The builders of Pallava laid the foundation for a significant trend in temple design. There are two temples in the same category in Kanchipuram, the oldest city in the South and well-known for its universities, temples, and viharas. Kanchipuram might rightly be called the birthplace of the Dravidian architectural style, which reached its pinnacle at Vijayanagar seven centuries later, given the abundance of historic monuments this city still boasts of. The older of these two temples is Kailasanatha, which was started by Rajasimha in 700 A.D. and finished by his son Mahendrawarman III.

The temple was designed as a whole even before construction began, with the exception of a few later additions to the east of the enclosure. It included all the features typical of the Pallava style, such as the vestibule, pillared hall, and pyramidal tower, all surrounded by a wall with a parapet of cupolas on top. It has the raging lion pilaster, which is so emblematic of the Mamallapuram group and is effectively replicated on the outside of the buildings.

It also shows the tower on the sanctum, or vimana, continuing to grow and becoming more substantial, enormous, well-proportioned, and graceful in its outlines. The early outlines of the gopuram, or gateway tower, which is dwarfish and not particularly striking architecturally, are visible during the Rajasimha period. A more refined example of Pallava architecture may be found in the other temple in Kanchipuram, which is devoted to Vaikunthaperumal. Nandivarman II constructed it (about 717–779).

The main features, including the sanctuary, portico, and cloisters, are visible here and together they form an organic composition. This place has a stronger manifestation of the oneness of conception than the Kailasanatha temple. The vimana has a square floor plan and is eighteen meters above the ground. The examples of Pallava construction in its final phase that can be found in Kanchipuram and other places are mainly smaller versions of these magnificent temples, and their aesthetic quality is not comparable.

The Kailasa or Kailasanatha temple is the largest of the rock-cut Hindu temples at Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, India. Because of its size, architecture, and sculptural treatment, it is considered one of the most remarkable cave temples in the world, and “the climax of the rock-cut phase of Indian architecture.” Although the rock face slopes downwards from the back of the temple to the front, the top of the superstructure over the sanctuary is 32.6 meters (107 feet) above the level of the court below.

According to legend, the local king was afflicted with a terrible disease. At Elapura, his queen prayed to the god Ghrishneshwar (Shiva) to heal her husband. She vowed to build a temple if her wish was granted, and she promised to fast until she could see the temple’s shikhara.
After the king was cured, she asked him to build a temple right away, but multiple architects said it would take months to complete a temple with a shikhara. One architect named Kokasa assured the king that the queen would be able to see a temple’s shikhara within a week.
He began building the temple from the top down, carving a rock. He completed the shikhara in less than a week, allowing the queen to break her fast. Manikeshwar, after the queen, was the name given to the temple.