Paramesvaravarman I
Encyclopedia
Parameswaravarman I was a Pallava
emperor who ruled in South India
in the latter half of the seventh century.
He ascended to the throne after the death of his father Mahendravarman II
in 670 CE. His grandfather Narasimhavarman I
had already made the Pallava empire the most powerful force in the subcontinent and destroyed the Chalukya capital at Vatapi
. Parameswaravarman was an efficient and capable ruler , known for his military exploits, his love for poetry and his devotion to Siva
, to whom he erected many temples.
Parameswaravarman's reign was marked by revived conflicts with the Chalukya, led by Vikramaditya I
who had fought against his grandfather and was now allied with a pandyan royal prince of madurai, and many rulers of karnataka , Andhra and orissa.
In 674 CE the two armies met at Peruvalanallur near Trichinopoly and Parameswaravarman was victorious despite facing a huge coalition. Pallava sources record that the chalukyan king Vikramaditya fled the battle field alone with "only a rag" to cover and that his army was completely annihilated. The kuram grant describes this in a long and complex prose and credits the king for " In a terribly cruel war in which Rakshasas, pisachas
, kushmandas made fearful noises, he unaided destroyed the army of vikramaditya who fled the battlefield unclothed to escape death.". The greatly enraged pallava emperor followed this up by re-occupying chalukyan territories (677–680 AD), thus emulating his great ancestor Narasimha varman and withdrew the occupation forces only after chalukyan rulers agreed to pay a yearly tribute and accepted pallava overlordship, but not before the occupation army had annihilated several chalukyan princes , nobles and citizens. The expeditionary forces returned to capital kanchi with big war booty that included "a huge quantity of fine chinese yellow silk, imported by the jain monks to clothe the idols of their saints " . The pallava forces were especially brutal and punitive as noted from the pallavas' own inscriptions that go on to say that the army as well as the territories of the "wicked rulers of age of kali" was completely destroyed. The victory enabled Pallavas to assert their hegemony over the subcontinent throughout the remaining years of Parameswaravarman's reign. He is credited with having performed aswamedha yagam to further consolidate power. Rayakota grant refers to him as "parameswara-aswamedha-yajin". To commemorate the victory he consecrated a temple and a village called Kuram (at a distance of 13 km to the north east of Kanchipuram) and invited virtuous men and vedic scholars to settle and offer their services to the temple with a section dedicated to chanting the verses of ramayana and mahabharatha in temples.
Inscriptions record Parameswaravaran's generosity to temples at Vennainallur, Vriddhachalam and Chidambaram. Some grants celebrate him to be adept in chanting vedas "like true devotees of lord of thillai".Parameswaravarman was the contemporary of great saiva saint Appar. Parameswaravarman was succeeded by his illustrious son Rajasimha.
Some writers have opined that the pallava king aiyatikal kaadavarkon of the saivite nayanmar galaxy may have been parameswaravarman. They have pointed to the construction of temple at kuram and the heroics in battlefield mentioned in oneline of periyapuranam as an indicator to his identity. But this conclusion is inconsistent when one looks at other factors. For example most pallava kings were foremost among warriors and so the description of valour need not be exclusive to parameswaravarman. The expertise in various fine arts like poetry etc was well exhibited by many pallavas most predominantly by mahendra who ruled 30 years before parameswaravarman. Mahendra's multifaceted genius even produced treatises in music and dance dramas for temple worship. His encounter with saint appar and his subsequent upholding of truth of vedism is well known. Also there is difference in style and language of the composition of aiyatikal kaadavarkon and great saints like sambandar and appar. If the above mentioned king indeed was parameswaravarman who was a contemporary of above mentioned saints then the language of his composition should have been the same as the above mentioned saints . This not being the case we may safely conclude that aiyatikal kaadavarkon was not parameswaravarman. In his composition aiyatikal mentions of his visit to chidambaram and the bath in the holy temple pond. An early pallava emperor by name simhavarman is known to have taken bath in the temple pond and cured of a certain afflicted disease. It is possible that that ruler may have been conferred the title aiyatikal kaadavarkon for his becoming a saint at the feet of "lord at thillai".
He was succeeded by his son Narasimhavarman II
in 720 CE.
Pallava
The Pallava dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which ruled the northern Tamil Nadu region and the southern Andhra Pradesh region with their capital at Kanchipuram...
emperor who ruled in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
in the latter half of the seventh century.
He ascended to the throne after the death of his father Mahendravarman II
Mahendravarman II
Mahendravarman II was a Tamil king of the Pallava dynasty who ruled South India from 668–672 CE. He was the son of Narasimhavarman I, a Tamil king of the Pallava dynasty who ruled South India from 630–668 CE. He was succeeded by his son Paramesvaravarman I....
in 670 CE. His grandfather Narasimhavarman I
Narasimhavarman I
Narasimhavarman I was a Tamil king of the Pallava dynasty who ruled South India from 630–668 CE. He shared his father Mahendravarman I's love of art and completed the work started by Mahendravarman in Mahabalipuram....
had already made the Pallava empire the most powerful force in the subcontinent and destroyed the Chalukya capital at Vatapi
Badami
Badami , formerly known as Vatapi, is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD. It is famous for rock cut and other structural temples...
