Question

Kailashnath temple at Kanchipuram was constructed by the
A.Chola kings
B. Chera kings
C. Pallava kings
D. Chalukya kings

Answer 1

Hint:When we read or hear about temples, the first thought that pops up in our mind Is, who were the originators of the temples. Secondly, we generally ascribe south-india as the land of temples built magnificently by the great dynasties of south india. Here we will discuss various dynasties and the construction work done during their reigns and that too mainly about temples.

Complete answer:
When we go back in history, we find that several dynasties ruled over in south india. Dynasties of Chera, Chola, Pandyan, Chalukya, Pallava, Satavahans, Rashtrakuta, Kakatiya, Reddy dynasty, Yadava dynasty, Hoysala were at their peak during various periods of history. We also find that these dynasties were very prosperous and wealthy and that is one of the reasons why they were constantly invaded not only by north Indian kingdoms but also by foreigners. We also get to learn that in south india stability was not established to a greater extent. All the dynasties either were fighting amongst each other for supremacy or were in conflict with foreign powers. And that’s why we see that temples were built not only under one dynasty but by several in their own time. Temples were mainly built to showcase one’s power and wealth.
Now we see that very intricate and simple yet elegant designs were used in the temple building. These designs were either influenced by others or were indigenously developed. For example, under chola dynasty (11th – 12th century), great temples namely, the Brihadishwara temple of thanjavur(capital) and Airavatesvara temple at Darasuram were built by famous architects of that time , Sama varma. Under the Chera dynasty, another temple namely, Thiruvanchikulam shiva temple was built.

Under Pallava dynasty, temples did not only occur in south india but also did in Sri Lanka and Nalanda. It was the time when temples were constructed at a large scale and were mostly dedicated to shiva. Now the temples we find in here are namely, the kailasanatha temple in Kanchipuram, rock cut temple in mahendravadi are the finest examples of temple construction plus indigenously developed architecture.
Under the Chalukya dynasty, we have a temple designated as a heritage site and we see a number of temples. The architectural design adopted by them is popularly known as Badami Chalukya architecture. Some of the temples are cave temples at Badami (Karnataka), virupaksha temple at pattadakal and several monuments are also there.

Note:Chalukyas, Pandyas, Chola, Rashtrakutas were the main dynasties of medieval india and the Rashtrakuta dynasty lasted the longest. And after these dynasties came the Vijayanagar and Bahmani kingdoms. Also, we find temples in tremendous numbers in south india rather than north india.