108 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. [ArriiL, 1873. it is reasonable to conclude that the reaction against the Jainas in the Pandya kingdom would be either preceded or followed by a reaction against it in the Tondamandalam, and vice versa; and that the expulsion of the Jainas from the one would pretty nearly synchronize with their expulsion from tho other. I find also that Mr. Fergusson, judging from different data altogether, has arrived at the same conclusion; for he says (History of Architec¬ ture, Yol. II. p. 502) that the Rathas were “ carved by the Hindus, probably about 1300 A.D.” That Mavaliveram in ancient times was a large city, the capital of a kingdom, and the seat of the ruling sovereign, is, I think, very probable. The name in the Sthalapurana is simply Mallapuri; but in the inscription near the Varasvami temple, given by Sir Walter Elliot, it is enlarged into Mamallapuram by pre¬ fixing the Sanskrit adjective Mahd. Mallapuri means ‘ the city of MallaJ and Mamallapuram ‘ the city of the great Malla.’ According to the Mackenzie MSS. Malla is the patronymic title of a northern tribe of mountain chiefs, who sprang from the aboriginal inhabitants, and who were non-Aryan. Probably their descendants are the low-caste Mallas of the present day, who dwell largely in the Kadapa, Belari, and Karnul Districts. That in ancient time they were a conquering and a ruling race is very evident from the many villages which bear their name, as well as the many Rajas whose honourable distinction was “ Malla Rayer.” Probably then the Mallas were the founders of Mamallapuram, and called it after their own name. That they ruled there before the Kurumbars is evident from the fact that the town was called Mamallapu¬ ram about the time of its conquest by Kulat¬ tungachola, as appears from an inscription dated S.1157 at the neighbouring village of Pa- varakkarana’s Choultry, where the name occurs, and also from the no less obvious fact that the adjective Mahd prefixed to it indicates the pre¬ dominant influence of Brahmans. The Mallas were either subdued by the Kurumbars, and amalgamated with their conquerors, or they were one and the same people bearing dif¬ ferent names in different periods. That both were aboriginal non-Aryan inhabitants there can l>e little doubt. Now contrasting the present abject state of the Mallas, Kurumbars, Khonds, and other aboriginal tribes, with their former power and enterprise, we cannot fail to conclude that the time when they ruled and conquered must be very remote. The appearance of such extraordinary and costly rock-cut temples in a sequestered spot like Mamallapuram is itself strong presumptive evidence of the former existence of a large city. It is prima facie incredible that any man, or body of men, would select an isolated uninhabited spot for the execution of some of the best works of art in India. The present village would scarcely accommodate the workmen and their families who were engaged on the works. The idea of Dr. Babington, that the place was first procured by the Brahmans as an Agrahara, and that they employed Btone-masons at their own cost from time to time to ornament the rocks with the excavations and sculptures which we now find, is an idle conjecture. Who ever heard of Brahmans doing any great public works at their own cost ? The most rational supposition is that when the King embraced Hinduism, the Brahmans prevailed upon him to adorn the old capital by excavating these tem¬ ples. The application by Brahmans of the legend of Mahabali to Malla the king of Mallapuram, and their endeavour to identify the one with the other, is to my mind no mean proof of the for¬ mer existence of a large city, the capital of a kingdom. Mahabali was a Raja, living in the Tretayuga, who, by penance and austerity, had obtained possession of the whole universe, in¬ cluding heaven, earth, and hell, so that he was a universal monarch. He became so elated by his greatness that he omitted to perform the customary religious ceremonies to the gods. Vishnu, in order to check the influence of so bad an example, became incarnate in the person of a wretched Brahman dwarf, and’ in this form appearing before Mahabali asked as a boon as much of his wide possessions as he could com¬ pass in three steps. This the king readily granted, upon which the dwarf grew larger, and continued to expand till he filled the whole uni¬ verse, thus depriving the insolent monarch of all his possessions except hell, which he was allowed to keep i Where this legend originated I do not know. It probably represents the victory of Hindus of the Vaishnava sect over some powerful non-Ary an king. But the ap¬
