Rajaraja Chola I (Tamil: இ ர ா ஜ ர ா ஜ ச ோ ழ ன ் ) is considered by many as the greatest king of the Chola Empire, who ruled between 985 and 1014 CE. He laid the foundation for the growth of the Chola kingdom into an empire, by conquering the kingdoms of southern
India and the Chola Empire expanded as far as Sri Lanka in the south, and Kalinga (Orissa) in the northeast. He fought many battles with the Chalukyas in the north and the Pandyas in the south. By conquering Vengi, Rajaraja laid the foundations for the Chalukya Chola dynasty. He invaded Sri Lanka and started a century-long Chola occupation of the island.
He streamlined the administrative system with the division of the country into various districts and by standardising revenue collection through systematic land surveys. He built the magnificent Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur and through it enabled wealth distribution amongst his subjects. His successes enabled the splendid achievements of his son Rajendra Chola I under whom the empire attained the greatest extent and carried its conquest beyond the seas.
MILITARY CONQUESTS
Southern Wars
The southern kingdoms of Pandyas, Cheras and the Sinhalas were often allied against the Cholas. It was the case when Rajaraja came to the throne. Rajaraja`s initial campaigns were against the combined Pandya and Chera armies. There is no evidence of any military campaign undertaken by Rajaraja until the eighth year of his reign. During this period he was engaged in organising and augumenting his army and in preparing for military expeditions.
Kandalur Salai
The very first military achievement of Rajaraja`s reign was the campaign in the Kerala country c 994 C.E.. Rajaraja`s early inscriptions use the descriptive `Kandalur salai kalamarutta` In this campaign Rajaraja is said to have destroyed a fleet in the port of Kandalur, which appears to have been situated in the dominions of the Chera King Bhaskara Ravi Varman Thiruvadi (c. 978 ? 1036 C.E.). Inscriptions found around Thanjavur show that frequent references are made to the conquest of the Chera king and the Pandyas in Malai-nadu (the west coast of South India). Kandalur-Salai, which later inscriptions claim to have belonged to the Chera king, was probably held by the Pandyas when it was conquered by Rajaraja. Some years` fighting apparently was necessary before the conquest could be completed and the conquered country could be sufficiently settled for its administration could be properly organised. In the war against the Pandyas, Rajaraja seized the Pandya king Amarabhujanga and the Chola general captured the port of Virinam. To commomorate these conquests Rajaraja assumed the title Mummudi-Chola, (the Chola king who wears three crowns - the Chera, Chola and Pandya).
Malai Nadu
In a battle against the Cheras sometime before 1008 C.E., Rajaraja stormed and captured Udagai in the western hill country. Kalingattuparani, a war poem written during the reign of Kulothunga Chola I hints at a slight on the Chola ambassador to the Chera court as the reason for this sacking of Udagai. Rajaraja`s son Rajendra was the Chola general leading the army in this battle. The Tamil poem Vikkirama Cholan ula mentions the conquest of Malai Nadu and the killing of 18 princes in retaliation of the insult offered to an envoy. Invasion of Lanka.
To eliminate the remaining actor in the triumvirate, Rajaraja invaded Sri Lanka in 993 C.E. The copper-plate inscription mention that Rajaraja`s powerful army crossed the ocean by ships and burnt up the kingdom of Lanka. Mahinda V was the king of Sinhalas. In 991 C.E. Mahinda`s army mutinied with help from mercenaries from Keralas. Mahinda had to seek refuge in the southern region of Rohana. Rajaraja utilised this opportunity and invaded the island. Chola armies occupied the northern half of Lanka and named the dominion `Mummudi Chola Mandalam`. Anuradhapura, the 1400-year-old capital of Sinhala kings was destroyed. The destruction was so extensive the city was abandoned. Cholas made the city of Polonnaruwa as their capital and renamed it Jananathamangalam. The choice of this city demonstrates the desire of Rajaraja to conquer the entire island. Rajaraja also built a Temple for Siva in Pollonaruwa.
Northern Wars
Rajaraja also expanded his conquests in the north and northwest. The regions of Gangapadi (Gangawadi) , Nolambapadi (Nolambawadi), Tadigaipadi came into Chola possession during Rajaraja.
Mural found in the Brihadeesvara temple, Tamil Nadu, 11th century. The claims that this represents Rajaraja Chola (in the background) and his guru Karuvurar have not been scientifically proven.
