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|Chola Empire
Map showing the extent of the Chola empire
|Early Cholas: Poompuhar, Urayur, Tiruvarur,
Medieval Cholas: Pazhaiyaarai, Thanjavur
Gangaikonda Cholapuram
|Vijayalaya Chola
|Rajendra Chola III
|Historical era
|Middle Ages
|300s BCE
|Rise of the medieval Cholas
|Golden Age under Rajaraja Chola
|Empire at its greatest extent
|3,600,000 km² (1,389,968 sq mi)
|Today part of
| India
Sri Lanka
|List of Chola kings
|Early Cholas
|Interregnum (c. 200–848)
|Medieval Cholas
|Later Cholas
|Chola society
|Part of a series on
|History of Tamil Nadu
The Chola dynasty (Tamil: சோழர்) also called "Cholan" was one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of southern India. Together with the Chēras and the Pāndyas, the Cholas formed the three main Tamil dynasties of Iron Age India, who were collectively known as the Three Crowned Kings. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE left by Ashoka, of the Maurya Empire and in the ancient Sangam literature.
The heartland of the Cholas was the fertile valley of the Kaveri River, but they ruled a significantly larger area at the height of their power from the later half of the 9th century till the beginning of the 13th century. The whole country south of the Tungabhadra river was united and held as one state for a period of two centuries and more.[1] Under Emperor Rajaraja Chola I and his successors Rajendra Chola I, Rajadhiraja Chola, Virarajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola I the dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in South Asia and South-East Asia.[2] The power of the new empire was proclaimed to the eastern world by the expedition to the Ganges in northern India which Rajendra Chola I undertook and by the occupation of cities of the maritime empire of Srivijaya in Southeast Asia, as well as by the repeated embassies to China.[3] The Imperial Chola fleet represented the zenith of ancient Indian sea power.[4]
During the period 1010–1200, the Chola territories stretched from the islands of the Maldives in the south to as far north as the banks of the Godavari River in Telangana.[5] Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, annexed parts of which is now Sri Lanka and occupied the islands of the Maldives. Rajendra Chola sent a victorious expedition to North India that touched the river Ganges and defeated the Pala ruler of Pataliputra, Mahipala. His army went on to invade modern Bangladesh and defeated Govindachandra who was the last ruler of the Candra Dynasty.[6] He successfully invaded cities of Srivijaya in Malaysia, Indonesia and Southern Thailand.[7][8]The Chola dynasty went into decline at the beginning of the 13th century with the rise of the Pandyan Dynasty, which ultimately caused their downfall.[9][10]
Their patronage of Tamil literature and their zeal in the building of temples has resulted in some great works of Tamil literature and architecture. The Chola kings were avid builders and envisioned the temples in their kingdoms not only as places of worship but also as centres of economic activity.[11] They pioneered a centralised form of government and established a disciplined bureaucracy. During the Imperial Chola period urbanization increased and there was a tremendous agrarian expansion and well-developed system of water management.[12][13][14] During this period the economy and particularly trade flourished because of the emergence of prosperous and well-organized Tamil merchant guilds which controlled long-distance trade.[15][16] The Chola school of art spread to Southeast Asia and influenced the architecture and art of Southeast Asia.[17][18] According to the Malay chronicle Sejarah Melayu the rulers of the Malacca sultanate claimed to be descendants of the kings of the Chola Empire.[19] Even today the Chola rule is remembered in Malaysia as many Malaysian princes have names ending with Cholan or Chulan, one such was the Raja of Perak called Raja Chulan.[20][21]
There is very little information available regarding the origin of the Chola Dynasty. The antiquity of this dynasty is evident from the mentions in ancient Pali-Tamil literature and in inscriptions. Later medieval Cholas also claimed a long and ancient lineage to their dynasty. Mentions in the early Sangam literature (c. 150 CE)[22] indicate that the earliest kings of the dynasty antedated 100 CE. Parimelalagar, the annotator of the Tamil classic Tirukkural, mentions that this could be the name of an ancient king.
The most commonly held view is that this is, like Cheras and Pandyas, the name of the ruling family or clan of immemorial antiquity. The annotator Parimelazhagar writes "The charity of people with ancient lineage (such as the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Cheras) are forever generous in spite of their reduced means". Other names in common use for the Cholas are Killi (கிள்ளி), Valavan (வளவன்) and Sembiyan (செம்பியன்). Killi perhaps comes from the Tamil kil (கிள்) meaning dig or cleave and conveys the idea of a digger or a worker of the land. This word often forms an integral part of early Chola names like Nedunkilli, Nalankilli and so on, but almost drops out of use in later times. Valavan is most probably connected with "valam" (வளம்) – fertility and means owner or ruler of a fertile country. Sembiyan is generally taken to mean a descendant of Shibi – a legendary hero whose self-sacrifice in saving a dove from the pursuit of a falcon figures among the early Chola legends and forms the subject matter of the Sibi Jataka among the Jataka stories of Buddhism.[23] In Tamil lexicon Chola means Soazhi or Saei denoting a newly formed kingdom, in the lines of Pandya or the old country.[24] Sora or Chozha in Tamil becomes Chola and Chola or Choda in Telugu.[25]
On the history of the early Cholas there is very little authentic written evidence available. Historians during the past 150 years have gleaned a lot of knowledge on the subject from a variety of sources such as ancient Tamil Sangam literature, oral traditions, religious texts, temple and copperplate inscriptions. The main source for the available information of the early Cholas is the early Tamil literature of the Sangam Period.[26] There are also brief notices on the Chola country and its towns, ports and commerce furnished by the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Periplus Maris Erythraei).[27] Periplus is a work by an anonymous Alexandrian merchant, written in the time of Domitian (81–96) and contains very little information of the Chola country.[28] Writing half a century later, the geographer Ptolemy gives more detail about the Chola country, its port and its inland cities.[29] Mahavamsa, a Buddhist text written down during the 5th century CE, recounts a number of conflicts between the inhabitants of Ceylon and Cholas in the 1st century BCE.[30] Cholas are mentioned in the Pillars of Ashoka (inscribed 273 BCE–232 BCE) inscriptions, where they are mentioned among the kingdoms which, though not subject to Ashoka, were on friendly terms with him.[31][32][33]
The history of the Cholas falls into four periods: the early Cholas of the Sangam literature, the interregnum between the fall of the Sangam Cholas and the rise of the Imperial medieval Cholas under Vijayalaya (c. 848), the dynasty of Vijayalaya, and finally the Later Chola dynasty of Kulothunga Chola I from the third quarter of the 11th century.[34]
Early CholasEdit
The earliest Chola kings for whom there is tangible evidence are mentioned in the Sangam literature. Scholars generally agree that this literature belongs to the second or first few centuries of the common era.[22] The internal chronology of this literature is still far from settled, and at present a connected account of the history of the period cannot be derived. The Sangam literature records the names of the kings and the princes, and of the poets who extolled them. Despite a rich literature that depicts the life and work of these people, these cannot be worked into connected history.[35]
The Sangam literature also records legends about mythical Chola kings.[36][37][38] These myths speak of the Chola king Kantaman, a supposed contemporary of the sage Agastya, whose devotion brought the river Kaveri into existence.[39] Besides, two names stand out prominently from among those Chola kings known to have existed who feature in Sangam literature: Karikala Chola and Kocengannan.[40][41][42][43] There are no sure means of settling the order of succession, of fixing their relations with one another and with many other princelings of about the same period.[44][45] Urayur (now in/part-of Thiruchirapalli) was their oldest capital.[37] Kaveripattinam also served as an early Chola capital.[46] The Mahavamsa mentions that an ethnic Tamil adventurer, a Chola prince known as Elara, invaded the island around 235 BCE.[37][47]
There is not much information about the transition period of around three centuries from the end of the Sangam age (c. 300) to that in which the Pandyas and Pallavas dominated the Tamil country.[48] An obscure dynasty, the Kalabhras invaded Tamil country, displaced the existing kingdoms and ruled for around three centuries.[49][50][51] They were displaced by the Pallava dynasty and the Pandyan Dynasty in the 6th century.[41][52] Little is known of the fate of the Cholas during the succeeding three centuries until the accession of Vijayalaya in the second quarter of the 9th century.[53]
Epigraphy and literature provide a few faint glimpses of the transformations that came over this ancient line of kings during this long interval. What is certain is that when the power of the Cholas fell to its lowest ebb and that of the Pandyas and Pallavas rose to the north and south of them,[42][54] this dynasty was compelled to seek refuge and patronage under their more successful rivals.[2][55] The Cholas continued to rule over a diminished territory in the neighbourhood of Uraiyur, but only in a minor capacity. In spite of their reduced powers, the Pandayas and Pallavas accepted Chola princesses in marriage, possibly out of regard for their reputation.[56] Numerous inscriptions of Pallavas of this period mention their having fought rulers of 'the Chola country'.[57][58] Despite this loss in influence and power, it is unlikely that the Cholas lost total grip of the territory around Uraiyur, their old capital, as Vijayalaya, when he rose to prominence hailed from this geographical area.[59][60]
Around the 7th century, a Chola kingdom flourished in present-day Andhra Pradesh.[59] These Telugu Cholas (or Chodas) traced their descent to the early Sangam Cholas. However, it is not known if they had any relation to the early Cholas.[62] It is possible that a branch of the Tamil Cholas migrated north during the time of the Pallavas to establish a kingdom of their own, away from the dominating influences of the Pandyas and Pallavas.[63] The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, who spent several months in Kanchipuram during 639–640 writes about the "kingdom of Culi-ya", in an apparent reference to the Telugu Chodas.[53][64]
Imperial Chola EmpireEdit
Vijayalaya was the founder of the Imperial Chola Dynasty which was the beginning of one of the most splendid Empires in Indian history.[65] Vijayalaya, possibly a feudaory of the Pallava dynasty, took an opportunity arising out of a conflict between the Pandya Dynasty and Pallava Dynasty in c. 850, captured Thanjavur from Muttarayar, and established the imperial line of the medieval Chola Dynasty.[66][67] Thanjavur became the capital of the Imperial Chola Dynasty.[68]
The Chola dynasty was at the peak of its influence and power during the medieval period.[1] Through their leadership and vision, Chola kings expanded their territory and influence. The second Chola King, Aditya I, caused the demise of the Pallava dynasty and defeated the Pandyan Dynasty of Madurai in 885, occupied large parts of the Kannada country, and had marital ties with the Western Ganga dynasty. In 925, his son Parantaka I conquered Sri Lanka (known as Ilangai). Sundara Chola, also known as Parantaka Chola II, regained territories from the Rashtrakuta dynasty and expanded the Chola dominions up to Bhatkal in kannada country.
Rajaraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I who were the greatest rulers of the Chola Dynasty extended the Chola Dynasty beyond the traditional limits of a Tamil kingdom.[2] At its peak, the Chola Empire stretched from the island of Sri Lanka in the south to the Godavari-Krishna basin in the north, up to the Konkan coast in Bhatkal, the entire Malabar Coast in addition to Lakshadweep, Maldives, and vast areas of Chera country. The kingdoms of Deccan and the eastern coast were subordinates, feudatories of the Cholas, and other kingdoms like the Chalukyas between paid tribute to the Cholas 1000–1075.[69] Raja Raja Chola I was a ruler with inexhaustible energy, and he applied himself to the task of governance with the same zeal that he had shown in waging wars.[70] Raja Raja Chola I integrated his Empire into a tight administrative grid under royal control, and at the same time strengthened local self-government.[70] Therefore he conducted a land survey in 1000 CE to effectively marshall the resources of his Empire.[70] Raja Raja Chola I also built the famous Brihadeeswarar Temple in 1010 CE which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.[71]
Rajendra Chola I conquered Odisha and his armies continued to march further north and defeated the forces of the Pala Dynasty of Bengal and reached the Ganges River in north India.[72] Rajendra Chola I built a new capital called Gangaikondacholapuram to celebrate his victories in northern India.[73] Rajendra Chola I successfully invaded the Srivijaya Empire in Southeast Asia which led to the decline of the Srivijaya Empire.[74] The expedition of Rajendra Chola I had such a great impression to the Malay people of the medieval period that his name was mentioned in the corrupted form as Raja Chulan in the medieval Malay chronicle Sejarah Melaya.[75][76][77] Rajendra Chola I completed the conquest of the island of Sri Lanka and captured the Sinhala king Mahinda V as a prisoner, in addition to his conquests of Rattapadi (territories of the Rashtrakutas, Chalukya country, Talakkad, and Kolar, where the Kolaramma temple still has his portrait statue) in Kannada country.[78] Rajendra's territories included the area falling on the Ganges-Hooghly-Damodar basin,[79] as well as Sri Lanka and Maldives.[66] The kingdoms along the east coast of India up to the river Ganges acknowledged Chola suzerainty.[5] Chola navies invaded and spread their influence to Srivijaya.[7][80] Three diplomatic missions were sent to China in 1016, 1033, and 1077.[66]
The Western Chalukya Empire under Satyasraya and Somesvara I tried to wriggle out of Chola domination from time to time, primarily due to the Chola influence in the Vengi kingdom.[3] The Western Chalukyas mounted several unsuccessful attempts to engage the Chola emperors in war, and except for a brief occupation of Vengi territories between 1118–1126, all their other attempts ended in failure with successive Chola emperors routing the armies of the Chalukyas at various places in many wars. Virarajendra Chola defeated Somesvara II of the Western Chalukya Empire and made an alliance with Prince Vikramaditya VI.[81] Cholas always successfully controlled the Chalukyas in the western Deccan by defeating them in war and levying tribute on them.[82] Even under the emperors of the Cholas like Kulothunga I and Vikrama Chola, the wars against the Chalukyas were mainly fought in Chalukya territories in Karnataka or in the Telugu country like Vengi, Kakinada, Anantapur, or Gutti. Then the Kannada kingdoms of the Kadambas, Hoysalas, Vaidumbas, or Kalachuris, steadily increased their power and finally replaced the Chalukyas.[83] With the occupation of Dharwar in North Central Karnataka by the Hoysalas under Vishnuvardhana, where he based himself with his son Narasimha I in-charge at the Hoysala capital Dwarasamudra around 1149, and with the Kalachuris occupying the Chalukyan capital for over 35 years from around 1150–1151, the Chalukya kingdom was already starting to dissolve.[84]
The Cholas under Kulothunga Chola III even collaborated to the herald the dissolution of the Chalukyas by aiding Hoysalas under Veera Ballala II, the son-in-law of the Chola monarch, and defeated the Western Chalukyas in a series of wars with Somesvara IV between 1185–1190. The last Chalukya king's territories did not even include the erstwhile Chalukyan capitals Badami, Manyakheta or Kalyani. That was the final dissolution of Chalukyan power though the Chalukyas existed only in name since 1135–1140. But the Cholas remained stable till 1215, were absorbed by the Pandiyan empire and ceased to exist by 1279.[85]
On the other hand, throughout the period from 1150–1280, the staunchest opponents of the Cholas were Pandya princes who tried to win independence for their traditional territories. This period saw constant warfare between the Cholas and the Pandyas. The Cholas also fought regular wars with the Eastern Gangas of Kalinga, protected Vengi though it remained largely independent under Chola control, and had domination of the entire eastern coast with their feudatories the Telugu Chodas, Velananti Cholas, Renandu Cholas etc. who also always aided the Cholas in their successful campaigns against the Chalukyas and levying tribute on the Kannada kingdoms and fought constantly with the Sinhalas, who attempted to overthrow the Chola occupation of Lanka, but till the time of the Later Chola king Kulottunga I the Cholas had firm control over Lanka. In fact, a Later Chola king Rajadhiraja Chola II was strong enough to prevail over a confederation of five Pandya princes who were aided by their traditional friend, the king of Lanka, this once again gave control of Lanka to the Cholas despite the fact that they were not strong under the resolute Rajadhiraja Chola II. However, Rajadhiraja Chola II's successor, the last great Chola monarch Kulottunga Chola III reinforced the hold of the Cholas by quelling rebellion and disturbances in Lanka and Madurai, defeated Hoysala generals under Veera Ballala II in Karuvur, in addition to holding on to his traditional territories in Tamil country, Eastern Gangavadi, Draksharama, Vengi and Kalinga. After this, he entered into a marital alliance with Veera Ballala II (with Ballala's marriage to a Chola princess) and his relationship with Hoysalas seems to have become friendlier.[86][87][88][89]
Overseas conquestsEdit
During the reign of Raja Raja Chola I and his successors Rajendra Chola I, Virarajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola I the armies of the Chola Dynasty invaded Sri Lanka, Maldives and some parts of Southeast Asia like Malaysia, Indonesia and Southern Thailand[90] of the Sri Vijaya Empire in the 11th century.[91]Raja Raja Chola I launched several naval campaigns that resulted in the capture of Sri Lanka, Maldives and the Malabar Coast.[92] In 1025, Rajendra Chola, the Chola king from Coromandel in South India, launched naval raids on ports of Srivijaya in Southeast Asia and against the Burmese kingdom of Pegu,[93][94] and conquered parts of Srivijaya in Malaysia and Indonesia and the Tambralinga Kingdom in Southern Thailand and occupied it for some time.[95][91] A second invasion was led by Virarajendra Chola of the Chola dynasty who conquered kedah in Malaysia of Sri Vijaya in the late 11th century.[96] During the reign of Kulothunga Chola I Chola overlordship was established over the Sri Vijaya province Kedah in the late 11th century.[97] Even today the Chola rule is remembered in Malaysia as many Malaysian princes have names ending with Cholan or Chulan, one such was the Raja of Perak called Raja Chulan.[98][99]
Later Cholas (1070–1279)Edit
Marital and political alliances between the Eastern Chalukyas began during the reign of Rajaraja following his invasion of Vengi. Rajaraja Chola's daughter married Chalukya prince Vimaladitya.[100] Rajendra Chola's daughter Ammanga Devi was also married to an eastern Chalukya prince Rajaraja Narendra.[101] Virarajendra Chola's son Athirajendra Chola was assassinated in a civil disturbance in 1070, and Kulothunga Chola I, the son of the Chola princess Ammanga Devi and Rajaraja Narendra, ascended the Chola throne starting the Later Chola dynasty.[83][101][102]
The Later Chola dynasty was led by capable rulers such as Kulothunga Chola I, his son Vikrama Chola, other successors like Rajaraja Chola II, Rajadhiraja Chola II, and the great Kulothunga Chola III, who conquered Kalinga, Ilam, and Kataha. However, the rule of the later Cholas between 1218, starting with Rajaraja Chola II, to the last emperor Rajendra Chola III was not as strong as those of the emperors between 850–1215. Around 1118, they lost control of Vengi to the Western Chalukya and Gangavadi (southern Mysore districts) to the Hoysala Empire. However, these were only temporary setbacks, because immediately following the accession of king Vikrama Chola, the son and successor of Kulothunga Chola I, the Cholas lost no time in recovering the province of Vengi by defeating Chalukya Somesvara III and also recovering Gangavadi from the Hoysalas. The Chola Empire, though not as strong as between 850–1150, was still largely territorially intact under Raja Raja Chola II (1146–1175) a fact attested by the construction and completion of the third grand Chola architectural marvel, the chariot-shaped Airavatesvara Temple at Dharasuram on the outskirts of modern Kumbakonam. This temple is part of the World Heritage Sites trinity of the Great Living Chola Temples, along with the Brihadeeswarar Temples of Thanjavur and Gangaikonda Cholapuram, built by his predecessors Raja Raja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I, respectively. Chola administration and territorial integrity till the rule of Kulothunga Chola III was stable and very prosperous up to 1215, but during his rule itself, the decline of the Chola power started following his defeat by Maravarman Sundara Pandiyan II in 1215–16.[103] Subsequently, the Cholas also lost control of the island of Lanka and were driven out by the revival of Sinhala power.
