The Archaeological Department of Mysore discovered a manuscript of a Digambara Jaina work named Lokavibhaga of which an account is given in their report for 1909-10. The subject treated of is Jaina cosmography. The work was supposed to have been first given by word of mouth by Vardhamana himself, and is said to have been handed down through Sudharma and a succession of other teachers. Rishi Simhasuri or Simhasura made a translation of it, apparently from the Prakrit into Sanskrit. The work is said to have been finally copied some considerable time before the date of the copy (pura) by Muni Sarvanandin in the village named Patalika (Tiruppadiripuliyur; Cuddalore New Town) in 25 the Panarashtra (Bana country); then follows the date of the completion of this task. It was in the year 22 of Simhavarman, the Lord of Kanchi, and in the year 80 past 300 of the Saka year; in other words Saka 380. ' his piece of information is confirmed by two other manuscripts of the work since discovered. The late Dr. Fleet, who was suspicious of early Saka dates, after having examined the date carefully, and making a correction in respect of the month and date, has arrived at the conclusion that it is equivalent to the year A.D. 458. The Simhavarman under reference therefore must have begun to rule in A.D. 436. Unfortunately for us there are two Simhavarmans according to our genealogical table, Simhavarman I and Simhavarman II. As we have arranged it on the table three reigns come between the one and the other. It is just possible that the reference is to Simhavarman I except for the fact that Skandasishya's reign would be very long having regard to the Satya-sena datum already examined. If the Simhavarman referred to in the Penukonda plates is Simhavarman II as we have shown reasons that he was the person referred to, the Lokavibhaga was a work that was composed in the reign of Simhavarman II having regard to the fact that the Penukonda plates are datable about A.D. 475. A.D. 436 to 475 is a period of 40 years, and might be regarded long enough for the reign of two kings and of part of the reign of a third. After the Skandavarman referred to in the Penukonda plates there should have followed three rulers before we come to Mahendravarman whose date would be somewhere near A.D. 600; namely, Nandivarman, Simhavarman, the immediate successor of Nandivarman according to Velupalaiyam plates, his son Simbavishnu followed by Mahendravarman. One century might be considered too long a period for three reigns on an average computation; but there is nothing impossible about it if one had been an unusually long reign or if any two of them had been fairly long reigns. The possibility of anything like an interregnum, in which we could work in the kings and potentates associated with Karikala and intimately connected with the so-called Samgam literature, would then be obviously impossible.

As a result of this somewhat detailed investigation the trend of Early Pallava History may be described as follows: While yet the Cholas were ascendent in the south holding Tonda-mandalam under their control with Kanchi for its capital the later Satavahana under Vasishti-putra Pulumavi made an effort at conquering the country answering exactly to the Tonda-mandalam extending: from North Pennar to South Pennar. This effort is reflected in Tamil literature by references to various incidents in the struggle between the Ariyar or Vadugar on the one side and the Tamil rulers, particularly the Cholas on the other. Among these rulers stands out the name of llam-Senni who is given credit for having defeated the Paradavar of the south and the Vadugar of the north in one context. In another he is similarly credited with having crushed the Vadugar at Pali on the west coast. That these Vadugar should be no other than the Andhras is in evidence in a passage of the Pattinappalai where Karikala is said to have brought under his control the Oliyar and then the Aruvalar and then the Vadngar, these last being interpreted by the commentator as those next north to the Aruvalar.

The region indicated by this reference is the region which would correspond exactly to the south-east frontier province of the Andhras dominated by Dhanakataka (Amaravati). In this region at one time the Satavahanas had so far succeeded as to create a frontier province under a Naga general Skanda Naga who is described as a Mahasenapati. Under Pulumavi therefore the war had gone on for a considerable time. After the death of Karikala, owing apparently to the civil war that raged in the Chola country, the Cholas lost hold on the country almost up to the banks of the southern Pennar as the ship coins of the Andhras in this region indicate. It was during that period that the

