Kulothunga Chola III

Infobox Chola | name=Kulothunga Chola III
tamil = மூன்றாம் குலோத்துங்க சோழன்


caption = "Chola territories c. 1218 CE"
title = Parakesari
reign= 1178 C.E. - 1218 C.E.
capital = Gangaikonda Cholapuram
queen= Unknown
children= Rajaraja Chola III
predecessor= Rajadhiraja Chola II
heir= Rajaraja Chola III
father= Sangamaraja
year of birth= Unknown
year of death= 1218 C.E.

Kulothunga Chola III ruled the Chola empire after Rajadhiraja Chola II. His long reign was marked by Kulothunga's abilities to bring order in the besieged kingdom and by his successes in reversing the growing weakness. However towards the end of his reign, the Pandya Maravarman Sundara Pandya defeated Kulothunga and made the Chola subordinate to Pandya rule, thus marking the beginning of the final demise of the Cholas.

Kulothunga III is also renowned for his patronage of art and literature. He is credited with the building of numerous temples.

Accession

The inscriptions of Kulothunga show that his rule commenced around July 8, 1178 CE. Kulothunga was recognised as the next sovereign even before the death of his predecessor Rajadhiraja Chola II. Kulothunga did not belong to the direct line of the Cholas. Rajadhiraja III either did not have any children or they must have predeceased him. The poetic work "Kulothungan Kovai" marks Kulothunga III as the son of one Sangamaraja. There is no means available at present of ascertaining the exact relation of Sangamaraja to the Chola line.

Military campaigns

The reign of Kulothunga III is a remarkable example of the triumph of the personal ability of the monarch against the forces of disruption that were steadily increasing in their number and in the intensity of their action. The civil war in the Pandya country had not yet settled when he came to the throne and the Chola forces were still involved in active fighting there. Kulothunga succeeded for the best part of his reign to continue the Chola superiority in the Pandya kingdom.

He reigned in possibly, the most tumultuous of eras. The advent of kingdoms like that of muslims, barbaric mongols etc had begun. The world was collapsing into darkest of ages. Many dynasties of south like pandyans, hoysalas, kakatiyas etc.had for long been employing muslims in their service, both in administration and as mercenary soldiers. This was creating great demographic change right across the south. The resulting confusion was suitably exploited by the above mentioned dynasties who created domains for themselves. To couple the problems the cholas were becoming more and more resourceless, both in terms of heirs to their ancient and glorious throne and also of genuine personnel who could be recruited to army that would at least be of some comparison to the gallant chola military of previous centuries. Only his great valour a hallmark , of nearly all kings of this great line could keep things going for him.

Some of his feudatories were preparing to break off from the Chola empire and Kulothunga had to deal with them.

Pandyan wars

From the inscriptions of Kulothunga we can gather that he was involved in three campaigns in the Pandya country.

The first campaign began in 1182 CE at the request of Vikrama Pandya, a rival of Vira Pandya. We have no confirmed information on the causes of this request. The campaign ended with the deposition of Vira Pandya.

The second campaign occurred in the year 1187 CE when Vira Pandya, with the help of the king of Kerala and the Sinhala Parakrama Bahu tried to regain the Pandya throne. Kulothunga again sent his troops to battle Vira Pandya and in the battle at Nettur, Vira Pandya was defeated and sent into exile in the Keral country.

The third campaign occurred during the thirty-fourth year of Kulothunga (1212 CE). This expedition seems to have been instigated by Kulothunga himself against Pandya Jatavarman Kulasekara. Although the Chola inscriptions state that the Pandya suffered heavy defeat, Kulasekara was restored to the throne after the battle. The Chola forces vandalised and looted the Pandya country, showing the growing weakness of Chola administration in that country and the resultant harshness of the Chola treatment of the Pandya subjects.

The results of these campaigns did not improve the Chola position and suzerainty, rather it accelerated the nascent Pandya revival which was witness in the decades to come.

Northern battles

In the north, the Chalukya kingdom had grown weak and the Hoysalas had begun to rise in power. The Telugu Cholas of Velanadu, who had been subordinate to the Western Chalukyas had began to entertain plans of growth. The Telugu Cholas had been in friendly terms with the Chola kingdom well into Kulothunga's reign. However they began to revolt and even occupied Chola territories up to Kanchipuram. Kulothunga sent his army into the Vengi country between 1208 and 1213 CE to quell this revolt and recover the lost territories.

Pandyan invasion

Towards the end of Kulothunga's reign, Maravarman Sundara Pandya, a brother of Jatavarman Kulasekara, came to the Pandya throne (1216 CE). The Pandya power had been growing during the past decades and Sundara Pandya wanted to take revenge for the looting and destruction caused by the last Chola invasion . During 1216 – 1217 CE, Sundara Pandya invaded the Chola country reaching as far north as Chidambaram and caused considerable damage to life and property along the route.

Kulothunga's buildings

Kulothunga III was a great builder and his reign is a noteworthy period in Chola architecture. Beautiful temples such as the Kampahareswara near Kumbakonam. Its general design resembles the Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur. The temple also contains an excellent series of Ramayana reliefs on its walls. Besides this temple, Kulothunga also contributed to the extension and renovation of many temples around his kingdom.

Civic work

In the 23rd and 24th years of Kulothunga's reign there was a wide-spread famine in the Chola kingdom. Kulothunga organised relief by ordering construction of tanks and river embarkments.

Decay of central control

During the close of his reign the final fate of the Chola kingdom was clear. The centra control of administration, which had been a hallmark of the Cholas, had given way to chaos and semi-independent local chieftains. This hadFact|date=May 2008 probably something to do with ramanujacharya and his newly fouded "srivaishnava" sect. Some scholars opineFact|date=May 2008 that Ramanuja was a contemporary of kulothunga III. Many of kulothunga's personnel like adigaiman, who was incharge of gangavadi had joinedFact|date=May 2008 Ramanuja's sect.These developments should imply it was troubled times. we also have evidences of conversion of many brahmins to srivaishnavism during that period. With the rise of the Pandya and the growing influence of the Hoysala, the Chola kingdom was growing weak.

Kulothunga died some time in 1218 and Rajaraja Chola III became the Chola king.

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/