Rajadhiraja Chola

Infobox Chola | name=Rajadhiraja Chola
tamil = இராஜாதிராஜ சோழன்


caption = "Chola territories c.1055 C.E."
title = Rajakesari
reign= 1018 C.E. - 1054 C.E.
capital = Gangaikonda Cholapuram
queen= Trilokyam Udaiyar
children= Two sons, names unknown
predecessor= Rajendra Chola I
heir= Rajendra Chola II
father= Rajendra Chola I
year of birth= Unknown
year of death= 1054 C.E.

Rajadhiraja Chola I (Tamil: முதலாம் இராஜாதிராஜ சோழன்) (1018 – 1054 C.E.) reigned over South India as the Chola king succeeding his father Rajendra Chola I in the 11th century. During his reign, he maintained the Chola authority over most of Lanka, Vengi, Kalinga and the relations with overseas domains despite a series of revolts in the territory. He had fought a protracted battle with the Chalukyas during which he lost his own life.

Rajadhiraja Chola’s record shows that he was a born fighter who was very capable of maintaining an overgrown empire with eternal internal and external conflicts.

Long Apprenticeship

Rajendra Chola I made his son Rajadhiraja Chola co-regent very early in his reign (1018). From that day forward, father and son ruled together and shared the burdens of the empire. From the inscriptions of both Rajendra and Rajadhiraja it is evident that Rajadhiraja ruled in full regal status in the lifetime of his father. Rajadhiraja was at the forefront of most of Rajendra’s military campaigns.

Military Campaigns

Revolts in Lanka

The Buddhist text "Mahavamsa" shows that the years following the defeat and deportation of the Sinhala king Mahinda V by Rajendra in 1017 CE were filled with revolt and anarchy due uprisings by the Sinhala subjects against the reign of the Chola invaders. Mahinda was captured and transported to the Chola country as prisoner where he died 12 years later. Mahinda’s son Kassapa had formed the resistance against the Chola occupiers and the revolts were centred around Kassapa.See Sastri, KAN, "A History of South India", p165]

Kassapa managed to face off the almost 95,000 strong Chola army for over six months and push them northwards from the Rohana area in southern Sri Lanka he then crowned himself Vikramabahu in 1029 C.E. Cholas never intended to subjugate the entire island of Sri Lanka and only occupied the whole island for a period of about 10 years. Sinhalese resistance was assisted by various Pandyan princes against their common enemy. Pandyas had a very close political as well as marital relationship with the Sinhalese.

During Rajadhiraja’s reign this became very acute as Vikramabahu launched an all out attack on the Tamil armies to expel them from the island. He was assisted by a Pandya prince Vikarama Pandya and Jagatpala, a prince from the distant Kanauj in North India. Rajadhiraja’s forces battled and killed these princes.See Sastri, KAN, "A History of South India", p167]

The version of the "Mahavamsa" has to be taken in the right perspective in that it states itself to be a Buddhist chronicle and its point of view is only supposed to favour Buddhist subjects. We cannot expect it to speak in very complimentary terms about non-Buddhist kings. In any case, at least in war, the Cholas were known to be very uncompromising with their enemies and believed in eliminating them rather than setting them free. whether it was their adversaries the Chalukyas, Pandyas or the Ilangai kings... their treatment was the same, which the "Mahavamsa" chroniclers found inhuman.

The Chola provinces in Lanka were a separate administrative division of the empire. The southern half was however a Sinhala stronghold in perpetual conflict with the Cholas. Prince Kitti, son of Vikramabahu became Vijayabahu in 1058 CE and took over the leadership of the resistance. [See Mendis, GC, p53]

Continuing Chalukya Wars

Rajadhiraja, eager to subdue the rising power of the Western Chalukyas and to restore Chola influence with the Eastern Chalukyas in Vengi, personally led an expedition into the Telugu country in 1046 CE. He defeated the Western Chalukya forces in a battle at Dannada on the river Krishna and set fire to their fort.See Sastri, KAN, "A History of South India", p168] This expedition was followed by number of raids into the Chalukya country by the Chola army in which they captured several generals and feudatories of Chalukya, demolished the Chalukya palace at Kampali. The victorious Chola forces crossed the Krishna river and erected a victory pillar at a place called Yetagiri. After more fighting, Kalyani, the capital of Chalukya was sacked. The victorious Rajadhiraja entered the capital of the vanquished Chalukyas and his coronation was performed at 'Kalyanapura', subsequent to which he assumed the title Vijayarajendra. [Inscriptions in the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram records that an image from Kalyanapura was brought to the temple by Rajadhiraja after his capture of the capital of the Chalukyas. See P.V. Jagadisa Ayyar, p 353] [See Richard Davis, p 51] Somesvara I was banished to places like Rodda, Kadambalige and Kogali 1000 territories in the Nolambavadi areas.

