THE PALLAVA CAPITAL 387 centuries, furnished with copious genealogical details, supply sufficient material for the reconstruction of the outline of Pallava history during the period extending from about 575 to 770 A. D. The Pallava dominion was evidently of wide extent during the reign of Simhavishnu, who claims to have defeated the King of Ceylon, as well as sundry conti- nental kings, including the Chola, Pandya, and Kerala rajas. His successor, Mahendra-varman I, was contem- porary with the earlier years of Pulikesin IE, the great- est of the Western Chalukya sovereigns, who fought his way to the throne in 608 A. D. and was crowned in the following year. The ambition of this monarch naturally brought him into conflict with the Pallavas, at that time the leading power of the south. About the year 609 or 610 A. D., Pulikesin defeated Mahendra-varman, and drove him to take shelter behind the walls of his capital, Kanchi. The seriousness of the defeat is proved by the fact that the province of Vengi, which had been in the possession of a Pallava chieftain for centuries, was annexed by the Chalukya king, who placed it in charge of Vishnuvardhana, his younger brother. After a few years, in or about 620 A. D., this prince established himself as an inde- pendent sovereign, and so founded the Eastern Cha- lukya line, which subsisted as a separate dynasty until 1070 A. D., when it was merged in the Chola dynasty. Notwithstanding the loss of this important province, the Pallava king claimed to have gained a victory over the invader at Pullalura near Kanchi. This boast prob-
