Nagaswamy - 8 Pallava Influence on Chalukya Art

Vikaramaditya Chalukya Kannada inscription
Kanchi Kailasanatha temple
Photo: Swaminathan Natarajan

An inscription of Chalukya Vikramaditya on a pillar in Kanchi Kailasanatha temple, talks of Srimad Anivaarita Punyavallabha. Scholars have remarked on the striking resemblance between Kanchi Kailasanatha temple built by Rajasimha Pallava around 725 AD and the Virupaaksha temple called of Pattadakkal, built by Vikramaditya’s queen Lokamadevi. This temple was originally called Lokesvara. Nearby is the Trailokyesvara temple built by Lokamadevi’s sister Trailokyamadevi, another queen of Vikaramaditya. This latter temple is now called Mallikarjuna temple.

Vikramaditya Chalukya inscription
Virupaksha temple, Pattadakkal

Two Kannada inscriptions on the pilasters of Lokesvara (or Lokamadevishvara) temple were reinterpreted. One stated that Gundan Anivaarita Achaari was the architect who built the northern side of the temple. This is similar to the name of the scribe of the Chalukya inscription in Kanchi Kailsanatha temple.

The other says the southern side was built by Sarva Siddhi Achaari.

The Kanchi inscription notes that Vikramaditya entered the city without causing any destruction (Kanchim avinaashyaiva pravishya काञ्चीं अविनाश्यैव प्रविश्य ). Later it reads:

Narasimha varmaNa nirmita sila maya Raajasimheshvaraadi dEvakula prabutha suvarNa raashi pratyarpaNopaarjitaH puNyaH

नरसिंहवर्मण निर्मित सिल मय राजसिंहेश्वरादि देवकुल प्रबूत सुवरण राशि प्रत्यर्पणोपार्जित पुण्यः

He returned the wealth and the jewellery, to the temple itself, astounded by its beauty. Until recently, scholars attributed the resemblance of the Lokesvara  temple to Vikramaditya, but no doubt the architect of the temple had a great role

While the Pallavas and Chalukyas fought bitterly on the political and military levels, they inspired each other in the fields of art and culture, Nagaswamy concludes.

Left: Lokeshvara or Lokamadevishvara (Virupaksha)
Right: Trailokyamadevishvara (Mallikarjuna)

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This essay is one of a series of summaries of papers presented in international seminars by Dr Nagaswamy. The summaries in this series were presented by me at a lecture titled Nagaswamy - Beyond Borders at Tamil Heritage Trusts' Pechu Kacheri 2014 at Tatvaloka, Chennai.

My blogs on history

My blogs on art  

Kanchi Kailasanatha temple

Pattadakkal Virupaksha (Lokamadevishvara) temple

My lecture on Kailasanatha temple