Pallava Dynasty (important rulers, administration & architecture) for UPSC prelims 2026) with PYQs

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:00]UPSC has asked a number of questions from the Palav dynasty in the recent years in the prelims exam and there's a high probability that UPSC asks a question again in the upcoming prelims 2026. So in today's long video series we'll be discussing the Palav dynasty, the rulers, the architecture and the administration of the Palav dynasty. So without wasting any time let's quickly revise the Palav dynasty. So let's start with the origin of the Palav dynasty.

[00:00:29]Okay, the origin of the Palav dynasty.

[00:00:32]Now the origin of Palav is still a subjective debate. Okay, it's still a subjective debate. But the most widely accepted theory is that they were the feudatories of the Satwahan dynasty.

[00:00:43]Okay, so this is the most widely accepted theory that they were the feudatories of Satwahan dynasty. They ruled between the 3rd and the 9th century. Okay. Between the 3rd and the 9th century in established their kingdom in Tundai Mandalam. Okay. They established their kingdom in Tundai Mandalam with Kanchi Puram as its capital. Okay. So Kipuram was established as the capital of Palav dynasty. The Palav dynasty played a very crucial role in shaping the southern Indian history and heritage. So they played a very crucial role in shaping the southern Indian history and heritage and the dynasty became prominent. So the Palav dynasty became prominent during the reign of Mahindraman one and Narimhaan one. So during the reign of Mahindraman one and Narimhaan one the Palavs gained prominence. Okay very important. These palavves were in constant conflict in constant conflict or in constant hostilities with the chalukia of badami in the north and the cholas and pandandyas in the south.

[00:01:51]Okay. So they were in constant conflict with the chalukia of badami in the north and the cholas and pandas in the south.

[00:01:58]And yet they dominated the southern India until the end of 9th century. So the palavs dominated the southern India until the end of 9th century and then the imperial cholas came and annexed the tundai mandalam. So let's start with the early rulers of Palav dynasty. Okay the early rulers of Palav dynasty. Now we know for a fact that Simha Vishnu that Simha Vishnu was the founder of the Palav dynasty but there were few palavs who came earlier to Simha Vishnu and they established the Palav kingdom. They established the Palav lineage. Okay. So we'll look at them one by one. So Simhawarman 1 was the earliest recorded Palav king. Okay. Simharman 1 was the earliest recorded palaf king who is known to have defeated the Andraik shawaku.

[00:02:50]So Simhawarman one defeated the Andraik shawaku Rdraurushat. Okay Rudra Purushadat and established the Palav dynasty in the coastal Andra. Okay he established the Palav dynasty in the coastal Andra region. Next important next important early ruler of Palav dynasty was Shivascandanda. Okay.

[00:03:11]Shivascandanda Wman who was a great ruler of the 3rd century AD. Okay, he was from the 3rd century AD and from his inscriptions we find and from his inscriptions we found out that he performed various Vic rituals like the Ashwamed the Yagya. Okay. So he performed various Vic rituals like the Ashwamed Yagya. So it is important to note that the early inscriptions of palavs is found in the pra language is found in the pra language and scholars have found similarities of the palav inscription with the satwahan and morian dynasty. So they have found a similarity between the palav dynasty and the satwahan and the morian dynasty. Okay.

[00:03:54]Then came vishnu gopa who ruled in the 4th century AD. Okay. And this Vishnu Gopa was defeated by Samudra Gupt of the Gupta dynasty. Okay. So Vishnu Gopa was defeated by Samudra Gupt of the Gupta dynasty. And that is why he's mentioned in the Priag in the Priagar inscription. Okay. In the Priag pillar inscription. So after this defeat of Vishnu Gopa, the Palav dynasty destabilized for a while. Okay. The Palav dynasty destabilized for a while.

[00:04:27]The last of the early Palav king was Nandi Wman was Nandi Wman 1. Okay, it was Nandi Whman one. So Nandi one was the last early Palav ruler. Okay, he was the last early Palav ruler. And during the period of Nandi, the Palavs faced invasions of Kalabbras. Okay, they faced invasions of Kalabras. So now let's quickly understand how Simha Vishnu revived the Palav dynasty. Okay. He revived the Palav dynasty and finally established the capital at Kanchi Puramuram. Okay.

