The Cholas - Longest ruling Dynasty of the South

BACKGROUND

The Southern end of the Indian peninsula situated south of the Krishna River was divided into three kingdoms- Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas. The Chola kingdom, also called Cholamandalam, was situated to the North-East of the territory of the Pandyas, between the Pennar and the Velar rivers. Their chief source of power was centred at Uraiyur which was famous for cotton trade. The Chola capital was situated at Kaveripattanam which was a great centre of trade and commerce and probably had a large dock. Perhaps a Chola king named Elara conquered and ruled over Sri Lanka in the mid second century BCE for nearly 50 years. However, a clear history of the Cholas begins with their famous ruler Karikala in the second century CE. He founded the city of Puhar which is coterminous with Kaveripattanam.

Under Karikala’s successors, Chola power rapidly declined and their capital Kaveripattanam was destroyed. The Chola power was almost wiped out by the attacks of the Pallavas from the north. They re-emerged in the ninth century CE.

SOURCES

The primary sources for the study of Chola history are more than 10,000 inscriptions engraved on copper and stone. They mainly record the endowments and donations made by rulers and other individuals to temples. Land transaction and taxes form an important form of their content. Apart from them, the copper plates contain the royal orders. They also contain details of genealogy, wars, conquests, administrative divisions, local governance, land rights, and various taxes levied.

Important literary sources of that period include the Muvarula and the Kamba Ramayanam. The compilation of hymns shed light on the socio-cultural features of that period. The Uttarameruru inscription of Pranthaka Chola gives details of election to local self-governing bodies. There are also brief references to the Chola country in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and in the Ashokan edicts.

ORIGINS AND POLITICAL HISTORY

The history of the Cholas is divided into four periods-

• The early Cholas of the Sangam literature
• The period between the fall of the Sangam Cholas and the rise of medieval Cholas 
• The dynasty of Vijayalaya Chola
• The later Cholas

The early Cholas

The early Chola kings have been mentioned in Sangam literature. It contains information and stories about mythical Chola kings, e.g., the Chola king Karikala and king Kantaman who was a contemporary of sage Agastya.  They established their capital at Uraiyur and later at Kaveripattanam.

The transition period

This was the period of around three centuries from the end of the Sangam age in about 300 CE to the period of the dominance of the Pandyas and the Pallavas. However not much information about the transition period is available. As per inscriptions found in and around Thanjavur, the reign was ruled by the Muthurajas for three centuries till they were deposed by Vijayalaya Chola between 848-851 CE.

The dynasty of Vijayalaya

Vijayalaya Chola who was a feudatory of the Pallavas took advantage of the conflict between the Pandyas and the Pallavas and captured Thanjavur in about 850 CE. He founded the imperial Chola dynasty and made Thanjavur his capital. The Chola Empire reached its zenith during this period. He took the title of Narkesari. Vijayalaya was succeeded by Aditya I who defeated the Pandyas of Madurai in 885 CE and occupied large parts of the Kannada country. He also established matrimonial alliances with the Western Ganga dynasty. He was succeeded by his son Parantaka I who conquered Sri Lanka and defeated Krishna III of the Rashtrakuta dynasty in the battle of Vallala.

The greatest rulers of this dynasty were Rajaraja Chola and Rajendra Chola. During their reign the Chola Empire extended from northern parts of Sri Lanka in the south to the Godavari-Krishna River basin in the north and covered the Konkan coast and the entire Malabar Coast along with Lakshadweep and Maldives.

Rajaraja Chola attacked Sri Lanka and defeated Mahendra V. He destroyed Anuradhapur which was the capital of northern Sri Lanka and brought it under his control. To strengthen local self-government and effectively use the resources of his empire, he conducted a land survey in 1000 CE. He started the practice of writing history on inscriptions. Rajaraja Chola constructed the Brihadeshwara Temple in Thanjavur which is also known as the Rajarajeshwar Temple. This temple known for its high, lofty peak was constructed in 1010 CE and RBI issued a coin of INR 1000 in its memory in 2010.

Rajaraja Chola was succeeded by his son Rajendra Chola who proved to be a capable son of a capable father.  He ascended the throne in 1014 CE and ruled till 1044 CE. He adopted the titles of Pandit Chola and Gangaikonda and named his capital as Gangaikondacholapuram to celebrate his victory in Northern India. He attacked Sri Lanka again, attacked Mahendra V, and brought him to India. He conquered Andaman and Nicobar, Java, Sumatra, and Sudiman Island of the Arabian Sea. Rajendra I’s navy was so strong that during his time the Bay of Bengal was known as “Lake of Cholas.” Rajendra Chola I conquered Odisha and defeated the forces of the Pala dynasty of Bengal. He was a great Shaivite and named the chief deity of the temple constructed by him as Gangaikonda Choleshwar Mahadev.

Three diplomatic missions were sent to China.

Continuous conflicts continued between the Cholas and the Chalukyas from time to time. However, all the efforts of the Chalukyas ended in failure except a brief occupation of Vengi territories between 1118 and 1126 CE. The period between 1150 to 1280 CE saw constant warfare between the Pandyas and the Cholas and regular fights between the Cholas and the Eastern Gangas of Kalinga.

