The early phase of Dravidian temple building under the Pallava dynasty of Kanchipuram (roughly 6th to 9th centuries CE), which moved south Indian architecture from rock-cut caves to free-standing structural temples, mainly at Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) and Kanchipuram.
- Conventionally grouped into four stages: the Mahendra style (rock-cut cave temples, mandapas), the Mamalla style (monolithic rathas and open mandapas), the Rajasimha style (structural temples) and the Nandivarman style (smaller structural temples).
- Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram), patronised by Narasimhavarman I (Mamalla): the Five Rathas (Pancha Pandava Rathas, each a monolithic temple in a different form) and the open-air relief the Descent of the Ganga (Arjuna's Penance).
- The Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram, built by Narasimhavarman II (Rajasimha), is a structural temple of dressed stone; the site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- The Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram (Rajasimha style) is a major structural Pallava temple.
- The Pallava lion-pillar (a pillar with a seated lion base, the vyala or yali) is a signature motif that passed into later Chola architecture.
The Pallava-Mahabalipuram link, the rathas and Descent of the Ganga under Narasimhavarman I, the Shore Temple, and the four-stage evolution from rock-cut to structural temple are standard South Indian art facts.
The Pallavas (rathas, Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram) precede and seed the later, grander Chola temple architecture (Brihadeeswara at Thanjavur); the rathas are monolithic (carved from rock) while the Shore Temple is structural (built of cut stone).
Early Dravidian builders at Mahabalipuram: rathas and Descent of the Ganga (Narasimhavarman I) and the structural Shore Temple (Rajasimha).