Imperial CHOLAS

Rise of Cholas 

• After the decline of the Sangam period, the Cholas became feudatories in Uraiyur. They became prominent in the ninth century and established an empire comprising the major portion of South India. Their capital was Tanjore.
• They also extended their sway in Sri Lanka and the Malay Peninsula. Therefore, they are called the Imperial Cholas.
• The founder of the Imperial Chola line was Vijayalaya. His son Aditya put an end to the Pallava kingdom by defeating Aparajita and annexed Tondaimandalam.
• Parantaka I was one of the important early Chola rulers. He defeated the Pandyas and the ruler of Ceylon. But he suffered a defeat at the hands of the Rashtrakutas in the famous battle of Takkolam.
• Parantaka I was a great builder of temples. He also provided the vimana of the famous Nataraja temple at Chidambaram with a golden roof.
• The two famous Uttiramerur inscriptions that give a detailed account of the village administration under the Cholas belong to his reign. After a gap of thirty years, the Cholas regained their supremacy under Rajaraja I.

Rajaraja I (985 – 1014 A.D.)

It was under Rajaraja I and his son Rajendra I that the Chola power reached its highest point of glory. His military conquests were:

• The defeat of the Chera ruler Bhaskara Ravivarman in the naval battle of Kandalur Salai and the destruction of the Chera navy.
• The defeat of the Pandya ruler, Amarabhujanga and establishment of Chola authority in the Pandya country.
• The invasion of Sri Lanka which was entrusted to his son Rajendra I. The capital was shied from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa where a Shiva temple was built.
• Satyasraya was defeated and Rajaraja I captured Raichur Doab, Banavasi and other places. Hence the Chola power extended up to the river Tungabadhra. 
• The restoration of Vengi throne to its rulers Saktivarman and Vimaladitya by defeating the Telugu Chodas.
• Rajaraja’s last military achievement was a naval expedition against the Maldive Islands which were conquered.

Rajaraja assumed a number of titles like Mummidi Chola, Jayankondam and Siva Pada Sekara. He was a devout follower of Saivism. He completed the construction of the famous Rajarajeswara temple or Brihadeeswara temple at Tanjore in 1010 A.D. He also helped in the construction of a Buddhist monastery at Nagapattinam.

Rajendra I (1012-1044 A.D.) 

• He continued his father’s policy of aggressive conquests and expansion. His important wars were:
• The whole of Sri Lanka was made part of the Chola Empire.
• He reasserted the Chola authority over the Chera and Pandya countries.
• He defeated Jayasimha II, the Western Chalukya king and the river Tungabadhra was recognised as the boundary between the Cholas and Chalukyas.
• Rajendra defeated Mahipala I of Bengal. To commemorate this successful north-Indian campaign Rajendra founded the city of Gangaikondacholapuram and constructed the famous Rajesvaram temple in that city. He also excavated a large irrigation tank called Cholagangam on the western side of the city.
• Another famous venture of Rajendra was his naval expedition to Kadaram or Sri Vijaya. He assumed the title Kadaram kondan.
• At the death of Rajendra I the extent of the Chola Empire was at its peak. The river Tungabadhra was the northern boundary. The Pandya, Kerala and Mysore regions and also Sri Lanka formed part of the empire. He assumed a number of titles, the most famous being Mudikondan, Gangaikondan, Kadaram Kondan and Pandita Cholan.
• Like his father he was also a devout Saiva and built a temple for that god at the new capital Gangai konda cholapuram. He was also tolerant towards the Vaishnava and Buddhist sects. 
• After Rajendra I, the greatness of the Chola power was preserved by rulers like Kulottunga I and Kulottunga III. Kulottunga I was the grandson of Rajendra I through his daughter Ammangadevi. He succeeded the Chola throne and thus united the Vengi kingdom with the Chola Empire. During his reign Sri Lanka became independent.
• The rise of the feudatories like the Kadavarayas and the emergence of the Pandya power as a challenge to Chola supremacy contributed to the ultimate downfall of the Chola Empire.
• Rajendra III was the last Chola king who was defeated by Jatavarman Sundarapandya II. The Chola country was absorbed into the Pandya Empire.

Chola Administration

1. Central Government

• The emperor or king was at the top of the administration. 
• They undertook royal tours to increase the efficiency of the administration. There was elaborate administrative machinery comprising various officials called perundanam and sirudanam.

2. Revenue

• The land revenue department was well organized. It was called puravuvarithinaikkalam. 
• All lands were carefully surveyed and classified for assessment of revenue. The residential portion of the village was called ur nattam. 
• These and other lands such as the lands belonging to temples were exempted from tax. Besides land revenue, there were tolls and customs on goods taken from one place to another, various kinds of professional taxes, dues levied on ceremonial occasions like marriages and judicial fines. 
• During the hard times, there were remissions of taxes and Kulottunga I became famous by abolishing tolls and earned the title – Sungam Tavirtta Cholan. 

