mandapa in front and a small shrine at the rear or sides. Rock-cut temple of Mahendravarma Pallava Kanchipuram continued to be a great seat of learning. The followers of Vedic religion were devoted to the worship of Siva. Mahendravarman was the first, during the middle of his reign, to adopt the worship of Siva.
But he was intolerant of Jainism and destroyed some Jain monasteries. Buddhism and Jainism lost their appeal. However, Hiuen-Tsang is reported to have seen at Kanchi one hundred Buddhist monasteries and , priests belonging to the Mahayana school. Many of the great Nayanmars and Alwars, Saiva and Vaishanava poet-saints lived during his time.
Growing influence of Brahmanism Perhaps the most obvious sign of the influence of Aryan culture in the south was the pre-eminent position given to Brahmins. They gained materially through large gifts of land. Aryanisation is also evident in the evolution of educational institutions in the Pallava kingdom. In the early part of this period education was controlled by Jains and Buddhists, but gradually the Brahmins superseded them.
The Jains who had brought with them their religious literature in Sanskrit and Prakrit, began to use Tamil. Jainism was extremely popular, but the competition of Hinduism in the succeeding centuries greatly reduced the number of its adherents. In addition, Mahendravarman I lost interest in Jainism and took up the cause of Saivism, thus depriving the Jains of valuable royal patronage. The Jains had developed a few educational centres near Madurai and Kanchi, and religious centres such as the one at Shravanabelagola in Karnataka.
But a vast majority of the Jaina monks tended to isolate themselves in small caves, in hills and forests. Monasteries and Mutts Monasteries continued to be the nucleus of the Buddhist educational system and were located in the region of Kanchi, and the valleys of the Krishna and the Godavari rivers. Buddhist centres were concerned with the study of Buddhism, particularly as this was a period of intense conflict between orthodox and heterodox sects. But Buddhism XI History - Lesson - - Cultural Development in South India trained in