Rajaraja Chola I is one of the greatest kings of the Tamil Chola Empire, who ruled between 985 and 1014 CE. He established the Chola empire by conquering the kingdoms of southern India expanding the Chola Empire as far as Sri Lanka in the south, and Kalinga (Orissa) in the northeast. He fought many battles with the Chalukyas in the north and the Pandyas in the south. By conquering Vengi, Rajaraja laid the foundations for the Later Chola dynasty.
He streamlined the administrative system with the division of the country into various districts and by standardizing revenue collection through systematic land surveys. He built the magnificent Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur and through it enabled wealth distribution amongst his subjects. His successes enabled his son Rajendra Chola I to extend the empire even further.
Popular Prince
Rajaraja was born as the third child of Parantaka Sundara Chola and Vanavan Maha Devi. After a long apprenticeship of an heir apparent, he ascended the throne after the death of Uttama Chola, his uncle. During the lifetime of his father Sundara Chola, Arulmozhi (later to become the great Rajaraja Chola) had carved a name for himself by his exploits in the battles against the Sinhala and Pandyan armies. Thiruvalangadu copper-plate inscriptions say:
"…Though his subjects…entreated Arulmozhi Varman, he…did not desire the kingdom for himself even inwardly ".
This was to say that Raja Raja was very much legally elected through the kind of democratic process followed by cholas. The Thiruvalangadu inscription again states:
"Having noticed by the marks (on his body) that Arulmozhi was the very Vishnu, the protector of the three worlds, descended on earth, [Uttama] installed him in the position of yuvaraja (heir apparent) and himself bore the burden of ruling the earth…"
Military Conquests
Southern Wars
The southern kingdoms of Pandyas, Cheras and the Sinhalas were often allied against the Cholas. It was the case when Rajaraja came to the throne. Rajaraja's initial campaigns were against the combined Pandya and Chera armies. There is no evidence of any military campaign undertaken by Rajaraja until the eighth year of his reign. During this period he was engaged in organising and augumenting his army and in preparing for military expeditions.
Kandalur Salai
The first military achievement of Rajaraja’s reign was the campaign in Kerala c. 994 CE. In this campaign Rajaraja is said to have destroyed a fleet in the port of Kandalur. Inscriptions refer to the conquest of the Chera king and the Pandyas in Malai-nadu (the west coast of South India). To commemorate these conquests Rajaraja assumed the title Mummudi-Chola, (the Chola king who wears three crowns - the Chera, Chola and Pandya).
Invasion of Lanka
To eliminate the remaining actor in the triumvirate, Rajaraja invaded Sri Lanka in 993 CE. The copper-plate inscription mention that Rajaraja’s powerful army crossed the ocean by ships and burnt up the kingdom of Lanka. Mahinda, the Lankan king whose army had mutinied had to seek refuge. Rajaraja utilised this opportunity and invaded the island. Anuradhapura, the 1400-year-old capital of Sinhala kings was destroyed. The destruction was so extensive the city was abandoned. Rajaraja also built a Temple for Siva in Pollonaruwa. RajaRajan's desire to bring the whole Lankan island under Cholan empire was fulfilled later by his son Rajendra Chola I.
Ganga Wars
Before his 14th year c. 998–999 CE, Rajaraja conquered Gangapadi (Gangawadi) and Nurambapadi (Nolambawadi), which formed part of the present Karnataka State.
The invasion of the Ganga country was a success and the entire Ganga country was under the Chola rule for the next century.
Western Chalukya Wars
The conquest of Gangapadi and Nulambapadi must have brought the Cholas into direct contact with the Western Chalukyas. Both the Cholas and the Western Chalukyas were powerful and strong. Under these circumstances any slight cause would have been enough to provoke a quarrel. Also, the Chalukyas were being pressed from the north by the hostile Paramaras of Malwa and must have found it difficult to sustain against themselves against two powerful enemies attacking from two opposite directions.
