Raja Raja Chola- The best of Cholas

Introduction

We have many dravidian kings who are famous for their bravery and administration skills. One of such king is the world famous Raja Raja Chola. Raja Raja Chola who ruled over the whole of south India is considered to be one of the greatest ruler of the world. He was born as Arulmozhi Varman and he proclaimed the title Raja Raja(king of kings). He was crowned as the king of Chola Empire in 985 AD and ruled until his death in 1014 AD.

He launched several naval campaigns which resulted in the capture of Maldives and Sri Lanka. He built the world famous Brihadeeswrar temple in Thanjavur. It was during his reign where the texts of tamil poets Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar were collected, edited and compiled into one called the Thirumurai. He initiated a massive project on survey and assessment of land in 1000 which led to the reorganisation of his empire into Valanadus. He was succeeded by his son Rajendra Chola.  

Birth and Early Life

Raja Raja Chola was born in 947. He was the third child of Prataka Chola and Vanavan Mahadevi. He was very energetic and got the attention of everyone because of his bravery, his war skills. He had an elder brother Aditya Karikalan and an elder sister Kundavi. His eleder brother aditya was assassinated in 969 AD. After that Sundara Chola was forced to announce that Uttama Chola will succeed the Throne. After the death of Uttama Chola in 985 AD he was elected as the king of the Chola empire through democratic process.

Military Conquests

It is believed that Raja Raja Chola had the most powerful standing army and navy. His army was divided into Elephants troops, Cavalry and Infantry.

Early Campaigns

Raja Raja Chola took his own time to wage war against the neighbouring kingdoms. He waged his first war against the allied armies of Pandyas, Cheras and Sinhalas in the Eight year of his reign. He destroyed the fleet of the Chera king Bhaskara Ravi Varman in 994 in the Kandalur War. He also went on to defeat the Pandya king Amarbhujana and captured one of the major port of the south Virinam from him. To commemorate those conquest he himself assumed the title Mumudi Cholan(as he got control over chola, chera and pandya territory).In 1008, Raja Raja Chola sent an army to capture Udagai from Chera led by his son Rajendra chola. he successfully capured Udagai from Cheras.

Invasion of Sri Lanka

Raja Raja Chola had a strong navy and a powerful army which crossed the ocean by ships. He waged war against the Sinhala king Mahinda V. He invaded \Ceylon in 993AD. He destroyed the 1400 year old Sinhala capital Anuradhapura. He made the city of Pollonaruwa the capital and renamed it as Jananthamangalam. He built a Shiva temple there to commemorate this victory. he captured only the northern part of Sri Lanka while the southern part remained independent. It was later captured by his son Rajendra Chola.   

Wars with chalukyas

Raja Raja Chola captured angapadi and Nurambapadi and Tadigaipadi. The provinces were feudatories if the rashtrakuthas. This brought Cholas in direct contact with the western Chalukyas. Both armies were extremely powerful. They both waged war against each other. the Chola army was led by Rajendra Chola. He along with a large army of around 900,000 men captured Satyasraya but failed to capture the Western chalukyan capital Manyakheta. Raja Raja  aimed at capturing all the provinces held by Prantaka Chola I. He has encounters with Hoyslas who were the Vassals of Western Chalukyas. Raja Raja Chola defeated Jaga Choda Bhima and captured Vengi. He installed Saktivarman as the king. Again in 1001 Bhima captured kanchi. Raja Raja Chola defeated him again, also killed him and again restored Saktivarman to the throne of Vengi. He also invaded kalinga.

Naval Expedition

Raja Raja Chola had a strong navy. With the help of such a strong navy he captured the islands of the Malabar Coast and Maldives. He established a direct control over the area of Bay of Bengal with the help of a many coastal ports which include the port of Nagapattinam.

Personal Life and Family

Inscriptions says that Raja Raja Chola spent a lot of time with his elder sister Kundavi. He had a number of wives but few children. Vanavan Mahadevi, princess of Velir is the mother of his son Rajendra Chila. 

Art and Architecture

Raja Raja chola with the help of Nambiyandar Nambi recovered the hymns of thevaram. He is the one who saved the Thirumurai.That is why he is called as Thirumurai kanda Cholan. He showed the glory of Dravidian architecture to the world by building Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur. He dedicated it lord shiva. Now is one of three temples of Cholas under UNESCO world heritage site. The Vimana in that temple is the tallest in the world. He is also the first Chola ruler to record every military conquest and other affairs in the form of inscriptions in stones. 

Administration

Raja Raja Chola concentrated more towards administration from 23rd till 29th year of his reign. He initiated a project of land survey and assessment in 1000 which led to the reorganisation of the territory into Valanadus. Before this the local chieftains and landlords were in loose alliance with the Chola kings. Noe he had a close link with them. He perfection administration by creating a strong and centralised structure, and by appointing local government authorities. He promoted trade and sent the first mission to China. 

Religious Policies

Raja Raja Chola is an ardent follower and a devotee of lord Shiva. He was tolerant towards other religion and faiths. He also built many temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu. He also encouraged the construction of Buddhist Vihara at the request of the kin Sri Maravijyatugavarman. He dedicated the proceeds of the revenue from village Anaimangalam towards the upkeep of the Vihara.

Conclusion

We the dravidians had such a great and a wonderful ruler. He was right even in his personal as well as his administrative life. We can also consider him to be the first person to establish election in democratic way. Being success full in his military conquest and administration we must be proud to have such a great ruler.