The Pallava Script - Some Riddles

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The Pallava Script � 

Some Riddles

K. V. Ramakrishna Rao B.sc., M.A., A.M.I.E., C.Eng (I)., B.L.,

Introduction: The Pallavas were not known to historians before later 19^th century of our Current Era¹. According to Vincent A. Smith² the Pallavas were unknown to Europeans before 1840 and constituted one of the mysteries of Indian history!  The synchronism of the defeat of Harsha by Pulikesin and Pulikesin II by Narasimha-varman (c.625-45) Pallavan appear to be more dramatic than historic for the readers of history. The origin of the world famous monuments at Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram is also not satisfactorily explained. The present day archaeological evidences prove that Mamallapuram had never been a port demolishing the myth created earlier about the Pallavas. Perhaps, though western archaeologists, historians and other experts knew details, they wanted to withhold and publish later with their own interpretation. Most of the western scholars tried to deny the Indian origins or play down their importance³. They had discovered many Pallava inscriptions in the South East Asian countries - Indonesia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Campa, and Kambodia. However, all of them have not been published so far. In fact, some of them (discovered in the Malay Peninsula) were missing⁴ as long as during middle of 19^th century. They were definitely taken aback by the Pallava influence on SEA Countries, that too, when, it was dating back to a �pre-Pallava� period, just like �Jesus� going before �Before Christ�! So, they tried to confuse or get confused Pallavas with others (Kurumbas, Pahlavis, Pahlavas, Pahnavas, Palhavas and so on). Here, the riddles connected with the inscriptions are taken up for study.

The script used in Inscriptions of the Pallavas has been found surprisingly in vast area spreading from South India to South Asian Countries. Its occurrence in South Asian countries proves the dominance, wide usage and acceptance for official and social recordings. The dating of inscriptions and thus the script in India is placed in the range 2^nd cent.CE to 9^th cent.CE, evidently matching with the fixed dates of the raise and fall of the Pallavas. The Copper-plate charters ranging from the middle of the 3^rd to the end of the 6^th cent.CE poses another problem⁵. However, the dating of Pallava script-inscriptions of South East Asian Countries to a �pre-Pallava period� has surprised the author leading to analyze the issue and present the paper.

Who were the Pallavas?: The origin of the Pallavas has been a riddle for scholars of epigraphy, history, archaeology and others. Different hypotheses, theories and facts are as follows:

]     Manu (Chap.x., vv, 43, 44) says that the Pallavas were a degraded division of Kshatriya caste.
]     Puranas also trace to the Mahabharat period after 3102 BCE., i.e, to a prince after Asvattama marrying a Naga princess. 
]     According to Amaravati inscription of Simhavarman period (c.5^th cent.CE), Pallava origin was traced to a son born of Madhvi, a goddess and Aswattama. Vellorepalayam Copper plate of Nandivarman period traces origin to the son born of  Aswattama and Menaka (SII, Vol.III, Part.V). Kasakkudi plate also informs the same fact (SII, Vol.II, p.III). Thus, Pallava inscriptions trace their origin to Aswattama i.e, after Mahabharat dated to c. 3100 BCE period.
]     Tamil scholars trace it to Cholas (a son born of union of Chola prince with Naga princess at Kaveripumpattinam) taking cue from the Tamil Epics (Silappatikaram and Manimekhalai). Similar legends are found among SEA literature � Cambodia, Khotan etc.
]     The inscriptions in spite of the unsettled, disputed and provisional datings, connect every event or description mentioned to Mahabharat names, characters, without any doubt.

Inscription

Reference to Mahabharat

Inscription reference

Pahladpur pillar inscription

Sisupala, protector of the army of the Parthivas.

Gupta Inscriptions, p.249.

Amaravati inscription of Simhavarman period (c.5^th cent.CE), 

Pallava origin was traced to a son born of Madhvi, a goddess and Aswattama.

Vellorepalayam Copper plate of Nandivarman period 

Traces origin to the son born of  Aswattama and Menaka

SII, Vol.III, Part.V.

Tandantottam plates of Nandivikramavarman

Grant given for recitation of Mahabharat in temples.

SII, Vol.II, pp.517 ff.
]     J. F. Fleet, based on the Puranic evidences, concludes⁶, �It seems likely, however, that, whatever may be the ancestral and racial origin of the kings with whom we have now to deal, their name simply represents, in a Sanskritised form, that of the Pahlavas, Pahnavas, or Palhavas, who are mentioned in the Puranas�. 
]     Modern scholars� interpretation or word-play (as accepted by John Faithful Fleet), traces �pallava� � a heap of sprouts (shoots, vegetation).
]     Weber⁷ concludes that, ���.as the name of a people, the word Pahlav became early foreign to the Persians, learned reminiscences expected; in the Pahlavi texts themselves, for instance, it does not occur. The period when it passed over to the Indians, therefore, would have to be fixed for about the second to the fourth century, A. D.; and we should have to understand by it, not directly the Persians, who are called Parasikas, rather, but specially the Arsacidan Parthians�.

