Indians do not learn about Raja Raja Chola or Tamil kings as much as they learn about Guptas and Vijayanagara kings. We who claim the Taj Mahal, which was built in the morning of Iran, as the pride of India, do not forget to talk about the temples built by Tamils in India.
“Chola” is one of those words whose meaning cannot be found in Tamil. It is worth investigating whether ‘Neer Shukhnadu’ may have changed to ‘Chulanadu’ and then Cholanadu. Chola, like the names Cherar and Pandyar, was considered by Parimelajakar to be the name of a ruling family or clan from ancient times.
The oldest is the Chola kingdom. References to this are also found in the Mahabharata and the Ashoka inscription. Although the Cholas, who called themselves the Solar Clan, lived in the Sangam period (beginning of the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD), they disappeared from the history of the South at the end of that period. However, there is evidence that these people who were brought up by the Sangam continued to live as small land kings in the old capitals like Vrayyur and Palayarai.
The period of the Cholas can be divided into three categories
1 The Cholas of the Sangam period
2 Vijayala Cholas
3 Chalukya Cholas
What we see here is about the Vijayala Cholas.. It was during their time that the Chola empire spread throughout South Asia with its naval strength. The Chola kingdom was the first kingdom in the history of India to cross the sea and establish its dominance. They spread Hinduism and Dravidian culture in the areas under their control.
University Cholan
The Chola dynasty began to rise again from the time of the hero Visayalaya Chola (850-880 AD). Visayalaya Cholan took office as a prince under Pallavar in 850 AD. Pandyas and Pallavas were gaining strength during the period of Visayalaya Chola. At the same time, the Mutharaiyar kings controlled many prosperous riverside areas in Tanjore district. Like Cholas, they could not establish their independent rule No Had to make friends with many people.
Battle of Thirupurambayam
The most important battle of Tiruppurambayam in the history of the Cholas took place between the Pallava king Aparajitavarman and the Pandya king Varaguna Varman. In this war, the Cholas fought in support of the Pallavas and the Mutharaiyas fought in support of the Pandyas. The Ganga king Prithivipati came to accompany Aparajitavarman Mathanda Nayak of the army At that time, Vijayalaya Chola had gone to Pallak to see his son’s bravery in the battlefield with both his legs paralyzed. Hearing that the Pallava-Chola forces were almost defeated and surrendered in the war camp, Vijayalayar (he was almost 90 at that time) got angry and climbed on the shoulders of two soldiers and entered the field with a sword wrapped around the sword. The Chola army again fought with Veerapa and won. King Prativipati of Ganga killed the warrior of that day. Through this battle the Cholas got rid of the Mutharaiyas and brought Tanjore under their leadership. Although the Pallavas were victorious in this battle, their strength was greatly reduced.
First Adithan
The hero Vijayala Chola laid the foundation stone for the Chola dynasty to conquer the entire Chola nation. Vijayala Chola defeated the Pallavas and established the Chola Empire with Thanjavur as the capital. After Vijayala Chola, his son Aditya Chola came to power. Later, in a battle, Pallavamanna Aparajita, who was sitting on a high elephant, was killed by Aditya I and his He spread the kingdom up to Thondainadu. From this it can be said that Adithan conquered the Thontai region and thereby brought the rule of the Pallavas to an end and extended the Chola kingdom to the borders of the Rashtrakutas.
First Parantha
Parantha I, the son of Adittha Chola, fought with Rajasimha II, who ruled the Pandya kingdom after assuming power. In this war, Sri Lankan King Kasyappan V fought in support of the Pandya. In order to celebrate his victory in Madurai by defeating the Pandyas, he decided to wear the Pandya king’s hair and other symbols himself. But all these were handed over by Rajasimha (King of Pandya) to the King of Eelam, so he failed miserably in his attempt to get them back.
