Parameswaravarman I

Parameswaravarman I was a Pallava king who ruled in South India in the latter half of the seventh century.

He ascended to the throne after the death of his father Mahendravarman II in 670 CE. His grandfather Narasimhavarman I had already made the Pallava empire the most powerful force in the subcontinent and destroyed the Chalukya capital at Vatapi. Parameswaravarman was an efficient and capable ruler , known for his military exploits, his love for poetry and his devotion to Siva, to whom he erected many temples.

Parameswaravarman's reign was marked by revived conflicts with the Chalukya, lead by Vikramaditya I who had fought against his grandfather and was now allied with a pandyan king of madurai and many rulers of karnataka , Andhra and orissa.

In 674 CE the two armies met at Peruvalanallur near Trichinopoly and Parameswaravarman was victorious despite facing a huge coalition.Pallava sources record that the chalukyan king Vikramaditya fled the battle field alone with "only a rag" to cover and that his army was completely annihilated. The greatly enraged pallava emperor followed this up by re-occupying chalukyan territories and threatened to destroy the same(A.D.677- A.D.680), thus emulating his great ancestor Narasimha varman and withdrew the occupation forces only after chalukyan rulers agreed to pay an yearly tribute, but not before the occupation army had annihilated several chalukyan princes and nobles. The expeditionary forces returned to capital kanchi with big war booty that included "12000 bolts of fine yellow chinese silk imported by the jain monks of chalukyan kingdom to cloth the huge images of their thirthankaras in exquisite jain temples" and also some queens of the chalukyan ruler. The victory enabled Pallavas to assert their hegemony over the subcontinent throughout the remaining years of Parameswaravarman's reign. He is credited with having performed aswamedha yagam to further consolidate power. Rayakota grant refers to him as "parameswara-aswamedha-yajin". To commemorate the victory he consecrated a temple and a village called Kuram (at a distance of 13km to the north east of Kanchipuram) and invited virtuous men and vedic scholars to settle and offer their services to the temple.

Inscriptions record Parameswaravaran's generosity to Temples at Vennainallur, Vriddhachalam and Chidambaram. Parameswaravarman was the contemporary of great Saiva saint Appar.Parameswaravarman was succeeded by his illustrious son Rajasimha.

References

• South Indian inscriptions volume 1, volume 13 published by ASI
• Periya puranam, a hagiography of saiva saints, by sekkizhaar 12th cent A.D
• Rayakota grant of parameswara varman 1