Thus, by and large, the western scholars have traced the origins of the Pallavas to Persia or Parthia, dubbing the genealogy mentioned in the inscriptions as myth. For such a proposition, there are no archaeological evidences. Pallavas have also been identified with the successors of Colas, idegenous tribal groups like Kurumbas, Kallar or Thondaiyar, successors of Andhras / Satavahanas and so on. Interestingly, Vincent A. Smith rejects the foreign origin theory:

�The Pallavas constitute one of the mysteries of Indian history. The conjecture that they were Pahlavas, that is to say Parthians or Persians from the north-west, was suggested solely by a superficial verbal similarity and may be summarily dismissed as baseless�. 

A careful and composed study of the available secondary sources show that the name �Pallavas� attributed to the ruling group is couched with many hypotheses. Then, one could come to a conclusion that the entire exercise went on appeared to be futile, as such people may have never existed. But, the available material evidences must have had ownership. Therefore, such lacunae must be explained by the historians properly. However, the majority of inscriptional, literary, art and architectural evidences prove that Pallavas were Indian rulers only with Pan-Indian domination⁸. If the makers of art and architecture of SEA countries can be placed at a �pre-Pallava� period, then, it can also be interpreted that such group could have come from one of SEA countries. This would support the Lunar-Naga prince-princess stories prevalent in those countries and also in South India.

The Analysis of the Inscriptions: The inscriptions (of SEA countries) have been on the stone (rock-cut caves, temple pillars etc) and Copper-plates. The following characters have been noted:

]     The earlier inscriptions have been in Sanskrit language with the characteristic Pallava script (resembling Telugu, Oriya, Sinhalese, Thai, scripts).
]     The later inscriptions have been in Sanskrit and Tamil and the script characters mixed / interspersed with Telugu, Tamil and Grantha letters.
]     Star (Nakshatra), Day, fortnight (Paksha), season (rithu), regnal year are recorded.

The Widespread Pallava Inscriptions: The availability of �Pallava inscriptions� at different countries, that too, situated thousands of kilometers away from each other bewildered the scholars. They could not be in a position to accept the possibilities of such prevalence. Only based on the characters of the script, they have been dated to 6^th cent.CE, 7^th cent.CE and so on provisionally, as none of the dates have been determined and fixed absolutely. 

As a test case, a Maldivian inscription found is taken up for discussion, as it is situated away from India and as well as SEA countries. The photograph of the inscription and specimen writing are shown below:

Courtesy: http://www.maldivesculture.com/histor01.html

 A sample inscription, studied by H. C. P. Bell⁹ is shown above. In fact, the script resembles Sinhalese and as well as SEA scripts. Thus, the script found behind the Rakshasa figure shown on LHS indeed shows Pallavan influence. As the script found in the Maldives resembles Pallava, the following possibilities are considered:

1.      During first centuries, the Pallavas should have established their contacts with Maldives and other Indian Ocean Islands, besides, SEA countries¹⁰. 
2.  As otherwise, within 100-200 years, such an influence or impact could not be made in these areas, that too, separated by thousands of kms distance in North-East, East and South of Southern India.
3.      That they could have reached before Buddhists proves that the land and sea contacts were well established and frequent.
4.      Once, these countries might be connected together by land in the past, which historians do not accept.

The possibilities are proposed to link with the paleontological evidences as noted. For this, the following are considered:

1.            That a Pallava prince (progeny of Mahabharat period) married to a Naga or Andhra princess, who started the Pallava dynasty resembles the stories of these island countries as pointed out above.
2.            The Hindu-Buddhist prevalence during first centuries both BCE and CE.  

3.            Though many scholars tried to trace the Pallava origins to Persia / Iran and thus, the art also, M. Parmentier, a French researcher asserts that the Pallava art originated only in India based on the SEA evidences. 

The differences between Indian and non-Indian Pallava Inscriptions: Dr. B. Ch. Chhabra¹¹, the Joint Director General of Archaeology in India, New Delhi in 1934 itself pointed out in his Doctoral thesis presented to the State University of Leyden, Holland about the unique prevalence of the Pallava-Grantha script in Ceylon, Indonesia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Campa, and Kambodia. Here, it may be noted that the western scholars had immediately denied such Pallava influence on SEA Countries, because he has not given any �clear evidence�¹². The following table is presented based on his findings coupled with other facts available:

Indian Inscriptions

Non-Indian Inscriptions

1.      The earliest epigraphical records are three charters (Copper plates) in Prakrit language and thereafter in Sanskrit.
2.      They belong to c.2^nd and 3^rd centuries of CE (Prakrit) and from c.350 to c.850 CE (Sanskrit). From 7^th cent. Onwards Tamil was used.
3.      Grantha script was used. It is known as the Pallava-Grantha script and it has been in vogue for several years.