[00:05:00]So he was the one who established the capital of Kanchiuram. So Simha Vishnu established the capital of Kanchiuram.

[00:05:07]So what he did was he overthrew the Kalabas. Okay. He overthrew the Kalabras and conquered the region up to the Caviri river and conquered the region up to the Caviri river and established Kanchiuram as the capital of Palav dynasty. Simha Vishnu is the first Palav whose domain extended beyond Kanchiuram.

[00:05:28]Okay, whose domain or whose authority extended beyond Kiuram in the south.

[00:05:33]Okay, he was also known as Aani Simha.

[00:05:36]Okay, he was also known as Aani Simha.

[00:05:38]Now it is important to note that Simha Vishnu was mentioned in the Matavilas Prahassen. Okay, the Matavilas Prahassen which was written by Mahendraman 1.

[00:05:50]Okay, which was written by Mahendraman one. And in this matavilas prahasan, he's portrayed as a great conqueror.

[00:05:57]Okay, he's portrayed as a great conqueror. Simha Vishnu patronized the Sanskrit poet Bharavi. Okay, the Sanskrit poet who wrote the Kirat Arjunam. Okay, so Bharavi wrote the Kirat Arjunam. Now this kirat arjunam is one of the six mahakavia.

[00:06:17]One of the six mahakavia in classical Sanskrit. Okay. In classical Sanskrit.

[00:06:23]So this Sanskrit poet Bharavi wrote the kirat arjunam which was the Sanskrit poem. And the theme of kat arjunam was based on an episode of Mahabharat. So this kirat arjunam was based on the theme of mahabharat. Okay. Mahabharat.

[00:06:40]Next we'll discuss Mahindraman one.

[00:06:42]Okay. Mahendraman one. So Mahendraman one was the son of Simha Vishnu. So during the reign of Mahindraman one the chalukas of Badami. The chalukas of Badami attacked the Palav. Okay. They attacked the Palavs. So in the battle of Palalure, the battle of Palalur Mahendraman 1 was defeated by Pulakasin 2. Okay. Mahendraman one was defeated by Chalukian king Pulakasenu. in the battle of Palalur. So as a result of the battle, Pulain 2 snatched Wangi.

[00:07:16]Although Mahindraman 1 managed to save the capital of Kanchi. Okay, he saved the capital of Kanchi but the Weni was lost and this defeat of Mahindraman 1 was later avenged by his son Narim Hawarman. Okay, we'll study that in detail later but for now you should know that the defeat of Mahindraman 1 was avenged by his son Narim Hawarman. Okay.

[00:07:38]So let's look at the art and architecture of Mahindraman 1. Okay. So under the role of Mahindraman one, the Tamil literature flourished. Okay. The Tamil literature flourished and also with the rise and popularity of theam.

[00:07:52]We have studied this in the video of Bhakti saints right that thearam contained prayers, poems and hinds which were dedicated to Lord Shiva. Okay. He himself is known to have authored the Sanskrit work matillas prahasanam. Okay.

[00:08:06]Matavillas Prahasanam and we discussed in the video of titles that Mahendraman one took up many titles. He took up the titles like Matavillas, Gonabadra and Vichetracheta right and Chitra Karpoli which reveals his talent for paintings.

[00:08:21]Okay, his talent for paintings and his interest in paintings. So from these titles we understand that Mahindraman was a great patron of architecture.

[00:08:32]Okay. He was a great patron of architecture and it is the most important fact that he was a pioneer. He was a pioneer of rock cut temple architecture. Okay. He was the pioneer of rock cut temple architecture. The inscriptions at the rock cut mandakapatui temple. And this inscription at Mandakapatu tells us that the temples were built without any wood, without any brick, without mortar or any kind of metal. Okay. It was purely rock cut temple architecture. Okay. We find various paintings that are associated with Mahindraan one in the rock cut temples. Okay. So for example the Sitha Navasal the Sitha Navasal cave paintings are associated with the time period of Mahindraan one. Okay. Even the paintings at Panamalai and Mandagapatu are associated with Mahindraman one. So Mahindraman one was earlier a patron of Janism. Okay. So he was earlier a patron of janism but later under the influence and popularity of saint apar who was basically a nayanar right he was a nayanar he started to patronize shvism another important inscription that is associated with mahendraman one is the kurmian malai inscription which is written in Sanskrit language. So this kurmian mallay inscription is written in Sanskrit language and mentions the musician Rdrachara and this inscription talks about the musical notes and instruments. So okay so this is all about Mahindraan one. Next we'll discuss Narimhavan.