In continuation of the decline, also marked by the resurgence of the Pandyan Dynasty as the most powerful rulers in South India, a lack of a controlling central administration in its erstwhile-Pandyan territories prompted a number of claimants to the Pandya throne to cause a civil war in which the Sinhalas and the Cholas were involved by proxy. Details of the Pandyan civil war and the role played by the Cholas and Sinhalas, are present in the Mahavamsa as well as the Pallavarayanpettai Inscriptions.[104][105]
The Cholas, under Rajaraja Chola III and later, his successor Rajendra Chola III, were quite weak and therefore, experienced continuous trouble. One feudatory, the Kadava chieftain Kopperunchinga I, even held Rajaraja Chola III as hostage for sometime.[106][107] At the close of the 12th century, the growing influence of the Hoysalas replaced the declining Chalukyas as the main player in the Kannada country, but they too faced constant trouble from the Seunas and the Kalachuris, who were occupying Chalukya capital because those empires were their new rivals. So naturally, the Hoysalas found it convenient to have friendly relations with the Cholas from the time of Kulothunga Chola III, who had defeated Hoysala Veera Ballala II, who had subsequent marital relations with the Chola monarch. This continued during the time of Rajaraja Chola III the son and successor of Kulothunga Chola III[103][108]
The Pandyas in the south had risen to the rank of a great power who ultimately banished the Hoysalas from Malanadu or Kannada country, who were allies of the Cholas from Tamil country and the demise of the Cholas themselves ultimately was caused by the Pandyas in 1279. The Pandyas first steadily gained control of the Tamil country as well as territories in Sri Lanka, Chera country, Telugu country under Maravarman Sundara Pandiyan II and his able successor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan before inflicting several defeats on the joint forces of the Cholas under Rajaraja Chola III, his successor Rajendra Chola III and the Hoysalas under Someshwara, his son Ramanatha[103] Rajendra III tried to survive by aligning with the Kadava Pallavas and the Hoysalas in turn in order to counter the constantly rising power of the Pandyans who were the major players in the Tamil country from 1215 and had intelligently consolidated their position in Madurai-Rameswaram-Ilam-Cheranadu and Kanniyakumari belt, and had been steadily increasing their territories in the Kaveri belt between Dindigul-Tiruchy-Karur-Satyamangalam as well as in the Kaveri Delta i.e., Thanjavur-Mayuram-Chidambaram-Vriddhachalam-Kanchi, finally marching all the way up to Arcot—Tirumalai-Nellore-Visayawadai-Vengi-Kalingam belt by 1250.
|Outline of South Asian history
History of Indian subcontinent
Soanian people (500,000 BP)
Stone Age (7000–3000 BC)
Bronze Age (3000–1300 BC)
Iron Age (1200–26 BC)
Classical period (21–1279 AD)
Late medieval period (1206–1596)
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The Pandyas steadily routed both the Hoysalas and the Cholas.[9] They also dispossessed the Hoysalas, who had been overestimating their power by interfering in the politics of Tamil country by routing them under Jatavarman Sundara Pandiyan at Kannanur Kuppam and chased them back to the Mysore plateau and stopped the war only thereafter.[10] At the close of Rajendra's reign, the Pandyan empire was at the height of prosperity and had taken the place of the Chola empire in the eyes of the foreign observers.[109] The last recorded date of Rajendra III is 1279. There is no evidence that Rajendra was followed immediately by another Chola prince.[110][111] The Hoysalas were routed from Kannanur Kuppam around 1279 by Kulasekhara Pandiyan and in the same war the last Chola emperor Rajendra III was routed and the Chola empire ceased to exist thereafter. Thus the Chola empire was completely overshadowed by the Pandyan empire and sank into obscurity and ceased to exist by the end of the 13th century.[107][111]
Administration and societyEdit
In the age of the Cholas, the whole of South India was, for the first time ever, brought under a single government.[112] when a serious attempt was made to face and solve the problems of public administration. The Cholas' system of government was monarchical, as in the Sangam age.[41] However, there was little in common between the local chiefdoms of the earlier period and the imperial-like states of Rajaraja Chola and his successors.[113] The administration of the Imperial Chola Dynasty assumed a high degree of complexity.[114] There was an expansion of the administrative structure during the Imperial Chola period(10th to 13th century) and particularly from the reign of Raja Raja Chola I onwards as there were larger numbers of terms for officials and offices compared to earlier periods.[115] The Imperial Chola Dynasty had a large land revenue department consisting of several rungs which was largely concerned with maintaining accounts.[116]The assessment and collection of revenue were undertaken by corporate bodies such as the ur, nadu, sabha, nagaram and sometimes by local chieftains who passed the revenue to the centre.[117] During the reign of Raja Raja Chola I the Chola state initiated a massive project of land survey and assessment and there was a reorganization of the Empire into units known as valanadus.[118] Before the reign of Raja Raja Chola I huge parts of the Chola territory was ruled by hereditary lords and local princes who were in a loose alliance with the Chola rulers.[119] But from the reign of Raja Raja Chola I until the reign of Vikrama Chola in 1133 CE when the Chola power was at its peak, these hereditary lords and local princes virtually vanished from the Chola records and were either replaced or turned into dependent officials.[120] Through these dependent officials the administration was improved and the Chola Emperors were able to exercise a closer control over the different parts of the Empire.[121] For the administrative convenience and efficiency the Chola Empire was divided into Mandalams which were further divided into Valanadus and the Valanadus were sub-divided into Kutrams and Kottams.[122]
The order of the King was first communicated by the executive officer to the local authorities.[114] Afterwards the records of the transaction was drawn up and attested by a number of witnesses who were either local magnates or government officers.[114] The king was the central authority assisted by his ministers and other officers.[123] The king visited various parts of his kingdom and always prepared to provide relief to the people. The Chola kingdom was divided into several provinces called Mandalams.[123] Each province was governed by the governors. The provinces were divided into divisions called Kottams.[123] The divisions were further divided into district called Nadus which were further divided into Tehsil comprising a group of villages.[123]
Between 980 and c. 1150, the Chola Empire comprised the entire south Indian peninsula, extending from the east coast to the west coast and bounded to the north by an irregular line along the Tungabhadra river and the Vengi frontier.[2][5] Although Vengi had a separate political existence, it was closely connected to the Chola Empire and the Chola dominion virtually extended up to the banks of the Godavari river.[124]
Thanjavur and later Gangaikonda Cholapuram were the imperial capitals.[125] However both Kanchipuram and Madurai were considered to be regional capitals in which occasional courts were held. The king was the supreme leader and a benevolent authoritarian.[126] His administrative role consisted of issuing oral commands to responsible officers when representations were made to him.[127] A powerful bureaucracy assisted the king in the tasks of administration and in executing his orders. Due to the lack of a legislature or a legislative system in the modern sense, the fairness of king's orders dependent on his morality and belief in Dharma. The Chola kings built temples and endowed them with great wealth.[11] The temples acted not only as places of worship but also as centres of economic activity, benefiting the community as a whole.[11] Some of the output of villages throughout the kingdom was given to temples that reinvested some of the wealth accumulated as loans to the settlements. The temple served as a centre for redistribution of wealth and contributed towards the integrity of the kingdom.
The Chola Dynasty had a professional army and the King was the supreme commander of the military. The army had a fourfold division.[128] The army was built around the cavalry, the elephant corps, several divisions of infantry and a navy.[129] There were regiments of bowmen and swordsmen while the swordsmen were the most permanent and dependable troops. The Chola army was spread all over the country and was stationed in local garrisons or military camps known as "Kodagams.[130] The elephants played a major role in the army and the Chola Dynasty had numerous war-elephants. The war-elephants carried on their backs houses or huge Howdahs which were full of soldiers who shot arrows at long range and who fought with spears at close quarters.[131] The Chola rulers built several Palaces and fortifications to protect their cities and the fortifications were mostly made up of bricks but other materials like stone, wood and mud were also used to build fortifications and walls.[132][133] According to the ancient Tamil text "Silappadikaram" the Tamil Kings used for the defenses of their forts catapults to throw stones, huge cauldrons to hold boiling water or molten lead and hooks, chains and traps.[134] [135] The soldiers of the Chola Dynasty used several weapons like swords, bows, javelins, spears and shields which were made up of steel.[136] Particularly the famous Wootz steel, which has a long history in south India dating back to the period before the Christian era, seems also be used to produce weapons.[137] The south Indian Wootz steel was also a major export item during this period.[138]The army consisted of people from different castes but the warriors of the Kaikolar caste and Vellalar caste played a prominent role in the Chola army.[139][140] The warriors of the Mukkulathor community also formed a part of the Chola army and they were known since ancient times for being expert soldiers and warlike people.[141] A famous ancient martial art called Silambam was patronized by the Chola rulers.[142] Ancient and medieval Tamil texts mention different forms of martial traditions but the ultimate expression of the loyalty of the warrior to his commander was a form of martial suicide called "Navakandam".[143] The medieval text "Kalingathu Parani", which celebrates the victory of the Chola Emperor Kulothunga Chola I and his general in the battle for Kalinga (India), describes the practice in detail.[144]
Land revenue and trade tax were the main source of income.[145] The Chola rulers issued their coins in gold, silver and copper.[146] The Chola economy was based on three tiers—at the local level, agricultural settlements formed the foundation[147] to commercial towns nagaram, which acted as redistribution centers for externally produced items bound for consumption in the local economy and as sources of products made by nagaram artisans for the international trade.[147] At the top of this economic pyramid were the elite merchant groups,"samayam", who organized and dominated the regions international maritime trade.[147] One of the main articles which were exported to foreign countries were cotton cloth.[148]Uraiyur, the capital of the early Chola rulers, was a famous centre for cotton textiles which were praised by Tamil poets.[149][150] The south Indian Wootz steel was also a major export item during this period.[151] The Chola rulers actively encouraged the weaving industry and derived revenue from it.[152] During this period the weavers started to organize themselves into guilds.[153] The weavers had their own residential sector in all towns.[154] The most important weaving communities in early medieval times were the Saliyar and Kaikolar.[152] During the Chola period silk weaving attained a high degree and Kanchipuram became one of the main centers for silk.[155][156]
Metal crafts reached its zenith during the 10th to 11th centuries because the Chola rulers like Chembian Maadevi extended their patronage to metal craftsmen.[157] The farmers occupied one of the highest positions in society.[158] These were the Vellalar community who formed the nobility or the landed aristocracy of the country and who were economically a powerful group.[158][159] Agriculture was the principal occupation for many people. Besides the landowners, there were others dependent on agriculture.[160] The Vellalar community was the dominant secular aristocratic caste under the Chola rulers, providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the bureaucracy and the upper layer of the peasantry.[161] A fairly large class of landless laborers assisted in the operations and shared the proceeds of agriculture.
