about chola empire in history

1. The Cholas Empire: History, Rules and
Life
The Cholas were an ancient race. By second century of the Christian era, a
Chola king named Karikalan rose to fame as a powerful ruler. It is believed that
many Southern royal families claimed their origin from the Cholas. They ruled
over several small territories in the Tamil land.
The early capital of the main Chola Kingdom was situated at Uraiyur and the
kingdom extended from the river Vaigni in the south to Tondaimandalam in
the North. Had all the Chola kingdoms united, the Cholas could have formed a
bigger kingdom in the south. But the Chola race could not achieve that unity.
The sources of information of the Cholas are derived from inscriptions,
monuments, and literature.
The Ashokan inscriptions also give us references of the Chola kingdom. The
Chola kingdom of the ninth century was called Cholamandalam or
Caromandala. It covered Chennai, several districts of south, and Mysore. The
Cholas conquered Sri Lanka and Maldives Island as well. With a powerful navy
the Cholas made their influence felt in the countries of south-east. They
provided a strong and stable administration.
The inscriptions and literature contain chronological history of Cholas with
gaps and breaks. Rising to power in the later part of the second century of the
Christian era, the founder of the Chola kingdom, Karikalan (A.D. 190).
Defeated the combined army of Pandyas and Cheras. He shifted his capital
from Uraiyur to Kaveripattanan. He invaded Sri Lanka and captured 1200
men. With his manpower, the constructed 160 Kilometer-long embankment
along the Kaveri to protect the agricultural land from flood.
Nedumudikilli ascended the throne after Karikalan. During his reign, the
Chola kingdom suddenly declined for regular invasions by the Cheras, the
Pallavas and the Pandyas. Several centuries later, the Chola kingdom was
revived by Vijayala (A.D. 850-871) who was at first a chieftain under the
Pallavas. Vijayalaya was succeeded by his son Aditya-I. He defeated the

2. Pallavas, Pandyas and Bana kings. The cholas received a set back at the hands
of the Rastrakutas in the battle field of Takkolam.
The Greatest Chola ruler was Rajaraja Deva, who ascended the throne in A.D.
985, and ruled upto 1014 A.D. He won battle after battle and defeated several
rulers of Southern India. He also invaded Sri Lanka as also the two Islands of
Laxyadives and Maldives. He destroyed the grand navy of the Cheras at
Trivandrum. Rajaraja conquered some parts of Gonga region about 991 A.D.
He invaded the kingdoms of Chalukyas, Pandyas and Kalinga. His kingdom
included almost the whole of South India, the Maldives and a part of Sri Lanka.
He was a great builder, an able administrator and a conqueror. He was a
patron of art and architecture.
The Brihadesvara Temple at Tanjore stands as a fine specimen of Rajaraja’s
temple architecture. He is regarded as the greatest of Chola kings and a man of
adorable personality. Rajendra Deva I, the son of Rajaraja ascended the throne
after his father. He followed the path of his father’s ambitious career with
virour. He defeated the Cheras, the Pandyas and the Western Chalukyas. His
feet crossed the Bay of Bengal and invaded the outside rulers.
The Chola army crossed the Ganga, and to commemorate that occasion,
Rajendra Deva I assumed the title of Gangai Konda Chola. He defeated King
Mahipala in 1023 A.D., and brought water from river Ganga to his new capital
Gangai Konda Cholapuram near the mouth of Kaveri.
He annexed the whole of Sri Lanka. The naval expedition of Rajendra Deva I
against the Sailendra empire extended the Chola power up to Malay Peninsula,
Sumatra, Java and other Islands. A great empire builder, Rajendra Deva I, was
a patron of education and art. He was the worthy son of an illustrious father.
The successor of Rajendra Deva I was Rajadhiraja. He carried out the
annexationist policy of his predecessor.
But he failed in the battle against the Chalukyas of Koppam in 1032 A.D.
Rajadhiraja was succeeded by Rajendra II. Virarajendra, his successor,
continued to fight against the Chalukyas and was successful. His death in 1070
A.D. was followed by a disputed succession and civil war. Other Chola rulers

