 The Cholas came to prominence once more through the rise of the Medieval Chola monarch Vijayalaya ( 841 – 878 ) in about 850 . Vijayalaya conquered Thanjavur from the Mutharayar king Elango Mutharayar and built a temple dedicated to Hindu goddess Nisumbhasudani . His son Aditya I ( 871 – 901 ) consolidated the hold over the city . The Rashtrakuta king Krishna II ( 878 – 914 ) , a contemporary of the Chola king Parantaka I ( 907 – 950 ) , claims to have conquered Thanjavur , but there are no records to support the claim . Gradually , Thanjavur became the most important city in the Chola Empire and remained its capital till the emergence of Gangaikonda Cholapuram in about 1025 . During the first decade of the eleventh century , the Chola king Raja Raja Chola I ( 985 – 1014 ) constructed the Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur . The temple is considered to be one of the best specimens of South Indian temple architecture . 
