Topic

RISE OF THE CHOLAS

By

Dr. Malyaban Chattopadhyay

Assistant Professor, Department of History , Asansol Girls’ College.

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 The Chola empire which arose in the ninth century. They developed a powerful navy
which enabled them to conquer Sri Lanka and the Maldives too. Its impact was felt even by the
countries of Southeast Asia. The rise of Chola empire actually changed the political scenario of
south India.

During 400 years of its rule, Chola power extended over a large area of south India
comprising the whole of the modern state of Tamil Nadu and contiguous areas of southern
Karnataka and southern Andhra. Emerging from their heartland in the locality of Uraiyur along
the banks of the river Kaveri in the mid 9th century, they soon controlled the entire Tamil-
speaking area.

FIVE MAJOR REGIONS THAT COMPRISED THE TAMIL COUNTRY ACCORDING TO

EARLY MEDIEVAL SOURCES

THE THE PANDIMANDALAM (THE KONGUMANDALAM

CHOLAMANDALAM PANDYA REALM WITH (AREAS AROUND THE
MADURAI AS ITS CORE)
DHARMAPURI AND
TONDAIMANDALAM (THE SPHERE OF COIMBATORE DISTRICTS)
AUTHORITY OF THE PALLAVAS THE NADUVILNADU (LITERALLY “THE LAND
CENTERING AROUND KANCIPURAM) IN THE CENTER” BETWEEN CHOLAMANDALAM
AND TONDAIMANDALAM)

Between the late 10th and late 11th centuries, the Chola Empire extended over the entire
Andhra region, Mysore, and northern-central part of the island of Sri Lanka. Other islands in the
Indian Ocean such as the Lakshadweep and the Maldives were also brought under its control.
During the time of Rajendra Chola (1012–1044), its power extended to the Malay Peninsula
and the eastern archipelago. The conquests of this ruler in particular suggest that he was
victorious over the entire region, from Andhra to Orissa, parts of Madhya Pradesh, and Bengal,
which earned him the title of Gangaikondan or the “conqueror of the river Ganga”.

The founder of the Chola empire was Vijayalaya. He was at first a feudatory of the
Pallavas. He captured Tanjore in AD 850. Within ninth century, the Cholas had defeated both
the Pallavas of Kanchi (Tondaimandalam) and weakened the Pandyas. In this way the Cholas
swallowed the entire southern Tamil country. But the Cholas were hard put to defend their
position against the Rashtrakutas.

The greatest Chola rulers were Rajaraja (985–1014) and his son Rajendra I (1014–
1044). Rajaraja destroyed the Chera navy at Trivandrum, and attacked Quilon. He then
conquered Madurai and captured the Pandyan king. He also invaded Sri Lanka and annexed its
northern part to his empire. These moves were partially motivated by his desire to bring the trade
with the Southeast Asian countries under his control. The Coromandel coast and Malabar were
the centres for India’s trade with the countries of Southeast Asia. One of his naval exploits was
the conquest of the Maldives. Rajaraja, annexed the northwestern parts of the Ganga kingdom in
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Karnataka, and overran Vengi. Rajendra had been appointed heir apparent in his father’s life-
time, and had considerable experience in administration and warfare before his accession to the
throne. He carried forward the annexationist policy of Rajaraja by completely overrunning
the Pandya and Chera countries and including them in his empire. The conquest of Sri
Lanka was also completed, with the crown and royal insignia of the king and the queen of Sri
Lanka being captured in a battle. Sri Lanka was not able to free herself from the Chola control
for another 50 years.
Rajaraja and Rajendra I marked their victories by erecting a number of Siva and Vishnu
temples at various places. The most famous of these was the Brihadishwara temple at Tanjore
which was completed in 1010. The Chola rulers adopted the practice of having inscriptions
written on the walls of these temples. It helps us to understand the history of Cholas clearly.
One of the most remarkable exploits in the reign of Rajendra I was the march across Kalinga to
Bengal in which
the Chola
armies crossed
the river Ganga,
and defeated
two local kings.
This expedition,
which was led
by a Chola
general, took
place in 1022
AD and
followed in
reverse the same
route which the
great conqueror
Samudragupta
had followed.
To
commemorate
this occasion,
Rajendra I
assumed the
title of Gangaikondachola (‘the Chola who conquered the Ganga’). He built a new capital near
the mouth of the Kaveri river and called it Gangaikondacholapuram (‘the city of the Chola
who conquered the Ganga’).

