The caricature shows Cholans war against Kadaram ... Raja Raja Cholan and his prince Rajendra Cholan were the first Tamil – Dravidian and Indian emperors to lead their naval fleets to invade and conquest overseas land. Raja Raja Cholan was the first Tamil emperor to establish the first Tamil -Dravidan naval fleet some 1,200 years back. He had established his rule extending from India up to Southeast Asia with his naval fleet. His rule extended beyond the Bay of Bengal, covering Jawa, Sumatra, parts of Malaya, Myanmar, Brunei and even some territory Islands that belonged to Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. Rajendra Cholan, prince of Raja Raja Cholan, had the honour of establishing the first ever Tamil – Dravidian merchant naval fleet. He transformed the naval fleet of his father King into a merchant naval fleet and thereby established trade between India and Southeast Asia, and even reaching out to China. There are evidence the Cholans had traded via the sea with the Romans in Europe. The Indian government named its merchant naval training centre in Mumbai as ‘TS Rajendar’ after the great Tamil – Hindu emperor. In the 10th and 11 century, King Admiral Rajendra Cholan was single-handedly responsible to bring many parts of Southeast Asia under Tamil – Dravidian rule, thanks to its mighty naval fleet. Rajendra’s father emperor Raja Raja Cholan was the Tamil – Dravidian and India’s first ever emperor to establish a full fledge naval fleet that invaded, conquered and ruled foreign lands. Raja Raja Cholan established his naval fleet in July 985 Common Era (CE), nearly 1,021 years back, as soon as he took his throne. Mannaathi Mannan Raja Raja the Great, as he was known in history reigned for 29 years. He ruled the entire southern Indian and his navy captured Sri Lanka in the south and Kalinga, now Orissa, in the north. Under Raja Raja Cholan, the Chola Empire entered into its golden age of a century full of grandeur and glory. The ability of Raja Raja Cholan, considered the greatest emperor among Cholan kings of the Vijayalaya dynasty, laid the foundation for the splendid achievements of his son Rajendra Cholan, under whom the empire attained the greatest extent and carried its conquest beyond the seas. Raja Raja Cholan invaded Sri Lanka in 993 CE. Raja Raja Cholan’s powerful army crossed the sea by ships and burnt up the King of Lanka, Mahinda, a Singhalese. Mahinda had to seek refuge in the hill country of Rohana. Cholan military invaded the island and occupied the SriLanka and annexed and named the dominion ‘Mummoodi Chola Mandalam’. Anurathapura, the 1000-year-old capital of Sinhala kings was destroyed. The destruction was so extensive the city was abandoned. Cholans made the city of Polonnaruwa as their capital and renamed it Jananathamangalam. The choice of this city demonstrates the desire of Raja Raja to conquer the entire island. Raja Raja Cholan also built a Sivan temple in Pollonaruwa. Cholan army also expanded its conquests to the north and northwest of India. The regions of Gangapadi, Nolambapadi, Tadigaipadi came under Raja Raja Cholan’s rule. Before his 14th year, between 998 – 999 CE, Raja Raja Cholan conquered Gangapadi and Nurambapadi, which formed part of the present dar Karnataka. This conquest was facilitated by the fact the Cholans never lost their hold of the Ganga country from the efforts of Sunthara Cholan. The invasion of the Ganga country was a complete success and the entire Ganga country was under the Chola rule for next century. In 996 CE, Satyasraya became the Western Chalukya king. Raja Raja Cholan had captured Rattapadi while Rajendra led the Cholan army against the Western Chalukyas. According to the Hottur inscriptions of Satyasraya, dated 1007 – 1008 CE, the Cholan king with a 900,000 strong army, had pillaged the whole country. Raja Raja Cholan’s inscriptions indicate that the Cholan army elephants wrought havoc on the banks of the river Tunggabadra. His naval fleet extensively gave a big support to his army. At the end of this war, the southern banks of the Tunggabadra river became the frontier between these two empires. To counter the rising influence of the Western Chalukyas’ Raja Raja Cholan backed Saktivarman, an Eastern Chalukya prince, who was in