Kulothunga Chola I
Encyclopedia
Kō Rājakēsarivarman Abaya Kulōthunga Chōla was one of the greatest kings of the Chola Empire. He was one of the sovereigns who bore the title Kulottunga, literally meaning the exalter of his race.
Paridhi kulam thannil uthitthu para samaya irulakattriya, tiru pparaman aadum perambalamum gopuramum aalayamum ponveyndhu, unmai sruthi yudan saiva neri thazhaitthu ongi, tiruneerru chozhan enru, kurumani maamudi punaintha kulothunga chola valavarul kuritthu vaazhvom
"We are pleased to collaborate with sri kulothunga chola who stemmed from the race of sun(paridhi kulam) in the line of illustrious emperor valava of yore. Sri kulothunga deva chola destroyed the darkness caused by surge of false faiths(para samayam) and upheld the reality and truth of vedic saivism. May that tiruneerru chozhan(kulothunga chola I ),who annointed with gold the temple and tower at thillai(Chidambaram) live long!"
A Tamil work written in praise of karunakara thondaiman, the commander of the forces in the successful expedition to kalingam(Orissa) and the north has once again referred to the king kulothungan as belonging to paridhi kulam(solar race).
In the epic periyapuranam once again a reference is made by the author to identity of anapayan or kulothungan II by referring to him as “illustrious one of race of sibis.”.
The emperor was crowned as per traditional rules at thillai going by three epigraphs available . The fact that those that undertook the same since times immemorial, the temple priests at Chidambaram conducted the same only to the cholas is further evidenced from the following para in periyapuranam
'Mallal nyaalam parakkinraar mani maa mavuli punaivatharkku
Thillai vaazh anthanar thammai venda avarum sembiyar tham thollai
Needum kula sirandhor kkanri mudi soottom enru nalkaaraki cheralathan than malai naatanaya nannuvaar'
“Inorder that he who conquered the world(kootruvar) may not be bereft of a royal crown he requested the crowning services of the ancient three thousand servitor priests at Chidambaram(thillai). Thereupon the priests refused the same saying that they are entitled to perform the ceremony only to the most deserving of the ancient clan of sembiyars(cholas). Having said this , they quit their dwelling to reach the hill country(kerala) of the ancient tamil chera king.”.
In addition to these we see that most of the available documents of kulothunga chola I start with the introduction in Sanskrit as Ethad kulothunga cholasya Rajakesarivarmanah. The name Rajakesari denotes a very ancient king of solar race to which the cholas belong to.
It would be favourable to say that there is no doubt about the solar cholan identity of kulothunga and also that it would have been impossible for any one with suspicious and or contestable identity to be anointed and continue as a king.
It is under these circumstances, he moved into the 'Political vacuum created by the death of Adhirajendra' and established himself on the Chola throne as Kulothunga Chola I. Once again it would be good enough to note that during the cameo of crisis in a powerful empire,it would be impossible for anyone with contestable credentials to don the mantle of the head especially when several of the virtuous and worthy (like for example pallava chiefs) are in the fray. It is also possible that kulothungan stemmed from King Raja mahendra chola who was incharge of northern chola borders and who is praised for displaying unparalled devotion by presenting a gemset golden image of sriranganatha to the temple at srirangam. Incidentally, the same ruler is eulogized in many inscriptions as the one who upheld law and dispensed justice " Three to four times as good as ancient manu".
Kulothunga I participated in a few wars by the side of kings like Rajendra Chola, his successors, Rajadhiraja, Rajendra II and Virarajendra Chola. For his deeds he had been entrusted with the task of governing those parts of the Chola kingdom like north-west Telugu country and the Bastar districts of erstwhile Madhya Pradesh (modern Chhattisgarh).
where the southern provinces had declared independence. Kulothunga also had to deal with the Chalukya Vikramaditya who never reconciled Kulothunga's accessiont to the Chola throne. Kulothunga devoted the first few years of his reign to deal with these troubles and made preparations for war.
wars. From the brief nature of the description regarding the first war, we may conclude that this perhaps occurred during Kulothunga's youth. The second and later invasion happened after the fortieth regnal year of Kulothunga and was the subject of the celebrated Kalingathupparani by the poet Jayangondar.
The first Kalinga war seems to have been brought about by Kalinga aggression against Vengi. The war resulted in the annexation of the southern part of Kalinga to the Chola kingdom.