In almost all villages the distinction between persons paying the land-tax(iraikudigal) and those who did not was clearly established. There was a class of hired day-labourers who assisted in agricultural operations on the estates of other people and received a daily wage. All cultivable land was held in one of the three broad classes of tenure which can be distinguished as peasant proprietorship called vellan-vagai, service tenure and eleemosynary tenure resulting from charitable gifts.[162] The vellan-vagai was the ordinary ryotwari village of modern times, having direct relations with the government and paying a land-tax liable to revision from time to time.[147] The vellan-vagai villages fell into two broad classes- one directly remitting a variable annual revenue to the state and the other paying dues of a more or less fixed character to the public institutions like temples to which they were assigned.[163] The prosperity of an agricultural country depends to a large extent on the facilities provided for irrigation. Apart from sinking wells and excavating tanks, the Chola rulers threw mighty stone dams across the Kaveri and other rivers, and cut out channels to distribute water over large tracts of land.[164] Rajendra Chola I dug near his capital an artificial lake, which was filled with water from the Kolerun and the Vellar rivers.[163] A very large number of irrigation tanks are mentioned in the records.
There existed a brisk internal trade in several articles carried on by the organized mercantile corporations in various parts of the country.[163] The metal industries and the jewellers art had reached a high degree of excellence. The manufacture of sea-salt was carried on under government supervision and control. Trade was carried on by merchants organized in guilds. The guilds described sometimes by the terms nanadesis were a powerful autonomous corporation of merchants which visited different countries in the course of their trade. They had their own mercenary army for the protection of their merchandise. There were also local organizations of merchants called "nagaram" in big centers of trade like Kanchipuram and Mamallapuram.[163]
Hospitals (Adula Salai) were maintained by the Chola Kings.[165][166] It is mentioned in few records. For the maintenance of hospitals lands were given by the government.[165] From Tirumukkudal inscription we know that a hospital was named after Vira Chola.[165] Many diseases were cured by the doctors of the Hospital. It was under the control of a chief physician. He was paid annually 80 Kalams of paddy, 8 Kasus and a grant of certain land.[165] Apart from the doctors, the other staff members of the hospital like a nurse, barber (performed minor operations) and waterman were also given remuneration.[165] The Chola queen Kundavai also established a hospital in the capital Tanjavur and gave land for the perpetual maintenance of the hospital.[167][168] Treatment was given to the following diseases in the hospital: tuberculosis, jaundice, fistula, dropsy, anaemic diseases, enlargement of the spleen and general disability.[165]
The Chola Navy (Tamil: சோழர் கடற்படை; Cōḻar kadatpadai) comprised the naval forces of the Chola Empire along with several other naval-arms of the country. The Chola navy played a vital role in the expansion of the Chola Empire, including the conquest of the Ceylon islands and naval raids on Sri Vijaya (present-day Indonesia, Malaysia and southern Thailand). The navy grew both in size and status during the Medieval Cholas reign. The Chola Admirals commanded much respect and prestige in the society. The navy commanders also acted as diplomats in some instances. From 900 to 1100, the navy had grown from a small backwater entity to that of a potent power projection and diplomatic symbol in all of Asia, but was gradually reduced in significance when the Cholas fought land battles for subjugating the Chalukyas of Andhra-Kannada area in South India.[169]
During the Chola period several guilds, communities and castes emerged. The guild was one of the most significant institutions of south India and merchants organized themselves into guilds.[170] The best known of these were the Manigramam and Ayyavole guilds though other guilds such as Anjuvannam and Valanjiyar were also in existence.[170] The farmers occupied one of the highest positions in society.[158] These were the Vellalar community who formed the nobility or the landed aristocracy of the country and who were economically a powerful group.[158][159] The Vellalar community was the dominant secular aristocratic caste under the Chola rulers, providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the bureaucracy and the upper layer of the peasantry.[171] The Vellalar were also sent to northern Sri Lanka by the Chola rulers as settlers.[172] The Ulavar community were working in the field which was associated with agriculture and the peasants were known as Kalamar.[158]
The Kaikolar community were weavers and merchants but they also maintained armies.[173] During the Chola period they had predominant trading and military roles.[173] During the reign of the Imperial Chola rulers (10th-13th century) there were major changes in the temple administration and land ownership.[174] There was more involvement of non-Brahmin elements in the temple administration.[174] This can be attributed to the shift in money power. Skilled classes like the weavers and the merchant-class had become prosperous. Land ownership was no longer a privilege of the Brahmins (priest caste) and the Vellalar land owners.[174] There is little information on the size and the density of the population during the Chola reign.[175] The stability in the core Chola region enabled the people to lead a productive and contented life. There is only one recorded instance of civil disturbance during the entire period of Chola reign.[176] However, there were reports of widespread famine caused by natural calamities.[177][178]
The quality of the inscriptions of the regime indicates a high level of literacy and education. The text in these inscriptions was written by court poets and engraved by talented artisans. Education in the contemporary sense was not considered important; there is circumstantial evidence to suggest that some village councils organised schools to teach the basics of reading and writing to children,[179] although there is no evidence of systematic educational system for the masses.[180] Vocational education was through hereditary training in which the father passed on his skills to his sons. Tamil was the medium of education for the masses; Religious monasteries (matha or gatika) were centres of learning and received government support.[181][182][183]
Foreign tradeEdit
The Cholas excelled in foreign trade and maritime activity, extending their influence overseas to China and Southeast Asia.[184] Towards the end of the 9th century, southern India had developed extensive maritime and commercial activity.[185][186] The south Indian guilds played a major role in interregional and overseas trade.[187] The best known of these were the Manigramam and Ayyavole guilds who followed the conquering Chola armies.[188] The encouragement by the Chola court furthered the expansion of Tamil merchant associations such as the Ayyavole and Manigramam guilds into Southeast Asia and China.[189] The Cholas, being in possession of parts of both the west and the east coasts of peninsular India, were at the forefront of these ventures.[190][191][192] The Tang dynasty of China, the Srivijaya empire under the Sailendras, and the Abbasid Kalifat at Baghdad were the main trading partners.[193]
Some credit for the emergence of a world market must also go to the Chola Dynasty.[194] The Chola Dynasty played a significant role in linking the markets of China to the rest of the world. In fact, the market structure and economic policies of the Chola Dynasty were more conducive to a large-scale, cross-regional market trade than those enacted by the Song court.[194] The following passage from the southern Indian kingdom, gives their rationale for engagement in foreign trade: "Make the merchants of distant foreign countries who import elephants and good horses attach to yourself by providing them with villages and decent dwellings in the city, by affording them daily audience, presents and allowing them profits. Then those articles will never go to your enemies."[194]
Chinese Song Dynasty reports record that an embassy from Chulian (Chola) reached the Chinese court in the year 1077,[195][196] and that the king of the Chulien at the time, Kulothunga I, was called Ti-hua-kia-lo.[197] This embassy was a trading venture and was highly profitable to the visitors, who returned with copper coins in exchange for articles of tributes, including glass articles, and spices.[197] Chinese records rarely described Tamil merchants. On the other hand, a fragmentary Tamil inscription found in Sumatra cites the name of a merchant guild Nanadesa Tisaiyayirattu Ainnutruvar (literally, "the five hundred from the four countries and the thousand directions"), a famous merchant guild in the Chola country.[186] The inscription is dated 1088, indicating that there was an active overseas trade during the Chola period.[195] Six other inscriptions have been found across South-East Asia and bear testimony to merchant activities as well as to the naming of trade-related places and public work in that region after members of the Tamil royal family.[198] Probably, the motive behind Rajendra's expedition to Srivijaya was the protection of the merchants' interests.[199]
Tanks and canalsEdit
There was tremendous agrarian expansion during the rule of the imperial Chola Dynasty (c. 900-1270 AD) all over Tamil Nadu and particularly in the Kaveri Basin.[200] Most of the canals of the Kaveri River belongs to this period e.g., Uyyakondan canal, Rajendran vaykkal, Sembian Mahadegvi vaykkal. There was a well-developed and highly efficient system of water management from the village level upwards.[200] The increase in the royal patronage and also the number of devadana and bramadeya lands which increased the role of the temples and village assemblies in the field. Committees like eri-variyam(tank-committee) and totta-variam(garden committees) were active as also the temples with their vast resources in land, men and money.[200] The tanks that came up during the Chola period are too many to be listed here. But a few most outstanding may be briefly mentioned. Rajendra Chola built a huge tank named Solagangam in his capital city Gangaikonda Solapuram and was described as the liquid pillar of victory.[200] About 16 miles long, it was provided with sluices and canals for irrigating the lands in the neighboring areas. Another very large lake of this period, which even today seems an important source of irrigation was the Viranameri near Kattumannarkoil in South Arcot district founded by Parantaka Chola.[200] Other famous lakes of this period are Madurantakam, Sundra-cholapereri, Kundavai-Pereri (after a Chola queen.[200]
Chola territoryEdit
According to Tamil tradition, the old Chola country comprised the region that includes the modern-day Tiruchirapalli District, Tiruvarur District, Nagapattinam District, Ariyalur District, Perambalur district, Pudukkottai district, Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal District in Karaikal. The river Kaveri and its tributaries dominate this landscape of generally flat country that gradually slopes towards the sea, unbroken by major hills or valleys. The river Kaveri, also known as Ponni (golden) river, had a special place in the culture of Cholas. The annual floods in the Kaveri marked an occasion for celebration, Adiperukku, in which the whole nation took part.
Kaveripoompattinam on the coast near the Kaveri delta was a major port town.[37] Ptolemy knew of this and the other port town of Nagappattinam as the most important centres of Cholas.[29] These two towns became hubs of trade and commerce and attracted many religious faiths, including Buddhism.[201] Roman ships found their way into these ports. Roman coins dating from the early centuries of the common era have been found near the Kaveri delta.[202][203]
The other major towns were Thanjavur, Uraiyur and Kudanthai, now known as Kumbakonam.[37] After Rajendra Chola moved his capital to Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Thanjavur lost its importance.[204] The later Chola kings moved around their capitals frequently and made cities such as Chidambaram, Madurai and Kanchipuram their regional capitals.
