The Chola Empire in South India

We can find evidence of trade in the Sangam poems. One such poem describes the goods brought into Puhar, an important port on the east coast.

Vijayalaya's grandson Parantaka I  became the king after Vijayalaya's death. He was an ambitious ruler and engaged himself in wars of conquest from the beginning of his reign. He conquered Madurai from the Pandya ruler Rajasimha II. He assumed the title of Maduraikonda (captor of Madurai).

Rajendra Chola's army marched up to the east coast of India, through Orissa, and up to the Ganga river. Rajendra Chola himself led the army up to the Godavari. The Chola army defeated Mahipala, king of Bengal. To commemorate this victory, he adopted the title of Gangaikonda and built a new capital called Gangaikonda-Cholapuram. 

Rajendra I was a Chola emperor who is considered one of the greatest rulers and military generals of India. He succeeded his father Rajaraja Chola I in 1014 CE. During his reign, he extended the influence of the Chola empire to the banks of the river Ganga in North India and across the Indian ocean to the West, making the Chola Empire as one of the most powerful empires of India.

Rajaraja was aware of the importance of controlling the sea. He decided to show his strength along the coasts of South India. So, he took out a naval expedition and attacked both Sri Lanka and the Maldive Islands. However, he did not succeed in controlling them. 

For centuries, Indian merchants had been trading with various parts of South-East Asia and southern China, through the Straits of Malacca, which was held by the kingdom of Shrivijaya (modern day Indonesia). As the merchants of Shrivijaya began creating problems for the Indian merchants, the Indian merchants appealed to Rajendra Chola for help. He sent out a huge navy and defeated the Shrivijaya king. 

Rajendra I was a Chola emperor who is considered one of the greatest rulers and military generals of India. He succeeded his father Rajaraja Chola I. During his reign, he extended the influence of the Chola empire to the banks of the river Ganga in North India and across the Indian ocean to the West, making the Chola Empire as one of the most powerful empires of India. He ruled till 1044 A.D.

 The Chola empire was divided into mandalams or provinces. These were further divided into valandu and nadu. Princes of the royal family were appointed governors of provinces. 

 Rajendra assumed the title ‘Gangaikonda Chola’ (The Chola who took the Ganges) after defeating the Gangas, Chalukyas, Cheras, Pallavas, Pandyas, Kalinga and other rulers.

The Cholas believed in local self-government. In many of the villages, the administration was carried out not by the government officials but by the villagers themselves. These villages had three types of assemblies, namely the ur, the sabha and the nagaram. 

Rajadhiraj Chola was the last great ruler of the Chola dynasty, who successfully maintained the honour and extent of the Chola Empire. But he himself was killed in the Battle of Koppam against the Chalukyas in AD 1052. 

Rajendra I was a Chola emperor who is considered one of the greatest rulers and military generals of India. He succeeded his father Rajaraja Chola I in 1014 CE.

The Central Government  under the headship of the King. Council of ministers and officials took active part in running the administration of Central Government. The higher officials were called Peruntaram and the lower officials were called Siruntaram.

The Chola Empire was divided into mandalams and each mandalam into valanadus and nadus. In each nadu there were a number of autonomous villages. The royal princes or officers were in charge of mandalams. The valanadu was under periyanattar and nadu under nattar. The town was known as nagaram and it was under the administration of a council called nagarattar.

The kingdom had been divided into mandalam, kotwangi, nadu kurram or community of villages and tara-kurram. 

Rajadhiraj was the last great ruler of the Chola dynasty who successfully maintained the honour and extent of the Chola empire. 

Thanjavur served as the capital city for the Chola dynasty, particularly during the reign of Vijayalaya Chola and his successors.

Thanjavur was an ancient town and the capital of the Chola kingdom. In and around Thanjvur, the sculptors were called as Sthapatis.

Rajaraja’s son Rajendra Chola I raided the Ganga valley, Sri Lanka and regions of Southeast Asia such as Sumatra, Java, and Malaysia developing a navy for these expeditions.

