History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c9.23

c9.23

*Vishnugopa to Simhavishnu. A. D. 340 to 550.*—This period covers roughly 200 years and is commonly spoken of as the age of the Pallava kings of the Sanskrit charters, as the records of this period are invariably in Sanskrit and not in Prakrit as hitherto. The effects of the invasion of Samudragupta on the Pallava dynasty must have been far-reaching. One of these was probably to weaken the authority of Vishnugopa, and, after his death, to promote dynastic quarrels among his successors. It is very difficult to establish the exact order of succession of kings enumerated in the historical portion of the copper-plates of this period. Nor is it possible to say definitely whether all the kings, whose names figure in these records, actually ruled or occupied the Pallava throne. The extent of the territory over which their rule probably extended is also uncertain. We have already pointed out that it is possible to establish some connection, at present unknown, between the Pallava kings of the Sanskrit charters and those of the Prakrit records (A. D. 215-350). We do not know who the first member of the Pallava dynasty of the Sanskrit charters was. In this respect the Vēlūrpālayam copper-plate charter ascribed to the later Pallava king Nandivarman III of the ninth century and the Kaśākkuḍi plates of Nandivarman Pallavamalla throw some light on the manner in which the first member of the Pallava dynasty acquired sovereignty.¹