exile in the Cholan country, after his throne was usurped by a minor Rashtrakuta king. Raja Raja Cholan invaded Vengi in 999 CE to restore Saktivarman to the Eastern Chalukya throne. After many hard battles Saktivarman finally found his position secure on the throne in 1002 CE. Saktivarman, recognising that he owed everything to Raja Raja Cholan, consented to recognise the Cholan over-lordship. Even after conquering Vengi, Raja Raja Cholan did not bring the Eastern Chalukya kingdom under direct Cholan rule. Raja Raja Cholan put the Eastern Chalukyas on an independent political existence and it remained as a Cholan protectorate. A dynastic marriage between the Vengi prince Vimaladitya and Raja Rajan Cholan’s daughter Kundavai sealed the alliance between the two ruling families. The invasion of the kingdom of Kalinga must have occurred subsequent to the conquest of Vengi. Rajendra Chola, as the commander of the Cholan might military forces invaded and defeated the Andhra king Bhima. Detail of the main gopuram (tower) of the Tanjavur Sivan Kovil, described that one of the last conquests of Raja Raja Cholan was the naval conquest of the ‘old island of the sea numbering 12,000’ - the Maldives. This is a sufficient indication of the abilities of the Tamilan - Dravidian Cholan navy, which was utilised so effectively under Rajendra Cholan. Cholan navy played a major role in the invasion of Sri Lanka. The increasing realisation of the importance of a good navy and the desire to neutralise the emerging Cheran naval power were probably the reasons for the Kandalur campaign in the early days of Raja Raja Cholan’s reign. Nagapattinam on the Bay of Bengal was the main port of the Cholans and could have been the navy headquarters. Rajendra Cholan, the prince of Raja Raja Cholan, succeeded his father to the throne in 1014 CE as the Cholan emperor. During his reign, he extended the influences of the already vast Cholan Empire up to the banks of the river Ganges in the north and across the Indian Ocean. Rajendra Cholan’s territories extended to Burma (now Myanmar); the Anthaman and Nicobar islands; and Lakshadweep and Maldives Isles. He fought and won the war against the Sri Vijaya Empire in in Southeast Asia and conquered Sumatra, Jawa, Malaya and Pegu Island, largely due to the strength of Cholan mighty naval fleet. Remains of a number of Hindu temples, with Tamil - Dravidian architecture and literature (not fascist Aryan – Sanskrit) were discovered in various parts of Southeast Asia, attesting to the presence of the Tamilan rule in the region. In other words, Tamilan, not Aryan, conquered and ruled Malay archipelago during Cholan era. Rajendra defeated Mahipala, the king of Bihar and Bengal, and to commemorate the victory, he built a new capital called Gangaikkonda Cholappuram. Tamil Cholan army exacted tribute from Thailand and Khmer kingdom of Cambodia. To complete the task began by his father, Rajendra invaded and conquered Sri Lanka in 1018 CE. Rajendra captured the crown prince of the Singhala king, his Queen and daughter. The Singhala king - Mahinda was taken as prisoner by the Cholans Tamilan navy and he was transported to the Cholan country. Singhalan Mahinda was held prisoner for over twelve years and died in captivity. Rajendra Cholan conquest of Sri Lanka was bloody brutal and ruthless. Mahavamsa gives a graphic illustration of the carnage wrought by the pillaging Cholan army in the Sinhala country, claiming the invading army destroyed monasteries seeking treasure. Remains of a number of Hindu temples had been discovered around the Polonnaruwa area attesting to the presence of the Tamil army. In 1041 CE, Rajendra had to lead another naval expedition into Sri Lanka to quell the continuing attacks against the Cholan army by Vikramabahu. Vikramabahu died soon after and anarchy reigned outside the Cholan territories. With both the Western and Eastern Chalukya fronts subdued, Rajendra’s army undertook an extraordinary expedition. In 1019 CE, Rajendra’s forces continued to march through Kalinga to the river Ganges in the north. The emperor advanced up to the river Godavari to protect the rear of the expeditionary force. The Chola army eventually reach the Pala kingdom of Bengal where they defeated King Mahipala. According