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Component-I (A) – Personal details: 1 Component-I (B) – Description of module: Subject Name Indian Culture Paper Name Outlines of Indian History Module Name/Title The cholas Module Id I C/ OIH/ 16 Knowledge in the political history of early medieval Pre-requisites South India To study the History of Cholas and their Objectives contribution to Indian Culture Keywords Cholas / Tanjore E-text (Quadrant-I) 1. Introduction The Cholas who ruled from the ninth century to thirteenth century CE (850 – 1279 CE) played a very important part in the political and cultural history of South India. The core region of their control- Cholamandalam - was the area around Tanjore upto East Coast, the Coromandal of later times. The Chola period of south Indian history with its impressive corpus of inscriptions has been widely discussed in recent years. There have been diverse theories and many new interpretations drew less on political authority and more on institutions established at this time, together with the articulations of cultural forms. The standards established in society, religion and fine arts during this period were regarded as classical and came to dominate the patterns of the living in the south and also influenced and modified at certain levels in the patterns existing elsewhere in Peninsula. There was also an active intervention in south-east Asia to a greater degree than before, in the commerce and in its cultural forms. 2. Early Cholas The Cholas, as rulers, are known to have existed from remote antiquity. They are mentioned, for the first time in II and XIII Rock Edicts of Ashoka along with the Pandyas and Cheras. According to this inscription the Cholas were a friendly power in the south beyond the pale of Mauryan Suzerainty. The Sangam literature also furnishes much on Chola chiefdoms. Karikala Chola was the greatest early Chola king. He is credited with the foundation of the city of Puhar at the mouth of river Cauvery and with the construction of an embankment along that river. He also showed much interest in the land reclamation and in improving the irrigational facilities. Though Chola kings are known from the Mauryan period, their post-Sangam history is unclear, as is their connection with the Cholas of early medieval times. 3. Imperial Cholas The founder and first king of the Imperial Chola dynasty of Tanjore was Vijayalaya (850 - 871 CE) He established his power in the area around Uraiyur, captured Tanjore from the Muttaraiyar chieftains, an ally of the Pandyas and extended his kingdom along the lower 2 Kaveri. Vijayalaya accepted the over lordship of Pallavas and began his rule around 850 CE. Vijayalaya is credited with founding of the temple of Nishumbhasudini. Aditya I (871-907) The successor of Vijayalaya, achieved significant military successes and expanded the Chola kingdom. He defeated the last Pallava overlord Aparajita in 893. This victory gave him control over Tondamandalam. Thereafter, he went on to conquer Kongudesa (Corresponding to Coimbatore and Salem) from the Pandyas. He also claims to have captured Talakad, capital of the Western Gangas. Aditya I entered into matrimonial alliance with the Pallavas by marrying Pallava princess. Parantaka I (907 - 953 CE) The first important ruler of the Chola dynasty, Parantaka I, came to power and ruled almost half a century. He was considered the real founder of the Chola empire in south India. He secured the northern frontier of the kingdom by campaigning against the Pandyas and capturing their capital Madurai after which he assumed the title of ‘Maduraikonda’ (Conqueror of Madurai). Rajasimha, the Pandyan ruler who faced defeat at the hands of Parantaka, left his kingdom and took shelter in the court of the Ceylonese king. He defeated the combined forces of the Pandyas and the king of Srilanka in the battle of Vellur, and the Pandyan territories fell into Chola hands. During the closing years of Parantaka I, the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III defeated Parantaka in the famous battle of Takkolam near Arkonam in 949 CE and succeeded in occupying the large part of the northern half of the Chola empire. Parantaka I was a great builder of temples. He also provided the Vimana of the famous Nataraja temple at Chidambaram with a golden roof. The two famous Uttarameruru inscriptions that give a detailed account of the village administration under the Cholas belong to his reign. After the death of Parantaka 953 CE the history of Cholas for the next three decades in which a succession of weak kings brought about a decline in the power of the Cholas. The Chola power was firmly established with the accession of Rajaraja I and his son and successor Rajendra I, which allowed about half a century for the Chola kingdom to be consolidated and stabilized. 