The Chola dynasty was one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of southern India. The Chola kingdom existed in the heartland of the fertile valley of the Cauvery river.

Rajaraja I, considered the most powerful Chola ruler, became king in 985 AD. Rajaraja invaded Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 993 AD. The Thiruvalangadu copper-plate inscriptions mention that Rajaraja’s army crossed the ocean by ships and destroyed Anuradhapura, the 1400-year-old capital of Sinhalas.

Rajendra Chola I was a Chola emperor of South India who succeeded his father Rajaraja Chola I in 1014 CE.  He assumed the title of Gangaikondachola because he conquered the kingdoms near Ganga and built a new capital city called Gangaikonda Cholapuram.

Rajaraja Chola 1 invaded Northern Sri Lanka in 993 AD. Cholas made the city of Polonnurawa as their capital and renamed it Jananathamangalam. Rajaraja Chola 1 built a Siva temple in Polonnaruwa to commemorate the victory.

Kurram was the lowest unit of Chola administration. In the Chola empire, Kingdom was divided into Mandalams (or provinces) and each mandalam divided into Valanadus (Commissionary) and Nadus (Districts) and Kurram (a group of villages).

Rajendra I was the successor of Rajaraja I. He made his naval bigger and stronger. His naval expeditions to South-East -Asia was the first to be undertaken by an Indian king.  After defeated Palas of Bengal, he conquered the islands of Andaman and Nicobar. He completed the conquest of Sri Lanka that his father had started. He conquered Maldives, Malaya, Myanmar, Sumatra, and Java.

Rajendra I raided the Ganga Valley and defeated Mahipal the Pala king of Bengal. To commemorate his victory, he founded a city and named it Gangaikonda Cholapuram. The meaning of this name was the town of the Chola who took over Ganga. He himself got the title of Gangaiknodachola which means conqueror of Ganga. He conquered different countries of South-East-Asia.

The holy place of Chola temples were both in a circular and square shape. Special vimanas were built on the upper side of the shrine room where the idol of deity was placed. Dome-shaped shikhara and Kalash were placed on the top of the Gopuram. Pillared mandapas like arthamandapa, mahamandapa and nandimandapa were also found in some temples.

Nataraja image sculpted by Chola rulers is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the cosmic ecstatic dancer. The dance of Shiva in Thillai, the traditional name for Chidambaram, forms the motif for all the depictions of Shiva as Nataraja.

 The Chola empire was divided into
mandalams or provinces, further subdivided
into valanadus, nadus and ur.

The Chola dynasty was founded by Vijayala. The capital of Cholas was Tanjor now Thanjavur. Rajaraja- I was the greatest ruler of Chola dynasty. He defeated Cheras at Thiruvananthapuram to control the trade with Arabs. He defeated Pandyas of Madurai and controlled the Malabar Coast and Cholamandalam coast.  He defeated Chalukyas in Deccan. He built the temple of Brihadeshwara in Thanjavur in Tamilnadu which is considered one of the finest specimens of the Dravidian style of architecture.

Inscriptions from Uttaramerur in Chingleput district of Tamilnadu provides details regarding the village administration under the Cholas. It provides information about how two assemblies Ur and Sabha of the village worked and elected.

He was one of the greatest and bravest warriors in the Chola dynasty and sadly perished alone in the Battle of Koppam. From the manner of his death, Rajadhiraja came to be known as the king who died on the back of an elephant.

Kulottunga Chola (1070 – 1122 CE) was one of the greatest kings of the Chola Empire who ruled in the late 11th century and early 12th century. He was one of the sovereigns who bore the title Kulottunga, literally meaning the exalter of his race. During his early reign he carried out a land survey and settlement as the basis of taxation.

The Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty of southern India. Their main rival was Chalukyas of Kalyani. Chola–Chalukyas fought a series of wars from 992 C.E. to 1120 C.E.

The Chola empire was divided into nine mandalams which included areas in Sri Lanka and other conquered areas.