3. Military Administration

• The Cholas maintained a regular standing army consisting of elephants, cavalry, infantry and navy.
• The royal troops were called Kaikkolaperumpadai. Within this there was a personal troop to defend the king known as Velaikkarar.
• The Cholas paid special attention to their navy. The naval achievements of the Tamils reached its climax under the Cholas. They controlled the Malabar and Coromandal coasts. In fact, the Bay of Bengal became a Chola lake for sometime.

4. Provincial Administration

• The Chola Empire was divided into mandalams and each mandalam into valanadus and nadus. In each nadu there were a number of autonomous villages.
• The royal princes or officers were in charge of mandalams.
• The valanadu was under periyanattar and nadu under nattar.
• The town was known as Nagaram and it was under the administration of a council called Nagarattar.

 Village Assemblies

• The system of village autonomy with sabhas.
• Two inscriptions belonging to the period of Parantaka I found at Uthiramerur provide details of the formation and functions of village councils.
• That village was divided into thirty wards and each was to nominate its members to the village council.
• The qualifications to become a ward member were:
• Ownership of at least one fourth veli of land.
• Own residence.
• Above thirty years and below seventy years of age.
• Knowledge of Vedas.
• Norms of disqualification were also mentioned in the inscriptions. They were:
• Those who had been members of the committees for the past three years.
• Those who had failed to submit accounts as committee members. 
• Those who had committed sins. 
• Those who had stolen the property of others.
• From the persons duly nominated, one was to be chosen for each ward by kudavolai system for a year.
• A young boy or girl would take out thirty names each for one ward. They were divided into six variyams to take up six different functions of the village administration. The committee members were called variya perumakkal. The number of committees and ward members varied from village to village.

5. Socio-economic Life

• Caste system was widely prevalent during the Chola period. Brahmins and Kshatriyas enjoyed special privileges.
• Two major divisions among the castes – Valangai and Idangai castes. However, there was cooperation among various castes and subcastes in social and religious life.
• The position of women did not improve. The practice of ‘sati’ was prevalent among the royal families. The devadasi system or dancing girls attached to temples emerged during this period.
• Both Saivism and Vaishnavism continued to flourish during the Chola period. The temples remained centres of economic activity during this period.
• Both agriculture and industry flourished. Reclamation of forest lands and the construction and maintenance of irrigation tanks led to agricultural prosperity.
• The weaving industry, particularly the silk-weaving at Kanchi flourished. The metal works developed owing to great demand of images for temples and utensils.
• Commerce and trade were brisk with trunk roads or peruvazhis and merchant guilds.
• Gold, silver and copper coins were issued in plenty at various denominations.
• Commercial contacts between the Chola Empire and China, Sumatra, Java and Arabia were extensively prevalent. Arabian horses were imported in large numbers to strengthen the cavalry. 

6. Education and Literature

• Besides the temples and mathas as educational centres, several educational institutions also flourished. The inscriptions at Ennayiram, Thirumukkudal and Thirubhuvanai provide details of the colleges that existed in these places.
• Apart from the Vedas and Epics, subjects like mathematics and medicine were taught in these institutions.
• The development of Tamil literature reached its peak during the Chola period. Sivakasintamani written by Thiruthakka Thevar and Kundalakesi belonged to the 10th century. The Ramayana composed by Kamban and the Periyapuranam or Tiruttondarpuranam by Sekkilar are the two master-pieces of this age.
• The Moovarula written by Ottakuthar depicts the life of three Chola kings.

7. Art and Architecture

• The Dravidian style of art and architecture reached its perfection under the Cholas.
• The chief feature of the Chola temple is the vimana.
• The Big Temple at Tanjore built by Rajaraja I is a master-piece of South Indian art and architecture. It consists of the vimana, ardha mandapa, maha mandapa and a large pavilion in the front known as the Nandi Mandapa.
• Shiva temple at Gangaikondacholapuram built by Rajendra I. The Airavathesvara temple at Darasuram in Tanjore District and the Kampaharesvara temple at Tribhuvanam are examples of later Chola temples.
• The walls of the Chola temples such as the Tanjore and Gangaikondacholapuram temples contain numerous icons of large size with fine execution.
• The bronzes of the Chola period are world-famous. The bronze statues of Nataraja or dancing Siva are masterpieces. The Chola paintings were found on the walls of Narthamalai and Tanjore temples. 

Share

& Comment

Tweet