Chola Dynasty

   

Chola Empire

 

Chola dynasty             300s BCE–1279 CE

Official languages      Tamil

Religion                         Hinduism

Government                Monarchy

Capital

•          Early Cholas: Poompuhar, Urayur, Tiruvarur

•          Medieval Cholas: Pazhaiyaarai, Thanjavur

•          Gangaikonda Cholapuram

 

King and Emperor

• 848–871       Vijayalaya Chola (first)

• 1246–1279   Rajendra Chola III (last)

 

Succeeded by

Pandyan dynasty

Jaffna Kingdom

 

List of Chola kings and emperors

 

Early Cholas

•          Ellalan

•          Kulakkottan

•          Ilamchetchenni

•          Karikala

•          Nedunkilli

•          Nalankilli

•          Killivalavan

•          Kopperuncholan

•          Kochchenganan

•          Perunarkilli

 

Interregnum (c. 200 – c. 848)

(Note – Interregnum – a period when normal government is suspended, especially between successive reigns or regimes.)

 

Medieval Cholas

Vijayalaya                          848–871

Aditya I                              871–907

Parantaka I                        907–955

Rajaditya Chola                935–949

Gandaraditya                    949–962

Arinjaya                             955–966

Parantaka II (Sundara)  962–980

Aditya II (Karikala)        966–971

Uttama                              971–987

Rajaraja I                          985–1014

Rajendra I                       1012–1044

Rajadhiraja                     1018–1054

Rajendra II                     1051–1063

Rajamahendra                1060–1063

Virarajendra                   1063–1070

Athirajendra                   1067–1070

 

Later Cholas

Kulothunga I                1070–1120

Vikrama                        1118–1135

Kulothunga II              1133–1150

Rajaraja II                    1146–1173

Rajadhiraja II               1166–1178

Kulothunga III             1178–1218

Rajaraja III                   1216–1256

Rajendra III                 1246–1279

Introduction:

• The Cholas were an ancient dynasty and they were mentioned in the Mahabharata.
• The Chola kingdom was on the Coromandel coast.
• The most important source to learn about them was the Sangam Literature.

 

Early History of the Cholas:

• The greatest among the Cholas of the Sangam age was Karikala, who was "the man with the charred leg".
• He extended the chola territory and built a new capital city called Kaveripattinam.
• But his successors could not defend the kingdom from the expansion of the Cheras and the Pandyas.
• Cholas were reduced to an insignificant position.
• Vijayalaya was the founder of the Imperial Chola dynasty which was the beginning of one of the most splendid empires in Indian history.
• They started ruling from the middle of the 8th century A.D.

 

Political History of Cholas:

• Vijayalaya and Aditya were the first two kings of the imperial Chola Line.
• Tanjore was their capital.
• Parantaka I, the son of Aditya ruled from 907 — 953 A.D.
• He captured Madurai from the Pandyas.
• To commemorate this event, he took the title of "Maduraikonda".
• During the last days of his rule, he was defeated by the Rashtrakuta king, Krishna III.
• With the accession of Raja Raja in 985 A.D normalcy was restored in the Chola kingdom.

 

Raja Raja - I (985 - 1014 A.D.):

• Raja Raja I was a great king of the Chola kingdom.
• He was the son of Parantaka II and Vanavanmahadevi.
• His first great achievement was the destruction of the Chera navy at Kandalur Salai.
• In the south, he subdued the Pandyas.
• The northern portion of Ceylon was annexed to the Chola territory.
• He also conquered a few territories from the Eastern Chalukyas, the Ganges and the Chalukyas of Kalyani.
• Thus, Raja Raja - I extended his empire up to the Tungabhadra River.
• He was also said to have brought under his way, the Laccadives and the Maldives.
• He was also a great administrator.

