Aditya Chola II- The Brave Chola King

BACKGROUND

The Chola kingdom which had seen a glorious time during the reign of Vijayalaya Chola and his successors shrunk to a small principality in the later days. The Pandyas in the South who were earlier defeated, revived themselves later. They went on to defeat the Chola armies and occupied their ancestral lands. It was at this time that Parantaka Chola II, the father of Aditya Chola II ascended the throne. During his reign the Cholas made significant gains and revitalised themselves by conquering and recovering a number of territories.

Aditya II was born as the eldest son to Parantaka II (also known as Sundar Chola) and Vanavan Mahadevi in 942 CE in Tirukoilur located in modern day Tamil Nadu. His other brothers were Rajaraja Chola I and Kundavai.  He was married to Ilada Madeviyar and had a son named Karikala Kannan.

BATTLE OF CHEVUR

The Battle of Chevur is famous in history as the conflict between the Cholas and the Pandyas. As mentioned earlier, the Pandyas had re-established themselves as a powerful empire in the region. Vira Pandya ruled the Pandya kingdom when Parantaka II ascended the Chola throne. After his accession, Parantaka Chola set his eyes on the Pandya kingdom which was gradually strengthening its control in the South. He made his elder son Aditya Chola II the commander of the Chola battalion. Both the armies met each other at Chevur. Vira Pandya was brutally defeated in the battle and was later killed by Aditya II. This episode is mentioned in an inscription which refers to Aditya II as “Vira Pandyan Thalai Konda Aditha Karikalan” means Aditya Karikalan who took Vira Pandya’s head. Later, Parantaka II invaded and annexed more Pandya territories to his kingdom.

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.

ASSASINATION OF ADITYA CHOLA II

A tragedy shook the entire Chola kingdom and old Parantaka Chola II who was taking his last breath when the news of the assassination of Aditya Chola II was reported. According to some theories, he was killed by the supporters of the Pandya king Vira Pandya to avenge his death. The names of the three assassinators have been mentioned in the Udayargudi inscription. However, the three plotters probably did not dare to remain in the territory after committing the murder due to the fear of punishment and so there is no mention of what punishment was handed down to them.

AFTERMATH

The tragic news of the untimely demise of his son was too much for the ears of the ailing father to tolerate. Parantaka II died soon after this incident. However, after Aditya II’s assassination, Uttama Chola forced Paranataka II to make him the heir apparent. His request was granted on the condition that after him, Rajaraja I would be the successor and not the children of Uttama. This condition later led to the beginning of a new golden era for the Chola kingdom.

Parantaka II died in Kanchipuram in his golden palace as a heart broken man due to the personal tragedy.