Battle of Chevur - Assassination of Aditya Chola II
Parantaka Chola II or Madhurantakan Sundara Chola was the son of Arinjaya Chola and Kalyani, a princess from the clan of Vaidumbas. Parantaka Chola II probably ruled for 12 years from 957-970 CE. When he ascended the throne, the size of the Chola kingdom had become very small and it had become powerless. On the other hand, the Pandyas, the rivals of the Cholas, had regained their power and ancestral lands. At that time the ruler of the Pandyan Empire was Vira Pandya. Immediately after becoming king, Parantaka Chola II directed his attention towards the growing strength of the Pandyas in the South. After repulsing Ganaraditya’s attempts to restore Chola supremacy in the Pandyan kingdom, Vira Pandya was ruling as an independent ruler. Parantaka Chola II carefully planned an attack on the Pandyan Empire. He gave a battalion of the army to be led by his son Aditya Chola I. The invading Chola army met the Pandyas at Chevur.
BATTLE
According to the Leyden copper plate inscription, Parantaka Chola II caused rivers of blood to flow in this battle. Aditya Chola II as a 12 year old boy accompanied his father to the battlefield and fought with great courage. This battle also finds place in several other inscriptions. The enemy troops were destroyed and Vira Pandya took refuge in the Sahiyatri mountain. He was being helped by the ruler of Ceylon, and the Chola army was badly defeated. Furious with this Aditya Chola II joined himself with another wing of the Chola army and a furious battle took place between both sides. Aditya Chola II destroyed everyone who came in his way and the Pandya troops started to run for their lives. They were chased by him and slaughtered. Vira Pandya was brutally defeated by Parantaka Chola II and his son Aditya Chola II. An inscription about Aditya Chola II refers to him as “Vira Pandyan Thalai Konda Adithha Karikalan” which means Aditya Karikalan who took the head of Vira Pandyan. Aditya Chola II chopping Vira Pandya’s head is depicted in the movie Ponniyin Selvan-I which is an official adaptation of author Kalki Krishnamurthy's 1955 Tamil novel of the same name.
After this war, Parantaka Chola II continued to invade and annex more parts of the Pandyan Empire. At that time, Sri Lankan king Mahinda IV was an ally of the Pandyan Empire and as a result, the Cholas also invaded the Sri Lankan empire.
AFTERMATH
Aditya Chola II was brutally killed by the Pandyas in order to avenge the death of Vira Pandya and as a result, the tragedy shook the entire Chola Empire as well as Parantaka Chola II. After his death, Uttama Chola forced Parantaka Chola II to declare him as heir apparent. Parantaka Chola II accepted his demand on the condition that after Uttama Chola, the children of Aditya Chola II would succeed to the throne and the wish was fulfilled. Later Parantaka Chola II died a broken-hearted man.
