Chola Empire

Chola Empire, which thrived from 300 CE to 1300 CE, stood as a prominent Tamil kingdom in southern India, earning its place among the world’s enduring empires. Its roots trace back to inscriptions by Ashoka of the Maurya Empire in the third century BCE. Over the centuries, the Cholas governed diverse regions, emerging as one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam alongside the Chera and Pandya. While their ancient legacy dates back further, the term “Chola Empire” gains prominence with the medieval Cholas around the mid-9th century CE.

Origin of Chola Empire

The Chola empire emerged in the ninth century. The political landscape of south India was significantly altered by the establishment of the Chola kingdom.
Vijayalaya was the founder of chola dynasty. He was initially a Pallava feudatory. In the year 850, he overran Tanjore.
The Cholas weakened the Pandyas and overthrew the Pallavas of Kanchi (Tondaimandalam) by the ninth century.
The Cholas effectively ate up the whole southern Tamil nation in this manner. However, the Cholas found it difficult to hold their ground against the Rashtrakutas.
The territory near Tanjore up to the East Coast, also known as the Coromandal of later times, was the heart of their Cholamandalam dominion.
The Cholas were a friendly power in the south, beyond the reach of Mauryan Suzerainty whose wealth of information was provided by the Sangam literature.
The Chola Kingdom was at war with the Chalukyas, who had taken the position of the Rashtrakutas as rulers.
For control of the Vengi (Rayalaseema), Tungabhadra doab, and Ganga-ruled area in northwest Karnataka, the Cholas and later Chalukyas engaged in war.

Rulers Of Chola Empire

Chola Empire, with its capital in Tanjore, exerted dominion over Tamil Nadu and portions of Karnataka. The inaugural rulers, the Karikala Cholas, held sway in the second century A.D. However, after their reign, the Chola Empire underwent a hiatus from the political scene in South India. It wasn’t until AD 850, during the Pandya-Pallava Wars, that Vijayalaya revived the Chola Empire by capturing Tanjore.

Karikala Chola

Karikala ruled southern India as a Chola dynasty king.
He is credited with building the flood banks of the Kaveri River.
He is regarded as the greatest of the Cholas.
Karikala’s story is intertwined with legend and anecdotal information gleaned from Sangam literature.
In 90 CE, Karikala ruled. Karikala Chola fought a great battle at Venni in which both Pandyan and Cheran kings, Uthiyan Cheralathan and Uthiyan Cheralathan, were killed.
In his poem from Agananuru, Paranar, a contemporary of Karikala, mentions this incident without elaborating on the cause of the conflict.

Vijayala (850 CE)

Vijayalaya Chola was a South Indian king who founded the Chola Empire.
He ruled over the area north of the Kaveri River.
He was initially a Pallava feudatory.
Vijayalaya captured Thanjavur and made it his capital, as well as constructing a temple to the goddess Nisumbasuthani (Durga) there, according to the Tiruvalangadu plates.
He renovated Tanjore, according to the Kanyakumari inscription. Vijayalaya was bestowed with the title Parakesarivarman.

Parantaka Ⅰ (957 – 973 CE)

At the famous Battle of Vellore, he defeated the Pandyas and the ruler of Ceylon.
In the famous battle of Takkolam, he was defeated by Rashtrakuta king Krishna III.
Tondaimandalam was conquered by the Rashtrakuta army.
Parantaka I was a fantastic temple builder.
He also gave the vimana of Chidambaram’s famous Nataraja temple a golden roof.
His reign is represented by the two famous Uthiramerur inscriptions, which provide a detailed account of village administration under the Cholas.

Sundara Chola (957 – 973 CE)

Sundara Chola was another name for Parantaka II.
When Parantaka II became king, the Chola kingdom had shrunk to the size of a small principality.
The southern Pandyas had revived their fortunes, defeating Chola armies and retaking their ancestral lands.
During Parantaka II’s reign, the foundation for the Chola Empire’s success a generation later was laid.
A few northern lands were reclaimed.
The Pandyan ruler, Vira Pandya, was defeated, and Madurai was taken.
An expedition was launched in an unsuccessful attempt to seize control of Sri Lanka.

Rajaraja Ⅰ (985 – 1014 CE)

The Chola power reached its pinnacle during the reigns of Rajaraja I and his son Rajendra I.
His military conquests, administrative reforms, and architectural brilliance earned him a place in South Indian history unlike any other.
His sprawling empire included the Pandya kingdom in southern Tamil Nadu, the Chera kingdom in central Kerala and western Tamil Nadu, and northern Sri Lanka.
He also purchased the atolls of Lakshadweep and Thiladhunmadulu, which are part of the Maldives’ northernmost Indian Ocean islands.
Campaigns against the Western Gangas and the Chalukyas extended the Cholas’ influence all the way to the Tungabhadra River.

Rajendra Ⅰ (1014 – 1044 CE)

In 1014 CE, Rajendra succeeded his father Rajaraja I.
Rajendra I’s vast Chola empire included most of modern-day south India, with the river Krishna serving as its northern boundary, as well as Sri Lanka, the Laccadives, and the Maldives.
He led a successful military expedition to the Ganges through Orissa and Bengal, bringing Ganges water to Gangaikondacholapuram, his new capital in the Kaveri Delta.
Around 1025 CE, Rajendra launched an ambitious campaign against the Srivijaya (the southern Malay peninsula and Sumatra).
The Cholas gained control of a number of strategic locations along the Malacca Straits as a result of this campaign.