Chola emperors were interested to conquer economically important trade centres out
siade the Indian subcontinent .Here mention may be made of Rajendra I . During his time a
naval expeditions was organized against the Sri Vijaya empire. The Sri Vijaya empire, (revived
in the 10th century) extended over the Malay peninsula, Sumatra, Java and the neighbouring
islands, and controlled the overseas trade route to China. The rulers of the Sailendra dynasty of
the Sri Vijaya kingdom were Buddhists and had cordial relations with the Cholas. The Sailendra
ruler had built a Buddhist monastery at Nagapatnam and, at his instance, Rajendra I had
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endowed a village for its upkeep. The cause of the break between the two apparently was the
Chola eagerness to remove obstacles to Indian traders, and to expand trade with China. The
expeditionsled to the conquest of Kadaram or Kedah and a number of other places in the Malay
peninsula and Sumatra. The Chola navy was the strongest in the area, and for some time the Bay
of Bengal was converted into a ‘Chola lake’. The Chola rulers also sent a number of embassies to
China. These were partly diplomatic and partly commercial. Chola embassies reached China in
1016 and 1033. A Chola embassy of 70 merchants reached China in 1077 and, according to a
Chinese account, received ‘81,800 strings of copper-cash’, that is, more than four lakhs of rupees
in return for the articles of‘tribute’ comprising ‘glass-ware, camphor, brocades, rhinoceros horns,
ivory, etc.’Tribute was the word used by the Chinese for all articles brought for trade.
The Chola rulers fought constantly with the Chalukyas who had succeeded the
Rashtrakutas. These are called the later Chalukyas and their capital was at Kalyani. The Cholas
and the later Chalukyas clashed for the overlordship of Vengi (Rayalaseema), the Tungabhadra
doab, and the Ganga ruled country in northwest Karnataka. Neither side was able to gain a
decisive victory in this contest and ultimately it exhausted both the kingdoms. It also appears that
the wars were becoming harsher during this time. The Chola rulers sacked and plundered
Chalukyan cities including Kalyani, and massacred the people, including Brahmans and children.
They adopted a similar policy in the Pandya country, settling military colonies to overawe the
population. They destroyed Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of the rulers of Sri Lanka, and
treated their king and queen harshly.
However, once they had conquered a country, the Cholas tried to set up a sound system of
administration in it. One of the remarkable features of the Chola administration was their
encouragement to local self government in the villages all over their empire. It actually enriched
their political power to some extent. They created a strong administrative network to control
each and every part of the empire. The Chola state included area of central control, and loosely
administered areas under different types of local control. The state was interpersed with hill
people and tribals. The basic unit of administration was the nadu which consisted of a number of
villages having close kinship ties and other close associations. The number of nadus increased as
fresh lands were brought under cultivation by means of irrigation works such as ponds, wells,
etc., and by converting hill or tribal people into agriculturists. Grants to Brahmans and temples
increased, both of which helped in expanding cultivation. In the Chola kingdom, nadus were
grouped into valanadus. The Chola state was divided into four mandalams or provinces.
Sometimes, princes of the royal family were appointed governors of provinces. Officials were
generally paid by giving them assignments of revenue- bearing lands. The Chola rulers built a
network of royal roads which were useful for trade as well as for the movement of the army.
Trade and commerce flourished in the Chola empire, and there were some gigantic trade guilds
which traded with Java and Sumatra. There appears to be little doubt that the Cholas were
aggressively following a policy of promotion of trade and it has been argued that the numerous
naval expeditions undertaken by them into Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, and China may be
attributed to the commercial potential of the area . While analyzing the Chola Empire
R.Chakravarti assumed that the early Cholas focused on the internal revenue & the imperial
Cholas were influenced by the pull of the coast. So the expansion of the Chola empire can also
be judged economically.
Although Land revenue was the main source of income for the state and the entire
taxation system was organized to harness this in various ways. We hear of assessment of land in
terms of the cropping pattern – orupuvilaiyum nilam or one-crop lands, andirupuvilaiyum nilam
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or two-crop lands; nir nilam or wet lands; punjey or dry/wastelands; and nanjey or improved
lands . Essentially there were two tiers of revenue extraction – local and supra-local. The most
pervasive tax was that levied on the cultivator – kutimai. Among the local taxes there were
various kinds of labor dues, the most common being irrigational labor – vetti/vettinai – at the
village and nadu levels. There was a general tax called natacci/uracci referring to the taxes on
residential spaces and commons. There were a number of trading and artisanal dues as well, such
as cunkam or toll, tattar pattam or tax on goldsmiths, ennai irai/urai nali on oil, kurai kacu on
cloth, verrilai on betel leaf, vannar parai on washermen, paci pattam on fishing, and so on. What
is interesting to note is that most were specified to be paid in kind.

