Rajadhiraja I

Regency

Rajadhiraja Chola was made co-regent in 1018, when he was only 24.

In 1044 AD, Rajadhiraja became the sole occupant of the Chola throne. He tried to assist in the consolidation of his empire by associating his younger brother Rajendra II and his sons with different parts of the conquered territories.Rajathiraja gave them the titles of 'Vanavan' (for the Chera country); 'Minavan' (for the old Pandya kingdom); 'Vallaban' (for Chalukya territory, after, probably, his defeat of Someshwara I); 'Tennavan' (for Southern Pandya dominions); 'Gangan' (for the Gangavadi province); 'King of Lanka' (for Ceylon); 'Pallavan' (for the former Pallava kingdom); and 'Protector of the people of Kanyakubja' (probably after his defeat of the Singhalese prince, Vira Salamegha, who was said to have come to the island from Kannauj).

Military campaigns

Revolts in Lanka

The Buddhist text Mahavamsa shows that the years following the defeat and deportation of the Sinhalese king Mahinda V by Rajendra in 1017 CE were filled with revolt and anarchy due uprisings by the Sinhalese subjects against the reign of the Chola invaders. Mahinda was captured and transported to the Chola country as prisoner where he died 12 years later. Mahinda's son Kassapa had formed the resistance against the Chola occupiers and the revolts were centered on Kassapa.

Kassapa managed to face off the almost 95,000 strong Chola army for over six months and push them northwards from the Rohana area in southern Sri Lanka he then crowned himself Vikramabahu in 1029 C.E. Cholas never intended to subjugate the entire island of Sri Lanka and only occupied the whole island for a period of about 10 years. Sinhalese resistance was assisted by various Pandyan princes against their common enemy. Pandyas had a very close political as well as marital relationship with the Sinhalese.

During Rajadhiraja's reign this became very acute as Vikramabahu launched an all out attack on the Tamil armies to expel them from the island. He was assisted by a Pandya prince Vikarama Pandya and Jagatpala, a prince from the distant Kanyakubja in northern India. Rajadhiraja's forces battled and killed these princes.

The version of the Mahavamsa has to be taken in the right perspective in that it states itself to be a Buddhist chronicle and its point of view is only supposed to favour Buddhist subjects. We cannot expect it to speak in very complimentary terms about non-Buddhist kings. In any case, at least in war, the Cholas were known to be very uncompromising with their enemies and believed in eliminating them rather than setting them free. whether it was the "Chalukyas", "Pandyas" or the "Sinhalese kings"... their treatment was the same, which the Mahavamsa chroniclers found inhuman.

The Chola provinces in Lanka were a separate administrative division of the empire. The deep southern half was however a Sinhalese stronghold in perpetual conflict with the Cholas. Prince Kitti, son of Vikramabahu became Vijayabahu in 1058 CE and took over the leadership of the resistance. The generals of Cholas executed the captured Lankan generals along with their family members.

Continuing Chalukya Wars

Rajadhiraja's first invasion of the Chalukya country resulted he defeated Someshvara I and causing his sons Vikramaditya VI and Vijayaditya to flee in the Battle of Pundur. He pursued the Chalukyas and drove them over the Tungabhadra northwards as far as Kollippakkai (Kulpak) and destroyed that town. These events are given in the inscriptions of the 26th year. Rajadhiraja, eager to subdue the rising power of the Western Chalukyas and to restore Chola influence with the Eastern Chalukyas in Vengi, personally led an expedition into the Telugu country in 1046 CE. He defeated the Western Chalukya forces in the Battle of Dannada on the river Krishna and set fire to their fort. This expedition was followed by number of raids into the Chalukya country by the Chola army after defeating the Chalukyas in the Battle of Kampili which they captured several generals together with numerous women's and feudatories of Chalukyas and demolished the Chalukya palace at Kampili. The victorious Chola forces crossed the Krishna river and erected a victory pillar at a place called Yadgir. Cholas also placed a victory pillar in Kolhapur or Kollapuram in Maharashtra.The victorious Rajadhiraja entered the capital of the vanquished Chalukyas and his coronation was performed at 'Kalyanapura', subsequent to which he assumed the title Vijayarajendra. Someshvara I was banished to places like Rodda, Kadambalige and Kogali 1000 territories in the Nolambavadi areas[**].