Local governmentEdit
Every village was a self-governing unit.[205] A number of villages constituted a larger entity known as a Kurram, Nadu or Kottam, depending on the area.[205][206][207] A number of Kurrams constituted a valanadu.[208] These structures underwent constant change and refinement throughout the Chola period.[209]
Justice was mostly a local matter in the Chola Empire; minor disputes were settled at the village level.[207] Punishment for minor crimes were in the form of fines or a direction for the offender to donate to some charitable endowment. Even crimes such as manslaughter or murder were punished with fines. Crimes of the state, such as treason, were heard and decided by the king himself; the typical punishment in these cases was either execution or confiscation of property.[210]
Cultural contributionsEdit
Under the Cholas, the Tamil country reached new heights of excellence in art, religion, music and literature.[211] In all of these spheres, the Chola period marked the culmination of movements that had begun in an earlier age under the Pallavas.[212] Monumental architecture in the form of majestic temples and sculpture in stone and bronze reached a finesse never before achieved in India.[213]
The Chola conquest of Kadaram (Kedah) and Srivijaya, and their continued commercial contacts with the Chinese Empire, enabled them to influence the local cultures.[214] Many of the surviving examples of the Hindu cultural influence found today throughout the Southeast Asia owe much to the legacy of the Cholas.[215][216]
The Cholas continued the temple-building traditions of the Pallava dynasty and contributed significantly to the Dravidian temple design.[217] They built a number of Siva temples along the banks of the river Kaveri. The template for these and future temples was formulated by Aditya I and Parantaka.[218][219][220] The Chola temple architecture has been appreciated for its magnificence as well as delicate workmanship, ostensibly following the rich traditions of the past bequeathed to them by the Pallava Dynasty.[221] Ferguson has very abtly remarked that "the Chola artists conceived like giants and finished like jewelers".[221] A new development in Chola art that characterized the Dravidian architecture in later times was the addition of a huge gateway called gopuram to the enclosure of the temple, which had gradually took its form and attained maturity under the Pandya Dynasty.[221] The Chola school of art also spread to Southeast Asia and influenced the architecture and art of Southeast Asia.[222][223]
Temple building received great impetus from the conquests and the genius of Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola I.[224] The maturity and grandeur to which the Chola architecture had evolved found expression in the two temples of Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram. The magnificent Siva temple of Thanjavur, completed around 1009, is a fitting memorial to the material achievements of the time of Rajaraja. The largest and tallest of all Indian temples of its time, it is at the apex of South Indian architecture. The temple of Gangaikondacholisvaram at Gangaikondacholapuram, the creation of Rajendra Chola, was intended to excel its predecessor. Completed around 1030, only two decades after the temple at Thanjavur and in the same style, the greater elaboration in its appearance attests the more affluent state of the Chola Empire under Rajendra.[217][225] The Brihadisvara Temple, the temple of Gangaikondacholisvaram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram were declared as World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO and are referred to as the Great living Chola temples.[226]
The Chola period is also remarkable for its sculptures and bronzes.[227][228][229] Among the existing specimens in museums around the world and in the temples of South India may be seen many fine figures of Siva in various forms, such as Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi, and the Saivaite saints.[217] Though conforming generally to the iconographic conventions established by long tradition, the sculptors worked with great freedom in the 11th and the 12th centuries to achieve a classic grace and grandeur. The best example of this can be seen in the form of Nataraja the Divine Dancer.[230][231]
The age of the Imperial Cholas (850–1200) was the golden age of Tamil culture, marked by the importance of literature. Chola records cite many works.[232]
The revival of Hinduism from its nadir during the Kalabhras spurred the construction of numerous temples and these in turn generated Saiva and Vaishnava devotional literature.[233] Jain and Buddhist authors flourished as well, although in fewer numbers than in previous centuries.[234] Jivaka-chintamani by Tirutakkatevar and Sulamani by Tolamoli are among notable by non-Hindu authors.[235][236][237] The art of Tirutakkatevar is marked by all the qualities of great poetry.[238] It is considered as the model for Kamban for his masterpiece Ramavataram.[239] The grammarian Buddhamitra wrote a text on Tamil grammar called Virasoliyam.[240][241] Commentaries were written on the great text Tolkāppiyam which deals with grammar but which also mentions ethics of warfare.[242][243][244] Periapuranam was another remarkable literary piece of this period.[245][246] This work is in a sense a national epic of the Tamil people because it treats of the lives of the Saints who lived in all the different parts of Tamil Nadu and belonged to all classes of society, men and women, high and low, educated and uneducated.[245][247]
Kamban flourished during the reign of Kulothunga Chola III. His Ramavatharam (also referred to as Kambaramayanam) is an epic in Tamil literature, and although the author states that he followed Valmiki's Ramayana, it is generally accepted that his work is not a simple translation or adaptation of the Sanskrit epic.[248] Kamban imports into his narration the colour and landscape of his own time; his description of Kosala is an idealised account of the features of the Chola country.[237][249][250]
Jayamkondar's masterpiece Kalingattuparani is an example of narrative poetry that draws a clear boundary between history and fictitious conventions. This describes the events during Kulothunga Chola I's war in Kalinga and depicts not only the pomp and circumstance of war, but the gruesome details of the field.[250][251][252] The famous Tamil poet Ottakuttan was a contemporary of Kulothunga Chola I and served at the courts of three of Kulothunga's successors.[239][250][251][253] Ottakuttan wrote Kulothunga Cholan Ula, a poem extolling the virtues of the Chola king.[254] "Nannul" is a work on Tamil grammar which discusses all 5 branches of grammar.[255] It is one of the most distinguished normative grammar of literary Tamil.[256]
The impulse to produce devotional religious literature continued into the Chola period and the arrangement of the Saiva canon into 11 books was the work of Nambi Andar Nambi, who lived close to the end of 10th century.[257][258] However, relatively few Vaishnavite works were composed during the later Chola period, possibly because of the apparent animosity towards the Vaishnavites by the later Chola monarchs.[259]
Cultural centersEdit
Chola rulers took an active interest in the development of temple centers and used the temples to widen the sphere of their royal authority.[260] They established educational institutions and hospitals around the temple, enhanced the beneficial aspects of the role of the temple, and projected the royalty as a very powerful and genial presence.[260] The record of Virarajendra Chola dated in his fifth year relates to the maintenance of a school in the Jananamandapa within the temple for the study of the Vedas, Sastras, Grammar, and Rupavatara, as well as a hostel for students.[261] The students were provided with food, bathing oil on Saturdays, and oil for pups. A hospital named Virasolan was provided with fifteen beds for sick people. The items of expense set apart for their comforts are rice, a doctor, a surgeon, two maid servants for nursing the patients, and a general servant for the hospital.[261]
In general, Cholas were the adherents of Hinduism. Throughout their history, they were not swayed by the rise of Buddhism and Jainism as were the kings of the Pallava and Pandya dynasties. Even the early Cholas followed a version of the classical Hindu faith. There is evidence in Purananuru for Karikala Chola's faith in Saivism in the Tamil country.[262] Kocengannan, another early Chola, was celebrated in both Sangam literature and in the Saiva canon as a saint.[43]
While the Cholas did build their largest and most important temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, it can be by no means concluded that either they were staunch Saivites or followers of Saivism only or that they were not favourably disposed to other faiths. This is borne out by the fact that the second Chola king Aditya I himself built quite a few temples for Lord Siva and for Lord Vishnu. In CE 890, his inscriptions speak of his contributions to the construction of the Ranganatha Temple at Srirangapatnam (now in Mandya district of Karnataka) in the country of Western Gangas who were both his feudatories and had marital relations with him. During the time of Aditya I (871–903 CE) the Gangas of Kannada country had recognized his superiority which he acknowledged by marrying into that family and making grant contributions to the construction of the Sri Ranganatha temple at modern Srirangapatnam. Aditya I regularly gave many endowments to the Sri Ranganatha Temple at Srirangam around CE 896 and issued an inscriptional dictat pronouncing that the great temples of Siva and the Ranganatha temple at Srirangam to be the 'Kuladhanam' of the Chola emperors.[263]
It was Aditya I's dictat which was faithfully carried out by his illustrious son Parantaka I and his successors wherein it was declared in edicts that the Siva Temple of Chidambaram (at that time the grand Siva temples of Tanjore and Gangaikonda Cholapuram were not in existence) and the Sri Ranganatha Swami temple of Srirangam were the "Kuladhanams", i.e., tutelary (deities) treasures of the Chola emperors. This dictat was repeated around 300 years back when the last great Chola King, Kulothunga III, the builder of the great Sarabeswarar Temple at Tribhuvanam on the outskirts of Kumbakonam, hails Lord Ranganatha at Srirangam in an inscription in the Srirangam Koil, as his 'tutelary deity'. As per findings of Dr. Hultzsch, the great epigraphist, in this inscription acknowledgment is made to the earlier great Chola king Parantaka about declaring the Chidambaram (Siva) Koil and the Srirangam (Vishnu) Koil as "Kuladhanams" of the Cholas—a pointer to the fact that the Cholas were secular and patronized equally all religions and sub-sects within the same religion. Another proof of this is the existence of as many as 40 Vaishnava Divyadesams out of 108 such temples in the Chola country, which are functioning and flourishing even today.
Chola king Sundara (Parantaka II) was a staunch devotee of the reclining Vishnu (Vadivu Azhagiya Nambi) at Anbil in the banks of Cauvery on the outskirts of Tiruchy, to whom he gave numerous gifts and embellishments, and prayed before him by keeping his sword before the deity, beforeo his proceeding for war for regaining the territories in and around Kanchi and Arcot from the waning Rashtrakutas and while leading expeditions against both Madurai and Ilam (Sri Lanka).[264] Parantaka I and Sundara Chola endowed and built temples for Siva and Vishnu.[265] Rajaraja Chola I patronised Buddhists and provided for the construction of the Chudamani Vihara (a Buddhist monastery) in Nagapattinam at the request of the Srivijaya Sailendra king.[36][266][267] While it is true that the biggest and grandest temples of the Cholas were dedicated to Lord Siva, all Chola kings especially from Aditya to Rajendra IV built great temples for Lord Vishnu and gave numerous grants and gifts to them.