The second invasion took place about 1110 C.E. and is described in detail in the inscriptions of Kulothunga. Kalingathupparani describes the reason for war as a response to the default of Kalinga in its payment of annual tributes to Kulothunga.
The real cause of the war is obscure. The reason cited by the literary work of Kalingathupparani may be taken as a literary setting for an epic poem. There was no permanent political results of this invasion. There is no evidence to suggest that Chola territories included the northern Kalinga.
but their Kings like Tailapa ended up being chased and being confined to Rodda, Satyashraya was banished to Kogali, Jayasimha was chased to Kadambalige and Someshwara I lost many a times to Rajadhiraja and Rajendra-II, losing not less than five times to Virarajendra Chola. On each occasion, the wars ended with the Cholas chasing their Chalukya rivals out of the battlefield, occupying their capital, capturing their generals, levying tribute on the Chalukyas from time to time.Even levying the tribute had several rules that need be followed. The ancient law books which had been originally authored through divinity by various sages like narada, vasistha, viswamitra, bhrigu, atri etc., proposed that a tribute may be levied only on that resources that are earned by the subdued state in a truly righteous manner and the same was verifiable. In case of the deccan kingdom almost always described as the degenerate one of age of kali, with no legal standing the tribute was a mere seven and a half lakhs in cash which was a very small sum compared to the mega millions free spending in gold and diamonds of those days. This once again underlines the fact the kingdom in spite of its massive power was a one of evil.
In fact, for playing a major role in repulsing the Western Chalukyas under Someshvara I, whose son Vikramaditya VI and Someshvara II were leading the Chalukyas, Kulothunga I earned the title 'Viruduraja Bhayankara' meaning the 'reason for the frightening of Viruduraja (Vikramaditya VI), the Chalukyan prince. For most of his rule, he succeeded in keeping up the successes of the Cholas over the Chalukyas. There was only the temporary loss of Vengi in 1118 to Vikramaditya VI when Kulothunga I was unwell and recalled his third son Vikrama Chola
, a favourite of his, for appointing him as heir to the Chola throne. When Vikrama Chola left for Gangaikonda Cholapuram from Vengi, of which part he was the ruler under Kulothunga I, the Chalukyan armies invaded Vengi, taking advantage of the Cholas being busy with the coronation preparations of Vikrama Chola and for about 4 years, Vengi passed to the Chalukyas. However, Vikrama Chola, after succeeding father Kulothunga I, swiftly consolidated his position and he too was benefited because by 1125-26 Chalukya Vikramaditya VI himself was old, ailing and close to death.
Accordingly, the first enemy to be dealt with was the Western Chalukya Vikramaditya VI, who now found that Kulothunga stood in the way of his ambitions to unite his kingdom with the Vengi kingdom. With Kulothunga's accession to the Chola throne, the two kingdoms had become more closely united than ever before. Vikramaditya therefore led an expedition against Kulothunga in 1075 C.E.
The war began with Vikramaditya's incursion into the Chola territories and encountered the Chola army at Kolar
. Vikramaditya was pursued by the Chola forces up to the banks of Tungabhadra and there was heavy fighting and Vikramaditya's armies were repulsed.
Kulothunga appealed to Somesvara II, the Western Chalukya king for help. There was no love lost between Somesvara and his younger brother Vikramaditya as Vikramaditya had made Somesvara part with the southern half of his kingdom. Somesvara agreed to assist Kulothunga and attacked Vikramaditya's rear.
Vikramaditya then concentrated all his efforts in saving his kingdom and attacked the forces of Somesvara and defeated them. Somesvara was imprisoned and Vikramaditya made himself the Western Chalukyan emperor. However, it appears that the combined forces of both Somesvara II and Kulothunga had made sufficient inroads and on seeing the retreat Vikramaditya VI, they declared victory. The cunning Vikramaditya VI seemed to wait for Kulothunga to go back to Chola country and at the first opportunity, he waged a separate war and defeated Somesvara II, imprisoned him and became unified northern and southern parts of the Chalukya Kingdom.
. Kulothunga sent reinforcements and there was a bloody fighting near Anuradhapura and repulsed Vijayabahu.
The tirukkalukunram and tirunidur inscriptions of kulothunga say that he dispatched many expeditions to lanka. In one case some of the lankan emissaries actually sent to help of Chola enemies in deccan were intercepted, captured, insulted , disfigured and sent back dressed in women's clothes. This was in retaliation to the attacks of the Lankan king on a ship carrying Indian merchants and looting their property. The Lankans also looted the produce of the farmers from mainland Tamil Nadu further provoking the Chola monarch.
