Mahendravarman I was the ruler of which of the following dynasties?

Correct — A. Mahendravarman I was a Pallava king, ruling from Kanchipuram in the early seventh century.

He began the rock-cut cave temples of the Tamil country. His Mandagapattu inscription records a shrine made without brick, timber, metal or mortar.

He also wrote the Sanskrit farce Mattavilasa Prahasana, and he fought the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II, who pressed into Pallava territory.

His son Narasimhavarman I answered that by taking the Chalukya capital, Vatapi.

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  Pandya — The Pandyas ruled the far south from Madurai and are remembered for pearl fisheries and the later temple city, not for the seventh-century caves of the northern Tamil country.
• (c)
  Chalukya — The Chalukyas of Vatapi were the Pallavas' rivals, not their house. Pulakeshin II fought Mahendravarman I, which is why the two names sit together in memory.
• (d)
  Chola — The imperial Cholas rise only in the ninth century under Vijayalaya, two centuries later. Their temple age belongs to Thanjavur under Rajaraja I.

The Pallavas ruled from Kanchipuram between roughly the sixth and ninth centuries and gave south India its first temples in stone.

Mahendravarman I opened the rock-cut cave phase, hollowing shrines out of living rock rather than building them up.

His son Narasimhavarman I raised the monolithic rathas at Mamallapuram and defeated the Chalukyas at Vatapi.

Structural temples in dressed stone, such as the Kailasanatha at Kanchipuram, came later under Narasimhavarman II, called Rajasimha.

Key facts

• Mahendravarman I was a Pallava ruler with his capital at Kanchipuram.
• His Mandagapattu inscription records a temple built without brick, timber, metal or mortar.
• He wrote the Sanskrit satirical play Mattavilasa Prahasana.
• His son Narasimhavarman I captured the Chalukya capital Vatapi, or Badami.

Common traps

• Mixing Mahendravarman of the Pallavas with Mahendrapala of the Pratiharas because the names rhyme.
• Placing the Cholas in the seventh century, when the imperial Chola line begins in the ninth.

No directly related past PYQ was found.