The Chola empire continued to flourish during the twelfth century, but it declined during
the early part of the thirteenth century. The later Chalukyan empire in the Maharashtra area had
also come to an end during the twelfth century. The place of the Cholas was taken by the
Pandyas and the Hoysalas in the south, and the later Chalukyas were replaced by the Yadavas
and the Kakatiyas. All these states extended patronage to arts and architecture. Unfortunately,
they weakened themselves by continually fighting against each other, sacking the towns and not
even sparing the temples. Ultimately, they were destroyed by the sultans of Delhi at the
beginning of the fourteenth century. The last known ruler of this dynasty was Rajendra III who
was defeated in 1279 by the Pandyan king Maravarman Kulasekara.
The Cholas, under Rajaraja Chola III and later, his successor Rajendra Chola III, were
quite weak and therefore, experienced continuous trouble. One feudatory,
the Kadava chieftain Kopperunchinga I, even held Rajaraja Chola III as hostage for
sometime. At the close of the 12th century, the growing influence of the Hoysalas replaced the
declining Chalukyas as the main player in the Kannada country, but they too faced constant
trouble from the Seunas and the Kalachuris, who were occupying Chalukya capital because those
empires were their new rivals. So naturally, the Hoysalas found it convenient to have friendly
relations with the Cholas from the time of Kulothunga Chola III, who had defeated Hoysala
Veera Ballala II, who had subsequent marital relations with the Chola monarch. This continued
during the time of Rajaraja Chola III the son and successor of Kulothunga Chola III
The Hoysalas played a divisive role in the politics of the Tamil country during this
period. They thoroughly exploited the lack of unity among the Tamil kingdoms and alternately
supported one Tamil kingdom against the other thereby preventing both the Cholas and Pandyas
from rising to their full potential. During the period of Rajaraja III, the Hoysalas sided with the
Cholas and defeated the Kadava chieftain Kopperunjinga and the Pandyas and established a
presence in the Tamil country. Rajendra Chola III who succeeded Rajaraja III was a much better
ruler who took bold steps to revive the Chola fortunes. He led successful expeditions to the north
as attested by his epigraphs found as far as Cuddappah. He also defeated two Pandya princes one
of whom was Maravarman Sundara Pandya II and briefly made the Pandyas submit to the Chola
overlordship. The Hoysalas, under Vira Someswara, were quick to intervene and this time they
sided with the Pandyas and repulsed the Cholas in order to counter the latter's revival. The
Pandyas in the south had risen to the rank of a great power who ultimately banished the Hoysalas
from Malanadu or Kannada country, who were allies of the Cholas from Tamil country and the
demise of the Cholas themselves ultimately was caused by the Pandyas in 1279. The Pandyas
first steadily gained control of the Tamil country as well as territories in Sri Lanka, Chera
country, Telugu country under Maravarman Sundara Pandiyan II and his able
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successor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan before inflicting several defeats on the joint forces of the
Cholas under Rajaraja Chola III, and the Hoysalas under Someshwara, his son Ramanatha The
Pandyans gradually became major players in the Tamil country from 1215 and intelligently
consolidated their position in Madurai-Rameswaram-Ilam-Cheranadu and Kanyakumari belt, and
had been steadily increasing their territories in the Kaveri belt between Dindigul-Tiruchy-Karur-
Satyamangalam as well as in the Kaveri Delta i.e., Thanjavur-Mayuram-Chidambaram-
Vriddhachalam-Kanchi, finally marching all the way up to Arcot—Tirumalai-Nellore-
Visayawadai-Vengi-Kalingam belt by 1250.
The Pandyas steadily routed both the Hoysalas and the Cholas. They also dispossessed
