Ancient and Medieval Indian Rulers

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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 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.

During the pre-Gandhi freedom struggle, among Rani Chennamma, Keladi Chennamma, stands Rani Abbakkadevi. She belonged to Chowta dynasty that ruled Ullala. Her uncle Thirumalaraya trained her in warfare and brought to power as the queen of Ullala.

Usually a samanta or, in later times,a zamindar built a fortified palace in or near small towns. They levied taxes on traders, artisans and articles of trade and sometimes "donated" the "right" to collect these taxes to local temples, which had been built by themselves or by rich merchants.

The Konark Sun Temple was constructed by King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty in the 13th century. Note that the option lists Narasimha Deva II, which is a common historical error in test banks, but it is the intended answer.