[00:10:06]So Narimhawan one was the greatest and the most successful king of the Palav dynasty. Okay. And as discussed earlier he avenged his father's defeat. Okay. He avenged his father's defeat by defeating the powerful Chalukin king Pakasin 2. So the same Polasin 2 who defeated his father in the battle of Palalor. Right?

[00:10:29]So the defeat of Mahindraan was avenged by Narimhawaran.

[00:10:34]Okay. In the battle of Watapi, Narimhavaran defeated Chalukian king Pulakenu and got back Wangi and even occupied the Chalukian capital of Watapi. Okay. So and then he took up the title Watapi Konda. Okay, he took up the title Watapic which meant the conqueror or the victor of Wati. And another important thing is that during the reign of Narimhaan, Huan sang. Okay, human sang the Chinese traveler, right? The Chinese traveler visited Kanchi Puram. Okay, he visited Kangi Puram. Now we know that Huan Sang visited India during the reign of Harsha, right? We study that. But we've understood now that Harsha and Narimha 1 must be contemporaries, right? They must be contemporaries. Now just like Mahindraman one, Narimhawman 1 also shared the love for art and architecture. Narimhawan one had taken up the title Mala. Okay, which meant great wrestler. Okay, he had taken up the title Mala which meant the great wrestler. And on this name he founded the city of Maalapuram. The Mahamalapuram or Mahabali Puram which was basically a port town. Okay. It was a port city. Very very important that Mahamalapuram or Mahabali Puram was a port city. In this in this Mahamalapuram we find the construction of the Panch Pandavatraat. Okay. The famous Panchch Pandav Rat. Okay. The Panch Pandavat which was constructed during the reign of Narimhavaran.

[00:12:04]So this Panch Pandavat I have put a image for you. So this is the panch pandrat of the pandavves and the draadi.

[00:12:12]Okay. The rut basically signifies its resemblance with the chariot. Okay. So each of these ruts or temples were constructed out of a single solid rock.

[00:12:22]Okay. Or out of a single solid rock. So it is basically an example of the rock cut temple architecture. Right? From top to bottom it was made from a single solid rock. Okay. And this is the image of the exquisite sculptures that were found in Mammalapuram. Okay. So these sculptures were basically carved on a single rock. So we can see that on a single rock this sculpture is carved out and it features intricate sculptures depicting the puranic stories. And the example of these sculptures is the fall of river Ganga from Lord Shiva's head.

[00:12:56]Okay. The fall of river Ganga from Lord Shiva's head which is called the Arjun penance. Okay. the Arjun penance. Okay.

[00:13:03]So these were some of the important architectural features of the Mahamealapuram. So this was all about Narimhawan one. Next we'll study about Narimhim Hawarman 2. Okay. Narimhim Hawarman 2 who was also known as Raja Simha. So Narimhavaran 2 took up the title Raja Simha. So his regime was mostly peaceful. Okay. It was mostly peaceful and so he was more inclined towards the development of art and architecture and so he developed the Kalashna temple at Kanchiuram and the Shore temple at Maalapuram. Okay. The another important fact you should remember is that Dundin Dundin was the court poet of Narimhavarantu.

[00:13:44]Okay. Dundin was the court poet of Narimhavarantu. He is a famous Sanskrit gramarian. Okay. So he was a famous Sanskrit grammarian. So he wrote the cave dash. Now let's quickly discuss a little bit about the kalashna temple and the shore temple. It was dedicated to Lord Shiva. Okay. It was dedicated to Lord Shiva. Now other than that this Kalashna temple is the oldest structural temple in the city of thousand temples.

