Rajaraja Chola II - Successor of Kulothunga Chola II
Rajaraja Chola II was born in Gangaikondacholapuram in modern day Tamil Nadu. Brave since his childhood, he was appointed the co-regent and heir apparent by his father Kulothunga Chola II. He had three chief queens namely Avanimulududiyal, Bhuvanimulududiyal, and Ulagudai Mukkokilan. He was the father of Kulothunga Chola III and the grandfather of Rajaraja Chola III, all of whom assumed the Chola throne in the future.
REIGN
After ascending the throne in 1150 CE, Rajaraja Chola II proved to be a capable yet a weak ruler. He inherited a vast kingdom from his father which included Madurai, Kongunadu, Thirunelvelli, Nellore, Guntur, Vijaywada, Rajamundry, and Kalinga. He also had Northern Sri Lanka under his control.
According to inscriptions Rajaraja Chola II ruled for approximately 26 years, yet no new conquests were made by him. We find the records of his invasion of the Sri Lankan country in some of his poems.
The Pandyas who continuously revolted against the Cholas since the reign of Aditya Chola I had become more powerful under the leadership of capable Pandya kings like Maravaraman Sundar Pandya and Jatavaraman Vira Pandya who had increased their military strength considerably. The civil unrest in the Pandya country which was under Chola rule and the revolt of the Cheras against the Cholas during the reign of Rajaraja Chola II weakened the strength of the Chola Empire. The resources were also exhausted due to the constant military occupancy and conflicts.
The latter half of his reign was quite peaceful except for some minor disturbances. A famine occurred during his reign which further caused a civil disturbance, but he was able to keep a check on the situation as well as his adversaries.
CULTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS
The most significant cultural achievement of the reign of Rajaraja Chola II is the construction of the Airavateshwar temple at Kumbakonam which is included in the UNESCO list of world heritage sites. This forms one of the trinities of the great living Chola temples along with the Brihadeshwar temple and the Gangaikondacholapuram temple.
The walls of this temple contain innumerable miniature sculptures depicting stories from the Ramayana and other stories of Shiva-Parvati and Kartikeya.
Rajaraja Chola II also made a number of grants to the temples at Tanjore, Madurai, and Trichy.
Rajaraja Chola II made Rajadhiraja Chola II as the co-regent in 1163 CE who was his sister's son, as Rajaraja Chola II himself did not have any sons till that time. Later he had two sons, but he was succeeded by Rajadhiraja Chola II in 1166 CE. His own son Kulothunga Chola III became the Chola king later.