During the period of Later Cholas, there were supposedly instances of intolerance towards Vaishnavites,[268] especially towards Ramanuja, the acharya of the Vaishnavites.[269] Kulothunga Chola II, a staunch Saivite, is said to have removed a statue of Vishnu from the Siva temple at Chidambaram, though there are no epigraphical evidences to support this theory. There is an inscription from 1160 that the custodians of Siva temples who had social intercourses with Vaishnavites would forfeit their property. However, this is more of a direction to the Saivite community by its religious heads than any kind of dictat by a Chola emperor. While Chola kings built their largest temples for Siva and even while emperors like Raja Raja Chola I held titles like 'Sivapadasekharan', in none of their inscriptions did the Chola emperors proclaim that their clan only and solely followed Saivism or that Saivism was the state religion during their rule.[270][271][272]
In popular cultureEdit
The history of the Chola dynasty has inspired many Tamil authors to produce literary and artistic creations during the last several decades.[273] The most important work of this genre is the popular Ponniyin Selvan (The son of Ponni), a historical novel in Tamil written by Kalki Krishnamurthy.[274] Written in five volumes, this narrates the story of Rajaraja Chola.[275] Ponniyin Selvan deals with the events leading up to the ascension of Uttama Chola to the Chola throne. Kalki had utilised the confusion in the succession to the Chola throne after the demise of Sundara Chola.[276] This book was serialised in the Tamil periodical Kalki during the mid-1950s.[277] The serialisation lasted for nearly five years and every week its publication was awaited with great interest.[278]
Kalki's earlier historical romance Parthiban Kanavu deals with the fortunes of an imaginary Chola prince Vikraman, who was supposed to have lived as a feudatory of the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I during the 7th century. The period of the story lies within the interregnum during which the Chola in eclipse before Vijayalaya Chola revived their fortunes.[275] Parthiban Kanavu was also serialised in the Kalki weekly during the early 1950s.
Sandilyan, another popular Tamil novelist, wrote Kadal Pura in the 1960s. It was serialised in the Tamil weekly Kumudam. Kadal Pura is set during the period when Kulothunga Chola I was in exile from the Vengi kingdom, after he was denied the throne. Kadal Pura speculates the whereabouts of Kulothunga during this period. Sandilyan's earlier work Yavana Rani written in the early 1960s is based on the life of Karikala Chola.[279] More recently, Balakumaran wrote the novel Udaiyar based on the circumstances surrounding Rajaraja Chola's construction of the Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur.[280]
There were stage productions based on the life of Rajaraja Chola during the 1950s and in 1973 Sivaji Ganesan acted in a screen adaptation of a play titled Rajaraja Cholan. The Cholas are featured in the History of the World board game, produced by Avalon Hill.
The Cholas were the subject of the 2010 Tamil-language movie Aayirathil Oruvan.
See alsoEdit
|Middle kingdoms of India
|Timeline and
cultural period
|Northwestern India
|Indo-Gangetic Plain
|Central India
|Southern India
|Western Gangetic Plain
|Northern India
(Central Gangetic Plain)
|Northeastern India
|Late Vedic Period
|Late Vedic Period
(Brahmin ideology)[a]
|Late Vedic Period
(Kshatriya/Shramanic culture)[b]
|6th century BCE
|Adivasi (tribes)
|Persian-Greek influences
|"Second Urbanisation"
Rise of Shramana movements
|5th century BCE
|(Persian rule)
|Shishunaga dynasty
|Adivasi (tribes)
|4th century BCE
|(Greek conquests)
|Spread of Buddhism
|Sangam period
|3rd century BCE
|Maurya Empire
|Early Cholas
46 other small kingdoms in Ancient Thamizhagam
|Preclassical Hinduism[c] - "Hindu Synthesis"[d] (ca. 200 BCE - 300 CE)[e][f]
Epics - Puranas - Ramayana - Mahabharata - Bhagavad Gita - Brahma Sutras - Smarta Tradition
Mahayana Buddhism
|Sangam period
|2nd century BCE
|Indo-Greek Kingdom
|Sunga Empire
|Adivasi (tribes)
|Early Cholas
46 other small kingdoms in Ancient Thamizhagam
|1st century BCE
|Maha-Meghavahana Dynasty
|1st century CE
|Kuninda Kingdom
|2nd century
|Varman dynasty
|3rd century
|Kushan Empire
|Western Satraps
|Kamarupa kingdom
|Kalabhras dynasty
|"Golden Age of Hinduism"(ca. CE 320-650)[g]
Co-existence of Hinduism and Buddhism
|4th century
|Gupta Empire
|Kalabhras dynasty
Pandyan Kingdom(Under Kalabhras)
|5th century
|Adivasi (tribes)
|Kalabhras dynasty
Pandyan Kingdom(Under Kalabhras)
|6th century
|Kalabhras dynasty
|Late-Classical Hinduism (ca. CE 650-1100)[h]
Advaita Vedanta - Tantra
Decline of Buddhism in India
|7th century
|Vakataka dynasty, Harsha
|Mlechchha dynasty
|Adivasi (tribes)
|Pandyan Kingdom(Under Kalabhras)
|8th century
|Kidarite Kingdom
|Pandyan Kingdom
|9th century
|Indo-Hephthalites (Huna)
|Pandyan Kingdom
|10th century
|Pala dynasty
|Medieval Cholas
References and sources for table
- ^ a b K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 157
- ^ a b c d Kulke and Rothermund, p 115
- ^ a b K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 158
- ^ The State at War in South Asia by Pradeep Barua p.18
- ^ a b c Majumdar, p 407
- ^ Encyclopaedia of North-East India by T. Raatan p.143
- ^ a b Meyer, p 73
- ^ The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World by Lincoln Paine p.866
- ^ a b K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 195
- ^ a b K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 196
- ^ a b c Vasudevan, pp 20–22
- ^ Historical Dictionary of India by Surjit Mansingh p.146
- ^ History of Agriculture in India, Up to C. 1200 A.D. by Lallanji Gopal and V.C SriVastava p.501
- ^ Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Islamic expansion by André Wink p.322
- ^ An Economic History of India by Dietmar Rothermund p.9
- ^ Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium by Ronald Findlay,Kevin H. O'Rourke p.67
- ^ Thai Art with Indian Influences by Promsak Jermsawatdi p.57
- ^ Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture by John Stewart Bowman p.335
- ^ A History of Early Southeast Asia: Maritime Trade and Societal Development by Kenneth R. Hall
- ^ Aryatarangini, the Saga of the Indo-Aryans, by A. Kalyanaraman p.158
- ^ India and Malaya Through the Ages: by S. Durai Raja Singam
- ^ a b The age of Sangam is established through the correlation between the evidence on foreign trade found in the poems and the writings by ancient Greek and Romans such as Periplus. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of Cyril and Lulu Charles, p 106
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, pp 19–20
- ^ Archaeological News A. L. Frothingham, Jr. The American Journal of Archaeology and of the History of the Fine Arts, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Mar., 1998), pp. 69–125
- ^ "The name Coromandel is used for the east coast of India from Cape Comorin to Nellore, or from point Calimere to the mouth of Krishna. The word is a corrupt form of Choramandala or the Realm of Chora, which is the Tamil form of the title of the Chola dynasty". – Gupta AN, p 182
- ^ The period covered by the Sangam poetry is likely to extend not longer than five or six generations – K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 3
- ^ The Periplus refers to the region of the eastern seaboard of South India as Damirica – The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Ancient History source book).
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 23
- ^ a b Ptolemy mentions the town of Kaveripattinam (under the form Khaberis) – Proceedings, American Philosophical Society (1978), vol. 122, No. 6, p 414
- ^ Mahavamsa eText – http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/
- ^ The Ashokan inscriptions speak of the Cholas in plural, implying that, in his time, there were more than one Chola – K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 20. However, this analogy is doubtful because the same inscription, all the kings either friendly or subordinate to the Mauryan Empire have been referred to in plural for e.g., subordinates like the Greeks, the Kambojas, the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras and the Palidas or friendly empires have been called 'Cholas' and 'Pandyas' and as far as Tamraparani or modern Sri Lanka – significantly the word 'Tamraparani' does not clearly mean territory ruled by one or more kings. It is indeed a known fact that for most of their history though, the Pandyas ruled their dominions with members of the same family dividing their empire into various parts and controlling various aspects of administration of their territories. The Cholas too followed the same practice with sons of the Chola emperors controlling various parts or aspects of their territories or administration along with their relatives or allies who bore the common title 'Chola'. This knowledge about the friendly empires of both 'Pandyas' and 'Cholas' must have prompted Ashoka to refer to them thus. Link: http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html
- ^ The Edicts of Ashoka, issued around 250 BCE by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, mention the Cholas as recipients of his Buddhist proselytism: "The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred yojanas (5,400–9,600 km) away, where the Greek king Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni (Sri Lanka)". S. Dhammika, The Edicts of King Ashoka: An English Rendering
- ^ Smith, p viii
- ^ The direct line of Cholas of the Vijayalaya dynasty came to an end with the death of Virarajendra Chola and the assassination of his son Athirajendra Chola. Kulothunga Chola I, ascended the throne in 1070. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, pp 170–172
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, pp 19–20, pp 104–106
- ^ a b South Indian Inscriptions, Vol 3
- ^ a b c d e Tripathi, p 457
- ^ Manimekalai (poem 00-10)
- ^ Manimekalai (poem 22-030)
- ^ Majumdar, p 137
- ^ a b c Kulke and Rothermund, p 104
- ^ a b Tripathi, p 458
- ^ a b K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 116
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, pp 105–106
- ^ The only evidence for the approximate period of these early kings is the Sangam Literature and the synchronization with the history of Sri Lanka as given in the Mahavamsa. Gajabahu I who is said to be the contemporary of the Chera Senguttuvan is determined to belong to the 2nd century. This leads us to date the poems mentioning Senguttuvan and his contemporaries to belong to this period.
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 113
- ^ Gnanaprakasar, Nallur Swami. "Beginnings of tamil rule in ceylon". lankalibrary.com. Retrieved 2006-12-05.
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 130
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, pp 130, 135, 137
- ^ Majumdar, Ancient India. p 139
- ^ Thapar, p 268
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 135
- ^ a b K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, pp 130, 133. Quote:"The Cholas disappeared from the Tamil land almost completely in this debacle, though a branch of them can be traced towards the close of the period in Rayalaseema – the Telugu-Chodas, whose kingdom is mentioned by Yuan Chwang in the seventh century A.D
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 102
- ^ Pandya Kadungon and Pallava Simhavishnu overthrew the Kalabhras. Acchchutakalaba is likely the last Kalabhra king – Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 102
- ^ Periyapuranam, a Saiva religious work of 12th century tells us of the Pandya king Nindrasirnedumaran, who had for his queen a Chola princess. Chopra et al., p 95
- ^ Copperplate grants of the Pallava Buddhavarman(late 4th century) mention that the king as the "underwater fire that destroyed the ocean of the Chola army". – Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, pp 104–105
- ^ Simhavishnu (575–600) is also stated to have seized the Chola country. Mahendravarman I was called the "crown of the Chola country" in his inscriptions.