Rajadhiraja (1044 – 1052 CE)

As he fought with his men on the front lines, he was known as Jayamkonda Chola (the victorious Chola king).
He destroyed Chalukyan cities like Kalyani and established a Jaystambha at Yadgir.
The Cholas were known for plundering and slaughtering the people of the regions they conquered.
He was killed on the battlefield while fighting against Someshwar, the western Chalukyan king, at the Battle of Koppam.
He was given the name Yanai-mel-thunjina Devar (the king who died on the back of an elephant).

Art and Architecture

The imperial Cholas, who ruled Southern India from 850 to 1250 CE, left an indelible mark with their innovative contributions to art and architecture.
The Cholas, fueled by the wealth amassed through relentless conquests in Southeast Asia, ushered in a period of architectural brilliance.
Under Chola rule, the Dravidian style of art and architecture reached its zenith, showcasing intricate craftsmanship and artistic prowess.
During the reign of Rajaraja Chola, temple construction flourished, with the Brihadeeswara Temple in Tanjore standing out as a masterpiece of South Indian art and architecture.
The temple’s structure includes the Vimana, Ardhamandapa, Mahamandapa, and the Nandi Mandapa pavilion, creating a harmonious blend of form and function.
Rajaraja Chola’s Brihadiswara Temple, also known as Rajarajeswara Temple, is a testament to his vision and artistic patronage.
Another noteworthy temple is Rajendra I’s Siva temple at Gangaikondacholapuram, showcasing the continued evolution of Chola temple architecture.
The legacy continued with later Chola temples like the Airavatesvara temple in Tanjore District and the Kampaharesvara temple in Tribhuvanam, adding to the architectural richness.
Chola temples predominantly feature Shiva as the primary deity, with a massive lingam housed in a two-story sanctum.
Surrounding the lingam, the temple walls come alive with vivid depictions of mythological narratives through meticulously crafted painted murals and sculptures.

Literature

The Imperial Chola era was a golden age of Tamil culture, characterized by the prominence of literature.
Many works, including the Rajarajesvara Natakam, Viranukkaviyam, and Kannivana Puranam, are mentioned in Chola records.
Tirutakkatevar’s Jivaka-chintamani and Tolamoli’s Sulamani are two notable works by non-Hindu authors.
Buddhamitra, a grammarian, wrote Virasoliyam, a text on Tamil grammar.
Commentaries have been written on the great text Tolkappiyam, which deals with grammar but also mentions warfare ethics.
Periyapuranam was another outstanding literary work from this era.
During the reign of Kulothunga III, Kamban flourished. Nannul is a work on Tamil grammar from the Chola period.
It covers all five areas of grammar.
Under the patronage of the rulers, the period was especially significant for the development of Telugu literature.
It was the era in which the great Telugu poets Tikkana, Ketana, Marana, and Somana contributed to the literature.

Religion

The Cholas predominantly adhered to Hinduism, with a strong emphasis on Shaivism. This set them apart from the Pallava and Pandya dynasties, which saw a rise in Buddhism and Jainism.
Kocengannan, an Early Chola figure, was esteemed as a Hindu saint, earning recognition in both Sangam literature and the Shaivite tradition.
The Cholas showcased their dedication to Hinduism by constructing their most significant and expansive temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Notably, Aditya I, the second Chola king (871-903 CE), constructed temples for both Shiva and Vishnu.
There are historical claims suggesting intolerance towards Vaishnavites, particularly under the Later Cholas. Ramanuja, a prominent acharya, faced challenges during this period.
Despite titles like “Sivapadasekharan” held by Chola emperors, there’s no explicit declaration in inscriptions that their clan exclusively followed Shaivism or that Shaivism was the state religion during their rule.

Decline of Cholas

The Cholas were quite weak under Rajaraja Chola III and later, his successor Rajendra Chola III, and thus faced constant trouble.
The growing influence of the Hoysalas replaced the declining Chalukyas as the main player in Kannada country at the end of the 12th century, but they, too, faced constant trouble from the Saunas and Kalachuris, who were occupying Chalukya capital because those empires were their new rivals.
One of the causes of inefficiency that led to the empire’s demise was dishonesty and infiltration of armed forces in the empire’s final days.
Corruption played a significant role in the dynasty’s demise.
The Cholas could not accept their defeat at the hands of the Pandyas.
With Kanchipuram already in the hands of the Telugu Cholas, the remaining Chola territories passed to the Pandyan king.
The Chola dynasty ended in 1279, when King Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I defeated Rajendra Chola III and established Pandya rule.

Conclusion

Chola Empire, spanning from 300 CE to 1300 CE, stood as a formidable Tamil kingdom in southern India, reigning for more than a millennium. As one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, alongside the Chera and Pandya, this dynasty wielded influence across diverse regions until the 13th century CE. Renowned for their prowess in warfare, the Cholas achieved territorial expansion through military strength. Their enduring impact on Hindu culture continues to shape the cultural landscape of Southeast Asia, a testament to the historical legacy of this remarkable empire.

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