to the Tiruvalangadu Plates, the Rajendra’s northern war lasted almost two years in which many kingdoms of the north felt the might of the Cholan army. The inscriptions further claim that Rajendra defeated ‘…the armies of Ranasura and entered the land of Dharmapala and subdued him and thereby he reached the Ganges and caused the water river to be brought by the conquered kings’ back to the Cholan country. Before the fourteenth year of Rajendra Cholans reign in 1025, the Cholan naval fleet cross the Indian Ocean and attacked the Sri Vijaya kingdom of King Sangrama Vijayatungavarman. Kadaram, the capital of the powerful maritime kingdom, was conquered and the king taken captive. Pannai in Sumatra and Malaiyoor in Malaya were attacked and captured. Sangarama Vijayatungavarman was the son of Mara Vijayatungavarman of the Sailendra dynasty. Sri Vijaya kingdom was located near Palembang in Sumatra. The Sailendra dynasty had been in good relations with the Cholan Empire during the period of Raja Raja Cholan. Raja Raja Cholan encouraged Mara Vijayatungavarman to build the Chudamani Vihara at Nagapattinam. Rajendra confirmed this grant in the Anaimangalam grants showing that the relationship with Sri Vijaya was still continued to be friendly. We have no knowledge of the exact cause of the quarrel that caused the naval war between Cholans and Sri Vijaya. The Cholans had an active trade relationship with the eastern island. The Sri Vijaya kingdom and the South Indian empires were the intermediaries in the trade between China and the countries of the Western world. Both the Sri Vijaya and Cholans had active dialog with the Chinese and sent diplomatic missions to China. The Chinese records of the Song Dynasty show that first mission to China from Chu-lien (Cholan) reached that country in 1015 CE. and the king of their country was Lo-ts’a-lo-ts’a (Raja Raja Cholan). Another embassy from Shi-lo-cha Yin-to-lo Chu-lo (Sri Raja Indra Cholan) reached China in 1033 CE and a third in 1077 CE during Kulothunga Cholan. The commercial intercourse between Cholans and the Chinese were continuous and extensive. One reason could be a trade dispute stemming from some attempts by Sri Vijaya to throw some obstacle between the flourishing trade between China and the Cholans. Sangaram Vijayatungavarman was restored to the throne at his agreement to pay periodic tribute to Rajendra Cholan and the Tamil Kingdom in India. Tanjavur inscriptions also stated that the king of Cambodia requested Rajendra’s help to defeating enemies of his Angkor kingdom. Emperor Rajendra Cholan (1012 AD - 1044 AD) built a big palace in the place of Utkottai, where a mound even now called Maalikai Medu (Palace mound) in Gangaikondacholapuram - the capital of Cholan dynasty. The base of the palace is found in Maalikai Medu, which is 1.5km away from the Brihadiswarar Kovil, the Periya Sivan Kovil Tanjavur, in Gangaikondacholapuram. The breadth of the palace wall is one metre and built by using only the bricks. Now the palace is maintained as a protected monument by the Tamil Nadu Archaeological Survey (State ASI), telling that the palace had two floors including some sculptures, paintings on the wall. Some of the beautiful handicrafts made up of elephant ivory, bones and Chinese style painted things were also found in the palace, proves that the Chinese accompanied with Tamil people in the period of Cholan. The things used in the palace by the period of Cholan are being kept in the museum of Gangaikondacholapuram. The Bujang Valley was originally called Kadaram (old name of Kedah) and formed part of the larger territory of the then Sri Vijaya kingdom. It is located in the north-western part of Malaysia and is its richest archaeological complex. The Bujang Valley was an important centre of the Buddhist-Hindu polity. It was an entry port for maritime trade with India, China and Persia. Captain James Low first identified the Bujang Valley civilisation in 1840 after discovering many temples there. He found “undoubted relics of a Hindoo colony, with ruins of temples” and “mutilated images” extending “along the talus of the Kedda mountain Jerrei.” According to Dr Nagaswamy, former director, Tamil Nadu Archaeological Department, the recent excavations in Sungai