Battle of Takola
The growth of the Rashtrakutas increased due to the death of Gangamannan II Prativipati, the trusted friend of the first Parantha and his subordinate. At Thirumunapadi, a large army led by Parantha’s first son Rasadhittha, consisting of an army of elephants and a small force of cavalry, was held back due to the possibility of an invasion of the Rashtrakuta. During the same period, the second son of Paranthaka named Arikulakesari also supported his brother Rajaditthan in the same region. At that time, Krishna III, the king of Ratirakuta, invaded the Chola country. At a place called Inal Thakolam near Arakkonam, there was a fierce battle between Krishna III, the Kannada god, and Rasaditha. Ganga king Bhutugan fought alongside Krishna III. When Chola was fighting sitting on an elephant, an arrow shot by Bhutugan pierced Chola’s chest. Rajashad died a heroic death. Due to this the Chola force was defeated and lost its territories. Thakolam was under the rule of the Rashtrakutas for seven or twenty-five years. As a result of the defeat in the north, Paranthakan also lost the southern part of his country.
Cholan found
After Rajasadhitta Chola was killed in the Takola War, Paranthagan I had his second son, Kandaradhit, beheaded. Kandaradithan made Arinjaya Chola the princely title shortly after his accession. At that time Kandaradithan had no sons. Kandaradithan was more involved in building temples than engaging in wars. Thondai Mandal was still under the rule of the Rashtrakutas. It must be said that they did not even try to recover it. During this period, the Chola army became weak and Maritime trade flourished. Historians say that he is the one who sang the Saiva hymn Thiruvisaippa in the Chidambaram temple.
Arinjaya Cholan
Arinjaya Chola was the younger brother of Rajadittha Chola I and Kandradittha Chola. Coming to the throne at a time when the Chola country was shrinking in the north and south, Ivan, who ruled for a very short time, tried to eliminate the Ratirakutas who were occupying the northern part of the Chola country. This attempt ended in failure and he died at Tayyur.
Sundara Cholan
After the death of Arinjaya Chola, his son Sundara Chola succeeded. It is believed that Uttama Chola, the son of Kandarathi, was entitled to the title but considering his youth, he made his eldest grandson Sundara Chola take the title. Sundara Chola, who was called the second Parantaka Chola, had three sons, Aditya Karikalan, Arun Leesha Devan and Kuntavai. When he came to power, the Pandyas in the south were very strong against the Rashtrakutas in the north. He first sent an army under the leadership of Kodumbalur Velala Ulayavar to Sri Lanka to subdue the Sri Lankan king Mahinda who helped the Pandyas by suppressing the internal rebels. The Chola forces could not defeat the Sri Lankan forces due to their small number of troops and lack of weapons and grain. In this battle, the youth of Kodumbalur died a heroic death in the battlefield.
After the defeat of the Chola forces in Sri Lanka, Veera Pandyan again went into hiding and started attacking. But this time, Sundara Chola’s eldest son, Aditya Karikalan led the army. Adityan and Veera Pandyan clashed face-to-face at Sewurporkkalam, south of Sewali Hills, on the southern border of Pudukottai. It is believed that Sundara Cholan killed elephants and caused blood to flow in this battle, and at the end of the battle, Veera Pandyan’s forces were defeated and took refuge on the hill next to Veera Pandyan, and Adityan went in search of him and beheaded him. . Or he may have been killed on the battlefield, however the Thiruvalangatup Patyas state that “Aditya fought valiantly and defeated Veera Pandyan and beheaded him”. Despite winning this battle, Sundara Chola was unable to completely bring the Pandya country under his control.
As soon as this war was over, Aditya engaged in a war with the Rashtrakutas who were occupying the north. At this time, they were able to completely drive the Rashtrakutas from the north. Sundara Chola decided to attack Sri Lanka again to wipe out the defeat in the Sri Lankan war. But this time there was a debate as to who would lead the army. At that time, Aditya Karikalan was engaged in a serious battle with the Rashtrakutas to stabilize Kanchi. In this situation, Sundara Chola’s youngest son, Arun Leesh Devan (Raja Rajan) came forward to lead the forces. He was 19 years old then.