This apart the inscriptions like the Tiruvalangadu grant of Rajadhiraja II and Kulothunga III, who claimed to have occupied Madurai, Ilam, Karur and Kalinga (after which he built the famous Kampahareswara temple in commemoration), testify well to Chola involvement in lanka.
The Polannaruwa inscription of Vijayabahu is of much later date and does not first of all make any mention of any war or its out comes. It simply says that Vijayabahu fought many chieftains before consecrating the temple of Buddha's tooth relic in Polannaruwa. It neither mentions the names of the chiefs whom he fought with nor the outcomes. However, this alone cannot be taken as an evidence for the Lankan ruler not having fought cholas. But since we have the grants of Tiruvalangadu which appears not to have been a forgery, we may safely conclude that the chola involvement in the region continued till very late in their rule. In fact, the inscriptions of Kulothunga I till the end of his rule around 1124 still call him 'Madurantaka and Ilamkondaan' meaning lord of Madurai and Ilangai (Sri Lanka).
Kulothunga could not take this situation lightly as the loss of the Pandya territories meant a serious threat to the existence of the Chola kingdom itself. As soon the Chalukyan war ended, Kulothunga turned all his energy to the suppression of the revolts in the Pandya and the Kerala territories.
The record at the innermost prakaram
(closed precincts of a temple) of ancient Chidambaram temple in sragdhara metre in Sanskrit says that:
pandyaan dandena jitva prachura saramuchaha pancha panchanana sreehi
punye sahyadri srunge tribhuvana vijaya stambam ambothi theere
dagdhva korggara durggam trunamiva sayata, khandavam paandu soonuhu
pishtva tath keralanam balam athibalam kulothunga chola chakrehe sakra pratatapaha tribhivana vijaya sthambam
ambodhipaare, kshumbyat kshmapaalaya chakram savidham akaroth
which translates to “King Kulothungan vanquished the extremely dense army of Cheras and Pandyas and also burnt down the Korkai(Tirunelveli) fort, the same way as son of Pandu(Arjuna) burnt Khandava forest . “ The inscription also informs us of the war in Karnataka and Kulothunga’s subsequent placing of victory pillar in Sahyadri hills.
Kulothunga’s inscription at the Sriranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam says that “ King Neriyan (Kulothunga I), had been happy to appropriate from the vanquished Pandyas, the magnificent pearl fisheries at Tiruananthapuram(Trivandrum) and also militarily occupy the Potiyil hills where the great seer Agastya was blessed with the knowledge of language of Tamil by lord Sivan.”. These records illustrate that during Kulothunga’s time the Cholas had crushed the rebellions of Pandyans and were in complete control of the south. The smaller leyden grant of Kulothunga as well as his Suchindram(in Kanyakumari Dist.) temple inscription testify this.
. However this was merely a raid in search of booty rather than an invasion for territorial gains. Vijayaditya, the Vengi king soon repulsed these intruders. Kulothunga left the administration of Vengi with Vijayaditya. After Vijayaditya died, Kulotunga took over the administration of Vengi under direct Chola rule and appointed his son Rajaraja Mummudi Chola viceroy of the province in 1076 C.E. He however did not enjoy the rigours of the viceroyalty and relinquished his position the next year. His younger brother, Vira Choda, was then chosen as Viceroy until 1084 C.E. Vira Choda was succeeded by another son of Kulothunga Rajaraja Chodaganga ruled between 1084 and 1089 as the Vengi Vieceroy. He was then succeeded by Vikrama Chola
as the Viceroy.
in 1077 C.E. This 'embassy' was a trading venture and seems to have ended profitably for the Cholas. The Cholas returned with over 81,000 strings of copper cash and many more valuables.
There is also evidence to suggest that Kulothunga in his youth (1063 C.E.) was in Srivijaya
restoring order and maintaining Chola influence in that area. While there is little evidence of the political power of the Cholas having extended to the Malay Archipelago
, trade relations and cultural contacts established during the reigns of Rajaraja Chola and Rajendra Chola I seem to had been actively maintained by Kulothunga and his successors. It seemed that even during these times, the Cholas would successfully pursue diplomacy with the far-east by having trade relations and cultural contacts. But it appears that at least two Chola commanders had their battalions stationed at Srivijaya and Kamboja.