- ^ a b Chopra et al., p 95
- ^ Tripathi, p459
- ^ Chopra et al., p 31
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 4. Quote:"it is not known what relation, if any, the Telugu-Chodas of the Renadu country in the Ceded District, bore to their namesakes of the Tamil land, though they claimed descent from Karikala, the most celebrated of the early Chola monarchs of the Sangam age"
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri postulates that there was a live connection between the early Cholas and the Renandu Cholas of the Andhra country. The northward migration probably took place during the Pallava domination of Simhavishnu. Sastri also categorically rejects the claims that these were the descendants of Karikala Chola – K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 107
- ^ Tripathi, pp 458–459
- ^ Ancient Indian History and Civilization by Sailendra Nath Sen p.477-478
- ^ a b c Dehejia. p xiv
- ^ Kulke and Rothermund, pp 122–123
- ^ The First Spring: The Golden Age of India by Abraham Eraly p.67
- ^ K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, Advanced History of India (1955), pp. 174
- ^ a b c The First Spring: The Golden Age of India by Abraham Eraly p.68
- ^ "Endowments to the Temple". Archaeological Survey of India.
- ^ The Dancing Girl: A History of Early India by Balaji Sadasivan p.133
- ^ A Comprehensive History of Medieval India, by Farooqui Salma Ahmed,Salma Ahmed Farooqui p.25
- ^ Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium by Ronald Findlay, Kevin H. O'Rourke p.67
- ^ History Without Borders: The Making of an Asian World Region, 1000-1800 by Geoffrey C. Gunn p.43
- ^ Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia by Hermann Kulke, K. Kesavapany,Vijay Sakhuja p.71
- ^ Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations by Tansen Sen p.226
- ^ K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, Advanced History of India (1955), pp. 191
- ^ K. A. Nilakanta Sastri,The Colas,pp 194–210
- ^ Stuart Munro-Hay, Nakhon Sri Thammarat: The Archaeology, History and Legends of a Southern Thai Town, p 18, ISBN 974-7534-73-8
- ^ Ancient India: Collected Essays on the Literary and Political History of Southern India by Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar p.233
- ^ Chopra et al., pp 107–109
- ^ a b K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India
- ^ A History of South India, K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (2003), p.184
- ^ Mukund, p.xlii
- ^ "Kulottunga fought successful wars against the Cheras and Hoysala Ballala II and performed Vijayabhisheka at Karuvur in A.D.1193." K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, Advanced History of India, p.295
- ^ "After the second Pandya War, Kulottunga undertook a campaign to check to the growth of Hoysala power in that quarter. He re-established Chola suzerainty over the Adigaimans of Tagadur, defeated a Chera ruler in battle and performed a vijayabhisheka in Karuvur (1193). His relations with the Hoysala Ballala II seem to have become friendly afterwards, for Ballala married a Chola princess". K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, 'A History of South India', p. 178
- ^ Chopra et al., p 107
- ^ Chopra et al., p 109
- ^ Between 2 Oceans (2nd Edn): A Military History of Singapore from 1275 to 1971 by Malcolm H. Murfett,John Miksic,Brian Farell,Chiang Ming Shun p.16
- ^ a b Encyclopaedia of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh by Om Gupta p.532
- ^ South India by Stuart Butler,Jealous p.38
- ^ Munoz, Paul Michel (2006). Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet. ISBN 981-4155-67-5.
- ^ Asia: A Concise History by Arthur Cotterell p.190
- ^ The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World by Lincoln Paine p.866
- ^ History of Asia by B.V. Rao p.211
- ^ Singapore in Global History by Derek Thiam Soon Heng,Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied p.40
- ^ Aryatarangini, the Saga of the Indo-Aryans, by A. Kalyanaraman p.158
- ^ India and Malaya Through the Ages: by S. Durai Raja Singam
- ^ Majumdar, p 405
- ^ a b Chopra et al., p 120
- ^ Majumdar, p 372
- ^ a b c Tripathi, p 471
- ^ South Indian Inscriptions, Vol. 12
- ^ Chopra et al., pp 128–129
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 194
- ^ a b Tripathi, p 472
- ^ Majumdar, p 410
- ^ Tripathi, p 485
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 197
- ^ a b Chopra et al., p 130
- ^ The only other time when peninsular India would be brought under one umbrella before the Independence was during the Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1614)
- ^ Stein, p 26
- ^ a b c Administrative System in India: Vedic Age to 1947 by U. B. Singh p.77
- ^ A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th century by Upinder Singh p.590
- ^ A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th century by Upinder Singh p.590
- ^ A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th century by Upinder Singh p.590
- ^ A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th century by Upinder Singh p.590
- ^ Precolonial India in Practice : Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra by Austin Cynthia Talbot Assistant Professor of History and Asian Studies University of Texas p.172
- ^ Precolonial India in Practice : Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra by Austin Cynthia Talbot Assistant Professor of History and Asian Studies University of Texas p.172
- ^ Precolonial India in Practice : Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra by Austin Cynthia Talbot Assistant Professor of History and Asian Studies University of Texas p.172
- ^ History of India by N. Jayapalan p.171
- ^ a b c d History & Civics IX Rachna Sagar p.141
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 448
- ^ "Thanjavur".
- ^ There was no legislature or executive. The king ruled by edicts, which generally followed dharma a culturally mediated concept of "fair and proper" practice. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, pp 451, 460–461
- ^ For example, Rajaraja is mentioned in the Layden copperplate grant to have issued an oral order for a gift to a Buddhist vihara at Nagapattinam, and his orders were written out by a clerk – K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 461
- ^ The State at War in South Asia by Pradeep Barua p.18
- ^ Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia by Hermann Kulke,K Kesavapany,Vijay Sakhuja p.88
- ^ The State at War in South Asia by Pradeep Barua p.18
- ^ The State at War in South Asia by Pradeep Barua p.18
- ^ Art of the Imperial Cholas by Vidya Dehejia p.79
- ^ Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia by Hermann Kulke,K Kesavapany,Vijay Sakhuja p.97-99
- ^ The First Spring: The Golden Age of India by Abraham Eraly p.176
- ^ The history of the Tamils and the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka by G. K. Rajasuriar , 1998 - p.15
- ^ Ancient Indian History and Civilization by Sailendra Nath Sen p.205
- ^ Technology and Society by Menon R.V.G. p.15
- ^ Pelagic Passageways: The Northern Bay of Bengal Before Colonialism by Rila Mukherjee p.105
- ^ Peasant state and society in medieval South India by Burton Stein p.130
- ^ Globalising Migration History: The Eurasian Experience by Lucassen, Jan p.120
- ^ Martial races of undivided India by Vidya Prakash Tyagi p.274-275
- ^ Academic GK Matters -8 by Saakshi Gupta p.53
- ^ Martial races of undivided India by Vidya Prakash Tyagi p.277
- ^ Martial races of undivided India by Vidya Prakash Tyagi p.277
- ^ The Pearson General Studies Manual 2009, 1/e by Showick Thorpe Edgar Thorpe p.59
- ^ A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India by Upinder Singh p.54
- ^ a b c d An Atlas and Survey of South Asian History by Karl J. Schmidt p.32
- ^ Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia by Hermann Kulke,K Kesavapany,Vijay Sakhuja p.179
- ^ The First Spring: The Golden Age of India by Abraham Eraly p.208
- ^ Historical Dictionary of the Tamils by Vijaya Ramaswamy p.20
- ^ Pelagic Passageways: The Northern Bay of Bengal Before Colonialism by Rila Mukherjee p.105
- ^ a b A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th century by Upinder Singh p.599
- ^ Trade and Politics on the Coromandel Coast: Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth centuries by Radhika Seshan p.18
- ^ A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th century by Upinder Singh p.599
- ^ Indian Textiles: Past and Present by G. K. Ghosh,Shukla Ghosh p.123-124
- ^ Kanchipuram: Land of Legends, Saints and Temples by P. V. L. Narasimha Rao p.134
- ^ Historical Dictionary of the Tamils by Vijaya Ramaswamy p.51
- ^ a b c d e History of People and Their Environs: Essays in Honour of Prof. B.S. Chandrababu by S.Ganeshram p.319
- ^ a b A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century by Upinder Singh p.592
- ^ Ancient Indian History and Civilization by Sailendra Nath Sen p.490-492
- ^ Rural Society in Southeast India by Kathleen Gough p.29
- ^ Indian History by Reddy p.B57
- ^ a b c d The Trading World of the Tamil Merchant by Kanakalatha Mukund p.30-32
- ^ Historical Dictionary of the Tamils by Vijaya Ramaswamy p.86
- ^ a b c d e f Economic History of India by N. Jayapalan p.49
- ^ Fundamentals of Nursing by B T Basavanthappa p.121
- ^ Proceedings of the Indian History Congress p.82
- ^ Temple Art Under the Chola Queens by Balasubrahmanyam Venkataraman p.72
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 175
- ^ a b The Trading World of the Tamil Merchant: Evolution of Merchant Capitalism in the Coromandel by Kanakalatha Mukund p.29-30
- ^ Rural Society in Southeast India by Kathleen Gough p.29
- ^ Sri Lankan Society in an Era of Globalization: Struggling To Create A New Social Order by S. H. Hasbullah, Barrie M. Morrison p.104
- ^ a b The Political Economy of Craft Production: Crafting Empire in South India, by Carla M. Sinopoli p.188
- ^ a b c Bhakti Poetry in Medieval India: Its Inception, Cultural Encounter and Impact by Neeti M. Sadarangani p.16
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 284
- ^ —during the short reign of Virarajendra Chola, which possibly had some sectarian roots.