. Parameswaravarman was an efficient and capable ruler , known for his military exploits, his love for poetry and his devotion to Siva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, to whom he erected many temples.
Parameswaravarman's reign was marked by revived conflicts with the Chalukya, led by Vikramaditya I
Vikramaditya I
Vikramaditya I was the third son and followed his father, Pulakesi II on to the Chalukya throne. He restored order in the fractured kingdom and made the Pallavas retreat from the capital Vatapi.-Early crises :...
who had fought against his grandfather and was now allied with a pandyan royal prince of madurai, and many rulers of karnataka , Andhra and orissa.
In 674 CE the two armies met at Peruvalanallur near Trichinopoly and Parameswaravarman was victorious despite facing a huge coalition. Pallava sources record that the chalukyan king Vikramaditya fled the battle field alone with "only a rag" to cover and that his army was completely annihilated. The kuram grant describes this in a long and complex prose and credits the king for " In a terribly cruel war in which Rakshasas, pisachas
Pishacha
Pishachas are flesh eating demons, according to Hindu mythology. Their origin is obscure, although some believe that they were created by Brahma. Another legend describes them as the sons of either Krodh or of Daksha’s daughter Pishach. They have been described to have a dark complexion with...
, kushmandas made fearful noises, he unaided destroyed the army of vikramaditya who fled the battlefield unclothed to escape death.". The greatly enraged pallava emperor followed this up by re-occupying chalukyan territories (677–680 AD), thus emulating his great ancestor Narasimha varman and withdrew the occupation forces only after chalukyan rulers agreed to pay a yearly tribute and accepted pallava overlordship, but not before the occupation army had annihilated several chalukyan princes , nobles and citizens. The expeditionary forces returned to capital kanchi with big war booty that included "a huge quantity of fine chinese yellow silk, imported by the jain monks to clothe the idols of their saints " . The pallava forces were especially brutal and punitive as noted from the pallavas' own inscriptions that go on to say that the army as well as the territories of the "wicked rulers of age of kali" was completely destroyed. The victory enabled Pallavas to assert their hegemony over the subcontinent throughout the remaining years of Parameswaravarman's reign. He is credited with having performed aswamedha yagam to further consolidate power. Rayakota grant refers to him as "parameswara-aswamedha-yajin". To commemorate the victory he consecrated a temple and a village called Kuram (at a distance of 13 km to the north east of Kanchipuram) and invited virtuous men and vedic scholars to settle and offer their services to the temple with a section dedicated to chanting the verses of ramayana and mahabharatha in temples.
Inscriptions record Parameswaravaran's generosity to temples at Vennainallur, Vriddhachalam and Chidambaram. Some grants celebrate him to be adept in chanting vedas "like true devotees of lord of thillai".Parameswaravarman was the contemporary of great saiva saint Appar. Parameswaravarman was succeeded by his illustrious son Rajasimha.
Some writers have opined that the pallava king aiyatikal kaadavarkon of the saivite nayanmar galaxy may have been parameswaravarman. They have pointed to the construction of temple at kuram and the heroics in battlefield mentioned in oneline of periyapuranam as an indicator to his identity. But this conclusion is inconsistent when one looks at other factors. For example most pallava kings were foremost among warriors and so the description of valour need not be exclusive to parameswaravarman. The expertise in various fine arts like poetry etc was well exhibited by many pallavas most predominantly by mahendra who ruled 30 years before parameswaravarman. Mahendra's multifaceted genius even produced treatises in music and dance dramas for temple worship. His encounter with saint appar and his subsequent upholding of truth of vedism is well known. Also there is difference in style and language of the composition of aiyatikal kaadavarkon and great saints like sambandar and appar. If the above mentioned king indeed was parameswaravarman who was a contemporary of above mentioned saints then the language of his composition should have been the same as the above mentioned saints . This not being the case we may safely conclude that aiyatikal kaadavarkon was not parameswaravarman. In his composition aiyatikal mentions of his visit to chidambaram and the bath in the holy temple pond. An early pallava emperor by name simhavarman is known to have taken bath in the temple pond and cured of a certain afflicted disease. It is possible that that ruler may have been conferred the title aiyatikal kaadavarkon for his becoming a saint at the feet of "lord at thillai".
He was succeeded by his son Narasimhavarman II
Narasimhavarman II
Narasimhavarman II or Rajasimha was a Pallava king who ruled in South India during the 6th century. Succeeding his father Paramesvaravarman I in the year 700 CE, he ruled for nearly 3 decades, until he was succeeded by his son Paramesvaravarman II in 728 CE.-Ascension to the throne:By the time...
in 720 CE.