History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c9.3

c9.3

*The Nature of these Records and some Important Synchronisms.*—The actual chronological position and the genealogical order of the Pallava kings of this period are, in the present state of knowledge, bound to be tentative and far from strictly accurate. Fortunately an element of certainty in the case of certain of the sovereigns of this period has become possible by two or three important synchronisms. The most valuable of these is contained in the Penugoṇḍa plates of the Western Ganga king Mādhava II, which, unlike most other early Ganga plates, has been accepted to be a genuine record.¹ By stating that Arivarman (equivalent of Harivarman or Āryavarman) and Simhavarman and Skandavarman were installed on the Ganga throne by Simhavarman and Skandavarman of the Pallava family this record gives the valuable information that Āryavarman and Simhavarman of the Western Ganga dynasty were contemporaries of the Pallava kings Simhavarman and Skandavarman, and in all probability their feudatories as well. Dr. Fleet, who has made a special study of these plates, has given it as his opinion that the period when these kings flourished must have been about the last quarter of the fifth century A.D., and that A.D. 475 is a very good date for the record.