In 1050 CE Chalukya king Someshvara reneged on his payment of tribute to his Chola overlords and usurped the Chalukya throne from the Chola viceroy in Kalyani(modern Basavakalyan). He also sent an expedition to Vengi in order to re-inforce Western Chalukyan hegemony over the Eastern Chalukyas, whom they always regarded as their dominions. It is also speculated that Someshvara I 'may' have captured Kanchi and Kalinga. However, according to Nilakanta Sastri and Majumdar, these are baseless claims because Someshvara I had as his feudatories the Uchangi Pandyas and the Nolamba Pallavas who had provided shelter to his predecessors Jayasimha-II and Satyashraya. The Nolamba Pallavas pompously held the birudas 'Lord of Kanchi', which may lead one to believe that the feudatories of the Chalukyas were ruling from Kanchi or occupying Kanchipuram, both of which presumptions are false. Also, the Cholas were controlling Kalinga through the Vengi Kings like Vimaladitya and Raja Raja Narendra who were related to the Chola Kings. While Someshvara-I did destabilise Vengi by temporarily displacing Rajaraja Narendra, this act also initially disturbed Chola connections with Kalinga. This however, was short-lived for immediately Rajadhiraja-I set off for war against Someshvara-I and that too not at Vengi or Kalinga but by the Chalukya capital itself. But that was after thoroughly preparing himself for war before which he undertook in 1052, the task of anointing his younger brother Rajendra Chola II as co-regent in preference to his own sons. The latter seems to have ascended the throne in 12th for he has the title Rajakesari from then on. When these tasks were completed, in 1054 Rajadhiraja invaded the Chalukyan territory[**].

Rajadhiraja invaded Rattamandalam (southern Karnataka) and immediately seized many of the southern parts of Chalukyan territory like Uchangi, Nulambavadi, Kadambalige, Kogali etc. These developments shook Someshvara-I, who had given himself the title of Trailokyamalla after installing his puppet in Vengi and he had to rush back to save his own kingdom and he had no option but to march against the marauding Chola armies. The two armies met at a place called Koppam on the banks of the Krishna River[**].

Inscriptions

Rajadhiraja's inscriptions begin with the introduction tingaler-taru. The following is an inscription from the Svetaranyesvara temple in Tiruvenkadu, a few miles from Vaitheeswaran temple. It mentions the king's father, i.e., emperor Rajendra I

Records that one Ambalan Seyyavayar set up the image of Picchadevar (Bhikshatana), gave lands for its requirements, presented gold and silver ornaments, opened a charity house and provided for its maintenance. The same person is said to have obtained lands for the temple from the king's father (Rajendra I), who was pleased to take Purvadesam, Ganga and Kadaram.

There is another inscription of the king his 29th regnal year from the Manimangalam village about donation of land which speaks on a detailed way his military achievements. Inscription goes on to describe the following:

a. Appointment of his 7 relatives as governors to Chera, Chalukya, Pandya, Ganga, Ceylon, Pallava and Kanyakubja (Kannauj – UP).

b. Victorious war against ahavamalla, vikki, vijayaditya who are Someswarar I, Vikramaditya VI and Vijayaditya respectively of Western Chalukya and the burning of Kollipakai.

c. His exploits at Ceylon where he attacked its four kings (Vikramabahu, Veera Salamegan, Vikrama Pandya and Srivallabha madanaraja) . Out of four, vira salamegan had initially ruled over Kannauj.

d. On his second raid to chalukyan kingdom, he went on to burn Kampili and he died on the battle field at Kopam. There is one inscription by Western Chalukya which was inscribed in Annigere which talks of a wicked chozha who had abandoned his religious practices and burned Jaina temples and ultimately yielded his head to someswara.

