Kingdoms of Deccan and Pallava and Chola dynasty

The Aihole inscription of Pulikesin II composed by his court poet Ravikirti in Sanskrit is among the most important of Chalukyan inscriptions. Kavirajamarga, a work on poetics in Kannada, Vikramarjuna-vijayam, also called Pampa-bharata, by Pampa in Kannada, which were all of a later period, and Nannaya’s Mahabharatam in Telugu also provide useful historical data.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 139.

The wild boar was the royal insignia of the Chalukyas. It was claimed that it represented the varaha avatar of Vishnu in which he is said to have rescued the Goddess of the Earth. The bull, Siva’s mount, was the symbol of the Pallavas.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 142.

All powers were vested in the king. Inscriptions do not specifically speak of a council of ministers, but they do refer to an official called maha-sandhi-vigrahika. Four other categories of ministers are also referred to in the epigraphs: Pradhana (head minister), Mahasandhi-vigrahika (minister of foreign affairs), Amatya (revenue minister), and Samaharta (minister of exchequer). Chalukyas divided the state into political divisions for the sake of administration: Vishayam, Rastram, Nadu and Grama.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 142.

Chalukyas used Sanskrit in pillar inscriptions such as in Aihole and Mahakudam. A seventh-century inscription of a Chalukya king at Badami mentions Kannada as the local prakrit, meaning the people’s language, and Sanskrit as the language of culture. A chieftain of Pulikesin II authored a grammar work Saptavataram in Sanskrit.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 143.

Kanchipuram was an important trading centre in the Pallava period. The  merchants had to obtain license to market their goods.

Traders founded guilds and called themselves as sudesi, nanadesi, ainurruvar and others. Their main guild functioned at Aihole. Foreign merchants were known as Nanadesi. It had a separate flag with the figure of bull at the centre, and they enjoyed the right of issuing vira-sasanas.

The jurisdiction of this guild stretched over entire south-east Asia. The chief of this guild is registered in the inscriptions as pattanswamy, pattnakilar, and dandanayaka. Its members were known as ayyavole-parameswariyar.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 148.

Mahendravarman I composed Mathavilasa Prahasanam in Sanskrit. Two extraordinary works in Sanskrit set the standard for Sanskrit literature in the south: Bharavi’s Kiratarjuniya and Dandin’s Dashakumaracharita. Dandin of Kanchipuram, author of the great treatise on rhetoric Kavyadarsa, seems to have stayed in Pallava court for some time.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 149.

The rock-cut cave temples in Ellora are in 34 caves, carved in Charanadri hills. Without knowledge of trigonometry, structural engineering, and metallurgy, the Indian architects could not have created such exquisite edifices.

The patrons of these caves range from the dynasties of Chalukyas to Rashtrakutas. The heterodox sects first set the trend of creating this model of temples. Later, orthodox sects adopted it as a medium of disseminating religious ideologies. These temples were linked to Ajivikas, Jainism, Buddhism, and Brahmanism.

The Ellora caves were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 150.

The iconic Shore Temple of Pallavas at Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) was constructed during the reign of Rajasimha (700-728). The temple comprises three shrines, where the prominent ones are dedicated to Siva and Vishnu. The exterior wall of the shrine, dedicated to Vishnu, and the interior of the boundary wall are elaborately carved and sculpted.

In southern India, this is one amongst the earliest and most important structural temples. Unlike other structures of the region, the Shore Temple is a five-storeyed rock-cut monolith.

The monolithic vimanas are peculiar to Mamallapuram. The Rathas there are known as the Panchapandava Rathas. The Arjuna Ratha contains artistically carved sculptures of Siva, Vishnu, mithuna and dwarapala.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 152.

Fundamentally, Sankara’s Advaita or non-dualism had its roots in Vedanta or Upanishadic philosophy. His attempts to root out Buddhism and to establish smarta (traditionalist) mathas resulted in the establishment of monasteries in different places viz., Sringeri, Dvaraka, Badrinath, and Puri, which were headed by Brahmin pontiffs.

Sankara looked upon Saiva and Vaishnava worship as two equally important aspects of the Vedic religion. Monastic organization and preservation of Sanskrit scriptures were the two major thrusts of Sankara school.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 155.

The poems of the Vaishnavite Azhwars were later compiled as the Nalayira Divya Prabhandam. The Saiva literature was canonized as the Panniru Tirumurai. The Thevaram, composed by Appar (Thirunavukkarasar), Sambandar (Thirugnanasambandar) and Sundarar; and Thiruvavasagam by Manickavasagar are prominent texts which are read as sacred literature to this day.

Periyapuranam written by Sekizhar, in a later period, also provides much historical information. The Mathavilasa Prahasanam written by Mahendravarman I in Sanskrit, is an important source for the Pallava period.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 140.

Option 1 is correct. The Brihadisvara temples are situated at Thanjavur, the

ancient capital of the Chola kings. King Rajaraja Chola constructed the Brihadisvara

Temple in 10th century A.D., designed by the famous architect Sama Varma.

The Brihadisvara temple is crowned by a pyramidal 65-m vimana, a sanctum tower. Its

walls are covered with rich sculptural decoration.

The second Brihadisvara temple complex built by Rajendra I was completed in 1035. Its 53-

m vimana has recessed corners and a graceful upward curving movement, contrasting with

the straight and severe tower at Thanjavur. It has six pairs of massive, monolithic

dvarapalas statues guarding the entrances and bronzes of remarkable beauty inside.

The other two temples, Gangaikondacholisvaram and Airatesvara were also built in the age

of Cholas

Option 2 is incorrect. The Shore Temples at Mahabalipuram, a coastal village 50 km

south of Madras, was built in the 7th century, during the reign of Rajasimha, and they

depict the final flowering of Pallava art. The temple with its beautiful polygonal dome

enshrines Lord Vishnu and Shiva.

Option 3 is incorrect. The Mallikarjuna and the Virupaksha temples at Pattadakal, were

built by two queens of Vikaramaditya II, to commemorate the victory of the Chalukyas over

the Pallavas. Virupaksha temple, built by Queen Lokamahadevi, was originally called

Lokeshwara.

This temple is built in the southern Dravida style and is the largest in the enclosure. It has

a massive gateway and several inscriptions.

Option 1 is correctly matched. The Ahom dynasty (1228–1826) ruled the

Ahom kingdom in present-day Assam, India for nearly 600 years. The dynasty was

established by Sukaphaa, a Shan prince of Mong Mao who came to Assam after crossing

the Patkai Mountains.

Option 2 is correctly matched. The Kakatiya dynasty (12th century AD) was a South Indian

dynasty whose capital was Orugallu, now known as Warangal. It was eventually conquered

by the Delhi Sultanate.

Option 3 is correctly matched. The Chera dynasty was one of the principal lineages in the

early history of the present-day states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in southern India.

Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, the early Cheras were major powers of south

India in the early centuries of the Common Era.