RAJENDRA CHOLA

INTRODUCTION AND EARLY LIFE

The king who crossed the borders of India, the king who never lost a battle, this article is about RAJENDRA CHOLA of Chola empire of Tamil Nadu.

Rajendra Chola had mastered the skills of warfare in his tender age. During his father's rule, Rajendra moved his sword to challenge the Rashtrakuta empire. His army stomped over the Rashtrakuta's territories which gave him access to a Major section of Karnataka and South Maharashtra till Pandharpur and Kolhapur.

CAMPAIGN OF SRI LANKA

Rajendra planned to start a new campaign over the island of Sri Lanka. The campaign was successful after the Cholan army got the control of 'Anuradhapura' the capital of Sinhala kingdom. Mahinda V of Sinhala kingdom was kept in prison in mainland India, and passed away almost 12 years later. Mahinda's son Kassapa (Vikramabahu) seeked revenge against the Cholas. He led a successful rebellion against the Chola(n) rule and drove Cholas out of the South east Sri Lanka.

Kassapa died soon, and government of Sinhala fell. Pandya kingdom of South India seized the opportunity and got control of south-west island. Cholas waged a war against the Pandyas and were successful. This gave Cholas full fledge access to Sri Lanka

BRIEF RAID ON THE CHERAS AND PANDYAS Rajendra raided the kingdom of Pandya and Chera (Kerala) and appointed his son (Jatavarman Sundara Chola-Pandya) as the viceroy for these territories with Madurai as the capital.

CHALUKYAN CONFLICT

While Rajendra was managing the situation of Sri Lanka, Chalukyas under Jayasimha started attacking territories on the Cholan territories over the western flank. Satyasraya of Chalukya had lost battles against Rajendra Chola's father Rajaraja Chola, so when Jayasimha succeeded Satyasraya he swore to defeat the Chola empire. Rajendra Chola had his eyes glued to the north of India, and his barrier was the Chalukya kingdom. Rajendra Chola was waiting to seize the opportunity, to defeat the Chalukyas. In the eastern Chalukya region of Vengi, a war had broke out between Chalukyan Vijayaditya VII and the Cholan Rajara Narendran over the throne of Vengi. Jayasimha took Vijayaditya's side. When Rajendra heard of disturbances in the Chalukyan frontier, he had no choice but to get involved in the conflict. Rajendra boosted Rajaraja's army with professional modern Cholan army. Chola's fought against Jayasimha's army and won the battle. Jayasimha ran away from the battlefield but the Chola's were not able to route him. Rajaraja Narendra was crowned as the king of Vengi, but he was later drove away by Jayasimha, who announced Vijayaditya as the king. Rajendra came back on the scene and sent Chola army to Kalidandi, defeating Vijayaditya once and for all. Chalukyas did not interfere in further military campaigns of Cholas.

NORTH INDIAN CAMPAIGN

Now Rajendra Chola after weeding out the Chalukyas, he wanted to continue his campaign towards the north. It started with Chola(n) forces defeating King Indraratha of Somavamsi dynasty who ruled over the territory of Kalinga (Odisha) and moved towards the kingdom of Pala of Bengal.

FACE-OFF WITH THE PALAS

Pala was a strong and renowned empire of that time who controlled the rich and fertile plains of the Bengal region. Rajendra knew the importance of that region, especially for it's coast. The Cholas rode theirway to the bank of the river Ganga, where Raja Mahipala of the Pala empire was waiting to block the Chola army.

The Chola(n) army crossed the river to challenge the mighty Pala empire. A fierce battle ensued between the two sides for a long time. The efficient yet strong Chola(n) forces were no match for the Pala(n) forces. Palas lost the battle and had to retreat.

WAY AHEAD TO THE NORTH

There was no stopping for Rajendra now. He went one by one for the north Indian kingdoms. This campaign begun with a powerful blow to the kingdom of Mathuramandalam (Mathura, Uttar Pradesh). During the campaign the Cholas even made friendly ties with Kalachuria, Chandelas (Rajputs) and the Paramaras. Cholan army continued capturing kingdoms in Haryana and East Punjab (Now in Pakistan). It is said that Cholan forces went up till Purvadesam of Gandhara (Udhampur, Kashmir). Cholan army waved their flag in Chattisgarh, thus ending southern invasion in the north.

People believe that Rajendra's intention for the northern invasion was to help his ally Paramara Bhoj of Malwa (Madhya Pradesh) to defeat Mahmud Ghazni. Yet that is unclear. After the campaign, Rajendra Chola shifted the capital of Chola from Thanjavur (Tanjore) to Gangaikondacholapuram. This episode of Rajendra Chola gave the ultimate testimonial of the mighty southern powers to the North Indian kingdoms and empires.

SOUTH-EAST ASIAN CAMPAIGN

Cholas had a strong navy for trading abroad. In many Chinese texts from the Song dynasty reference of the Cholas under Rajaraja Chola (Father of Rajendra Chola) having strong diplomatic alliance with the Chinese has been discovered.

Chola's economy was primarily dependent on trading for which the South east asian empires of Srivijaya (Malaysia), Thailand, Cambodia, Sumatra (Indonesia) were important. These kingdoms used to act as a mediator between Tamil traders and the Chinese kingdoms, so Rajendra wanted to control these areas for easier complete access to important trading routes.

During this time Khmer Surayavarman of Southeast Asia waged war against Tambralinga. Suryavarmana seeked help from Rajendra Chola. After learning about the advancements, Tamrablinga sided up with Srivijaya empire of Indonesia. Rajendra found this as a good opportunity to start a campaign against the Srivijaya empire. He sent a strong fleet of Chola(n) Navy to Srivijaya and Sumatra. The Chola(n) army left no chance of defeat and captured the two kingdoms of Indonesia. Rajendra then moved to Malaysia and soon Thailand. On the way home, they captured Mauritius and the Andaman and Nicobar islands. But they diverted their fleet to Myanmar for more coastal areas, thus winning almost the whole South and South east Asian coastal region. This expedition paved for Cholan monopoly over Asian trading.

Influence of the Chola empire on global level

LEGACY OF RAJENDRA CHOLA (CONCLUSION)

Rajendra Chola planned to retire for the rest of his life. A long yet glorious reign of Rajendra Chola was continued by his sons, who suppressed rebellions and maintained the empire. Rajendra passed away at Brahmadesam, Tamil Nadu. His legacy is unheard to many, but it is worth a recognition by many. Very few people are familiar with Chola(n) invasions across India and even abroad.

Temple built by Rajendra Chola at Gangaikondacholapuram