Andhras felt the necessity of a viceroyalty in the south-east of an important character to which none other than a great general and possibly even a blood relation of the ruling family was considered necessary. After some time, probably in the reign of Yagna Sri, they felt the viceroyalty so far settled as to appoint a local chieftain of some influence to the position. This apparently was the Bappadeva referred to in the earliest Prakrit inscription accessible to us. His gift of money and a large number of ox-ploughs seems to be a continuation of the good work begun by Karikala of destroying jungle and creating arable land from it, and digging tanks and providing for irrigation. This chieftain is of the Bharadvaja Gotra like the later Pallavas, and both he and his son ruled over Kanchi as their headquarters. Whether these were in any manner connected with the Tondamandalam of I]am-Tiraiyan, Viceroy of Kanchi, in the age immediately preceding is not known. Ilam-Tiraiyan's viceroyalty passed on to Chola Ilam-Ki]]i, the younger brother of Nedumudi-Killi. After the viceroyalty of this prince we do not hear of Kanchi being under the Cholas. It is very probably then that it passed into the hands of the Pallavas. As was already pointed out there were four generations of these rulers, it may be two dynasties of two rulers each, who ruled over this territory.

Whether the territory passed to another dynasty, or whether it was the same dynasty that continued, we do not know for certain; but it is clear that the territory of the Pallavas had broken up at least into three as in the Harisena inscription of Samudragupta three rulers at least are said to be governing the territory under the early Pallavas. That inscription refers to Hastivarman of Vengi, Ugra Sena of Palakka and Vishnugopa of Kanchi. This probably was the result of a struggle between the new dynasty of the Ikshvakus who came from the north and occupied the eastern portion of the Satavahana territory, and the Pallavas of the south. The rulers of Palakka and Vengi may have been offshoots of this intruding dynasty of the Ikshvaku king Sri Vira Purusha Datta. If that is so, Vishnugopa of Kanchi would represent the native Pallava as against the new dynasty of intruders from the north. Samudra-gupta's defeat of these rulers seems to have brought about a change in Kanchi. Vishnu-gopa's power was apparently undermined by the defeat and his throne was usurped by the founder of the Dynasty of the Sanskrit charters. This seems the actual.course of events as Vish-nugopa's name is not mentioned in any of the charters, and Virakurcha is the man who is said first to have acquired possession of this territory along with the hand of the Naga princess. This clearly indicates a struggle, and the struggle must have been between Vishnugopa himself and a collateral branch of the family, it may be, who sought the alliance of the powerful Nagas in the immediate west. Virakurcha or Viravarman who, we have pointed out, might be the unnamed son-in-law of the Cutu chief of Banavase whose son is named Skanda Naga in one of the records and Skandavarman in the other. This Skanda-varman was apparently the Skandasishya of the Sanskrit charters. In other words Viravarman became heir alike to the south-eastern Viceroy-alty of the Satavahanas held by the Naga general first in behalf of the Satavahanas and later by the usurping local dynasty of the Pallavas of the Prakrit charters, it may be by right of birth, but certainly by an act of policy. Through his wife he became alike heir to the most powerful south-western viceroyal-ty of the Cutu family of the Satakarnis, thus uniting under one ruler the whole southern block of Satavahana territory about the time that the northern most part of that kingdom was being disputed for by the Nagas from the south, and the reviving power of the Kshatrapas from the north. Either Virakurcha himself or his son Skandavarman was able to reassert the authority of the Pallavas over the territory extending as far north as Vengi. Several of the Sanskrit charters were issued from their victorious camp in various of the well-known localities along the lower course of the Krishna. Skandasishya's son Simhavarman, perhaps much more the younger son Vishnugopa, probably took part in this re-conquest of the north for the Pallavas. Another son Kumara Vishnu who probably ascended the throne after his elder brother Simhavarman is given credit for the conquest of the Chola country; that is the first effort at expansion southwards by the Pallavas. The history of the next following generations is somewhat obscure, but when we come to Simhavarman and his son Simhavishnu we are more or less on firm historical ground. There was a reassertion of the Pallava authority over the Chola country under Simhavishnu, and Mahendravarman was able to make very much more of a permanent advance.