PALLAVAS ARCHITECTURE

The South Indian temples have made a rich contribution to temple architecture in India. The development of the Bhakti Cult in the form of Saivism and Vaishnavism resulted in the worship of idols and construction of temples.  Starting with the rule of the Pallavas in the 7th Century A.D. temple architecture gradually continued to develop during the Chola Period (900 – 1150 A.D.), the Chalukya and Hoysala Period (10th to 12th Century A.D.), the Pandya Period (1100 A.D. to 1350 A.D.), the Vijayanagar Period (1350 A.D. to 1565 A.D.) culminating in the final phase of the Dravidian style during the rule of the Nayak rulers of Madurai.

The South Indian temples are institutions by themselves and are centres of community life – Public and Religious.  Here, people gathered to worship, discuss social, political and religious matters. They had schools and colleges attached where free secular and religious instruction were given as per the Agama Shastras, they maintained people of various crafts and occupations as temple staff to serve the needs of the community. 

The Dravidian or Pallava style was introduced during the Pallava Rule.  The earlier form of this style is seen in the rock cut temples or Rathas of Mahabalipuram.  Known as the Seven Rathas and named after Ganesh, Draupadi and the Five Pandava brothers, these temples are cut out of solid rock, have mandaps and pillared halls.  They are monolithic shrines. 

Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram, 59 Kms. south of Madras, was founded by Narasimhavarman I Pallava who ruled over the area in the 7th Century A.D

The Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram, built during the reign of Narasimha 11 is on the seashore.  Facing east, the temple has a small gopuram with a pradakshina path between the temple and the outer wall.  The main shrine contains a broken fluted Shiva linga.  Opposite the gopuram is the dwaja sthamba

The second phase of Pallava art begins towards the end of the 7th  century AD and continues in the 8th century AD in the form of structural monuments. The characteristic feature of these temples is the high shikharas ascending tier upon tier, diminishing in size. The most beautiful examples of this style are the Kailashnath Temple dedicated to Shiva and the Vaikuntha Perumal Temple to Vishnu both located at Kanchipuram. These are a development on the style of previous temples and contain a flat roofed mandap surrounded by numerous cells. Rock and brick were used in the construction.

The Kailashnath Temple of Shiva was built by Rajasimha Pallava and his son Mahendravarman. Built of coarse sandstone, it has a four-storeyed square vimana. The sikhara is octagonal. Three of the four storeys of the vimana are decorated with miniature vimanas and the fourth has four nandis on the four corners.

The Vaikuntha Perumal Temple was constructed by Nandivarnam in the 7th century AD and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is built on a plan similar to the Kailashnath Temple. Built of sandstone and granite, it is a large square temple with a four storeyed vimana.

The temple is important for the series of inscriptions describing the wars between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas and the sculptured panels depicting the history of the Pallava rulers.

Pallava art was also carried across the seas to South-East Asia. An example of Pallava art is seen in the Temple of Angkor Vat in Cambodia built by King Suryavarman.Dedicated to Shiva, it is the largest temple in the world. The temple walls and galleries are adorned with fine sculptures of birds, flowers, dancers and scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata and the puranas