Aditha Karikalan’s murder
It seems that Sundara Chola’s decision to crown his eldest son Adithara II as the prince instead of declaring Madhurandhagar, the son of Kandarathitha, who had reached the right stage in his time, as the next prince, must have caused dissatisfaction at various levels.
In one way or another, the Antanas of Kerala from Vodyargudi killed Aditya II and sent him to Cholasimmadanamera under the name of Madhurandakar Uttamach Cholar. Thiruvalangatuch seppedus emphatically records that the youth Arulmozhivarmar, the son of Adithar II, categorically declared that he would not touch the Chola crown with his heart until his great-grandfather Madhurandhagar was committed to it. As soon as Uttama Chola assumed office, Arunmozhivarman was crowned as the prince.
The Guttalak inscription shows that Uttama Chola and his entourage were closely allied with the Pandyas who were dynastically enmity with the Cholas during the time of Uttama Chola. When Satyacharya, the ruling king of the Chola Empire, attacked in 980 AD, Uttama Chola was unable to defeat him. At the end of this victory, after various political changes took place, Uttamach Chola had no choice but to withdraw and in 985 AD, Arulmozhivarmar took the seat in the Cholasingathana with the name of “Irajarajan”.
Wars
Battle of Kanthalurchal Kadigai
The first thing Raja Rajan did after graduation was to find and punish the gang involved in the murder of his cousin Adittha Karikalar. Soman chased his younger brother Ravidasan, Parameswaran, Malayuran and their women givers and women takers to the country to cross the Chola border with a cloth tied to them. It is said that Manu, who taught that the Anthanas should not be given the death penalty regardless of what crime they had committed, surrendered to their dharma and left them alive.
Battle of Kanthalurchal in Kerala
Bhaskara defeated Ravi Varman by touching it. Kandalursalai Kadigai was a famous college of warfare, weapons training and other tricks among the Chera, Chola and Pandya kings. It was believed that the plan to kill Aditha Karikalan was hatched here.
Mountain Nut War
As Rajaraja’s messenger was insulted, he crossed eighteen forests and destroyed Utagai by fire in order to settle the blame. The important event was the attack and capture of Utagai fort during this invasion. The western hilly region of Malai Nadu or Gudamalainadu is the present Kodaku Nadu. Uthagai fort is believed to have been in the Western Ghats near Kodakin or a little to the south.
Eelam War
He fought the Eelam War to capture the Pandya Manimudi and to bring Sri Lanka completely under his control. The Chola invasion had a lasting effect on Eelam, and Anuradhapura, the capital of Eelam for over a thousand years, was destroyed by the Cholas. Polonnaruwa was made the new capital of the Cholas to serve as a military police station in the city. The Tamil kings who invaded Eelam before Rajaraja Chola aimed to conquer only its northern part. But Rajaraja Chola conquered the entire Eelam region and thought that it was under his rule, so he replaced the old capital and set up a new capital. However, he could not capture Pandya Manimudi. During the reign of Rajaendra Chola, Manimudi came into the hands of Cholas who controlled Sri Lanka.
Northern Wars
During the reign of the first Parantha, Chola Nadu had spread to the north. During the invasion of Rashtrakuda, the northern regions were lost. Only a few parts were later recovered by Paranthakan I’s successors. In order to recover the entire northern region, Rajaraja sent an army towards the north at the beginning of his reign. Gangapadi, Nulambapadi, sometimes called Thadigai Path and Thadikapadi of Karnataka state were annexed to Chola during the reign of Rajaraja Chola. In the absence of a Rashtrakuta, this campaign was easily won. Throughout the next century this region remained under Chola rule.
Western Chalukya War
After conquering Kangpadi and Nulampadi, the Cholas and Chalukyas had frequent skirmishes. Both were waiting for the right time to prove their strength. It is not clear which incident triggered the invasion. According to the inscription, in 1007 AD, a Chola force of nearly 9 lakhs under the leadership of Rajarajan defeated the Chalukyas and caused great destruction. Rajarajan spent the money to build the temple.
