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2018 June | 2014 | Ithihas

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Monthly Archives: June 2014
Rajendra Chola (1014-1044 A.D.), the Undefeatable Warrior.
June 10, 2014 – 10:54 am
Rajaraja Chola was followed by his illustrious son Rajendra Chola in 1014 A.D. He
raised the Chola Empire to the position of being the most extensive and most
respected Hindu state of his time. A distinguished warrior like his father, Rajendra
appears to have been the co-ruler with Rajaraja during the last three years of the
latter’s rule.

Archives Reassertion over the Pandya/Chera kingdoms

February 2018
During the change of rule from Rajaraja to Rajendra, probably some of the hostile
January 2018 subordinate powers like the Pandyas and the Cheras made an attempt to throw off
October 2017 the yoke of Chola control. To reassert the Chola authority, Rajendra marched
August 2017 through the Pandya and Kerala countries and appointed one of his sons as the
June 2017 viceroy with Madura being the headquarters of the new viceroyalty. Later when
May 2017 there was rebellion in these kingdoms, he sent yuvaraja Rajadhiraja who either put
March 2017 to death several princes of the two royal families or forced them to seek refuge in
October 2016
flight.
June 2016 Conquest of Ceylon
January 2016
November 2015 In 1018 Rajendra invaded Ceylon and completed the conquest of the island begun
August 2015 by his father. Mahinda V was taken prisoner and transported to the Chola country
June 2015 where he died twelve years later. Thereafter his son Kassapa became the centre of
February 2015
Sinhalese resistance against the Tamil power and after a war of six months in
which a great number of Tamils were killed by the Sinhalese forces, he made
January 2015
himself the king of southern half of the island, Rohana, and ruled as Vikramabahu I
September 2014
for twelve years from 1029.
June 2014
May 2014 Intervention in Vengi
April 2014
March 2014
In Vengi, Vimaladitya who had succeeded his brother Shakivarman I in 1011, died
in 1018. There was a contest for the throne by his sons, Vijayaditya VII and
December 2013
Rajaraja Narendra, born to Vimaladitya’s Chola queen Kundavai. The Chalukyan
November 2013
ruler Jayasimha II saw this as an opportunity to reestablish the Chalukyan
October 2013 influence at Vengi and supported the claims of Vijayaditya VII. In the pursuit of this
September 2013 plan Jayasimha crossed the Tungabhadra and occupied Bellary and possibly even
August 2013 a part of Gangavadi. In Vengi, Vijayaditya captured Vijayavada and made it
May 2013 impossible for his rival Rajaraja Narendra to celebrate his coronation. To help his
April 2013 nephew, Rajendra sent two forces simultaneously, one marching into the Raichur
February 2013
doab and the other into Vengi for the relief of Rajaraja Narendra. In the west
Jayasimha was defeated in a battle at Maski and river Tungabhadra was tacitly
January 2013
recognized as the boundary between the two kingdoms. In Vengi the Chola forces
July 2012
defeated Vijayaditya in several battles and took possession of the country on
January 2010 behalf of Rajaraja Narendra. Then the Chola army marched against the kingdom of
July 2009 Kalinga, Telinga and Odda and defeated them. These three kingdoms ethnically as
June 2009 well as geographically were united against the interests of the Cholas and had
May 2009 actively supported the claims of Vijayaditya. Still proceeding further north the Chola
April 2009 army inflicted a defeat on Mahipala I, the Pala ruler of Bengal. The Chola army
March 2009
brought the sacred water of the Ganga to consecrate the capital built in memory of
this expedition, Gangaikondacholapuram. Rajendra then established his nephew
February 2009
Rajaraja Narendra on the throne of Vengi and married his daughter Ammangadevi
October 2008
to him. Later with the help of the Chalukyan ruler Someshvara I, Vijayaditya
September 2008

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August 2008 renewed his struggle for the Vengi throne and Rajendra sent his son Rajadhiraja to
July 2008 the assistance of this nephew Rajaraja Narendra.
June 2008
Oversea expedition
May 2008
April 2008 Rajendra sent a large naval expedition against the kingdom of Sri Vijaya. Sri Vijaya
March 2008 was the powerful maritime state which ruled the Malayan peninsula, Sumatra, Java
February 2008 and the neighbouring islands and controlled the sea routes from India to China.
The relations between Sri Vijaya and the Chola Empire had been quite friendly in
the time of Rajaraja and in the early years of Rajendra’s reign. Whether Rajendra’s
war against Sri Vijaya (1025) was rendered necessary by an attempt on Sri
Vijaya’s part to obstruct the Chola intercourse with China or was simply the result
of Rajendra’s desire to win glory by extending his digvijaya to the countries across
the sea, we cannot say. Though Rajendra did not establish any permanent
occupation on Kadaram and Srivijaya and these defeated kingdoms soon
recovered the loss, it had great repercussions in international politics. Even the far-
off Kambujdesa became afraid and sought an assurance of safety from Rajendra
by sending him his own chariot as a present. To commemorate his victory against
the kingdom of Srivijaya, Rajendra constructed the ‘liquid pillar of victory’ (jalamaya
jayastambha), a tank known as Cholagangam which contained the waters of the
Ganges.

