A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c21.74

c21.74

The second group of Pallava structural temples, the Nandivarman group, mostly consist of small temples and in no way form an advance on the achievements of the previous age. The principal examples are the Mukteśvara and Matangeśvara at Kāñchipuram, the Vāḍāmalliśvara at Oragadam, near Chingleput, the temple of Viraṭṭāneśvara at Tiruttaṇi near Arkonam, and the Paraśurāmeśvara at Guḍimallam (near Renigunta). Perhaps the earliest in the group are the two temples at Kāñchipuram, which both have porticos supported on two pillars at the entrance. The other four temples of this group are all apsidal in character, possibly based on the example of the Sahadeva ratha at Māmallapuram. These modest structures are witnesses of the decline of Pallava power. To the Pallavas, however, belongs the credit of having kept up and developed the traditions of Amarāvati and transmitted them to lands beyond the seas where in course of time there arose vast monuments which threw even the splendid achievements of the mother country into the shade.