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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

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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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