History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c6.s1: Sources of History

History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c6.s1

Language: English

Sources of History

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*Epigraphy.*—Of the sources of information for writing the history of the Pallavas, epigraphy occupies a prominent place compared with the other sources. Dr. Fleet has pointed out, ‘We are ultimately dependent on the inscriptions in every line of Indian research.’ This is especially true of the history of the Pallavas, for without the inscriptions it is practically impossible to know anything about these kings and their times. We may divide the Pallava inscriptions¹ conveniently into three classes. To the first class belong records written entirely in Prakrit. The second class of records comprises Sanskrit inscriptions, while the third class consists of those in Sanskrit and Tamil. Of these, the records of the first class probably belong to the earliest period, as it is now recognized that Prakrit was superseded by Sanskrit about the fourth century A.D., while the earliest 'Grantha-Tamil' records of the Pallavas have been assigned to the seventh century. Most of these records are of a donative character. Their object was to record the gifts of lands or money to temples or Brahmans. The most important portion of the records was the specification of the details of the names of the donor, the donee and the donation of the particular gift. From very early times the records give a certain amount of genealogical information and a recital of events was introduced to magnify the glory and importance of the donors. Thus, for instance, the Prakrit charters such as those of Sivaskandavarman contained hardly any allusion to historical events connected with the donor. Gradually however we find a change. The Sanskrit charters beginning from about the fifth century not only enumerate the father and the grandfather of the donor, but some of them, such as the Kūram, Kaśākkuḍi, the Vēlūrpāḷayam and the Bāhūr plates, give a long account of the names of previous kings and their achievements. 'Thus,' as Fleet says, 'not with the expressed object of preserving history, but in order to intensify the importance of everything connected with religion and to secure grantees in the possession of properties conveyed to them, there was gradually accumulated almost the whole mass of epigraphic records from which chiefly, the ancient history of India is now being put together.'²

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¹ Vide Appendix (A).

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² Fleet, *Bom. Gaz.*, vol. i, pt. ii, p. 62.

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*Stone Inscriptions.*—Stone inscriptions beginning from the seventh century, so far as this dynasty is concerned, form a distinct class by themselves. These records which are fairly abundant for the later Pallava period are for the most part, donative in character, though one or two of them such as the Vāyalūr pillar inscription of Rājasimha, and the Panamalai inscription of the same king give a genealogical account. Some are short, and record gifts to religious or other institutions, and they are invariably dated in the regnal year of the contemporary king without reference to any era. They are mostly in prose, though a few of these are to be found also in verse such as the inscription at the Pallava rock-cut temple at Daḷavānūr ¹ of King Mahēndravarman I. The earliest of these are those written in some of the rock-cut temples believed to have been excavated by Mahēndravarman I, such as the one at Vallam.² Many of these rock-cut temples such as those at Pallāvaram, Trichinopoly, Maṇḍagappaṭṭu, Māmaṇḍūr contain Grantha and Grantha-Tamil inscriptions some of which are contemporaneous with the caves and have for their object the simple recording of the excavation of these monuments. The copper-plate charters taken along with these stone inscriptions furnish valuable information as regards the history and chronology of the Pallava kings. In spite of the serious disadvantage that these records are not dated in any of the known eras but only in the regnal years of the king, a careful study of the palæography of these inscriptions makes it possible to fix their age more or less accurately. The facts obtained from these records, coupled with those of the contemporary kings with whom the Pallavas came into contact enable us to reconstruct to a great extent the history of the age of the Pallavas. The most important of these contemporary records are those of the Western-Gangas, the Western Chāḷukyas, the Pāṇḍyas as well as the minor dynasties such as those of the Muttaraiyan and the Bāṇa subordinates of the later Pallava kings.

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¹ Ep. Ind., vol. xii, p. 225.

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² S. I. I., vol. ii, p 34.

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Pallava Monuments.—Side by side with the inscriptions we have the Pallava monuments themselves. According to one set of scholars whose enthusiasm for their subject hampers them from taking a dispassionate view, the study of architecture constitutes an even more important instrument for fixing dates than the study cf palæography and inscriptions. According to Mr. A. H. Longhurst for instance, ‘the present method of relying entirely on inscriptions for fixing the dates of ancient monuments adopted by Dr. Hultzsch and others is open to objection because when this method of investigation is employed alone, serious mistakes may occur. It is possible that inscriptions on a monument may have been inscribed long after it was erected. In such cases the inscription would not only give no information about the original author of the monument but may even lead us into error. Then again if the study of architecture is neglected, how is the epigraphist going to determine the age of the monument that does not possess any inscription ?’¹ This is a reply to the point of view of Prof. Hultzsch who in his paper on the ‘Inscriptions of the Seven Pagodas’² wrote :—‘The important question of the authors and the dates of these excavations can be answered only by a careful study of their inscriptions engraved on them.’ Prof. Jouveau-Dubreuil is inclined to agree with Mr. Longhurst, and attaches greater importance to the study of architecture for the determination of dates than to that of the inscriptions. In his work on the *Pallava Antiquities* the author enters into a minute examination of the evolution of the Pallava style in the course of the Pallava age, and distinguishes various styles even during comparatively short intervals of time.

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¹ *M.A.R. for 1918-19*, p. 20.

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² *Ep. Ind.*, vol. x, p. 2.

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During the last thirty years a large number of Pallava monuments have been discovered at Mahēndravāḍi, Daḷavānūr-Śīyamangalam, Pallāvaram, Trichinopoly, Kīḷmāvilangai, Śingavaram, Tirukkaḷukkuṉṟam, Vallam, Māmaṇḍūr, Maṇḍagapaṭṭu, Mēlachēri, Sittannavāsal and Mahābalipuram. Some of these consist of rock-cut caves and bear Pallava inscriptions. Others consist of structural temples such as the Kailāsanātha temple at Kāñchīpuram and the Shore temple at the Seven Pagodas. Many of these monuments were brought into existence by the Pallava kings and contain their inscriptions. The inscriptions on the Rathas of Mahābalipuram contain some specific references in the shape of the names and surnames of some of the kings. The most important of this class of epigraphs are those on the Dharmarājaratha and the Kailāsanātha temple at Mahābalipuram and Conjeevaram respectively. These temples are dedicated to the Hindu Triad; while the cave temples are dedicated to Śiva or Viṣṇu, the presence of representations of Brahma the other member of the Hindu Triad, forms a peculiar feature of these monuments which distinguishes them from later temples. The Ādivarāha temple at the Seven Pagodas contains statues of the celebrated kings Simhavishṇu and Mahēndravarman I in bas-relief. Similarly the rock-cut temple at the top of the Trichinopoly rock appears to have originally contained a statue of Mahēndravarman I, a fact which seems to be alluded to in the inscription discovered there.¹ But the statue is not to be found there now, and may have been destroyed subsequently. Recently Mr. Longhurst has been fortunate in discovering at Bhairavakonda ² (Nellore District) a large group of temples attributable to the Pallava age, all of them cut out of rock and closely resembling the Mahēndra caves. There are also a large number of Pallava monuments in South India without bearing any inscription. Further study and research may help in establishing their actual age.