Simhavishnu (IAST: Siṃhaviṣṇu) also known as Avanisimha son of Simhavarman III and one of the Pallava kings of India, was responsible for the revival of the Pallavan dynasty.

He was portrayed as a great conqueror in Mattavilasa Prahasana (drunken revelry), a drama written by his son Mahendravarman I. Sailendra Nath Sen 575-600 AD.

Simhavishnu, who was known for his gallant martial courage and judicial wisdom from a young age, overthrew the Kalabhras and conquered the region up to Kaveri, where he came into conflict with the Pandyas and Ceylon.

The presence of the Pallavas, much before further naval expeditions to Indo-China by their illustrious succeeding and contemporary empires such as the Pandiyans and the Cholas, is attested by the existence of specimen of art bearing striking resemblance in countries like Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, as well as scores of inscriptions in those lands in the Grantha script (a script in which both Tamil and Sanskrit can be written) in which the Pallavas were the first to specialize.

[citation needed] This is a noteworthy point as his son Mahendravarman I was a Jaina who opposed all the Shaivite practices before being converted to Shaivism.