The Pallavas were one of the greatest dynasties that ruled a significant part of Deccan and South India. The territory over which they ruled was called Tondaimandalam. Pallavas made Kanchi, identified with modern Kanchipuram, their capital. Under them, Kanchi became a city of temples and Vedic learning. The kings of this dynasty left inscriptions in Prakrit and Sanskrit on stone and copper plates indicating that the Pallavas dynasty ruled between the 3rd and 7th centuries CE. Many kings of the Pallavas dynasty such as Virakurcha, Skandashishya, Simhavarman I, and Simhavarman II are mentioned in the Prakrit and Sanskrit inscriptions. One of the rulers of this dynasty named Vishnugopa was defeated by the Gupta emperor Samudragupta. The Pallavas reached the zenith of their power at the end of the 6th century CE under Simhavarman who inaugurated the age of the great political expansion. Pallavas dynasty, indeed, played a significant role in the political, social and cultural history of Deccan and South India.^[1]

The Pallavas had developed a well-organized administrative system. The monarchy was the order of the day. The monarchs’ claims to the title “Dharma-Maharaja” indicate that they ruled righteously. The king was the highest authority of the state and served as a judge, arbitrator, and military commander. Literature and inscriptions tell us a great deal about the Pallava administration and how it functioned. Though they suitably adopted and modified the Mauryan administrative system, at the same time, Pallavas kings also introduced several new administrative institutions in their kingdom. It seems Pallavas had fewer types of territorial divisions and provincial administration was also not developed to the extent of big empires of the North.^[1] Nevertheless, to govern their territory effectively, the Pallavas divided their territory into administrative units called Mandalam, Kottam, Nadu, and Ur. It is possible to draw parallels between these administrative divisions and the present administrative subdivisions, such as the province, district, taluk, and village. Mandalam which formed the biggest unit of the Pallava Empire was ruled by a prince (yuvaraja) to have direct central control over it. The next administrative unit called Kottams was placed in charge of officials directly appointed by the king. Whereas, Nadu was administered by a council called Naattar and Ur (village) which was the smallest unit of the Pallava administration looked after by the village committees called Sabhas.^[3]