Adminstration

The Chola rulers were called Chakravartigal. The capital of the kingdom was
Tanjavur. Kanchi and Gangakondacholapuram were subsidiary capitals. The Chola
kingdom was divided into provinces called mandalam. Mandalas were divided into
valanadus and the latter into kurrams or kuttams.The lowest unit of administration
was village. The Chola records mention the existence of two types of villages, Ur
and the Brahmadeya villages. Ur had its own local assembly also called Ur and
consisted of all members of the villages exclusive of the untouchables. The
Brahmadeya villages were inhabited by learned Brahmanas and had assemblies
called Mahasabha.

The Cholas had set up an organized judicial system. There are references to
dharmasana in several inscriptions, probably signifying the king’s court of justice.
Learned Brahmins known as dharmasana-bhattas assisted the court. The village
assemblies exercised large powers in matters of local interests which they settled
with the help of small committees of nyayavattar. The Chinese writer, Chou-Ju-Kua
recording about the Chola system of justice in the 13th century mentions flogging
or giving blows to the culprit with a stick after tying him to a wooden frame, for
minor offences. Heinous crimes were punished with decapitation or being trampled
to death by an elephant.

The Chola military had a strength of 1,50,000 men and an elephant corps of
60,000. They imported costly Arabian horses for their cavalry. The army personnel
were trained in cantonments called kadagam or padaividu. They possessed an
excellent navy as evident from their expedition to Ceylon, Maldives and Kadaram
in Malaysia. They controlled the Coromandel and Malabar coasts and dominated
the Bay of Bengal.

Contribution to Art and Culture

Rajendra Chola was an ardent follower of Shiva. At Gangakondaicholapuram he

built the Brihadisvara temple in 1030 A.D. This is similar to the Brihadeshwara
temple at Tanjore and occupies a rectangular space of about 340×110 feet. The
tower over the sanctum has eight tiers and is about 186 feet in height. The
sanctum has a huge Shiva linga of solid granite. The mantapa of this temple
measuring 175×95 feet has 150 pillars. Like the Brihadeshwara temple at Tanjore
the outside walls of this temple also has elaborately carved sculptures. Around the
temple there are large tanks known as Tottikolam and Tirthakolam and a big water
reservoir known as Ponneri. Probably in these tanks the sacred waters of the
Ganges which Rajendra had caused to be brought from east India was poured.
The Dravidian temple architecture attained its culmination and supreme
expressions under the rule of Rajaraja Chola and Rajendra Chola. Hence James
Fergusson aptly remarked that the Chola artists conceived like giants and finished
like jewelers. The art of casting metal images in copper and bronze reached great

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heights during the Chola rule. The famous bronze image of dancing Nataraja
shows the high level of creative urge, vigour and skill of the Chola sculptors.

He instituted a number of grants and donations to religious establishments and

appointed superintendents to supervise the affairs connected with temples,
particularly those built by the state. Rajendra Chola invited a large number of
Shaiva scholars from the banks of the Ganges and established them in several
parts of the Chola country to make Shaivism popular and particularly to bring about
a fusion of various Shaiva sects. Inscriptions refer to the grants made by Rajendra
for the maintenance of mantra-reciting Brahmanas, hymn singers, dancers and
dramatists, who amused the gods and devotees, particularly during festivities.

During Rajendra’s rule public utility works like roads were built and to provide
irrigation facilities a very large reservoir near Gangaikondacholapuram was
constructed. He also made grants to charitable and educational institutions and
made arrangements to provide free medical aid to the sufferers. He sent two trade
missions to China, the first in 1033 A.D. and the second in 1077A.D. Rajendra
Chola had titles like Gangaikonda Chola, Virarajendra, Mudigonda Chola and
Pandita Chola. He was followed by his son Rajadhiraja I.

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By S.Srinivas | Posted in essays | Comments (0)

Rajaraja Chola (985-1014 A.D.) the Empire builder

June 3, 2014 – 1:34 am

The Cholas were one of the oldest ruling dynasties in South India. Along with the
Pandyas and Cheras their name are referred in the Ashokan Rock Edicts dated 3rd
century B.C. After a gap of several centuries the Chola power was once again
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revived in 850 A.D. by Vijayala who began his rule from Tanjore. He was followed
by successive rulers like Aditya I, Parantaka I, Gandaraditya and Parantaka II
Sundara Chola. The real greatness of the Chola Empire begins with the accession
of the son of Parantaka II Sundara Chola, Arumolivarman who crowned himself as
Rajaraja in 985 A.D.

Defeat of the Triumvirate powers

Rajaraja began his conquests by attacking the confederation of the rulers of the
Pandya, Chera and Ceylon. His earliest military achievement was against the
Cheras from whom he captured Kandalur Salai and Udagai. He also conquered
Kollam or Quilon on the Malabar Coast. He undertook two campaigns against the
Pandyas of Madhura and defeated their king Amarabhujanga. Rajaraja then
undertook a naval expedition against Mahinda V, the king of Ceylon. The capital of
Ceylon, Anuradhapura was sacked and Polonnaruva was made the new capital of
the Chola colony. Later he also annexed the island of Maldives.