War of vengeance
Rajarajan entered into a military alliance with the Lower Chalukyas based on a state ploy to separate them from their kin, the Upper Chalukyas. But the Upper Chalukyas under the leadership of Thailan II and Satyasirayan continued to give trouble. In 999 or a little before, Rajarajan invaded Venginath with the intention of abducting Shaktivarman and placing him on the throne of Venki.
Saktivarman Sashanas say that Rajaraja killed a great warrior named Ekaveeran who opposed this and then killed two powerful leaders named Patdeman and Maharasan and finally uprooted the berum tree called Jadasodan. However, the battle was fierce and lasted for many years. Inscribed sources say that Vimaladitthan sat on the throne of Vengi on Monday 10 May 1011. His brother Shaktivarman ruled for twelve years before him.
Satyasirayan could not tolerate the fact that the country of Vengi came under the authority of Rajaraja. From now on, for the next 135 years, the Cholas and the Upper Chalukyas began frequent wars over Vengi.
Kalinga War
After the battle of Venki, he invaded Kalinga (Kalingam is part of present-day Orissa). The army led by Rajarajan defeated King Bhima of Kalinga.
Battle of the Maldives
What happened at the end of Rajaraja’s wars was that he invaded the Malat Islands known as ‘Munneerpalandivu Panneerairam’. Detailed information about this seaborne invasion is not available.
Chola Empire
Madurai
Gangabadi Nulambhadi (Present Mysore)
Kalinga
winky
Maldives
Kataram (an island in present-day Malaysia)
Malaya (present-day Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore)
Sri Lanka
A ruined ancient Hindu temple built by the Cholas in Thailand
Administration
The king is the head of the army, navy and home force. The army was divided into several divisions and each division was called by a unique name. They functioned as a single entity.
He is mighty, the foot force, the cavalry, the elephants, the (Kunjaramalla) fleet,
Indian archers (bow force)
He had all four. The number of these is not clear. A Chinese reference states that the foot force numbered about eleven lakhs and the elephant force about sixty thousand war elephants.
He appointed governors and other officers to run the government machinery in all the countries under his control. Meanwhile, he left a peacekeeping force in each country. It seems that the number of the army he left behind in Eelam was 90,000. It is estimated that the number of troops he used in all the wars he waged to establish such a great Chola empire was more than eleven lakhs. To maintain, administer and deploy such a large force of 31 divisions must have required extraordinary skill and planning knowledge.
Land reform
In his 16th regnal year, Rajarajan measured the extent of his empire, more than any other king in the world. It was a great achievement to measure, classify and calculate all the cultivable and non-cultivable land. It is a monstrous feat to measure and calculate with just ropes in the absence of modern measuring instruments. And measuring it so precisely (they measured even 32nd of a fence) is like measuring the world. Due to this, he got a name as “Kuravan Ulagalandhan”.
Chola Nadu consisted of major divisions called Mandals. Within each zone there were many rich countries. A collection of several villages was a system called Koortam. It is also referred to as Kottam or Nadu. Valanadu consisted of several claims. The country was an administrative division with an area of 10 to 300 sq. Nadu and Nadukankani were the guardians of the states. They carried out the work of agricultural police tax collection. The government officials who were there to assist the king were called the assembly. Thiruvaikkelvi Thirumandra Olai is the one who listens to the orders issued by the king orally, records them in writing and sends them to the appropriate people.
Gram Sabha
Village self-government system prevailed as a feature of Rajaraja. Lands belonging to Brahmins were not taxed. These were called divine. Brahmin settlements with theaili lands were called villages. Villages were divided into small units called Kutmbu. One member was selected for each family. The names of the candidates belonging to the family are written separately on a piece of palm leaf and placed in the jug belonging to that family. Then shake the jar well and make the ignorant boy take a piece of straw with him. The person whose name appears on the paper taken by him shall be elected as a member. The qualifications for becoming a member of the family were limited.