3. included Adhirajendra, Kullotunga I (1070-1110 A.D.), Vikrama Chola (1120-
1135) and Kullotunga II (1135-1150 A.D.). The Chola kingdom continued to
exist till 1310 A.D.
Life under the Cholas:
The Chola rulers established a sound administrative system along with their
wars and expeditions. The kingship was the most powerful element of the
Chola administration. The king was the supreme authority of the state. There
was a Council of Ministers to help the king in the state affairs. The Chola
kingdom was divided in to several Mandalam or provinces with provincial
governors.
Each Mandalam was also divided into Upamandalam or Kottams. Each Kottam
was sub-divided into a number of districts or Nadus. The smallest unit of
administration was the village or Tar-Kurams. The system of local self
government was prevailing in the Chola period. The Chola village assemblies
enjoyed autonomus power. A highly developed committee system for the
village assembly was constituted for local self government of the villagers.

4. The inscriptions and literature of those days speak of the ‘Sabha’, ‘Mahasabha’
and village general assembly. The village committee was responsible for
assessment and collection of land revenue, maintenance of law and order and
other aspects of village administration. The threefold classification of the
village property prevailed. Those three modes of enjoyment of privileges were
known as ‘somudayam’ (common property), ‘palabhogam’ (permanent
property) and ‘ekabhogam’ (sole enjoyment property).
The Chola state was like a modern welfare state. The Chola rulers built
networks of roads which were useful for trade and commerce. Irrigation
facilities were provided to farmers from rivers, tanks and wells. The Chola
rulers were patrons of learning and established vedic educational institutions.
The Cholas maintained a big army and a powerful navy. The army was
consisted of cavalry, infantry and war elephants. The king commanded the
army in the battlefields. They offered sacrifices before gods before wars. The
Chola army was well organised and extremely disciplined. There were different
ranks with qualifications and capability. The Chola navy and warships were
also known for valour. With the help of a powerful navy the Chola rulers
conquered Sri Lanka, Maldives, Sumatra and destroyed the fleet of the Cheras.
They were engaged in trade and commerce with Myanmar, Ceylan and the
Islands of Indian Ocean.
The Chola society rested on the principles of Hinduism. Castiesm, child
marriage and Sati system prevailed. At the same time, a policy of religious
toleration was followed by the Chola kings. Saivism enjoyed royal patronage
while Vaishnavism became a strong religious force in Chola kingdom.
A large number of magnificent temples were constructed by the Chola rulers.
During their time the Dravidian art and architecture reached a high degree of
perfection. The Brihadesvara temple of Tanjore which was built by Rajaraja is
considered as the finest monument of the ‘Dravida’ style. Rajendra Chola
constructed a beautiful temple in his capital city of Gangai Konda Cholapuram.
The Subramaniya temple at Tanjore, the Airavateswaram temple at Darasuram

5. and Tribhubaneswara temples belong to the Chola period. The glory of the
Chola art and architecture lay in the creative genius of the people of the South.
The South Indian art of sculpture is regarded as the best example of ancient
India. The magnificent stature of Gomateswar at Sravanbelgola speaks about
the artistic taste of the Cholas. The dancing figure of Siva, called Nataraja, is
considered as a master piece of Chola sculpture.
The creative genius of the people found expressions in the literature of the
Chola period. The rulers paid high regards to scholars, saints and poets. The
scholars of Chola period worked for excellence in every sphere of literature and
culture. Sanskrit was regarded as the royal language of high culture. A good
number of court poets composed their works in Tamil and other languages.
Ottakuttan was the famous court poet of the Cholas. Sivakasindamani was
written by Tirukadevar and Kalingttuparani was written by Jayangondar.
This work speaks of the Kalinga war of Kulottunga. Amritsagar was the famous
Jain poet of the Chola age. The age of Kamban was regarded as the golden age
of Tamil literature. Kamban’s Ramayan is considered a classic in Tamil.
Pagalendi’s work Nala Vanba, the Tamil version of the love story of Nala
Damayanati, is a classic of Tamil literature. It is for these reasons that the
Chola period is considered as one of the finest phases of the South Indian
history.