Kulothunga also maintained friendly relations with the Khmer
kingdom of Kampuchea (Kambhoja). The Khmer king sent a peculiar stone to the emperor in c. 1114 C.E.
According to Burmese accounts, Kyanzittha, the ruler of Pagan (Burma) met with the Chola royal family by sending an ambassador to the Chola emperor.
Some writers say that towards the end his reign, Kulottunga lost the province of Gangavadi to Hoysala Vishnuvardhana
who attacked this major Chola province (c. 1116 C.E.) in Kannada country from the times of and defeated the Chola Viceroy Adigaiman, the controller of Kongu and Kannada country there,but this proposition seems to stand on very fragile ground considering the massive power of chola empire during the period and its domination of Asia during kulothunga's time. The disintegration of empire seem to have begun only after the rule of kulothunga chola III(1178.C.E-1216.C.E), who was once again praised as a very powerful ruler and the same occurred not due to the excellence or power of the enemies but due to vicissitudes of time only.Even as this happened the later pallava kingdoms of kopperunjingan who was a devotee "at the feet of lord at thillai", were able to deliver death knell to the horde of enemies.
Kulothunga also lost much of his territories in Vengi. The northern half of the Vengi kingdom if not the whole of it seems to have slipped from his hands and gone to the Western Chalukyan empire under Vikramaditya VI. Encouraged by the successes of Hoysala, Vikaramaditya invaded Vengi in 1118 C.E. The aging Kulotunga summoned the Viceroy of Vengi Vikrama Chola and installed him as heir apparent to the Chola throne. Lacking any meaningful leadership in Vengi, it soon fell to Vikramaditya and remained in his hands until his death in 1126 C.E. However, overall for the Cholas the loss of Vengi was a purely temporary one for they would regain Vengi under Vikrama Chola with him routing the Chalukyas in 1124-25 and Vengi would remain in the Chola-fold till rule of Kulothunga-III (1176–1218).
As regards Gangavadi, Kannada records themselves speak of the Hoysalas under Vishnuvardhana suffering losses after his conquest of Gangavadi and Nolambavadi in Kannada country, which brought him into direct conflict both with the Cholas as well as the Western Chalukyas under Vikramaditya VI, who was the overlord of the Hoysalas, and of the subsequent loss of southern and eastern parts of Gangavadi coming back to the Cholas, who further embellished the Narasimha and Vishnu temples at Melkote and further expanded the Siva temple at Talakkad. Around 1129-30 Kulothunga-I's able successor Vikrama Chola would also re-conquer Kalinga along with Vengi, eastern and southern parts of Gangavadi from the Hoysalas and re-establish links with Kadaram, Kataha, Srivijaya etc. for trading purposes.
Therefore, towards the end iof Kulothunga's reign the extent of the empire became marginally reduceed than it was during his accession.
in 1113AD in his 43rd thrown period, rarely made miniature sculptures all around the karbagraha is a finest memorable of the king. It's said to be karakkoil in Devara and the only temple named as it was like a chariot shaped one.
In Kulothunga Chozhapuram, a village named after him, we have streets prised equivalent to Madurai
(square shape), hence it is called as siru madurai
. In the period of Kulothunga Chola made two important temples, the first one Lord Siva "Sokkanathar" temple. Another one Lord Vinava Perumal temple. From the very beginning of his reign sometimes as early as the second year, we can see that he devoted his time to renovating temples and appointing committees even in the remote parts of the empire such as Kuvalala Nadu, a district of Vijaiya Rajendra Mandalam and other places.
Early life
There is a lot of confusion that has arisen due to some rather casual propositions putforth by writers with regards to the identity of this great king. Several ancient documents and fragmented inscriptions available from places like tirugokarnam, pudukkottai, pennagadam in cuddalore, tirumaanikkuzhi in cuddalore etc. give some information on events that took place during the crowning of emperor. For example the following passage from a Tamil work of the period written at tiruppadiripuliyur(cuddalore) has it as:Paridhi kulam thannil uthitthu para samaya irulakattriya, tiru pparaman aadum perambalamum gopuramum aalayamum ponveyndhu, unmai sruthi yudan saiva neri thazhaitthu ongi, tiruneerru chozhan enru, kurumani maamudi punaintha kulothunga chola valavarul kuritthu vaazhvom
"We are pleased to collaborate with sri kulothunga chola who stemmed from the race of sun(paridhi kulam) in the line of illustrious emperor valava of yore. Sri kulothunga deva chola destroyed the darkness caused by surge of false faiths(para samayam) and upheld the reality and truth of vedic saivism. May that tiruneerru chozhan(kulothunga chola I ),who annointed with gold the temple and tower at thillai(Chidambaram) live long!"
