Rajaraja I

Rajaraja I (Middle Tamil: Rājarāja Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Rājarāja Ćōl̥a; 947 CE – 1014 CE),[1][2] often described as Rajaraja the Great, was a Chola emperor who reigned the southern parts of India from 985 CE to 1014 CE. An iconic figure and often regarded as the 'King of Kings', he was the most powerful emperor in India during his reign and is remembered for reinstating the Chola influence and ensuring its supremacy across the Indian Ocean.[3][4] The southern part of India was united for the very first time in the Indian history under his rule.

His extensive empire included vast regions of the Pandya country, the Chera country and northern Sri Lanka. He also acquired Lakshadweep and Thiladhunmadulu atoll, and part of the northern-most islands of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. Campaigns against the Western Gangas and the Western Chalukyas extended the Chola authority as far as the Tungabhadra River. On the eastern coast, he battled with the Telugu Chola king Jata Choda Bhima for the possession of Vengi.[5][6][7][8]

Rajaraja I, being an able administrator, also built the great Rajarajeshwaram Temple at the Chola capital Thanjavur.[9] The temple is regarded as the foremost of all temples constructed in the medieval south Indian architectural style. During his reign, the texts of the Tamil poets Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar were collected and edited into one compilation called Thirumurai, gaining him the name of 'Thirumurai Kanda Cholar' meaning The One Whom Found Thirumurai.[6][10] He initiated a massive project of land survey and assessment in 1000 CE which led to the reorganisation of Tamil country into individual units known as valanadus.[11][12] Rajaraja died in 1014 CE and was succeeded by his son Rajendra Chola I. Early life

Rajaraja and his brother Aditha Karikalan meeting their guru.

Rajaraja was a son of the Chola king Parantaka II (alias Sundara) and queen Vanavan Mahadevi.[13] According to the Thiruvalangadu copper-plate inscription, his birth name was Arulmoḻi (also transliterated as Arulmozhi) Varman, literally "blessed tongued".[1][14] He was born around 947 CE in the Aipassi month, on the day of Sadhayam star.[15] He had an elder brother – Aditha II,[2] and an elder sister – Kundavai.[16]

Rajaraja's ascension ended a period of rival claims to the throne, following the death of his great-grandfather Parantaka I. After Parantaka I, his elder son Gandaraditya ascended the throne. At the time of Gandaraditya's death, his son Madhurantakan was a minor, so the throne passed on to Parantaka I's younger son Arinjaya. Arinjaya died soon, and was succeeded by his son Parantaka II, also known as Sundara Chola. It was decided that the throne would pass on to Madhurantakan after Sundara: this decision was most probably that of Sundara himself, although the Thiruvalangadu inscription of Rajaraja's son Rajendra I claims that it was made by Rajaraja.[2]

Aditha died under mysterious circumstances; inscriptions hint at him being assassinated. Sundara died soon after, clearing the way for Madhurantakan to be king under the title Uttama Chola. After the death of Uttama, Rajaraja finally ascended the throne in June–July 985.[2] Known as Arumoḷi Varman until this point, he adopted the regnal name Rajaraja, which literally means "King among Kings".[17]

Rajaraja inherited a kingdom whose boundaries were limited to the traditional Chola territory centred around Thanjavur-Tiruchirappalli region.[1] At the time of his ascension, the Chola kingdom was relatively small, and was still recovering from the Rashtrakuta invasions in the preceding years. Rajaraja turned it into an efficiently administered empire which possessed a powerful army and a strong navy. During his reign, the northern kingdom of Vengi became a Chola protectorate, and the Chola influence on the eastern coast extended as far as Kalinga in the north.[2]

A number of regiments are mentioned in the Thanjavur inscriptions.[18][19] These regiments were divided into elephant troops, cavalry and infantry and each of these regiments had its own autonomy and was free to endow benefactions or build temples.[18] Against Kandalur Salai

Main article: Battle of Kandalur Salai

Inscription of Rajaraja in Suchindram, near Kanyakumari

Rajaraja's earliest inscriptions celebrate a major victory at Kandalur Salai (in present-day Kerala) in c. 988 CE, calling him "Kāndalūr śālai Kalam-arutta" ("the one who destroyed Kandalur Salai").[20] The Salai originally belonged to the Ay chief, a vassal of the Pandya king at Madurai. Involvement of either Chera or Pandya warriors in this battle remains uncertain. The Thiruvalangadu inscription mentions that Rajaraja's general captured Vizhinjam (Viḷinam): this conquest may have been a part of the Kandalur Salai campaign. The engagement seems to have been an effort of the Chola navy or a combined effort of the navy and the army.[21]

Conquest of Kerala and the Pandyas

Rajaraja's inscriptions start to appear in Kanyakumari district in the 990s and in Trivandrum district in early 1000s. The Chola subjugation of Kerala can be dated to the early years of the 11th century.[21] The Senur inscription (1005 CE) of Rajaraja states that he destroyed the Pandya capital Madurai; conquered the "haughty kings" of Kollam (Venad), Kolla-desham (Mushika), and Kodungallur (the Chera Perumal).[21][22] Some of these victories in Malainadu were perhaps won by prince Rajendra Chola for his father.[8]

After defeating the Pandyas, Rajaraja adopted the title Pandya Kulashani ("Thunderbolt to the Race of the Pandyas"), and the Pandya country came to be known as "Rajaraja Mandalam" or "Rajaraja Pandinadu".[23] While describing the Rajaraja's campaign in trisanku kastha (the south), the Thiruvalangadu Grant of Rajendra I states that he seized certain royal Amarabhujanga.[24] Identification of this prince (either a Pandya prince or a general of the Pandya king or a Kongu Chera prince) remains unresolved.[8][24] Kongu Desa Rajakkal, a chronicle of the Kongu Nadu region, suggests that this general later shifted his allegiance to Rajaraja, and performed the Chola king's kanakabhisheka ceremony.[24]

After consolidating his rule in the south, Rajaraja assumed the title Mummudi Chola, meaning three Crowned a reference to his control over the three ancient Tamil countries of the Cholas, the Pandyas, and the Cheras.[1]