384 THE KINGDOMS OF THE SOUTH the worship of Vishnu, but in later times the rajas inclined to the cult of Siva, and adopted the figure of a bull as the family crest. The celebrated rock-cut temples at Mamallaipuram near Madras, commonly called the " Seven Pagodas," were excavated under the orders of various kings of the dynasty during the sixth and seventh centuries, as were also the cave-temples at Mahendravadi and Ma- mandur in North Arcot. The temples at the former place, three Saiva and one Vaishnava, date from the reign of Mahendra-varman I, who came to the throne about A. D. 600. The first Pallava king about whom anything sub- stantial is known was Sivaskanda-varman, who lived in the second century A. D. His capital, although not expressly named, was doubtless Kanchi, and his power extended into the Telugu country as far as the Krishna River, over territory included at times in the Andhra kingdom. He had officers stationed at Amaravati (Dhanakataka) , the famous Buddhist holy place, but he himself was an orthodox Hindu, with a special devo- tion for Siva. The king's boast that he had celebrated the asvamedha, or horse-sacrifice, is good evidence that he exercised jurisdiction over a considerable number of subordinate rajas. He confirmed a grant made by an ancestor named Bappa, possibly his father, who may be regarded as the founder of the dynasty. The next glimpse of the Pallavas is obtained two centuries later from the record of the temporary con- quests effected by the northern monarch, Samudra-
