seventh and eighth centuries AD. The Pallavas also had to fight the Pandyas and the Rashtrakutas. The Rashtrakuta king, Govinda III, invaded the Pallava kingdom and de­feated its ruler Dantivarman (796-846). Soon Pallava power began to decline and was finally wiped out by Aditya I Chola (a king of the new emerging Chola dynasty), who defeated Aparajitavarman (879-897) and annexed the Pallava kingdom.

The period circa AD 300-850 marks the second historical phase in the south which was divided mainly between the Pallavas, Chalukyas and Pandyas by the end of the sixth century. The first historical phase is marked by the appear­ance of numerous crafts, internal and external trade, wide­spread use of coins and a good number of towns. Trade, towns and coinage seem to have been in a state of decline in the second phase, which is distinguished by a large number of land grants made to the brahmans free of taxes. The grants suggest that many new areas were brought under cultivation and settlement. This period therefore saw far more expansion of agrarian economy.

Brahmanism now began to dominate. Buddhism lost its hold, and Jainism was confined to Kamataka. Kings began to perform Vedic sacrifices. Stone temples for Shiva and Vishnu began to be constructed. By the beginning of the second phase, South India had ceased to b~ the land of megaliths, and towards its end we notice the process
which eventually made it a land of temples. From about-~AD 400 om.vards, Sanskrit became the official language and most charters were composed in it. From the seventh century onwards, the Alvar saints (devotees of Vishnu) popularised the worship of Vishnu; however, their work is no longer in Sanskrit, but in Tamil. The Nayanars rendered a similar service to the cult of Siva. From the seventh century onwards, the cult of bhakti began to dominate the religious life of the south Indians, and the Alvars and Nayanars played an important role in its propagation.

The state made heavy demands on the labour and produce of the peasantry. Most of these demands are covered by the 18 types of immunities granted to the brahmans from the fourth century AD. Later, more and more demands were made on the peasantry. There were three types of villages now: ur (normal village inhabited by peasant castes); sabha (inhabited by brahmans); and nagaram (inhabited by traders and merchants).

Society was dominated by princes arid priests. The princes claimed the status of brahmans or kshatriyas though many of them were local clan chiefs. Below the princes and priests came the peasantry (divided into numerous castes). Possib)y most of them were called shudras in the brahmanical system.

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