History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c10.40

c10.40

Before concluding the account of the Vishṇukuṇḍins, their relationship with the Pallava dynasty may be alluded to. At present this theory of the Pallava-Vishṇukuṇḍin relationship rests almost entirely on the mere resemblance of names of the two dynasties and is open to suspicion. Dr. Jouveau-Dubreuil noticing for the first time the resemblance of the names of the Vishṇukuṇḍin king Vikramēndra and Mahēndravikrama, the Pallava king, was led to postulate an unrecorded marriage relation between the daughter of Vikramēndra I and Simhavishṇuvarman whose son through this Vishṇukuṇḍin alliance was named according to the usual Hindu custom after the name of the grandfather on the mother's side as Mahēndravikrama.² According to the same authority the rock-cut temples excavated by Mahēndravarman I, in the various parts of the Tamil country, coupled with the mention of the name of the king Mahēndravikrama in the Trichinopoly cave inscription lend considerable support to this relationship of Vishṇukuṇḍins and the Pallavas. But at present this theory rests purely on the resemblance of names and is unsupported by any piece of positive evidence, literary or other, discovered so far. In none of the published inscriptions is it so much as alluded to that Simhavishnu, the father of Mahendravarman and the founder of the line of the great Pallavas of Kanchi, entered into a matrimonial alliance with the Vishnukundins; nor is the mere resemblance of the names¹ alone sufficient for postulating such a relationship as this. Nor is the resemblance between Vikramendra and Mahendravikrama quite so close. Finally there is no clear evidence that the style of Mahendravarman cave temples were borrowed from Vishnukundin examples on the banks of the Krishna. The origin of the Undavalli caves and the actual kings who excavated them cannot be considered as finally settled, and not until this is done is it possible to assert that the art of Mahendravarman was derived from it. Mr. Sewell thought that these caves were the work of the Chalukyas.² Mr. Krishna Sastriyar was struck with their resemblance with the caves of Orissa and would take them to the Andhra period.³ The genealogy of the Vishnukundins so far known may be represented as follows:—