Unlock Elite Access: Level Up Your Preparation with Exclusive Content

History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer

The contributions of the Pallavas to Indian architecture.

  • UPSC 1986
  • Regional States during Gupta Era

Between roughly 600 and 900 CE, the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram compressed into three centuries an architectural experiment that most civilizations spread across a millennium: the passage from carving temples out of a living rock face to assembling them, block by dressed block, as free-standing structures. This was not a series of unrelated royal commissions…

You are reading the opening of the model answer. The full answer is part of the History Optional PYQ Master Pack.

What the full answer covers

  • The Point of Departure: Why the Pallavas Innovated
  • Phase One: The Mahendra Style — Rock-Cut Cave Temples (c. 610–630 CE)
  • Phase Two: The Mamalla Style — Monolithic Rathas (c. 630–668 CE)
  • Phase Three: The Rajasimha Style — Structural Temples (c. 700–728 CE)
  • The Final Phase: The Nandivarman Style and Architectural Exhaustion
  • Significance: The Origin Point of the Dravida Order

Unlock this answer and 1,350+ more

  • 1,350+ solved UPSC History Optional PYQs from 1985 to 2025, Paper-1 and Paper-2
  • Topic-wise across Ancient, Medieval, Modern, Post-Independence and World History
  • Model answers with a clear structure and historian citations
  • Map section solutions included, at no extra cost
  • Read online on lotusarise.com, plus PDF download

₹1,499₹2,50040% off

Get History Optional PYQ Master Pack @ ₹1,499 →

One-time payment · No subscription · Instant access · UPI, cards, RuPay

See every Regional States during Gupta Era question (33 solved) →Already enrolled? Log in