History of India, c. 150 A.D. to 350 A.D.: Naga–Vakataka Imperial Period c17.s2.16.1

c17.s2.16.1

176. Who were these Pallavas? This question has been sought to be answered by various scholars since the discovery of this dynasty from their copperplates. ‘Pallava’ has remained a mystic, undeciphered figure. It was fashionable to regard every unexplained dynasty as being of foreign origin, and in that vogue the Pallavas became Parthians. But the conscience of the historians was not satisfied and almost instinctively they came to the conclusion that the Pallavas were natives of the country. But they regarded them as Dravidian or connected with the Dravidians of Ceylon. All these theories have ignored written records and materials which leave no room for any controversy. The Pallavas have suffered at the hands of historians a fate similar to that of the Śungas. They have been deprived of their true status which is one of good, pedigreed Brahmins. The Śungas had been declared to be foreigners, until the present writer was instrumental in showing that the Śungas were Vedic Brahmins and the founders of a Brahmin empire, a finding which has now been universally accepted. The key of their origin was found in the orthodox literature of the country. We should employ the same method again with regard to the Pallava ethnology. The code to decipher the Pallava mystery is locked in the Purāṇas, in their Vindhyaka history. The code is this: A branch of the Imperial Vindhyakas, i.e.