The Cholas - IAS Current

The founder of the Chola Empire was Vijayalaya, who was the first feudatory of the Pallavas of Kanchi. He captured Tanjore in 850 A.D. He established a temple of goddess Nishumbhasudini (Durga) Tanjore. They successfully South India through their naval strength extended their influence in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. They had trade contacts with the Arabs in the West and with the Chinese in the East.

Timeline of Chola’s Rulers

Years	Rulers
848-869 CE	Vijayalaya Chola
871 – 907 CE	Aditya I
907-953 CE	Parantaka Chola I
953-956 CE	Gandaraditya Chola
956-957 CE	Arinjaya Chola
957-973 CE	Sundara Chola
973-985 CE	Uttama Chola
985-1014 CE	Rajaraja Chola I
1014-1044 CE	Rajendra Chola I
1044-1054 CE	Rajadhiraja Chola
1054-1063 CE	Rajendra Chola II
1063-1067 CE	Virarajendra Chola
1067-1070 CE	Athirajendra Chola
1070-1122 CE	Kulothunga Chola I
1122-1135 CE	Vikrama Chola
1135-1150 CE	Kulothunga Chola II
1150-1173 CE	Rajaraja Chola II
1173-1178 CE	Rajadhiraja Chola II
1178–1218 CE	Kulothunga Chola III
1218–1256 CE	Rajaraja Chola III
1256–1279 CE	Rajendra Chola III

Vijayalaya Chola (c.848–869 CE)

He was the founder of the Chola Empire, earlier a feudatory of the Pallavas. He took the title of

He established his power in the area around Eraiyur, captured Tanjore, and extended his kingdom along the lower Kaveri. He built solesvara temple of Narttamalai, Pudukkottai.

Aditya I (c.871 – 907 CE)

He was known by the surname
He was the son of Vijayalaya who extended the Chola dominions by the conquest of the Pallavas and Pandyas at the ‘Battle of Shripurambiyam’ and occupied the Western Ganga Kingdom.
Later in c.893 CE, he defeated and killed his Pallava overlord Aparajita thus bringing Tondaimandalam under his control.
He also allied with the Cheras and conquered Kongudesha from Pandyas.
He entered into a matrimonial alliance with the Pallavas by marrying a Pallava princess.
He built 108 temples for Shiva along the banks of the Kaveri.

Parantaka Chola I (c.907-953 CE)

He took the title of Maduraiyum Elamum Konda Parakesarivarman– Parakesarivarman who conquered Madurai and Sri Lanka.
The best part of his reign was marked by increasing success and prosperity.

Gandaraditya Chola (c.953-956 CE)

He was known as “Merkey elundarulina devar” – the king who was pleased to go west.
He had written a Tamil hymn on Siva of the Chidambaram Temple.
He was a reluctant monarch and focused more on religious work and not on empire building.

Arinjaya Chola (c.956-957 CE)

He was also referred to by the names Arikulakesari, Arikesari, or Arindam.
There is some debate among a group of historians regarding whether Arinjaya actually succeeded Gandaraditya or whether Arinjaya ruled on his own right. There is little epigraphic evidence available to give us any concrete information on Arinjaya’s rule.

Sundara Chola (c.957-973 CE)

He was known by the name Madhurantakan Sundara Chola and Parantaka Chola II.
During his reign, both the both Sanskrit and Tamil literature received encouragement. In the Buddhist works on Tamil grammar, Virasoliyam eulogizes him as a patron of letters and Buddhism.

Uttama Chola (c.973-985 CE)

He was the son of the illustrious Sembiyan Mahadevi and the cousin of Parantaka II.

Rajaraja Chola I (c.985-1014 CE)

He was the greatest Chola ruler, who helped raise the Chola Empire to become the largest dominion in South India till the 13^th
He led a naval expedition against the Sailendra Empire (Malaya Peninsula) and expanded Chola trade with China.
He built the Brihadeswara Temple in Thanjavur, one of the largest Hindu temples.
During his reign, the texts of the Tamil poets Appar, Sambandar, and Sundarar were collected and edited into one compilation called Thirumurai.
During his reign, he developed and re-organized an excellent revenue system wherein land was surveyed and then revenue was assessed.

Rajendra Chola I (c.1014-1044 CE)

He completed the victory over Ceylon by defeating the Sri Lanka king Mahinda V. The royal insignia of the king and the queen of Sri Lanka were captured and Sri Lanka was not able to free herself from the Chola control for another 50 years.
He completely overran the Pandyas and Cheras and included them in his empire.
He built a new capital city called Gangaikonda Cholapuram to commemorate his victory after defeating Mahipala, the Pala king of Bengal and Bihar.
He built sixteen miles long and three miles wide artificial lake which was one of the largest man-made lakes in India.
He was a great patron of learning and was known as Pandita-Chola.