In 1050 CE Chalukya king Somesvara succeeded in expelling the Chola forces from his territories. He also sent an expedition to Vengi in order to re-inforce Western Chalukyan hegemony over the Eastern Chalukyas, whom they always regarded as their dominions. It is also speculated that Somesvara I 'may' have captured Kanchi and Kalinga. (However, these are baseless claims because Somesvara I had as his feudatories the Uchangi Pandyas and the Nolamba Pallavas who had provided shelter to his predecessors Jayasimha-II and Satyashraya. The Nolamba Pallavas pompously held the birudas 'Lord of Kanchi', which may lead one to believe that the feudatories of the Chalukyas were ruling from Kanchi or occupying Kanchipuram, both of which presumptions are false. Also, the Cholas were controlling Kalinga through the Vengi Kings likie Vimaladitya and Raja Raja Narendra who were related to the Chola Kings. While Somesvara-I did destabilize Vengi by temporarily displacing Rajaraja Narendra, this act also initially disturbed Chola connections with Kalinga. This however, was short-lived for immediately Rajadhiraja-I set off for war against Somesvara-I and that too not at Vengi or Kalinga but by the Chalukya capital itself. But that was after thoroughly preparing himself for war before which he undertook in 1052, the task of anointing his younger brother Rajendra Chola II as co-regent (Yuvaraja) in preference to his own sons. When these tasks were completed, in 1054 Rajadhiraja invaded the Chalukyan territory.

Rajadhiraja invaded Rattamandalam (southern Karnataka) and immediately seized many of the southern parts of Chalukyan territory like Uchangi, Nulambavadi, Kadambalige, Kogali etc. These developments shook Somesvara-I, who had given himself the title of Trailokyamalla after installing his puppet in Vengi and he had to rush back to save his own kingdom and he had no option but to march against the marauding Chola armies. The two armies met at a place called Koppam on the banks of the Krishna River.

Death on the Battlefield

The battle of Koppan was a long and hard-fought one for both sides. In the early stages of the Koppam battle, Rajadhiraja himself led the armies with Rajendra Chola II holding himself in reserve. Rajadhiraja was in the thick of battle, riding a war elephant while directing his troops. The Chalukya forces surrounded the elephant in which Rajadhiraja was on, and wounded him mortally. Rajadhiraja fell dead in the battlefield. [See Sastri KAN, "The Colas", p257]

Inscriptions of Rajendra II state that ‘the valiant king, seeing the retreat of his soldiers, entered the fray shouting out to his forces, ‘Fear not’ and pressed forward with his elephant and restored order in his army. The enemy concentrated on the king’s elephant and with a shower of arrows pierced the forehead of the elephant and the royal thighs and shoulders.

Rajendra II immediately took to the field, and turned defeat into victory conquering the Chalukya forces. Rajendra crowned himself Chola king on the battlefield, continued the battle. [See Scharfe H, p83] See Sastri, KAN, "A History of South India", p169]

Thus perished one of the greatest and bravest warriors in the Chola dynasty. From the manner of his death, Rajadhiraja came to be known as "Yanai-mel-thunjina Devar" (the king who died on the back of an elephant). From the time he was chosen heir-apparent by his father to the day when he laid down his life on the field of battle, Rajadhiraja led the life of a warrior king and led many campaigns in person. Some of these, like the fatal expedition that led to Koppam were of his own seeking. Rajadhiraja was first and foremost a soldier and possibly his great military talent formed the reason for his being preferred for succession against an elder brother of his.

Personal life

Rajadhiraja employed his father’s brother, his own brothers, elder and younger, in important offices of state and constituted them into subordinate rulers of regions of his empire. We know of the title (Trilokyam Udaiyar) rather than the actual name of a queen. His queens do not figure prominently in his records. Apart from Vijarajendra, he took the titles of Virarajendra Varman, Ahavamally Kulantaka and Kalyanapurangondachola. We have no details of his children or their names. They seem to have been overlooked by Rajadhiraja in the succession to the Chola throne.

Notes

References

*
*cite book |author=Mendis, G. C. |title=The early history of Ceylon, and its relations with India and other foreign countries |publisher=AMS Press |location=New York |year=1975 |pages= |isbn=0-404-54851-2 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=
* Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1935). "The CōĻas", University of Madras, Madras (Reprinted 1984).
* Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1955). "A History of South India", OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002).
*
* South Indian Inscriptions - http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/