Military Campaigns in the South of Ancient India
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Modern Statue of Rajaraja I
Thanjavur, formerly Tanjore,[1] is a city in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Great Living Chola Temples, which are UNESCO World Heritage Monuments, are located in and around Thanjavur. The foremost among these, the Brihadeeswara Temple, is located in the center of the city. Thanjavur is also home to Tanjore painting, a painting style unique to the region.
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2. Empire of Raja Raja I
Mahinda V was the king of Sinhalese. In 991 AD, Mahinda’s army mutinied with help from mercenaries from Kerala with Mahinda seeking refuge in the southern region of Ruhuna. Raja Raja invaded Sri Lanka in 993 AD. The Thiruvalangadu copper-plate inscriptions mention that Raja Raja’s army crossed the ocean by ships and destroyed Anuradhapura, the 1400-year-old capital of Sinhalas. Cholas made the city of Polonnaruwa as the capital and renamed it Jananathamangalam. Rajaraja built a Siva temple in Pollonaruwa to commemorate the victory.[36] Raja Raja captured only the northern part of Sri Lanka while the southern part remained independent. His son Rajendra Chola captured the island in 1017 AD and the Chola reign in Sri Lanka was ended by Vijayabahu I in 1070 AD.[37][38]
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3. Statue of Raja Raja
The Cholas controlled the area around of Bay of Bengal with Nagapattinam as the main port. The Chola Navy also had played a major role in the invasion of Sri Lanka.[55] The success of Raja Raja allowed his son Rajendra Chola to lead the Chola invasion of Srivijaya, carrying out naval raids in South-East Asia and briefly occupying Kadaram.[6][56]
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4. Mural Depicting Raja Raja
Rajendra Chola I was made a co-regent during the last years of Raja Raja’s rule. He was the supreme commander of the northern and north-western dominions. During the reign of Raja Chola, there was an expansion of the administrative structure leading to an increase in the number of offices and officials in the Chola records than during earlier periods.[12] Villavan Muvendavelan, one of the top officials of Raja Raja figures in many of his inscriptions.[65] The other names of officials found in the inscriptions are the Bana prince Narasimhavarman, a general Senapathi Krishnan Raman, the Samantha chief Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan, the revenue official Irayiravan Pallavarayan and Kuruvan Ulagalandan, who organized the country-wide land surveys.[66]
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5. Temple built Raja Raja
The vimanam (temple tower) is 216 ft (66 m) high and is the tallest in the world. The Kumbam (the apex or the bulbous structure on the top) of the temple is carved out of a single rock and weighs around 80 tons.[79] There is a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock measuring about 16 feet long and 13 feet high at the entrance. The entire temple structure is made out of granite, the nearest sources of which are about 60 km to the west of the temple. The temple is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu.[80]
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6. Artists Representation of Raja Raja
The Indian Subcontinent was home to many empires and countless cultures which rose and fell throughout its recorded history. Nestled between the Indus and Ganges rivers, Indian civilizations developed a unique culture of unparalelled grandiosity, majesty and refinement. Here, four of those civilizations await your command. The ancient Maurya Empire, forged by the famed Chandragupta in 322 BC and ruled by mighty Ashoka from 268 to 232 BC; the Chola Empire, who under the rule of Raja Raja I entered an age of military, cultural and naval dominance in southern India; the Mughals who blended Indian and Islamic cultures and left a lasting legacy on India as one of her greatest empires; and the Maratha, who conquered the Mughals and ruled India until the invasion of the British.
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7. Similar Portrait
Of the many kings and emperors who ruled South India, the name of Raja Raja Chola stands out. He is famous not just for his extraordinary valor but also his just policies and administrative abilities. Cholas were one of the well-known dynasties south of the Vindhyas along with Pandyas, Cheras, and Pallavas. He not only extended the boundaries of his empire but was the pioneer of naval campaigns. Much like Chhatrapati Shivaji, who ruled several centuries after Raja Raja, he recognized the importance of navy and launched naval campaigns. The architectural marvel called ‘Brihadeeswara Temple’ in Thanjavur, a world heritage monument was commissioned by him and built during his reign. It bears witness to the superior architectural skill of artisans of those days.
8. Statue of Raja Raja
The statue of king Raja Raja cholan on isolated white background
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9. Idols of Raja Raja Chola, consort recovered from Gujarat
Inspector General of Police A.G.Ponn Manickavel told The Hindu, “These two idols were taken away 60 years ago and sold for several crores of rupees through Rao Bahadur Srinivasa Gopalachery, a native of Sarukkai village near Kapisthalam, to Gowtham Sarabhai.”
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10. Raja Raja’s Brother
The original title of Arun mozhivarman (Rajaraja Cholan) was Rajakesari Varman or Mummudi-Sola-Deva. He was the second son of the Parantaka Cholan II alias Sundara Cholan and Vanavan Mahadevi. Rajarajan had an elder sister, Kundavaiyar and an elder brother, Aditya Karikalan. Rajarajan had high regard for his sister, who spent her later life in Tanjore with her younger brother, his first daughter was named after her. Only one son and three daughters of the King are known namely; Rajendra Cholan I, Kundavai, who married the Eastern Chalukya King Vimaladitya, Mahadevadigal and another whose name is not traceable. Rajarajan had a number of queens. Lokamahadevi was probably the chief queen, who built the shrine of Sri Lokamahadesvarar, called Uttara Kailas in the Sri Panchanadisvara temple at Thiruvaiyaru.
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11. Raja Raja talking to someone
Raja Raja Chola I popularly known as Raja Raja the Great, is one of the greatest emperors of the Tamil Chola Empire of India who ruled between 985 and 1014 CE. He established the Chola empire by conquering the kingdoms of southern India expanding the Chola Empire as far as Sri Lanka in the south, and Kalinga (Orissa) in the northeast.
12. Temple of Raja Raja
In his plea, Swaminathan said Raja Raja Cholan, who ruled entire South India from the capital city Thanjavur, built a temple known as Peruvudaiyar Koil. The consecration of this temple, also called Big temple, Raja Rajeswaram and Brahadeeswarar, was held in 1010 AD.
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