Rajadhiraja Chola (c.1044-1054 CE)

He maintained the Chola authority over most of Lanka, Vengi, Kalinga, etc.
He performed the horse-sacrifice and earned the title Jayamkonda Cholan (The Victorious Cholan).
He was also known as Vijaya Rajendra Cholan (the victorious Rajendra Cholan).
He also assumed the title Jayangonda Chola.

Rajendra Chola II (c.1054-1063 CE)

He was crowned on the battlefield.
He planted Jaystambha at Kolhapur.
He is best remembered for his role in the battle of Koppam along with his elder brother where he dramatically turned towards the Chalukyan King Someshvara I, after the death of his brother in 1054.

Virarajendra Chola (c.1063-1067 CE)

He was one of the most underrated Chola kings, mainly because a major part of his life was spent as a subordinate of his two elder brothers Rajadhiraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola II.
The famous grammatical work in Tamil, Virasoliyam was written by Buddhamitra during his period.

Athirajendra Chola (c.1067-1070 CE)

His reign was marked by civil unrest, possibly religious in nature.

Kulothunga Chola I (c.1070-1122 CE)

He got the title Kulottunga, literally meaning the exalter of his race.
Famous poet Jayamkondar Jayamkondar who wrote the poem Kalingattu parani to celebrate the military victories of Kulottunga Chola was one of the gems of his court.
He established Chola overlordship over the Sri Vijaya province Kedah in Malaysia.

Vikrama Chola (c.1122-1135 CE)

He was a great devotee of Siva and greatly patronized the temple at Chidambaram.
Took the title of Vikrama Chola was Tyagasamudra – the ocean of sacrifice.

Kulothunga Chola II (c.1135-1150 CE)

His reign was known for general peace and good governance.
He was also called Tirunirruchola.

Rajaraja Chola II (c.1150-1173 CE)

He initiated the construction of the very famous Airavateswarar Temple at Darasuram near Kumbakonam.
During his rule, the Chola navies did remain dominant in the western sea as well as the eastern sea.

Rajadhiraja Chola II (c.1173-1178 CE)

He was known to have raised flower gardens around the place.
During his reign witnesses the local feudatories and chieftains.

Kulothunga Chola III (c.1178–1218 CE)

He gained victories in the war against the Hoysalas, Pandyas of Madurai, Cheras of Venad, the Sinhala kings of Eelam (Ceylon), as well as the Chodas of Velanadu and Nellore.
He initiated commissioned the Sarabeswara or Kampahareswara temple at Tribhuvanam near Kumbakonam which is considered a great specimen of Dravidian Architecture.
He built the mukha-mandapa of Sabhapati, the gopura of Goddess Girindraja (Sivakami), and the verandah around the enclosure (prakara harmya) in the Siva Temple of Chidambaram.

Rajaraja Chola III (c.1218–1256 CE)

Under his reign, the Chola had lost most of their control of the territories south of the river Kaveri and their hold on the Vengi territories in the north was slipping with the emergence of the Hoysala power.

Rajendra Chola III (c.1256–1279 CE)

During his reign, Pandyas destroyed the fort and the outer wall of the temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram.

Administration

The capital of the Cholas was Tanjore. The Chola Empire was divided into three major administrative units called Central Government, Provincial government, and local government. An Uttaramerur inscription throws light on the administration of the Cholas. The administration was headed by the king. The Chola kingship was hereditary in nature.

As per the Chola royal family tradition, the eldest son succeeded the king to the Chola throne. The heir apparent was calledYuvaraja. The tiger was the royal emblem of Chola kings. The king was assisted in his work by a council of ministers. The lower officials were called Siruntaramwhile higher officials were called

The whole empire had been divided into nine provinces called mandalams. Each province was headed by a viceroy who received orders from the king. Each mandalam was divided into several Kottams or Valanaduswhich was further sub-divided into Nadu. Each nadu was further divided into villages called Urs.

Chola government depended mainly on land revenue as the main source of income. 1/6 of the land produce was collected as tax. Besides land revenue, customs and tolls were the other sources of income for the empire. Moreover, taxes on ports, forests, and mines contributed to the treasure of the king. The Cholas possessed an efficient army and navy. The army was made of 70 regiments. Chola kings imported highly efficient Arabian horses at a very high price.
The Chola king acted as the chief justice, as the trial in major cases were conducted by the king himself. The minor disputes at the village level were heard by the village assembly.

One of the most important administrative units of the Cholas wasNadu. Each nadu was headed by a Nattar while the council of nadu was named nattavai. The responsibility of the village administration was entrusted to the village assembly called Grama Sabha, the lowest unit of the Chola administration. It was involved in the maintenance of roads, tanks, temples, and public ponds.

The village assembly was also in charge of payment of taxes due from the villages to the King’s treasure. The village administration was carried on effectively by variyams who used to be the male members of the society. There were types of variams. For example, justice was administered by Niyaya variyam while temples were looked after by the Dharma variyam. The control of the finance was given to the pon variyam.