The later Cholas

The later Chola dynasty began with the accession of Kulothunga Chola I who was the son of Ammanga devi (daughter of Rajendra Chola) and Rajaraja Narendra (Eastern Chalukya prince). He was succeeded by a line of capable rulers like Rajaraja Chola II, Rajadhiraja Chola II, and Kulothunga Chola III who conquered Kalinga, Ilam, and Kataha. However, these rulers could not continue the success of the earlier Chola kings and lost control of several parts of the empire. They also lost control over Sri Lanka and were driven out with the revival of the Sinhala power.

The Chola power declined subsequently, and they were routed by the Pandyas.
 

ADMINISTRATION

The Cholas for the first time brought the whole of South India under a single government. Their administration functioned on the principles of democracy with the king as the supreme leader. The temples, apart from being a place of worship, also served as centres of economic activity. The Chola kings granted huge estates of land to Brahmins known as brahmadeyams.

The Chola Empire was divided into several provinces called mandalams which were further subdivided into valanadus. The valanadus were divided into units called nadus. The royal princes oversaw the mandalams while the valanadu was under periyanattar and nadu under nattar.

At the local level, every village was a self-governing unit. A number of villages constituted a large group known as kurram, nadu, or kottam. A number of kurrams constituted a valanadu. The villages of the brahamanas were known as agraharas and they were ruled by sabha or mahasabha which had the power to impose taxes in the village. The non-brahmin villages were ruled by ur and had people belonging to all the classes and the towns were ruled by nagaram or manigramam.

Every village was divided into 30 wards and one person was elected from each ward through lottery. Qualifications to contest elections were also laid down and some of the terms were:

• The age of the contestant must be between 35-70 years.
• He should have knowledge of Vedas.
• He should have his own house and a land of 1.5 acres.
• The candidate and his family should not have a criminal background.

From the sabha of 30 members three different committees were formed-

• A 12 membered annual committee
• A 12 membered garden committee
• A 5 membered pond committee

MILITARY

The Cholas maintained a large army consisting of infantry, cavalry, and elephants. These were known as three limbs of the army. According to the Venetian traveller Marco Polo all the bodyguards of the king burnt themselves in the funeral pyre of the dead king.

REVENUE

The department of land revenue was known as puravuvari tinaikkalam. The various units of land measurement were kuli, ma, veli, patti, padagam, etc. and the tax rates were based on the fertility of the soil. Besides land revenue tolls, customs on goods were levied and there were various kinds of taxes on ceremonial occasions like marriages and judicial fines.

RELIGION

The Chola rulers were ardent Shaivites. Shiva was the predominant god for the Cholas and Nataraja was their national symbol. The iconic form of Shiva was Lingodbhava and the Nataraja idol was the human form.

A highly evolved philosophical system Shaiva Siddhanta emerged during this period.

SOCIETY

The Chola period saw the consolidation of Aryanisation and the caste system became widely prevalent in the society. The four-fold division became more defined and the Chola society saw the division of caste into Idangai and Vadangai. A process of Sanskrititsation started, in which the lower classes imitated the tradition of the upper class. Ideological differences rose between the Vaishnavites and the Shaivites.

The position of women in the Chola society degraded after the practice of Sati became sacred. A new social evil called the Devadasi system came into practice leading to further degradation in the position of the women.

LITERATURE AND ARCHITECTURE

The Chola period was the golden age for the development of literature and architecture. During this period Tamil and Sanskrit language flourished and many master works were composed. A few of them are-

• Kamban Ramayan by Kamban
• Periyapuranam or Tiruttondapuranam by Sekkilar
• Kalladam by Kalladanar
• Nannaranava by Kesava Swami
• Nalavenba by Pugalendi, etc.

The Dravida temple art reached its zenith during the Chola period. They borrowed certain Pallava art features like lion motifs, tigers, and addied greater refinements. To ensure greater durability, they used stone instead of bricks. The temples contain beautiful sculptures of birds, dancing figurines, and other pictorial stories from Puranas. Some temples have portraits of the kings and queens.

The temples constructed in the Dravida style had a Garbhagriha (deity room), Vimana, Shikhara, Mandapa, and lofty gates. Dvarpalas at the entrance of the Mandapas became a unique feature. Ganas and Yazhi which was a recurring pattern of the sculpted mythical animals was also a unique feature of the temples. Presence of water tank is a unique feature of Chola architecture. Some of the examples of the Chola masterpieces include the Brihadeshwara temple, the Vijayalaya temple, the Darasuram temple, and Gangaikondacholapuram.

The Chola bronze idols were made using the cire-perdu or the lost wax technique. Chola bronzes are some of the most sought-after collections in the world. The well-known dancing figure of Shiva as Nataraja was fully developed during this period. The 9th century Kalyanasundara murti (ceremony of marriage) depicting the marriage of Shiva and Parvati and the Ardhanarishvara murti representing the union of Shiva and Parvati are also masterpieces of this period. The later phase of Chola art in the 13th century is illustrated by the sculpture showing goddess Bhudevi, the goddess of Earth, as the youngest consort of Vishnu. The Chola bronzes are considered among the finest in the world.