Who else wants to read the short biography of Rajasimha?

He was succeeded by his son Narasimhavarman II who is considered one of the most illustrious among Pallava rulers. He is more commonly known by his titular name Rajasimha. His reign period is reputed for its alleged undisturbed peace and prosperity.

But it is surprising that he should have borne a number of martial titles unless these were purely conventional in which at least his vanity is proved. In the Rangapataka inscription in the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchi we hear of the adventures of one Vajrabodhi, son of Isanavarman, a Central Indian King being a preceptor to the king.

In c. AD 691 there was a famine in Kanchi which this visitor from the north did something to mitigate. It is possible that he fought the Chalukyas on one occasion at least and destroyed the remnants of the Kalabhras.

If Rajasimha is to be identified with the Kadavarkon Kalar Singan of Periyapuranam, it will be necessary to conclude that he was not after all free from military preoccupations. There are certain interesting data relating to the reign of Rajasimha.

There is a Chinese reference to a Tamil king Cheli Malo-seng-kia (Sri Narasimha) who is said to have offered to use his war elephants and his cavalry against the Arabs and the Tibetans on behalf of the Chinese. This does not mean that Rajasimha waged battles in Arabia and in Tibet.

This possibly means that he was engaged in countering the efforts of the Arabs (and probably the Tibetans who were in their company) who tried to overwhelm Tamilian opposition to their trade with China through the south-east Asian straits. These must have been naval engagements.

There is some proof for Pallava contacts with South-East Asia and ultimately with China. The Tamil kings especially when they were politically powerful had sustained interest in improving their commerce with the eastern countries. These areas, however, were traditionally and theoretically subject to Chinese influence; that is how involvement in South-East Asian trade automatically meant some military involvement also for the Tamil powers.

Rajasimha’s name in the history of the Pallavas is specially noteworthy; he was the author of the Kailasanatha temple also called Rajasimhesvaram at Kanchi as also the shore temple in Mamallapuram and the Siva temple in Panamalai.

The adventurist theory that all I the monuments of Mamallapuram irrespective of stylistic variations belong to Rajasimha cannot be accepted till more convincing proof is forthcoming. The Kailasanatha temple is the source for much information about Rajasimha.

There are inscriptions in that temple which mention the queen Rangapataka and the crown prince Mahendravarman III. Rajasimha’s court was a learned one like that of Mahendravarman I. Dandin, the great rhetorician, spent many years in his court. His son Mahendravarman III who contributed to the completion of the Kailasanatha temple predeceased him. He had two sons! Jayapallavadiraja and Vriddipallavadiraja as we learn from a western Ganga inscription.