Another inscription of the king from a temple in Chengalpattu district is as follows,

A record of the Chola king Rajakesari Varma alias Udaiyar Rajadhiraja Deva (I). Records in his thirty first year, a sale of land by the assembly of the brahmadeya villages of Sundarasola-chatuvedimangalam and Vanavanmahadevi-chaturvedimangalm. It was purchased by Nagalavvaichchani alias Ariyammai, wife of Prabhakara Bhatta, a resident of Megalapuram in the Arya-desa and a devotee of the temple of Tiruvorriyurudaiaya Mahadeva. The purchased land was given to the matha called Rajendrasolan which was built by that lady. Records also other sales of land to the same lady and for the same purpose, by residents of Ennoor in Navalur-nadu, which was a sub-division of Pularkottam and by the merchants (nagarattaar) of Tiruvorriyur in the years thirty-one and twenty-seven of the same reign.

From an inscription from the 29th year of his reign from the Rajagopala Perumal temple we understand that he defeated several warriors of the Chalukyan army, the most notable being Vikki (Vikramaditya), Vijayadityan and Sangamayan. In addition, it also shows the various kingdoms that acknowledged his supremacy. Here is an excerpt:

Here is an excerpt of an inscription from the Chikballapur district of Karnataka. It gives a brief overview of some of the king's exploits while he was still a co-regent of his predecessor (original in Tamil and Grantha alphabet):

The officer Vira Vichchadira (Vidyadhara) Muvendavelar...gave for the god Maha Nandiswara Udaya Mahadeva, on the Nandi hill in Kalavara Ndu, a plate of gold weighing by the standard of the city, 2.5 kalanju and 1 manjadi, as an ornament to be worn by the god for as long as the sun and the moon exist.

Here is the inscription from Kolar in Karnataka:

Sometime after he ascended the throne, he placed Rajendra Chola II as a co-regent. Rajendra Chola II would reign alongside Rajadhiraja until the latter's death after which he ascended the throne.

Death and legacy

Main article: Battle of Koppam

Personal life

Rajadhiraja employed his uncle and his brothers in important offices of state and constituted them as subordinate rulers of regions of his empire. We know of the title (Trilokyam Udaiyar) rather than the actual name of a queen. His queens do not figure prominently in his records. Apart from Vijaya Rajendra, he took the titles of Virarajendra Varman, Ahavamally Kulantaka and Kalyanapurangondachola. His children seem to have been overlooked in the succession to the Chola throne for a brief time.

Officials

Vira-Vichchadira (Vidyadhara)-Muvendavelan was a prominent military officer of Rajadhiraja. He has made several generous donations to the various temples in Kalavara Nadu, a sub-division of Nigarili-Chola-Mandalam (part of present-day Karnataka) where he was deployed. Vettan Panachanadi-Vānan alias Madurāntaka-tTamil-pperaiyan of Tandāngurai in Vilānādu belonging to the Pandikulasani valanadu of Sola-mandalam was the overseer of the dandanayakas. Santi Kuttan Tiruvalan Tirumud Kunran alias Vijaya Rajendra Acharyan, an actor was in charge of the troupe that were responsible for enacting the Rajarajeswara Natakam (a musical), in the Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur. Velala Madurantakam alias Dandanayakan Rajadhiraja Ilangovelan was another officer from Nadar, a village of Tiraimur-nadu which was a sub-division of Uyyakondan-valanadu in Sola-mandalam. He has donated 90 sheep to a temple in Tiruvorriyur during the 3rd year of the reign of Rajendra Chola II when the latter was still a co-regent of the king.

Religion

Like his father, he too was a devout of Shaivisim. The Shaiva Siddhanta school of thought was prevalent and the Bhakti poetry of the Nayanars were encouraged and sang in the temples. We have a record dated in the twenty eighth year of the king's reign from the Adhipurisvara temple in Tiruvorriyur which mentions the Tiruttondatogai of Sundarar and the names of the sixty three Nayanars.

Notes

References

• Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1935). The CōĻas, University of Madras, Madras (Reprinted 1984).
• Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1955). A History of South India, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002).
• South Indian shrines: illustrated By P. V. Jagadisa Ayyar
• The Chālukyas of Kalyāṇa and the Kalachuris By Balakrishnan Raja Gopal

References

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32. ''South Indian shrines: illustrated, page 53''
33. P. V. Jagadisa Ayyar. "South Indian Shrines: Illustrated". Asian Educational Services, 1982 - Hindu shrines - 638 pages.