4.      Like Guptas, there is no claim that they started an Era.

5.      The stone inscriptions are dated from Mahendravarman I (c.600-630 CE).

6.      The inscriptions are silent about South East Asian countries.

7.      Mauryan and Gupta influence has been found.

8.      The overseas exploits of Pallavas have not been recorded in the Pallava inscriptions.

1.   All inscriptions are composed in Sanskrit.

2.   All approximately belong to the same period, viz., 5^th cent.CE (fixed on the style of script). Prakrit and Tamil were not used.

3.   Used script is identical with the Grantha character used at that time on the coast of Coromandel.

4.   No era has of them been mentioned, though regnal year mentioned 

5.   The stone inscriptions are dated from 3^rd cent.CE.

6.   The inscriptions are silent about India in the political context, though embracing with Indian culture, tradition, or heritage.
7.   No other inscription or coins of any other Indian dynasty has been found here, i.e, Indian influence other than Pallava dynasty has not been found (with few exceptions).
8.   The kings mentioned never recorded their relation, allegiance with India or Indian rulers were suzerains. 

Thus, the following distinctions noted are interesting:

]     The non-Prakrit and non-Tamil usage of Pallava script in SEA countries.
]     The script resembling Pallava-grantha characters.
]     The usage of Sanskrit language.
]     The antiquity of Stone inscriptions before Copper-plate inscriptions.

The Remarkable details found in the Inscriptions: The inscriptions provide interesting and thought provoking details for researchers, which differ and coincide with Indian counterparts.

]     The close resemblance between Pallava and Khmer rulers has been pointed out by Reginald Le May. Both trace their origins to lunar dynasty and their prince marrying to a Naga princess. This is similar to the Manimekhalai / Pilivalai story, one of the Five Tamil epics dated to 2^nd cent.CE. Surprisingly, the same story is prevalent in SEA countries in different forms.
]     Buddhism spread in India since Asokan period c.3^rd cent.BCE, but, it was Vedic religion to reach SEA countries first. The worship of Siva and Vishnu had been in vogue since 5^th century CE. 
]     Unlike India, Siva and Buddha worships exhibit blended characteristics, as both are represented alike. 
]     The Agastya worship has been prevalent in the SEA, but not in South India. The resemblance between the Agastya stories and Pallavas are interesting. Both are connected with Vatapi (Agastya defeats Vatapi � Pallavas conquers Vatapi); origins traced to inexplicable sources (water pitch and vegetation); exploits of oceans (Agastya drinking ocean � the influence of Pallavas found overseas);
]     SEA people had been familiar with Indian chronology, elements of Sanskrit literature (particularly, the Epics) and some Puranas as early in the first centuries of CE¹³.

Conclusion: It is pertinent to note that historians of Indian history have not explained or cared to tell readers / students what happened between the end of Mahabharat War and the advent Mauryans. Even taking the peak period of Indus Civilization c.2250 to 1950 BCE, they have been reluctant or silent to account for the intervening period from 2500 BCE to 300 BCE. As nothing comes from vacuum, so also Indians, Indian philosophy, literature, arts and sciences and other factors could not have come physically leaving no material evidences. If the inscriptions go on record myth � mythical kingdoms and kings; people and society; thinking and acting processes in the inscriptions, first, careful research should be done as to why the inscribers should have recorded such myth. For modern scholars, explaining away is aided and abetted with �myth� and of course, that is not the way of scientific research. If one has to analyze all the evidences without bias, prejudice and preconditions, he has to do so with all available evidences. The authors who taken steps in this regard and their works are tabulated as below:

Author / Authors

Title of the work

Published by

K. P. Jayswal (With the Sanskrit text revised by Ven. Rahula Sankrityayana)

An Imperial History of India in a Sanskrit Text [c.700B.C � c.770 B.C] (With a Special Commentary on Later Gupta Period).

Motilal Banarasidas, Lahore, 1934.

D. S. Triveda

Many papers published in �The Annals of Bhandarkar Oriental Institute� (ABOI).

Bhandarkar Oriental Institute, Pune.

Madan Mohan Singh

Life in North-Eastern India Pre-Mauryan Times (With special reference toi c. 600 B.C. � 325 B. C).

Motilal Banarasidas, New Delhi, 1967.

K. D. Sethna

Ancient India in a New Light (1989),
Problems of Ancient India (2000)

Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi.

The gap can thus be explained with the following possibilities:

]     India was without civilization after the destruction of Indus Valley Civilization or Mahabharat War, according the respective sources and interpretation.
]     Mauryan civilization came into existence only during 3