Both the men and women in the Pallava and Chola periods were fond of ornaments. The carved male figures in the temples belonging to that era show figurines wearing ear-rings of different types, armlets, waistbands and leg ornaments. The ear-rings of the Chola sculptures belonging to the ninth and tenth centuries were round, circular discs studded with stones.
Jewellery worn by men consisted of keyuras and valayas for the upper arms, bangles known as khadi and gajulu, bracelets svechitika or barjura, wristlets ruchika and chitika for the lower arms and elaborate girdles with tassels, srinkhalas.
The women wore agrapatta or cheruchukka which consisted of two pearl strings with a circular floral ornament on the forehead called simanta. Another jewel for the head was a gemstudded band with bejewelled fllowers dropping on to the forehead, appended to a set of three concentric bejeweled rings worn high up on the head. A similar ornament for the hair bun or knot further decorated the head.
There were two types of ear ornaments for women which were peculiar to this period: one resembled a bunch of grapes and another was a geometrical cluster of gems.
Although actual specimens of the gems and jewellery of south India have not survived to this date, it is not difficult to understand their nature and form; the sculptures found in various temples and other excavated sites provide ample evidence of this.