The pallava dynasty

The glories of pallava dynasty and their languages, tradition and culture.

1. The Pallava Dynasty Presented By, R.Priyanga N.Saranya

2. The Dynasty South Indian Dynasty Capital: Kanchipuram Dominated Parts: Telugu and Northern Indian Parts of T amil Region . Major Rulers: Mahendravarman (571 to 630CE) Narasimhavarman (630 to 668CE) Period: 275CE to 897CE Government: Monarchy

3. Languages: Prakrit , Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu Official Language : Prakrit For Inscriptions : Sanskrit For Writing Scripts : Grantha Script. Grantha Script: An Indian writing script used in 6 th to 20 th century by the tamil and malayalam speaking people of the Brahmin community.

4. Religion- Hinduism Once when a Chinese monk XuangZang visited the regions of Pallava dynasty he reported that there were 100 Buddhist monasteries and 80 Buddhist temples in Kanchipuram. This shows that though they practiced Hinduism, they had respect towards other religions.

5. The Pallava Flag

6. Origin of Pallava kings Theory 1 - Manimekalai Theory 2 – Bahur Plates

7. Theory 1 - Manimekalai Born to the daughter of a Naga King named Pilivalai and Chola King Kilivalan. He was then lost in a shipwreck and then found with a twig of a Tondai (also called as creeper/Pallava)plant around his ankle and hence he was named as Tondai-man .

8. Theory 2 – Bahur Plates The copper plate inscriptions that are found at Bahur which is an ancient Siva temple located at 20kms from Pondy is called as Bahur Plates . In that it is mentioned as, “ From Ashvatthama was born the king named Pallava ” Which later explains that the first pallava king was born to the Brahmin Ashvatthama and a Naga Princess .

9. Education & Literature The Pallavas were a great patron of learning and their capital Kanchi was an ancient center of learning. The most famous educational institution Ghatika attracted students from all over the world. It is also said that many scholars studied in Kanchi which even includes: The founder of Kadamba dynasty, Mayurasarmam . (Studied Vedas) The buddhist writer, Dinganaga who in later years became the head of Nalandha University. The great sanscrit scholar- Bharavi

10. Art & Architecture Developed the art of excavating temples from the rock . Dravidian style of temple architecture began. There were three stages of development.

11. Stage-1 Mahendravarman 1 introduced the Rock cut temples . They were seen in Mamandur , Trichy , Vallam etc.

12. Stage-2 Narasimhavarman 1 introduced the Monolithic Rathas and Mandapas . Mono means One; Lithic means Rock. This mean that the entire structure is built using one Single rock. They were seen in Mamallapuram .

13. Stage-3 Rajasimha introduced the Structural temples . The temples those that are built using soft sand rocks . One of the famous monument of that king is the Kanchi Kailasanatha Temple.

14. The Legacy of Sri Kailasanatha Temple of Kanchi

15. The Kanchi The Pallavas had their powers over Kanchi during the 7 th to 9 th century when they established supremacy over their southern rivals. They established their territory extending from the Krishna in the north to Cauvery in the south . Kanchi was also home to the famous 6 th century poet Bharavi who wrote the  Kiratarjuniya .   Hsuan Tsang, the Chinese-Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler and translator who visited Kanchi during the 7 th  century, wrote glowingly about the splendor of the city and its intellectual wealth.

16. The Kailasanatha Temple The Kailasanatha temple is the largest and the most ornate temples in India. It is the oldest of the other temples. D edicated to Lord Shiva . This was earlier known as Raja- Simheshwaram . This temple is credited to the Pallava ruler Narasimhavarman 2 and Rajasimha (690-728AD)

17. This temple looks more like a chariot that descended down to earth. This Sandstone structure is enclosed within a highly decorative wall having 58 shrines. There is also a Lingam of black color inside the sanctum. The rear wall of the sanctum is adorned with the somaskonda panel. The vimana rises over the sanctum like a pyramid. The Pallavas were very fond of Lord Shiva, their main motif is the Somaskonda panel depicting Shiva & Parvati along with their son Karthikeya. (Sa-Uma- Skanda mean Shiva withh Uma and Skanda .) They picturized Shiva as a playful child as well as a family man.

18. Their Way of Depiction

19. Depicting Shiva… Their depictions were very specific. Complexation of Rising Sun/Coral. Matted hair with a crown of Ganges with Crescent. Wears a Patra and Makara. ( Kundals in Left and Right ear respectively.) Upper hands carry a cane/Antelope. Lower two gestures benediction & Assurance. Sits in one leg bent and other stretched down.( Lambaka Padam )

20. Depicting Parvati .. Parvati sits in his left. She has two hands and one holds a blue Lotus. Leg position one bent and other stretched. Both have a pleasant countenance , as they sit in a relaxed position.

21. Depicting Skanda .. This playful child Skanda is inbetween the lovable couple. The child has a normal stature and holds a flower in one hand. His complextion is blue.

22. The Vimanas Most of the largest and complex structures. Stories were depicted in the form of architectural designs . They are four- storeyed structures containing two walls of ambulatory pasage . Three exterior walls have seven lesser shrines placed around them and they contain images of Shiva. Whole of their exterior contains sculptors of Lions, Nandis , Shiva and other deities.

23. The Gopuras The Gopuras were not an essential feature of the early temples . At the Kailasanatha there is just a suggestion of a  Gopura - dwara . It was only by about 11 th  century that tall, colossal and overwhelming Gopura emerged as a unique feature of the South Indian temple architecture.

24. The Uniqueness.. The Kailasanatha temple is perhaps the biggest sandstone temple structure in the world. Among the ancient temples in Kanchi, the Kailasanatha is the only temple whose structure has not been meddled with or re-constructed. It still retains its pristine form and structure. It’s another unique feature is the 58  devakulikas  (mini-shrines) that run round the main temple.

25. Thank You !!