Person

Mahendravarman I

reigned c. 600–630 · 7th century

Mahendravarman I was king of the Pallava dynasty of Kanchipuram in the early 7th century. He fought the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II, excavated the first rock-cut temples of the Tamil country and wrote the Sanskrit farce Mattavilasa Prahasana. According to tradition he was converted from Jainism to Shaivism by the saint Appar.

Mahendravarman I
Image: Chakravarthi.bharati · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

Pallava dynastyMilitary, Governance, Impact, Summary

Mentioned in 1 state history

Pallava dynasty

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Mahendravarman I. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mahendravarman-i
MLA
“Mahendravarman I.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mahendravarman-i. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Mahendravarman I.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mahendravarman-i.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Mahendravarman I’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mahendravarman-i (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