{"id":12330,"date":"2013-10-17T21:58:27","date_gmt":"2013-10-17T16:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/?p=12330"},"modified":"2015-04-16T16:02:34","modified_gmt":"2015-04-16T10:32:34","slug":"who-were-the-pallavas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/history\/who-were-the-pallavas","title":{"rendered":"Who Were the Pallavas?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s southern India was once ruled by the Pallava dynasty between the 2nd\u00a0and 9th\u00a0centuries CE, who are known for their great architecture. The Pallava dynasty was one of the most significant dynasties of ancient India, and a major force in southern India. Kanchi or modern-day Kanchipuram was the capital city of the Pallavas. Telgu, Tamil and Sanskrit were their main languages. Different architectural patterns, especially the stone-cut religious sites in Mahabalipuram, are associated with them. Most of their places worships were devoted to Lord Shiva. The Pallavas are known for their cultural development rather than political acumen. Gifts of land were frequently given to gods and Brahmins. Also, Vedic sacrifices and Aswamedha rites\u00a0were part of their rituals. For writing purposes, a one-of-its-own-kind southern Brahmi script was developed by them, which was later on exported eastwards. It is said that this writing script has influenced almost all the southern Asian scripts.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Doubtful Origin of Pallavas<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The first great ruler of the early Pallavas is thought to be Skandavarman, though there are indications that there might be predecessors of Skandavarman as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

The origin of the Pallavas is still a mystery as no reliable information is available. It is believed that they entered India from the south. Some scholars also believe that the Pallavas were from the Pahleves of Parthians, and migrated to south. But again, there is no strong evidence to prove this.<\/span><\/p>\n

As per another theory, the Pallavas was the native dynasty and rose to power after the Andhra empire.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Srinivas Aiyangar, the Pallavas were part of the ancient Naga people. They first lived in the Tondaimandalam districts around Madras, and later won Tanjore and Trichinopoly districts. The Pallavas were the prime enemies of Tamil kings, and today palava<\/em> means “rogue” in Tamil language.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also it is believed that the origin of the Pallavas was from a Chola prince and the Naga princess of Manipallavam. The princess gave birth to a son who was made the king of Tondaimandalam. The dynasty was named after his mother\u2019s homeland. Even in the literature of the Sangam era, the Pallavas as Tondaiyar have been described. But this theory is also debated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Administration of Pallavas<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the Pallavas kings were great scholars who were given titles like Maharajadhiraja, Dharma-maharjadhiraja, and Agnistomavajpeya. For their assistance, the ministerial council was constituted. All the matters of the villages were looked after by the council or\u00a0sabha<\/em>. Informal gathering in the villages were known as urar<\/em>\u00a0and were used to assist village courts. Also, minor criminal cases were resolved at village-level courts. Towns and districts had judicial courts, with the king as the supreme authority of justice. All land was owned by the king. Villages with huge inter-caste population used to pay taxes to the king. In the Brahmadeya village, the entire land was either given to a single Brahmin or a group of Brahmins, who were exempted from paying royal taxes. Also, there was one unique category of land known as the sripatti<\/em> or tank land. The village tank constructed by the villagers used to get maintenance funds from this land. There were two types of taxes \u2013 the one paid to the state, and the one collected in the villages and spent for the need in the village.<\/span><\/p>\n

Architectural styles under Pallavas<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Pallava temples were made in four distinct styles. These are:<\/span><\/p>\n