History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer
Describe the evolution and development of regional temple architecture of South India with special reference to Pallavas.
- UPSC 2020
- Regional States during Gupta Era
The Pallava dynasty did not simply build temples in the South Indian style — it created the technical sequence out of which that style, later called Dravida, emerged. Across roughly a century and a half, under three successive kings, Pallava builders moved through three distinct construction technologies — excavation, monolithic carving, and additive masonry —…
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What the full answer covers
- Stage One: Mahendravarman I and the Cave-Temple Phase (c. 600–630 CE)
- Stage Two: Narasimhavarman I and the Monolithic Rathas (c. 630–668 CE)
- Stage Three: Rajasimha and the Structural Temple (c. 700–728 CE)
- Setting the Wider South Indian Context
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