It is believed that the Pallava Dynasty built one of the most powerful South Indian Kingdoms and ruled from early 4^th century to the late 9^th century CE. Their clan basically had roots to the Deccan Satavahanas. They later shifted to Andhra and finally to Kanchipuram in present-day Tamil Nadu state. There are talked about in several ancient artifacts differently, due to which, their origin sill remains a mystery. A Prakrit text reveals that King Vishnugopa was defeated and later freed by Samudra Gupta. A Sanskrit Lokavibhaga talks about a Pallava king named Simhavarman who reigned from 436 CE.

Pallava emperors belonged to the Dravidian country and they started getting accustomed to Tamil traditions. Pallavas history is known for their acceptance of various faiths like Buddhism, Jainism, and Brahminical. They promoted art in a great way as well. They innovated in various artforms like music and painting. Apart from that, the pallavas Kingdom was also known for its literature.

Talking about architecture and monuments in the history of Pallavas, Shore Temple is the most magnificent of all. Several other beautiful granite monolith temples were also built during their regime. If you ever get a chance, you must also visit the 11^th century Varaha cave at Mamallapuram which was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984.

Speaking of great rulers of Pallavas dynasty, Mahendravarman I was the greatest of all. He ruled from c 600–630. He commissioned the construction of several beautiful temples. He was a Jain and got converted to Shaivism later on. He also devised a new style of architecture which is popularly known as “Mahendra style.” He also wrote many interesting Sanskrit plays, one of which is called Mattavilasa-prahasana meaning “The Delight of the Drunkards”. This play was written to demean Buddhism.

During Mahendravarman’s reign, the Pallavas Kingdom fought several battles with Western Chalukya kingdom of Badami. Narasimhavarman I was another notable king who re-captured lost territories during battles fought between Pallavas and Chalukya. The power of Pallavas Dynasty started evading under the pressure of Western Chalukya dynasty. The Cholas defeated Chalukyas and the Pallava kingdom was taken over by Chola kings.