Parantaka Chola II

Infobox Chola | name=Sundara Chola (Parantaka II)
tamil = சுந்தர சோழன்


caption = "Chola Territories c. 970 C.E."
title = Rajakesari
reign= ?957 C.E. - ?970 C.E.
capital = Thanjavur
queen= Vanavanmahadevi and others
children= Aditya II (Karikala)
Arulmolivarman
Kundavai
predecessor= Arinjaya
heir= Uttama Chola
father= Arinjaya
year of birth= Unknown
year of death= 973 C.E.

Parantaka Chola II (957 c.e. – 973 c.e.) ruled for approximately twelve years. Parantaka II was also known by the name Sundara Chola. He was the son of Arinjaya Chola. His mother’s name was Kalyani, a princes from the clan of Vaidumbas. Parantaka II ascended the Chola throne despite the fact that Uttama Chola, the son of Gandaraditya, (the elder brother of Arinjaya) was alive and he had equal if not more claim to the Chola throne.

When Parantaka II became king, the Chola kingdom had shrunk to the size of a small principality. The Pandyas in the south had revived their fortune and had defeated the Chola armies and occupied their ancestral lands.

During Parantaka II's reign, foundations were laid to the Chola Empire that in its height stretched from the island of Sri Lanka in the south to the Pala kingdom of Bengal in the north, to the Sri Vijaya kingdom in the east.

Pandyan War

Immediately after becoming the Chola king, Parantaka II’s attention was directed towards the growing strength of the Pandyas in the south. Vira Pandya, having repulsed Gandaraditya’s attempts to restore Chola supremacy in the Pandya country, was ruling as an independent potentate. The invading Chola army met the Pandyas at Chevur.

The Leyden copperplate inscriptions tell us in that war, "Parantaka II caused rivers of blood to flow". Other inscriptions mention that Parantaka and his young son, Aditya Karikalan (also referred to as Aditya II) defeated Vira Pandya and made him flee to the hills surrounding the battlefield. It is also possible that Aditya Karikalan killed Vira Pandya in that battle. Aditya’s inscriptions use the epithet "Vira Pandyan Thalai Konda Adithha Karikalan" - "...took the head of Vira Pandya". After the battle of Chevur, Parantaka II’s armies continued their thrust into the Pandya country. The Pandya king had the Sinhalese king Mahinda IV as his ally and the Sri Lankan troops supported the Pandya army in the battle field c 959 C.E. Parantaka II’s armies also invaded Lanka to neutralise this support.

Although the Chola armies won the battle, the war was still not won. Parantaka II did not succeed in re-establishing the Chola power over the Pandya lands.

Success against Rashtrakutas

Parantaka II next concentrated in his war against Rashtrakutas. With his son and heir-apparent Aditya II at the command, the Chola armies succeeded in pushing back the occupying Rashtrakuta armies. Chola armies regained the Tondaimandalam and pushed the Chola frontiers north of Kanchipuram.

Aditya II’s (Aditya Karikalan) Assassination

Parantaka II’s last days appear to have been clouded by a personal tragedy. The heir-apparent Aditya II was assassinated by a group of conspirators. It has been speculated, based on circumstantial evidence that Uttama Chola could have been a party in this conspiracy. Uttama coveted the throne and was not satisfied with a subordinate role assigned to him. Being the son of a former Chola king Gandaraditya, he might have felt that the crown was his, by right and that his cousin (Parantaka II) and his children were usurpers.

There are other theories, claiming that the Pandyan spies were involved in the death of Aditya II and he was assassinated to avenge the death of Veerapandiyan in the battle of Chevur. There are however no direct evidence to support this theory. One of the inscriptions found at Udayarpatti temple in Tamil Nadu of Rajaraja notes that the property of some persons were confiscated as punishment for their involvement in the plot.

Uttama’s ascension

After the assassination of Aditya II, it seems that Uttama forced Parantaka II to make him the heir-apparent. Arulmozhivarman (or Rajaraja I), Parantaka II’s second son did not protest, anxious to avoid a civil war. It was apparently part of the compromise that Uttama was to succeed the throne only if he accepted to be succeeded, not by his own children but by Arulmolivarman. The Thiruvalangadu copperplate inscription states that Madhurantaka Uttama Chola made Arulmoli the heir-apparent.

Parantaka II's death and Legacy

Parantaka II, heart broken by the personal tragedy died in Kanchipuram at his golden palace (c. 973 C.E.) built for him by his son, Aditya Karikalan. He was thereafter known as "Pon maligai thunjina thevar" – "the king who died in the golden palace".

One of his queens, Vanavanmahadevi, a princess from the clan of Malaiyaman, committed sati at the king’s death and her image was perhaps installed at the Thanjavur Temple by her daughter Kundavai. Another queen, a Chera princess survived him until 1001 C.E.

During Parantaka II’s reign, literature both Sanskrit and Tamil received encouragement. The Buddhist work on Tamil grammar, "Virasoliyam" eulogises hims as a parton of letters and of Buddhism. The eulogy furnishes evidence for the friendly relationship between the Chola monarchs and the Buddhists.

References in Popular Tamil Fiction

Parantaka II or Sundara Chola, forms a main character in Kalki Krishnamurthy’s historical Romance Ponniyin Selvan. In his story, Kalki imagines Sundara Chola to be an impotent ruler - handicapped by a debilitating illness. He is caught between opposing forces of his love for his children and his dependence on powerful courtiers.

References

* 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/