Ganga Wars
Before his 14th year c. 998 ? 999 C.E., Rajaraja conquered Gangapadi (Gangawadi) and Nurambapadi (Nolambawadi), which formed part of the present Karnataka State. This conquest was facilitated by the fact the Cholas never lost their hold of the Ganga country from the efforts of Sundara Chola. Nolambas who were the feudatories of Ganga could have turned against their overlords and aided the Cholas to conquer the Gangas, who were the chief bulwark against the Chola armies in the northwest.
The invasion of the Ganga country was a complete success and the entire Ganga country was under the Chola rule for the next century. The easy success against the Gangas was also due to the disappearance of Rashtrakutas c. 973 C.E. as they were conquered by the western Chalukyas. From this time, Chalukyas became the main antagonists of Cholas in the northwest.
NAVAL CONQUESTS
Detail of the main gopura (tower) of the Thanjavur Temple
One of the last conquests of Rajaraja was the naval conquest of the `old islands of the sea numbering 12,000`, the Maldives. We have no further details regarding this expedition, however this is a sufficient indication of the abilities of the Chola Navy, which was utilised so effectively under Rajendra I. Chola Navy also had played a major role in the invasion of Lanka.
The increasing realisation of the importance of a good Navy and the desire to neutralise the emerging Chera Naval power were probably the reasons for the Kandalur campaign in the early days of Rajaraja`s reign.
Nagapattinam on the Bay of Bengal was the main port of the Cholas and could have been the navy headquarters.
THANJAVUR TEMPLE
Rajaraja`s great reign is commemorated by the magnificent Siva temple in Thanjavur, the finest monument of this period of South Indian history. The temple is remarkable both for its massive proportions and for its simplicity of design. It is now recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, forming part of the Great Living Chola Temples site.
The construction of the temple is said to have been completed on the 275th day of the 25th year of his reign. After its commemoration the great temple and the capital had close business relations with the rest of the country and acted as a centre of both religious and economic activity. Year after year villages from all over the country had to supply men and material for the temple maintenance.
ADMINISTRATION
From the 23rd to the 29th year of Rajaraja`s rule his dominions enjoyed peace and the king apparently devoted his energies to the task of internal administration. The building of the Rajarajesvara temple in Thanjavur and the various endowments and gifts to it must have occupied a prominent place in the king`s mind during these years.
Rajaraja carried out a revenue and settlement during the final years of his reign. Inscriptions found in the Thanjavur temple bear testimony to the accuracy of this operation. Land as small in extent as 1/52,428,800,000 of a `veli` (a land measure) was measured and assessed to revenue. The revenue survey enabled for the confiscation of lands of the defaulting landlords.
Rajaraja also perfected the administrative organization by creating a strong and centralised machinery and by appointing local government authorities. He installed a system of audit and control by which the village assemblies and other public bodies were held to account while not curtailing their autonomy.
STANDARDISED INSCRIPTIONS
We owe Rajaraja the desire on his part to record his military achievements in every one of his inscriptions and thus had down to posterity some of the important events of his life. As far as we know at present Rajaraja was the first king of South India to introduce this innovation into his inscriptions. Before his time powerful kings of the Pallava, Pandya and Chola dynasties had reigned in the South, and some of them had made extensive conquests. But none of them seems to have thought of leaving a record on stone of his military achievements.
The idea of Rajaraja to add a short account of his military achievements at the beginning of every one of his inscriptions was entirely his own. His action in this respect is all the more laudable because his successors evidently followed his example and have left us more or less complete records of their conquests. But for the historical introductions, which are often found at the beginning of the Tamil inscriptions of Chola, kings the lithic records of the Tamil country would be of very little value, and consequently even the little advance that has been made in elucidating the history of Southern India would have been well nigh impossible.
The following is an example of the prologue (known as the Meikeerthi) from an inscription by Rajaraja:
ஸ ் வ ஸ ் த ி ஸ ் ர ீ ் த ி ர ு ம க ள ் ப ோ ல ப ெ ர ு ந ி ல ச ் ச ெ ல ் வ ி ய ு ந ் த ன க ் க ே ய ு ர ி ம ை ப ூ ண ் ட ம ை ம ன க ் க ொ ள..
From:http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2007/12/22889_space.html