- ^ Chopra et al., p 125
- ^ Chopra et al., p 129
- ^ Scharfe, p 180
- ^ 17th century Italian traveler Pietro Della Valle (1623) has given a vivid account of the village schools in South India. These accounts reflect the system of primary education in existence until the morder times in Tamil Nadu
- ^ Rajendra Chola I endowed a large college in which more than 280 students learnt from 14 teachers – K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 293
- ^ The students studied a number of subjects in these colleges, including philosophy (anvikshiki), Vedas (trayi – the threefold Vedas of Rigveda, Yajurveda and Samaveda. The fourth Atharvaveda was considered a non-religious text.), economics (vartta), government (dandaniti), grammar, prosody, etymology, astronomy, logic (tarka), medicine (ayurveda), politics (arthasastra) and music. – K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 292
- ^ Scharfe, pp 172–173
- ^ Kulke and Rothermund, pp 116–117
- ^ Kulke and Rothermund, p 12
- ^ a b Kulke and Rothermund, p 118
- ^ The Trading World of the Tamil Merchant: Evolution of Merchant Capitalism in Coromandel by Kanakalatha Mukund p.29
- ^ The Trading World of the Tamil Merchant: Evolution of Merchant Capitalism in Coromandel by Kanakalatha Mukund p.30
- ^ Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations by Tansen Sen p.159
- ^ Kulke and Rothermund, p 124
- ^ Tripathi, p 465
- ^ Tripathi, p 477
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 604
- ^ a b c Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations by Tansen Sen p.156
- ^ a b Kulke and Rothermund, p 117
- ^ See Thapar, p xv
- ^ a b Mukund p. 92
- ^ Mukund p. 88
- ^ Mukund p. 95
- ^ a b c d e f History of Agriculture in India, Up to c. 1200 A.D. by Lallanji Gopal p.501
- ^ The Buddhist work Milinda Panha dated to the early Christian era, mentions Kolapttna among the best-known sea ports on the Chola coast. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 23
- ^ Nagaswamy, Tamil Coins – a study
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 107
- ^ Chopra et al., p 106
- ^ a b Tripathi, pp 474–475
- ^ Stein, p 20
- ^ a b K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 185
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 150
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 465
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 477
- ^ Mitter, p 2
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 418
- ^ It was, however, in bronze sculptures that the Chola craftsmen excelled, producing images rivalling the best anywhere. Thapar, p 403
- ^ Kulke and Rothermund, p 159
- ^ The great temple complex at Prambanan in Indonesia exhibit a number of similarities with the South Indian architecture. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 709
- ^ Kulke and Rothermund, pp 159–160
- ^ a b c Tripathi, p 479
- ^ Dehejia p. 10
- ^ Harle, p 295
- ^ Mitter, p 57
- ^ a b c Temples of South India by V. V. Subba Reddy p.110
- ^ Thai Art with Indian Influences by Promsak Jermsawatdi p.57
- ^ Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture by John Stewart Bowman p.335
- ^ Vasudevan, pp 21–24
- ^ Nagasamy R, Gangaikondacholapuram
- ^ "Great Living Chola Temples". UNESCO. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
- ^ Chopra et al., p 186
- ^ Mitter, p 163
- ^ Thapar, pp 309–310
- ^ Wolpert, p174
- ^ By common consent, the finest Cola masterpieces are the bronze images of Siva Nataraja. Mitter, p 59
- ^ , including Rajarajesvara Natakam- a work on drama, Viranukkaviyam by one Virasola Anukkar, and Kannivana Puranam, a work of popular nature. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, pp 663–664
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 333
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 339
- ^ Chopra et al., p 188
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, pp 339–340
- ^ a b Encyclopaedia of Indian literature, vol. 2, p 1195
- ^ Chopra et al., p 196
- ^ a b K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 340
- ^ History of Tinnevelly by Bishop R. Caldwell p.29
- ^ Ancient India: Collected Essays on the Literary and Political History of southern India by Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar p.127
- ^ The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics by Roland Greene, Stephen Cushman, Clare Cavanagh, Jahan Ramazani, Paul F. Rouzer, Harris Feinsod, David Marno, Alexandra Slessarev p.1410
- ^ A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century by Upinder Singh p.27
- ^ Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India, by kamlesh kapur p.617
- ^ a b Concise Encyclopaedia Of India by Kulwant Rai Gupta, Amita Gupta p.288
- ^ Land and People of Indian States and Union Territories by S. C. Bhatt p.186
- ^ Land and People of Indian States and Union Territories by S. C. Bhatt p.186
- ^ Legend of Ram By Sanujit Ghose
- ^ Rays and Ways of Indian Culture By D. P. Dubey
- ^ a b c Chopra et al., p 116
- ^ a b K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 20
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, pp 340–341
- ^ Majumdar, p 8
- ^ Encyclopaedia of Indian literature, vol. 1, p 307
- ^ A Dictionary of Indian Literature: Beginnings-1850 by Sujit Mukherjee p.253
- ^ Handbook of Oriental Studies, Part 2 by Bertold Spuler p.194
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, pp 342–343
- ^ Chopra et al., p 115
- ^ a b Bhakti Poetry in Medieval India: Its Inception, Cultural Encounter and Impact by Neeti M. Sadarangani: p.15
- ^ a b South Indian Shrines, Illustrated by P. V. Jagadisa Ayyar p.23
- ^ Purananuru (poem 224) movingly expresses his faith and the grief caused by his passing away.
- ^ Darasuram Temple Inscriptions @. Whatisindia.com (2007-01-29). Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
- ^ Tripathi, p 480
- ^ Vasudevan, p 102
- ^ The name of the Sailendra king was Sri Chulamanivarman and the Vihara was named 'Chudamani vihara' in his honour. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 214
- ^ Majumdar, p 406
- ^ Stein, p 134
- ^ Vasudevan, p 104
- ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p 176
- ^ K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, The CōĻas, p 645
- ^ Chopra et al., p 126
- ^ Das, p 108
- ^ "Versatile writer and patriot". The Hindu. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ a b Das, p 109
- ^ Das, pp 108–109
- ^ "English translation of Ponniyin Selvan". The Hindu. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ "Lines that Speak". The Hindu. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature, vol. 1, pp 631–632
- ^ "Book review of Udaiyar". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 2005-02-22. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
- Chopra, P.N; Ravindran, T.K; Subrahmanian, N (2003). History of South India ; Ancient, Medieval and Modern. New Delhi: S. Chand & Company Ltd. ISBN 81-219-0153-7.
- Das, Sisir Kumar (1995). History of Indian Literature (1911–1956) : Struggle for Freedom – Triumph and Tragedy. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 81-7201-798-7.
- Dehejia, Vidya (1990). The Art of the Imperial Cholas. India: Columbia University Press.
- Gupta, A.N; Gupta, Satish (1976). Sarojini Naidu's Select Poems, with an Introduction, Notes, and Bibliography. Prakash Book Depot.
- Harle, J.C (1994). The art and architecture of the Indian Subcontinent. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-06217-6.
- Hermann, Kulke; Rothermund D (2001) [2000]. A History of India. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-32920-5.
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- Meyer, Milton Walter (1997). Asia: a concise history. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 0-8476-8063-0.
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- Mukund, Kanakalatha. Merchants of Tamilakam: Pioneers of International Trade. India: Penguin Books India.
- Nagasamy, R (1970). Gangaikondacholapuram. State Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu.
- Nagasamy, R (1981). Tamil Coins – A study. Institute of Epigraphy, Tamilnadu State Dept. of Archaeology.
- K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, K.A (1984) [1935]. The CōĻas. Madras: University of Madras.
- K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, K.A (2002) [1955]. A History of South India. New Delhi: OUP.
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- "South Indian Inscriptions". Archaeological Survey of India. What Is India Publishers (P) Ltd. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
- Stein, Burton (1998). A history of India. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0-631-20546-2.
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- Tripathi, Rama Sankar (1967). History of Ancient India. India: Motilal Banarsidass Publications. ISBN 81-208-0018-4.
- Vasudevan, Geeta (2003). Royal Temple of Rajaraja: An Instrument of Imperial Cola Power. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. ISBN 81-7017-383-3.
- Various (1987). Encyclopaedia of Indian literature, vol. 1. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 81-260-1803-8.
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- Wolpert, Stanley A (1999). India. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22172-9.
External linksEdit
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chola dynasty.
- UNESCO World Heritage sites – Chola temples
- Art of Cholas
- Chola coins
- Chola coins of Sri Lanka
- Devotion in South India: Chola Bronzes, Asia Society Museum exhibition


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Andrew Niles, Tracy Worzella and Michael Busch1Promega Corporation, 2800 Woods Hollow Rd., Madison, WI 537111CyBio AG, Goeschwitzer Strasse 40, 07745 Jena, Germany
Promega has developed homogeneous, non-lytic reagents that measure the proportion of viable and non-viable cells in the same assay well. Here we demonstrate the use of automation to perform highthroughput and ultra-high throughput cell-based multiplexing studies. We provide protocols and supporting data that demonstrate the automation synergies of the assays with the CyBio CyBi®-Well hardware. We show that complementary viability and cytotoxicity measures have particular merit for normalizing data to reduce error associated with cell clumping or identifying errors from interferences due to test compounds or medium components. In addition, we also demonstrate how the MultiTox assays can be further multiplexed with a downstream assay, such as a Promega luminescent assay or other spectrally distinct fluorescent assay method, to measure caspase activation, reporter activity, or cell viability. Specifically, we show how these novel assays can be further multiplexed with downstream apoptosis assays in order to determine mode of action effects.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Being on your ignore list makes my dick hard, because there is no version of this exchange where you win. If you respond, I own your ass because you came back for more. If you don't, I own your ass because getting you out of my life forever was the point all along. Pwned and done ... tool.
And that, dear Phoronix readers, is how you properly deal with a troll - you choke him with his own shit.


text:
Phoronix: Freedreno ARM GPU Driver Keeps Hitting Milestones
The Freedreno open-source graphics driver project that's a clean-room reverse-engineered implementation of the Qualcomm Adreno graphics core on the company's ARM SoCs keeps reaching new milestones. While the driver is mostly just worked on by Rob Clark and without any support from Qualcomm, it's quickly becoming the flagship open-source ARM graphics driver for the Linux desktop...
How Rob can develop this driver so fast? O.o
Does he have an deep knowledge of the hardware and the software bits of the driver?
Is Qualcomn SoC easier to understand?
I am asking this for curiosity's sake, because Mali, Etnaviv and others doesn't seem to improve so fast, even having (apparently) more man power...
Anyone aware of a sub-$80 board that might be suitable for this?
(I'm open to something less than an S4, though ARMv7 would be nice. Single-core @ 1 GHz is not unthinkable.)
Is it still possible to use the original framebuffer driver, or do I need to figure out how to configure a 3.1x kernel to replace the 2.6.35 kernel on my phone?
(But, that would need either for libdrm_freedreno to support yet a different kernel interface, or to port msm drm/kms, and add a2xx + gpummu support. So some non-trivial hacking required, but of course patches welcome :-))
You might also checkout what is available with iMX6 (new CuBox, the utilite, perhaps others), which is newer/faster with viviante GPU. Or various other SoC's with vivante. While it isn't upstream yet, the etnaviv gallium driver is pretty far along too, so vivante is shaping up to be another open src graphics option.


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