The Chola-Chalukyan feud

Rajaraja Chola invaded Karnataka in 992 A.D. and had annexed places like
Gangavadi, Nolambavadi and Tadigaipadi. This incident led to a prolonged warfare
between these two dynasties as some of the rulers of the above mentioned places
were the vassals of the Chalukyas. Another reason for this dynastic feud was due
to the Chola domination over the kingdom of Vengi. The Eastern Chalukyan
kingdom of Vengi was founded by Kubja Vishnuvardhana, brother of the famous
Badami Chalukyan ruler Pulakeshin II. When the Rashtrakutas established their
rule in Karnataka, the rulers of Vengi accepted their suzerainty and also entered
into matrimonial alliance with them. Hence since its establishment Vengi was under
the influence of Karnataka rulers. But things changed when the ruler of Vengi,
Dhanarnava was slain in a battle in 973 A.D. by the Telugu Choda chief, Jata
Choda Bhima who ruled Vengi from 973 to 1000 A.D. He invaded
Tondaimandalam, the area under Rajaraja Chola rule as the latter had given
shelter to the children of Dhanarnava; Shaktivarman I and Vimaladitya. (Rajaraja
had also given his daughter Kundavi in marriage to Vimaladitya). Rajaraja defeated
Bhima, took him as a prisoner and appointed Shaktivarman I to the Vengi throne
under his tutelage. The Chalukyas could not tolerate Vengi coming under the
influence of the Cholas and in 1006 A.D., Sathyashraya, the Chalukyan ruler
invaded Vengi. Rajaraja sent his son Rajendra who made a counter-attack on the
Chalukyan territories and captured Banavasi, parts of Raichur Doab and sacked
Manyakheta, the capital of the Chalukyas. Sathyashraya was thus compelled to
withdraw his forces from Vengi and only with difficulty succeeded in freeing his
country of the Chola army which retired behind the Tungabhadra with much booty.

As an Administrator

Rajaraja was an eminent administrator and organized the internal administration on

a sound basis. Local administrative units like villages had wide powers including
that of levying and remitting taxes and creating as well as supporting endowments
and discharging other responsibilities in their areas for the welfare of the people.
Rajaraja carried out a regular revenue survey in about 1002 A.D. and another
survey was made later. By this the entire land was measured and the revenue
assessment was fixed on the basis of the quality and nature of the soil. Rajaraja
performed the Tulabhara ceremony in which he was weighed against gold, pearls
and other precious materials. His chief queen Lokamahadevi performed the
Hiranyagarbha ceremony (passing one’s body through a golden cow). His name
and fame had spread far and wide and he was known to the kings of the Far East
as well as of China. In 1015 he sent a trade mission to China.

A devoted Shaiva

The Chola monarchs were staunch Shaivas and had rajagurus as their initiators
and advisers. Two Shaiva scholars, Isana Siva and Sarva Siva were the spiritual
guides of Rajaraja as well as his son Rajendra. Rajaraja built a magnificent temple
dedicated to Shiva at Tanjore known as Brihadeshvara or Rajarajesvara temple at
an enormous expense. The construction of this temple began in 1003 A.D. and
was completed in 1010 A.D. The temple occupies a quadrangle space measuring
500×250 feet. The shikara of this temple with 13 tiers is about 200 feet in height
and is crowned by a massive dome 25 feet in height and weighing 80 tons. In the
garbhagudi is a colossal Linga more than 10 feet in height. The inner wall of the
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pradakshinapatha was profusely painted. This temple building is covered from the
base to the top with sculptures and decorating mouldings. Rajaraja is credited for
creating endowments for the maintenance of persons reciting the tiruppadiyam.
Tiruppadiyam were devotional songs composed by the Nayanmars, the Shaiva
saints of Tamilnadu and was sung before the deity. The worship of the images of
muvar mudalis, i.e. the Nayanmars were also introduced during his reign. For his
devotion to God Shiva he was called Sivapadasekhara. Though a devout Shaiva
he was tolerant towards all the religions. Rajaraja gave valuable gifts to the
Chidambaram temple in Tamilnadu, made an endowment to a Vishnu temple at
Tadimalingi near Talakad in Karnataka and renovated the Kolaramma temple in
Kolar also in Karnataka. He gave permission to the king of Srivijaya, Sri
Maravijayattungavarman to erect the Chudamani vihara at Nagapatanam.

Rajaraja Chola had titles like Cholendrasimha, Jananatha, Cholamartanda,

Nigarilisola, Pandyakutasani, Keralantaka, etc. He had fifteen queens of whom his
successor Rajendra was born to one Vanavan Mahadevi, also known as
Tribhurana Mahadevi. A relatively small state during his accession, Rajaraja
extended the Chola kingdom into a well-knit empire; efficiently organized and
possessed of a powerful standing army and navy. He was the first Chola monarch
to establish an extensive empire which bordered on Quilon and Coorg in the west,
Ceylon in the south and Orissa in the north. He rightly deserved to be called
Rajaraja the Great.

By S.Srinivas | Posted in essays | Comments (0)

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