The age of the Pallavas constitutes the first important landmark in the history of Tondamandalam and the Tirumala-Tirupati region wl lich was included in it. These Pallavas were originally the inhabitants of the south-eastern part of the Satav ahana empire, bordering upon Tondamandalam. The founder and first ruler of this dynasty, Simhavarman alias Virakurcha, married a Naga princess from the kigdom of Vanavasi and inherited a kingdom and royal status through his wife As the son-in-law of the most powerful Naga family of the lime, he might have been easily recognized as the leader by theother Naga tribes inhabiting Tondamandalam. He then invaded the coastal region, brought about the end of Ikshvaku rule and annexed the Guntur and Nellore districts and the districts of Ravalasima. He
revived the old glory of the city of Kanchi by making it his capital. This vast kingdom founded by him flourished for a long time and was ruled over by his successors till the end of the ninth century A.D. It was then conquered by the Cholas.
There are two records (I-1 and 2) of the first of the last three rulers of the Pallava dynasty in this region. This king is mentioned as Ko-Vijaya-Dantivikramar and is identified with Dantivarman (775- 826 A.D.). These inscriptions contain gifts made not to the temple on Vengadam but to a proxy or representative temple and its god, situated in Tiruchanur.
This area was included in the fief of the Banas, a family of Pallava feudatories. A Bana Vijayaditya figures in two inscriptions (1-3 & 4). This Vijayaditya seems to have flourished in the early half of the ninth century A.D. After two more generations of Pallava kings ruled, the Chola king, Aditya I, invaded Tondamandalam, defeated in Pallava king, Aparajita, and conquered it. Thus ended Pallava rule over this region.