3.1 Rajaraja I (985 CE – 1014 CE) The Chola power reached its peak during the reign of Arumolivarman, who assumed the title Rajaraja I on his accession to thrown. It was he who laid the foundation of a mighty empire and also provided an excellent administrative set up to it. He was the son of Parantaka II. His military campaigns and the regions occupied and annexed into his empire are recorded in his Tanjore inscriptions. • Through series of successful military campaigns Rajaraja broke the confederation between the Pandyas and the rulers of Kerala and Srilanka, in order to break the monopoly of trade held by these kingdoms with west Asia. • One of the earliest exploits of Rajaraja I was the subjugation of the Cheras. In this connection he destroyed their navy and occupied Trivandrum. Rajaraja’s domination of the west coast eventually reduced the commercial monopoly of the Arabs. • He defeated the Pandyan king Amarabhujanga, imprisoned him and annexed his territory. A successful naval expedition to Srilanka led to the destruction of Anuradhapura, and a Chola province was established in the Northern part of the Island under the name Mummadi Chola Mandalam. • Rajaraja also achieved victories against the western Chalukyas and Rastrakutas. Rajaraja I then overran the Eastern Chalukyan country of Vengi. Saktivarman tried to stem the rising tide of Chola aggression, but his younger brother and successor Vimaladitya recognized the over lordship of Rajaraja I, who as a mark of friendship offered his daughter Kundavi in marriage to Vimaladitya. The control over Vengi mandala enabled him to establish his mastery over the strategic and commercial land and river routes. 3 • Raja Raja’s last military achievement was a naval expedition against the Maldive Islands which were conquered. He encouraged Sri Mara Vijayottungavarman, the Sailendra ruler of Sri Vijaya (south-East Asia) to build a Buddhist vihara at Nagapattinam. • By these conquests, the extent of the Chola empire under Rajaraja I included Pandya, Chera and Tondaimandalam regions of Tamilnadu and the Gangavadi, Nolambapadi, and the Telugu Choda territories in the Deccan and the Northern part of the Ceylon and the Maldives Islands in India. Rajaraja assumed the titles like Mummadichola, Jayankonda, and Sivapadasekhara. He was a devout follower of Saivism. He completed the construction of the famous Rajarajeswara or Brihadheswara temple at Tanjore in 1010 CE. 3.2 Rajendra I (1014 – 1044 CE) The process of Chola territorial expansion continued under Rajaraja’s son and successor Rajendra I. The policy of expansion continued with the annexation of southern provinces of the Chalukyas, the rich Raichur doab and Vengi, campaigns against Srilanka and Kerala were also renewed. • In 1017 CE he invaded and completed the conquest of Ceylon by defeating and imprisoning Mahindra V. The next year he reasserted the Chola supremacy over the kings of Kerala and the Pandyan country and made one of his sons the viceroy of both, with Madurai as capital. • He defeated the western Chalukyas who were trying to meddle in the succession dispute of Vengi. He offered his daughter Ammangi in marriage to Rajarajanarendra, the Vengi ruler. • His most military enterprise was his expedition to North India. Rajendra I directed his arms towards the North and his armies marched triumphantly as far as the Ganga and the dominions of the Pala king Mahipala. It is said that the waters of the sacred Ganga were brought to the Chola capital Tanjore. This implies that Rajendra defeated the Palas. He also assumed the title “Gangaikonda”. He founded a new capital called after him – Gangaikonda Cholapuram, identified with modern Gangakundapuram in Tiruchirapalli district of Tamilnadu. • The most ambitious campaign of Rajendra was his overseas campaign involving both his Navy and army against the kingdom of Srivijaya in South-East Asia. In this connection the capital of Srivijaya, Kadaram, was sacked and the king Sangrama Vijayottungavarman was taken captive. The campaign apparently ended with the restoration of the kingdom to its ruler subject to his acknowledging Chola suzerainty. It is believed that Rajendra under took this overseas naval expedition to protect the commercial interests of the Indian merchants and guilds. • Rajendra I had put down all rebellions and kept his empire intact. Thus, the reign of Rajendra may be considered as one of the most brilliant epochs in the history of South India. Under him the extent of the empire was larger than ever and the imperial splendor was at its best. The Pandya, Kerala and Mysore regions and also Srilanka formed part of the empire. He was a devout Saiva, built a temple at new capital Gangaikonda Cholapuram and made liberal endowments. He was also tolerant towards the Vaishnavism and Buddhist sects. 3.3 Rajadhiraja I (1044 – 1052 CE) Rajadhiraja, when he came to the throne, had to face many troubles. His authority defied by the Pandyas, Cheras, and the king of Ceylon. He successfully crushed them. Presumably, it was to celebrate his victories over these adversaries that Rajadhiraja I performed the Asvamedha sacrifice.