The Utramerur Sasana mentions that having built a house on own land, having at least one foot of land, not less than 35 years, not more than 70 years, and having the ability to recite one Veda or one Bhashyam out of the four Vedas. These titles played an important role in preventing the base people from entering the village councils. It also says that those who failed to give proper account while serving as a member of a committee or board, his relatives, undisciplined, are not eligible as candidates.
The Boards will be constituted with the members thus elected. The major boards are Lake Board, Garden Board, Panchwara Board, Ponwariyam, Kalingu Board, Kalaniwariyam. The members of these Boards were called Bariya Purumas. Each board was doing its own work.
Settlements where non-Brahmins lived were called towns. These were established by the village. Its governing body was called the ruling body. The congregations of cities where merchants lived in abundance were called Nagarthom.
Society
Caste differences were deep in the society of Rajarajan’s time. Brahmins were the ascendant caste. Separate villages were created for Brahmins in the names of Akaras, Akrakaras and Satirvedi Mangalams. Temples and monasteries were under their control. Free food and shelter were provided and Vedic roads were established by the kings for them.
Next to the Brahmins were the Velalas who were the landlords. Together with the Brahmins they dominated the temple lands. Apart from these two communities, the people engaged in various handicrafts, the Ulugudis, Pallars and Paraiyars were called as separate castes.
Untouchability was rooted in the Chola period. There were separate residences for the barons. These settlements were called Dindacherry. However, some of them were also property owners.
Bandir, who was skilled in dancing and singing, was bought and captured by force and engaged in temple work. Their main tasks were lighting the temple, lighting garlands, reciting devars, dancing and acting in dramas. They were given the names Thalikolis, Thalicherry girls, Patiilar and Devaradiyar.
Slavery was established during the Chola period. Kings and wealthy people bought men and women and donated them to temples and monasteries. Slave sales were recorded as deeds on paper. It is also known as Aalolai, Aalvilai Pramana Aayuduthitu, and Slave Sale Deed. Selling their family members and selling themselves has also occurred due to poverty. A slave belonging to an oppressed caste was called a Dinda slave. Thus the enslaved people were branded like cows. A tiger symbol for palace slaves, a trident symbol for Shiva temple slaves and a conch symbol for Vaishnava temple slaves were placed as symbols. Cultivation, agricultural work and temple work were the main occupations of the slaves. The sequence found in the inscriptions shows that not only themselves but also their descendants were sold as slaves, these people and their families were passed down from generation to generation.
time
Saivism became the state religion during Rajarajan’s reign. Shiva was important. Saivism, which began to flourish during the Pallavar period, reached its peak during the Chola period. Saiva Siddhanta was formed as the philosophy of Saivism and became influential. Devara hymns which were hidden were divided into seven tirumas and recited in temples. An officer named Devaranayagam was appointed to monitor this. The kings and common people gave grants for daily lighting of lamps, chanting of Devarams and festivals in the temples. The land grants given to Saiva Vaishnava temples were known as Devadanam.
Tanjore Temple
The Gopuram or Vimana of Tanjore Great Temple weighs almost 80 tons from a single stone. , he has also found that many stones are connected very neatly to look like a single rock.) It is still a mystery how and where such a large stone was brought from where there is no mountain or big rock on the side. Sloping sand dunes were built around the temple and carried to the top of the tower by elephants. By Balakumaran This has been written in detail in Wodiyar Puthinam.
Boulders are very scarce in the areas around Thanjavur. Therefore, temples were built using a mixture of bricks and lime in the early period. The person who changed this was Sembiyanma Deviar, the wife of Kandharadittha Chola (reign: AD 949 -957)! Later they started building magnificent stone temples in Cholaman. Rajarajacholan reached its peak through Periyakoil!
Veerachola Kunchara Mallan, Nitta Vinodha Perundhachan and Gunawan Madhuranthagan – these three were the chief architects who planned and built the big temple! The statement that the tower’s shadow does not fall on the ground is false. .The tower’s shadow falls perfectly on the ground! .The large Nandi carved out of a single stone in front of the temple was erected later during the Nayaka reign.
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