Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c23.4

c23.4

Of all the great powers that together made the history of southern India, none had a more marked effect on the architecture of this region than the earliest of all, that of the Pallavas, whose productions provided the foundations of the Dravidian style Originally the political successors of the Andhras, under whose rule the Buddhist architecture of Southern India attained its finest form, the Pallavas came into prominence in the seventh century, and continued paramount in the south until the beginning of the tenth century. The centre of their kingdom lay on the lower reaches of the Palar river, and the chief examples of Pallava architecture are to be found in the country around the town of Conjeeveram (Kanchipuram) the ancient capital. There are however a few instances of the work of this dynasty located as far south as Tanjore and Pudukkottai.