Editing Simhavishnu

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}

{{Infobox royalty
| image = Simhavishnu portrait in stone.jpg
| caption = Simhavishnu with his queens: sculpture found in Adivaraha mandapam in [[Mahabalipuram]]. This is dated to the reign of his grandson, [[Narasimhavarman I|Narasimhavarman Maamallan]] (630–668).
| succession = [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava King]]
| reign = 556-590 CE
| predecessor = [[Simhavarman III]]
| successor = [[Mahendravarman I]]
| issue = [[Mahendravarman I]]
| father = [[Simhavarman III]]
| dynasty = [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava]]
}}
{{Pallava}}
'''Simhavishnu''' ([[IAST]]: Siṃhaviṣṇu) also known as '''Avanisimha''' son of [[Simhavarman III]] and one of the [[Pallava]] kings of [[India]], was responsible for the revival of the Pallavan dynasty. He was the first Pallava monarch whose domain extended beyond [[Kanchipuram]] (Kanchi) in the South. He was portrayed as a great conqueror in ''[[Mattavilasa Prahasana]]'' (drunken revelry), a drama written by his son [[Mahendravarman I]].

==Reign==
Sailendra Nath Sen 575-600 AD.<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |pages=41–42}}</ref>

T.V. Mahalingam 575–615 CE.

KAN Sastri 555–590 CE.

He ruled at least for 33 years based on the available [[Hero stone]]s.<ref name=sastri135>KAN Sastri, A History of South India, p135</ref> However, there is no exact consensus as to Simhavishnu's period on the throne.

==Expansion of kingdom==
When Simhavishnu ascended the throne, the Pallava dynasty was beginning to reassert its supremacy.

The southern peninsula of India was then ruled by five dynasties. The Pallavas, the [[Cholas]] and the [[Pandyas]] shared the power in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], parts of southern and eastern [[Karnataka]] border and [[Ceylon]]; the [[Chera Dynasties|Cheras]] controlled [[Kerala]] and the [[Chalukyas]] controlled [[Karnataka]]. Simhavishnu, who was known for his gallant martial courage and judicial wisdom from a young age, overthrew the [[Kalabhras]] and conquered the region up to [[Kaveri]], where he came into conflict with the Pandyas and Ceylon.<ref name="sastri135"/> He dispatched a naval expedition and occupied Malaya and Sri Lanka and established Kanchipuram as his capital. The presence of the Pallavas, much before further naval expeditions to Indo-China by their illustrious succeeding and contemporary empires such as the Pandiyans and the Cholas, is attested by the existence of specimen of art bearing striking resemblance in countries like Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, as well as scores of inscriptions in those lands in the Grantha script (a script in which both Tamil and Sanskrit can be written) in which the Pallavas were the first to specialize.<ref>[http://www.whatsindia.com/south_indian_inscriptions]{{dead link|date=June 2019}}</ref>

Simhavishnu led the revival of the Pallavas, and the period starting with him came to be known as the Greater Pallavas or Later Pallavas dynasty. The great struggle between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas, which would last for more than two centuries, began during the reign of Simhavishnu.

==Contribution to literature==
Simhavishnu is known to have been the patron of the [[Sanskrit]] poet [[Bharavi]], who wrote of the duel between [[Lord Shiva|Siva]] and [[Arjuna]] known as Kirata Arjuneeya, after which Shiva blessed Arjuna with the divine [[Pashupatastra]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=fTLlcGlkdjkC&dq=pasupata'+missile&pg=PA200   David Smith, ''The Dance of Siva: Religion, Art and Poetry in South India,'' Cambridge (2004) p.200] {{ISBN|0-521-52865-8}}</ref>  The structure of Bharavi's play suggests that it was written for ''[[koodiyattam]]'' plays for worship in temples during festivals. Kirata Arjuneeya is used as a subject for ''koodiyattam'' performances even today.

==Religious affiliation==
As with most Indian monarchs, Simhavishnu was also religious.

In the [[Tamil copper-plate inscriptions|Udayendiram copper plates]] of [[Nandivarman II]], Simhavishnu was a devotee of [[Vishnu]].{{fact|date=November 2022}} This is a noteworthy point as his son Mahendravarman I was a [[Jainism|Jaina]] who opposed all the Shaivite practices before being converted to [[Saivism|Shaivism]]. Simhavishnu's portrait can be seen in the stone engraving at the [[Varaha Cave Temple|Adivaraha Mandapam]], an elegant shrine at [[Mahabalipuram]]. The monuments and temples in Mahabalipuram are achievements of the Pallava dynasty, and they still exist in [[Tamil Nadu]]. Simhavishnu was succeeded by his son [[Mahendravarman I]].

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book | first= K. A. N.  | last= Sastri | orig-year = 1955| year=2008 | title= A History of South India| edition= 4th| publisher= Oxford University Press | location= New Delhi, India}}
* Hirsh, Marilyn "Mahendravarman I Pallava: Artist and Patron of Mamallapuram", ''Artibus Asiae'', Vol. 48, No. 1/2. (1987), pp.&nbsp;113

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050913113639/http://faculty.sxu.edu/~rabe/simhavishnu.htm  Simhavishnu portrait]

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[Pallava dynasty]]}}
{{S-bef| before=[[Simhavarman III]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Pallava dynasty]] | years=537–570}}
{{S-aft| after=[[Mahendravarman I]]}}
{{end}}

[[Category:Pallava kings]]
[[Category:6th-century Indian monarchs]]