Elements of South-Indian Palæography, from the Fourth to the Seventeenth Century A.D. c5.s2.t2.11

c5.s2.t2.11

There can be no question that the caves and monoliths at Seven Pagodas, and in the neighbourhood, are of Buddhist-Jain origin[^1); the sculptures on the so-called *rathas* (monoliths) show (if anything at all) a slight admixture of Çȧiva notions, such as appear in the later Buddhism. Over several of the figures are, however, Vaishṇava names (*e. g.* *çrīNarasimhaḥ*) which ill-agree with the representations. In some of the caves are pure Vaishṇava and Çaiva mythological scenes. Taking into consideration the fact that this place is not mentioned by Hiouen-Thsang together with the nature of the sculptures, the original work is to be attributed to Jains of about the fifth century, and the alphabet of the inscriptions corresponds with this date. But as the caves now exist, they have been subsequently extended and adapted to the worship of Çiva[^2), or to the combined worship of Vishṇu and Çiva in the same temple, which is so remarkable a feature in the older and unaltered temples in the neighbourhood of Madras[^3), and which can only be attributed to the influence of the Vedānta doctrine as preached by Çan̄karācārya[^4). It is to the period of the adaptation that the dedicatory inscription, from which the alphabet in Pl. xii. is taken, belongs. The king under whom it was done is termed 'lord of the Pallavas' (Pallaveçvara) with the epithets "victorious in battle"