 

Rajendra - I (1014 - 1044 A.D.):

• Rajendra - I was the son and successor of Raja Raja.
• He conquered the kingdoms of the Pandyas and the Cheras.
• Ceylon was conquered in 1029 A.D.
• He also attacked and plundered the kingdom of the Chalukya King, Someshvara I.
• He was the first Indian ruler, who established the supremacy of Indian Navy in the Arabian sea.
• In the North, he advanced as far as the river Ganges.
• On this occasion, he was given the title of "Gangaikonda".
• His most important achievement was the expedition to Kadaram and Srivijaya in 1025 A.D.
• He built a new capital called Gangaikonda Cholapuram.
• Some of the famous titles of Rajendra-I were Mudikonda Chola (the crowned Chola), Gangaikonda (conqueror of the Ganges), Kadaramkonda (conqueror of Kadaram) and Pandita Chola (scholarly Chola).

 

Rajadhiraja I (1044 - 1052 A.D.):

• Rajadhiraja-I was the son of Rajendra-I.
• He was always at war with the neighbouring princes.
• He was killed by a Chalukya ruler in the battle of Koppam in 1052 A.D.
• Upon his death, his brother Rajendra II assumed power.

 

Successors of Rajendra — II:

• Rajendra II was followed by Vira Rajendra I and Athirajendra.
• With the death of Athirajendra, the Vijayalaya line of Cholas ended.
• Then, the crown passed to an Eastern Chalukyan prince, Rajendra.
• He ruled from 1070-1120 A.D.
• He was the greatest grandson of Raja Raja – I, both from the paternal and maternal side.
• With his accession, Vengi become a part of the Chola Empire.
• Kulothunga III was the last of the Chola kings of any importance.
• After his death, the decline set in.
• His successors were weak and the Chola dominions were slowly absorbed by Pandyas, the Kakatiyas, Hoysalas and the Yadavas.

 

Administration of cholas:

• The Chola administration was well organized and thoroughly efficient.
• The King was the head of the state.
• All powers were concentrated in his hands.
• There was no definite council of ministers connected with the central government.
• But some of the higher-level officers of the state are described as “Udankuttam".
• The cholas had organized an efficient bureaucracy.
• The central government took care of the maintenance of peace and order in the country, external defence and increasing the general prosperity of the people.
• All details of administration were left in the hands of the local bodies.
• The unit of administration was the self-governing village.
• A number of villages constituted Kurram.
• A number of Kurrams made up a Valanadu.
• A number of Valanadus made up a province.
• Each province was headed by a viceroy who received orders from the king.
• The king was assisted by a number of ministers and others.

 

Army and Navy:

• The king was the head of the army and the navy.
• The army was divided into a number of regiments and spread over the country in the form of local garrisons.
• These were called Kadagams.
• The Cholas maintained a big standing army.
• It consisted of elephantry, cavalry and infantry.
• The soldiers were well trained and disciplined.
• The total army was about 1,50,000 corps.
• The king had his own guard.
• The kings and the princes led the army.
• The Cholas realized the need for a strong navy and followed a steady naval policy.
• This is evident from the many naval victories of the Chola kings.

 

Revenue:

• The chief sources of revenue were lands under cultivation.
• Lands were carefully surveyed and revenue was collected by the village assemblies.
• Besides land revenue, taxes on trade, various professions, mines, forests, salt and irrigation were other sources of income for the state.
• The chief items of public expenditure were the expenses of the king and the court, navy and army, roads, irrigation, administrative staff and other public works.

 

Justice:

• Justice was mostly a matter of local concern.
• At the local level, the village assemblies were in charge of justice.
• Punishments largely depended upon the merits of a case.
• Death penalty was not given in all cases of murder.