Batu sites in the valley not only confirmed that it was a centre of maritime trade in South-East Asia but played a significant role in the spread of Buddhism, the Pallava Grantha script and Hinduism in the region. A recent discovery in the Sungai Batu site is a stone inscription in Pallava Grantha script that reads, ‘Ye dhamma hetuppabhava tesam hetum tathagato aha… avam vadhi maha samano. It refers to a Buddhist doctrine. Other discoveries included remnants of a furnace for smelting iron ore, thousands of bricks and more importantly, the remains of a stupa. Both Nagaswamy and V Selvakumar, another invitee to the conference, asserted that the discovery of the inscription in Pallava Grantha script demonstrated that the people of the Bujang Valley had adopted the Pallava script and it established the then Tamil countrys contact with the Valley. Selvakumar, assistant professor of Department of Epigraphy and Archaeology, Tamil University, Tanjavur, said that not only the Bujang VValley but the entire area had contacts with Medieval Tamil country. Both Raja Raja Cholan and his son Rajendra Cholan had established maritime contacts with the Sri Vijaya kingdom. But Rajendra Chola, during an overseas expedition, conquered Kadaram and captured its king, Sri Mara Vijoyatunga Varman. The next significant find, at a place called Takua Pa, just above the Valley, is an 8th century CE inscription in Tamil of the Pallava king Nandivarman II with his title ‘Avani Naranan. It refers to a merchants guild, trading in gems that had left from Manigramam, a village near Poompuhar, to Bujang Valley. The idol and the inscriptions in Tamil are still there at Takua Pa in present-day Thailand. Takua Pa was the first port of call for the south Indian merchants. The Bujang Valley, a little south of Takua Pa, was the next important port of call. Sri Vijayas king, Sri Mara Vijayotunga Varman, sent an embassy from Kedah to Raja Raja Cholan, requesting him permission to build a Buddha Vihara near Nagapattinam in the name of his father Sri Chulamani Varman. Raja Raja Chola permitted him to build a Buddha vihara and gifted wealth and a village called Anaimangalam, near Nagapattinam, in 1006 CE for the Vihara. This is recorded in Raja Raja Cholans copper charter called Anaimangalam grant, now preserved in the Leyden Museum in Holland. So it is called the Leyden Grants, said Nagaswamy. There were friendly relations between the two kings, and Vimalan Agatheesvaran, an ambassador from Sri Mara Vijayotunga Varman, gifted lamps, silver kalasams and plates to the Kayarohana Sivan Kovil near Nagapattinam. Another inscription talks about Kuruthan Kesavan, a chief officer of the king of Kadaram, consecrating an ‘Ardhanarisvara and gifting Chinese gold (‘Cheena kanagam) to the same Kayarohana temple. “Raja Raja Cholan had a wonderful foreign policy. He forged friendly relations with the countries of South-East Asia,” said Nagaswamy. However, misunderstandings arose between Rajendra Cholan and Sri Mara Vijayotunga Varman. Rajendra Cholan sent a naval fleet to Takua Pa. It captured Kadaram and also the king, and brought back as war trophy the ‘vidhyadhara thorana (the entrance arch). Nagaswamy said, “Obviously, the battle spread from Takua Pa down south. Future excavations in the Bujang Valley will surely unveil both the friendly contacts and rivalry between the Cholans and the Kadaram kings.” Dr Singaravelu Sachithanantham, Professor Emeritus (Indian Studies), University of Malaya, said the discovery of iron ore-smelting industry at Sungai Bata would seem to support and confirm certain information found in the Tamil literary works of contemporary and later times. Singaravelu said: “For example, the Tamil poem ‘Pattinappalai of the Sangam period refers to the import of ‘kalakaththu akam (the produce of kalakam) at the sea port of Pukar or Kaveripoompattinam. While the temple at Gangaikondacholapuram, built by Rajendra Chola, had been declared a World Heritage Monument by UNESCO, the remains of his palace in the nearby Maligai Medu has not been protected. “It should be protected and converted into an indoor exhibition,” said Selvakumar.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 09:43:02 +0000
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