The origins of the Pallavas have been debated by scholars. The available historical materials include three copper-plate grants of Sivaskandavarman in the first quarter of the 4th century CE, all issued from Kanchipuram but found in various parts of Andhra Pradesh, and another inscription of Simhavarman half century earlier in the Palanadu area of the western Guntur district. All the early documents are in Prakrit, and scholars find similarities in paleography and language with the Satavahanas and the Mauryas. Their early coins are said to be similar to those of Satavahanas. Two main theories of the origins have emerged from this data: one that the Pallavas were former subsidiaries of Satavahanas in the "Andhradesa" (the region north of Penna River in modern Andhra Pradesh) and later expanded south up to Kanchi, and the other that they initially rose to power in Kanchi and expanded north up to the Krishna river.