History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c11.s1.5

c11.s1.5

Literature.—We turn from the inscriptions and monuments to the evidence furnished by literature, both religious and secular. The bulk of the religious literature embodied in the Tēvāram of Appar, Sambandar, and Sundarar and the Vaishṇava Nālāyiraprabandha belong to this period as also the Sanskrit works Mattavilāsa and perhaps Kirātārjunīya, etc. These, however, do not compare favourably with the inscriptional records as historical documents. For one thing the hymns of the saints hardly mention contemporary political or other events with exceptions such as those in the poems of Tirumaṅgai-Āḷvār. In the next place there is no secular work in Tamil belonging to this period with the exception of Nandikkalambakam. The recently-discovered Sanskrit work entitled Mattavilāsa-Prahasana, though mainly devoted to the description of the drunken revelry of a Kāpālika, incidentally throws much light upon the contemporary religious atmosphere in the city of Kāñchīpuram. Moreover the work having been composed by one of the Pallava kings Mahēndravikrama, has a special interest to the student of Pallava history. Of greater importance, as throwing light on the encouragement of Sanskrit learning under the Pallava kings of this period may be mentioned the recent discovery of Daṇḍin's Avantisundarikathāsāra by the officers of the Madras Oriental MSS. Library. This work mentions the Chāḷukya Vishṇuvardhana and the Western Gaṅga Durvinīta as having been contemporaries of Simhavishṇu, and thus establishes a valuable synchronism in South Indian history hitherto unknown. By mentioning Bhāravi and Daṇḍin as living in the Pallava court, it puts beyond all doubt that Kāñchīpuram the capital of the Pallavas was during this age a very important centre in the south for Sanskrit learning and culture. This is independently corroborated by the inscriptional evidence furnished by the Sanskrit charters.