History of India, c. 150 A.D. to 350 A.D.: Naga–Vakataka Imperial Period c17.s2.41

c17.s2.41

On the basis of the genealogies given in the above title-deeds executed by these kings, the ancestry and the order of succession of the early Pallavas can be ascertained easily. We are absolutely certain that the great-grandfather of Skandavarman II and the father of Skandavarman I or Śiva Skandavarman was Kumāra Vishṇu the aśvamedhayājin, and that Skandavarman I's son and successor was Vīravarman whose son and successor was Skandavarman II. The only question left for speculation is the position of Vīrakorcha who must come above Skandavarman I, being the founder of the dynasty. The Rāyakōṭa (E.I., V, 49) and the Velurpalaiyam (S.I.I., II, 507) plates here become helpful. Vīrakorcha or Vīrakurcha, who according to the unanimous testimony was the first Pallava king, was married to the Nāga princess according to the inscriptions, and Skanda-śishya, i.e. Skandavarman was the son of the Nāga lady according to the Rāyakōṭa plates.¹ We have