Rajaraja evidently attached much importance to his victory over Satyasraya, as he is said to have presented gold flowers to the Rajarajesvara temple on his return from the expedition.
War against Vengi
Some of chola inscriptions of Raja Raja note that during a war against vengi, the king himself took initiative and killed a certain ruler called bheema ruling that area because " he felled one of his commanders". Thus even if cholas had reigned supreme in eastern deccan it was certainly a military vision that vengi served as a military base for cholas. Cholas built naval bases down south in Pandyan country and also near Suchindram and Colombo in lanka.
Kalinga conquest
The invasion of the kingdom of Kalinga must have occurred subsequent to the conquest of Vengi. Rajendra Chola, as the commander of the Chola forces invaded and defeated the Andhra king Bhima.
Naval Conquests
One of the last conquests of Rajaraja was the naval conquest of the ‘old islands of the sea numbering 12,000’, the Maldives.
The increasing realisation of the importance of a good Navy and the desire to neutralise the emerging Chera Naval power were probably the reasons for the Kandalur campaign in the early days of Rajaraja’s reign.
Thanjavur Temple
Rajaraja’s great reign is commemorated by the magnificent Siva temple in Thanjavur, called Raajarajeswaram - the finest monument of this period of South Indian history. The temple is remarkable both for its massive proportions and for its simplicity of design. It is now recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, forming part of the Great Living Chola Temples site.
After its commemoration the great temple and the capital had close business relations with the rest of the country and acted as a centre of both religious and economic activity. Year after year villages from all over the country had to supply men and material for the temple maintenance.
Administration
From the 23rd to the 29th year of Rajaraja’s rule his dominions enjoyed peace and the king apparently devoted his energies to the task of internal administration. The building of the Rajarajesvara temple in Thanjavur and the various endowments and gifts to it must have occupied a prominent place in the king’s mind during these years.
Rajaraja carried out a revenue and settlement during the final years of his reign. Inscriptions found in the Thanjavur temple bear testimony to the accuracy of this operation.
Rajaraja also perfected the administrative organization by creating a strong and centralised machinery and by appointing local government authorities. He installed a system of audit and control by which the village assemblies and other public bodies were held to account while not curtailing their autonomy.
Military Organisation
Rajaraja created a powerful standing army and a considerable navy which achieved even greater success under his son Rajendra. The prominence given to the army from the conquest of the Pandyas down to the last year of the king’s reign is significant, and shows the spirit with which he treated his soldiers. It is evident that Rajaraja gave his army its due share in the glory derived from his extensive conquests.
Standardised Inscriptions
History owes Rajaraja the desire on his part to record his military achievements in every one of his inscriptions and thus had down to posterity some of the important events of his life. As far as we know at present Rajaraja was the first king of South India to introduce this innovation into his inscriptions. Before his time powerful kings of the Pallava, Pandya and Chola dynasties had reigned in the South, and some of them had made extensive conquests. But none of them seems to have thought of leaving a record on stone of his military achievements.
The idea of Rajaraja to add a short account of his military achievements at the beginning of every one of his inscriptions was entirely his own. His action in this respect is all the more laudable because his successors evidently followed his example and have left us more or less complete records of their conquests. But for the historical introductions, elucidating the history of Southern India would have been well nigh impossible.
Religious Policy
An ardent follower of Siva, Rajaraja was nevertheless tolerant towards other faiths and creeds. He also had several temples for Vishnu constructed. He also encouraged the construction of the Buddhist Chudamani Vihara. Kundavai Pirattiyar, sister of Rajaraja, built a Jaina temple called Kundavai Devi Jinalaya.
Personal Life and Family
Rajaraja was born Arulmozhi Varman and was the third child of Parantaka Sundara Chola. His elder brother Aditya II was assassinated c. 969 CE. Rajaraja spent a lot of time in the company of Kundavai, his elder sister and must have much admired her.
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