 

Local Self-Government:

• The most remarkable feature of the Chola administration was the organization of the local government.
• It was organized on democratic lines.
• Villages and towns had primary assemblies and larger towns had representative assemblies.
• There were two types of these assemblies. They were called "Sabha" and "Ur". Sabha was exclusive to the Brahmadeya villages, while Ur was of the general type.
• The assembly of Brahmin landowners was called the Sabha.
• The assembly of non-Brahmin landowners was called the Ur.
• The village assembles enjoyed an almost sovereign authority in all matters of rural administration.
• They assessed the land revenue, collected the revenue and maintained a record of the revenue collection.
• These records were open for audit by the officers of the king.
• They were the absolute proprietors of village communal lands and also controlled the private lands within their jurisdiction.
• The village assembly functioned through its committees called "Variams".
• The members of these committees were elected by the assemblies.
• Some of the committees were the garden committee, the tank Committee, committee of justice and the committee which looked after the ascetics, foreigners and orphans.
• The committee members held office for one year.
• They were not remunerated for their services.
• If a member was found guilty of any offence, he was removed forthwith.

 

Election Procedure:

• The members of the executive committee were elected by the people.
• Every town or village, was divided into several wards known as "Kudumbam".
• Assembly consisted of the representatives of Kudumbam.
• Certain qualifications were prescribed for the members of the committee.
• The qualifications were:

1. He must be able bodied within the age of 35 to 70 years.

2. He must own property and must not have committed any sins like bribery, adultery, theft and other criminal offences.

3. He must be well versed in Vedas and must be a resident of the village.

• The names of the persons nominated for selection were written on strips of palm leaves called "Kudavolai".
• On the day of election, the villagers met at a public place and the members were elected through lottery.
• These members of the Executive Committee were called "Variya Perumakkal".
• The village assemblies played an important role in the administration of the Cholas.
• The Cholas were pioneers in introducing the system of local government at the village level.
• This helped to give training to all citizens in administration.
• The organization of these "little Republics", the tiny states at the base, encouraged the communal life of people.
• It developed a sense of civic duty, fostered a sense of liberty and guaranteed a high standard of administrative efficiency.

 

Chola's Architecture:

• Chola history begins at about 901 A.D. lasting for 250 years.
• They developed and perfected the Dravidian style of architecture.
• The Cholas were also great builders.
• They undertook work on a very large scale.
• Their most laudable undertakings were their vast irrigation schemes and works.
• Rajendra-1, constructed a huge artificial lake, 26 kms in length, near their new capital Gangaikonda Cholapuram.
• Their dams were composed of huge dressed stones, thrown across the Kaveri and other rivers.

(Note – Dressed Stone – A stone that has been worked to a desired shape; the faces to be exposed are smooth, usually ready for installation.)

• Cholas rulers also carefully planned and laid out vast cities, with temples in their centre.
• The Cholas temple architecture is famous for the purity of its artistic traditions.
• It achieved maturity in the two magnificent temples at Tanjore and Gangaikonda Cholapuram.
• They were built in the 1st quarter of the 11th century.
• The great Siva temple at Tanjore, known as Brihadisvara temple or Rajarajeswara temple was built by Raja Raja – I, the Great.
• It is the largest, highest and the most ambitious production of temple architecture from that period.
• Its tower has 14 successive stories rising to a height of about 60 meters.
• It is crowned by a massive dome (Sikhara) at the top.
• The whole temple building is carved with sculptures and decorative mouldings.
• The Tanjore temple is the touch stone of Indian architecture as a whole.
• Another artistic achievement of the Cholas is the Indian plastic art known as the Chola Bronze.

(Note - Plastic art – the art of producing works or effects that are three-dimensional, such as sculptures or ceramics)

• The Nataraja figure, the images of saints and Hindu Gods and Goddesses are masterpieces of the Chola art.

 

Conclusion:

• The Cholas were an ancient dynasty and they were mentioned in the Mahabharata.
• The Cholas were well known in history as efficient and enlightened administrators.
• The Cholas Policy was humane, benevolent and democratic.
• A nice balance was struck between the centralized control and local initiative.
• A clear distinction was maintained between these two aspects of administration.

Tags;

#Chola art and architecture, #Chola Dynasty, #Chola Politics, #Ancient Indian History,#Ancient India,