the Hoysalas, by defeating them under Jatavarman Sundara Pandiyan at Kannanur Kuppam. At
the close of Rajendra's
reign, the Pandyan empire
was at the height of
prosperity and had taken
the place of the Chola
empire in the eyes of the
foreign observers. The last
recorded date of
Rajendra III is 1279. There
is no evidence that
Rajendra was followed
immediately by another
Chola prince. The
Hoysalas were routed from
Kannanur Kuppam around
1279 by Kulasekhara
Pandiyan and in the same
war the last Chola emperor
Rajendra III was routed
and the Chola empire
ceased to exist thereafter.
Thus the Chola empire was
completely overshadowed
by the Pandyan empire and
sank into obscurity and
ceased to exist by the end
of the 13th century. However, only the Chola dynasty in India was extinguished but it survived
elsewhere. According to Cebuano oral legends, a rebel branch of the Chola dynasty continued to
survive in the Philippines up until the 16th Century, a local Malayo-Tamil Indianized kingdom
called the Rajahnate of Cebu which settled in the island of Cebu which was founded by
Rajamuda Sri Lumay who was half Tamil, half Malay. He was born in the previously Chola
occupied Srivijaya. He was sent by the Maharajah to establish a base for expeditionary forces,
but he rebelled and established his own independent Rajahnate.
While mentioning the importance of Chola empire Rakesh Mahalakshmi mentioned that
early historiography of the Cholas focused on its grandeur, comparing it to the Byzantine
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Empire, while emphasizing the democratic structures in the form of elected representation in
village assemblies. The first systematic effort to study the political economy of the Cholas was
through a statistical analysis of the pattern of landholding in brahmana and non-brahmana
villages in the early Chola period which had implications for the changes heralded by the royal
creation of the brahmadeya in rural society. Another groundbreaking work focusing on the
political geography of the Cholas established that the state created new agrarian pockets,
renamed old ones, and was constantly redefining its political boundaries. Some scholars have
argued that the period marked by Chola rule represented a feudal social formation. A very
important study on the Cholas focused on the issue of ritual sovereignty, where ideological
mechanisms primarily drawing from religions were seen as the main props of the state.
Countering this claim that the state had no real power as well as the feudalism proponents,
scholars have stressed the many institutional apparatuses created by the Chola state to establish
and maintain itself as a centralized entity. Recent studies have questioned the assumption of
Chola colonization of Southeast Asia by focusing on the maritime trading networks from China
to the Arab world as the key to understanding this interaction. Works that have focused on
religious traditions and transformations of the cultural landscape of the Tamil region
draw attention to the ideological institutions used by the state to further its reach and maintain
its power. Conventional histories have tended to focus on the decline of the Cholas because of
weak rulers in the late 12th century. Actually we have to understand to the political economy on
the one hand, and on the other to the rise of additional regional powers such as the Hoysalas and
Kakatiyas the northwest and northeast, and the Pandyas in the south to situate the rise of Chola
in the Indian as well as Asian history.

SUGGESTED BOOKS & ARTICLES

Chakravarti, R. 2011. “The Pull of the Coast.” Presidential
Address, Indian History Congress,
Patiala.

Champakalakshmi, R. 1996. Trade Ideology and

Urbanization in South India 300 BC to AD 1300.
Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kulke, H., (ed.), The State in India 1000-1700, New Delhi, 1995.

Sastri K.A.Nilakanta,A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of
Vijayanagar , Oxford,1997

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