Question

The finest architecture of the Pallava kingdom is ___________.
A. Konark temple
B. Shore temple
C. Madurai Meenakshi temple
D. All of these

Answer 1

Hint: Pallava craftsmanship and design speak to a beginning phase of Dravidian workmanship and design which bloomed to its fullest extent under the Chola Line. The principal stone and mortar temples of South India were developed during Pallava rule.

Complete answer: Shore temple is the principal design of Pallava kingdom. It is named so as it overlooks the Bay of Bengal at Mahabalipuram. It goes back to the eighth-century. Shore temple is a complex of three temples, one huge and two little. It was built by the Pallava lord Narsimhavarman II, who is likewise referred to broadly as Rajasimha. The principal stone and mortar temples of South India were developed during Pallava rule and depended on before brick and Timberwood prototypes. Beginning with rock-cut sanctuaries, worked somewhere in the range of 695AD and 722AD, and archaeological unearthings dated to the sixth century and earlier. Pallava stone carvers later graduated to unattached underlying altars which enlivened Chola tradition's sanctuaries of a later age. Akshara was a renowned architect of this time.
Looking at the options given:
Option A- Konark temple is a work of rulers from the Eastern Ganga dynasty. It is in Odisha and therefore is not the correct answer.
Option B- Shore temple is the correct answer because it was built in the Pallava reign under Narsimhavarman II.
Option C- Madurai Meenakshi Temple was built by King Kulasekara Pandya in and around the 12th century therefore this is not the correct answer.
Option D- This is an incorrect answer since the other two temples are not the works of Pallavas.
Therefore, option “B” is the correct answer.

Note: The absolute best instances of Pallava workmanship and design are the Kailasanathar Sanctuary at Kanchipuram, the Shore Sanctuary and the Pancha Rathas of Mahabalipuram.