[00:14:12]So which is the city of thousand temples? It's Kiuram. And talking about the Shore temple. So it basically overlooks the shore of Bay of Bengal.

[00:14:21]Okay. It is located at Mahalapuram near Chennai. Okay. It is located at Maalapuram. So the shore temple was added to the list of temples at Mahalapuram by Narimha 2. Okay. Okay. So next we'll discuss Nandiharmanu.

[00:14:36]So Nandiu was the last important ruler.

[00:14:40]Okay. He was the last important king of the Palav dynasty. Now his reign saw the renewal of struggle between the Chalokas and the Palav. Okay, his reign saw the renewal of struggle between the Chalukias and the Palav dynasty. And so Nandiharman 2 was defeated at the hands of Vikramadity 2. Okay, he was defeated against the Chalukian king Vikramadityu who occupied Kanchi once again. Okay, so this was all about Nandiu. Next is Aparajit Warman. So Aparajit Warman was the last ruler of the Palav dynasty.

[00:15:12]Okay. He was the last ruler of the Palav dynasty. Before the before the battle with the Chola dynasty, he also fought a war with the Pandias. Okay. So, Aparajit Dwarman who was a Palav fought a war with the Pandas. Okay. Was victorious in his first battle with the Pandas. Okay.

[00:15:29]But in the war with Chola King Adityan, he was defeated and the Khi was seized to the Chola Empire. Okay. So, the Kanchi was seized to the Chola dynasty.

[00:15:39]Now let's quickly look at the administration of the Palav dynasty.

[00:15:42]Okay, the administration of the Palav dynasty. Now the administration was well organized. Okay, it was well organized and there was a monarchy in order and the king assumed titles like Dharma Maharaj or Dhar Maharaj which basically meant the protector of Dharm. Okay, the protector of Dharm. Now the Palav kingdom was divided into kotums. Okay, it was divided into kotums which was basically the provinces and these kums were administered by officers which were directly appointed by the kings. Okay, so the kotums were administered by officers who were directly appointed by the kings. Then comes the villages. Now village was the basic unit of administration. Okay, it was the basic unit of administration and there were different types of villages that existed. Okay, the first one was where the local people lived. The second was the dvadan. So dvdan were a type of village which were the land grants to temples. Okay. So these were tax-free land grants to the temples and brahada on the other hand were the land grants to brahinss. So brahadaya was the land grants to brahs and these both types of villages were exempted from any kind of tax. Okay. So the tax was not collected from the brahadea and the dv and the dvadan. So the village administration was done by local autonomous assemblies like the Sabha and Urar. Okay. So Sabha and Ur and these village and these village assemblies were self-sufficient.

[00:17:10]Okay. These were self-sufficient. So it was kind of like a local self-governance. A lo a form of local self-governance. Now apart from this many irrigation tanks were dug. Okay.

[00:17:21]Many irrigation tanks were dug by the Palav king Mahindraman one. Okay. and by other kings as well but specifically by Mahindraman oneman at Mahendrai and Mahandur. Okay. At Mahendraari and Mandur okay now during the Palav rule the trade with foreign countries revived. Okay. It revived and especially with the Java, Sumatra, China, Sri Lanka and Burma. Okay. And the Palav rulers started to issue gold and silver coins which expanded the trade and commerce.

[00:17:50]Okay. So this expanded the trade and commerce and the merchants of the Palav dynasty organized themselves in the organization called money. So money can also be asked as a term of ancient and medieval history. Okay, so money was basically a group of merchants that organized themselves as guilds. Okay, we have already discussed some of the literature but this is the list of all the Sanskrit literature and the Tamil literature. Now look at this question of UPSC. Here it mentions the gatikas.

[00:18:20]Okay, the gatikas and it has written colleges generally attached to the temples. So let's find out what is gatika. So gatikas are basically the educational institutions. Every temple had a gatika attached to it. Okay. So every temple in the palav dynasty had a gatika attached to it. So this was all about the palav dynasty. I hope you've understood everything that I've taught so far. Now try to answer these two questions related to the Pala dynasty and all the very