A Tamil work written in praise of karunakara thondaiman, the commander of the forces in the successful expedition to kalingam(Orissa) and the north has once again referred to the king kulothungan as belonging to paridhi kulam(solar race).
In the epic periyapuranam once again a reference is made by the author to identity of anapayan or kulothungan II by referring to him as “illustrious one of race of sibis.”.
The emperor was crowned as per traditional rules at thillai going by three epigraphs available . The fact that those that undertook the same since times immemorial, the temple priests at Chidambaram conducted the same only to the cholas is further evidenced from the following para in periyapuranam
'Mallal nyaalam parakkinraar mani maa mavuli punaivatharkku
Thillai vaazh anthanar thammai venda avarum sembiyar tham thollai
Needum kula sirandhor kkanri mudi soottom enru nalkaaraki cheralathan than malai naatanaya nannuvaar'
“Inorder that he who conquered the world(kootruvar) may not be bereft of a royal crown he requested the crowning services of the ancient three thousand servitor priests at Chidambaram(thillai). Thereupon the priests refused the same saying that they are entitled to perform the ceremony only to the most deserving of the ancient clan of sembiyars(cholas). Having said this , they quit their dwelling to reach the hill country(kerala) of the ancient tamil chera king.”.
In addition to these we see that most of the available documents of kulothunga chola I start with the introduction in Sanskrit as Ethad kulothunga cholasya Rajakesarivarmanah. The name Rajakesari denotes a very ancient king of solar race to which the cholas belong to.
It would be favourable to say that there is no doubt about the solar cholan identity of kulothunga and also that it would have been impossible for any one with suspicious and or contestable identity to be anointed and continue as a king.
It is under these circumstances, he moved into the 'Political vacuum created by the death of Adhirajendra' and established himself on the Chola throne as Kulothunga Chola I. Once again it would be good enough to note that during the cameo of crisis in a powerful empire,it would be impossible for anyone with contestable credentials to don the mantle of the head especially when several of the virtuous and worthy (like for example pallava chiefs) are in the fray. It is also possible that kulothungan stemmed from King Raja mahendra chola who was incharge of northern chola borders and who is praised for displaying unparalled devotion by presenting a gemset golden image of sriranganatha to the temple at srirangam. Incidentally, the same ruler is eulogized in many inscriptions as the one who upheld law and dispensed justice " Three to four times as good as ancient manu".
Kulothunga I participated in a few wars by the side of kings like Rajendra Chola, his successors, Rajadhiraja, Rajendra II and Virarajendra Chola. For his deeds he had been entrusted with the task of governing those parts of the Chola kingdom like north-west Telugu country and the Bastar districts of erstwhile Madhya Pradesh (modern Chhattisgarh).
Accession
He was not a co-regent and bore the title Rajakesari throughout his reign. He ascended the Chola throne at a time when the Chola Empire was in a state of anarchy. It must be asserted that he was not a foreigner and that there was no kind of invasion. He was family. Kulothunga established himself on the Chola throne soon overcoming the threats to the Chola Empire and had a reign characterised by unparalleled success and prosperity. His successes resulted in the wellbeing of the empire for the next 100 years.Military campaigns
Kulothunga spent the first few years of his reign fighting the war and rebellion that had sprung up in the various parts of the empire. Apart from the residues of the rebellion that caused Athirajendra's death, there was trouble in LankaLanka
Sri Lanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary king Ravana in the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata...
where the southern provinces had declared independence. Kulothunga also had to deal with the Chalukya Vikramaditya who never reconciled Kulothunga's accessiont to the Chola throne. Kulothunga devoted the first few years of his reign to deal with these troubles and made preparations for war.
Kalinga Wars
The inscriptions Kulothunga contain descriptions of two KalingaKalinga (India)
Kalinga was an early state in central-eastern India, which comprised most of the modern state of Orissa/Utkal , as well as the Andhra region of the bordering state of Andhra Pradesh. It was a rich and fertile land that extended from the river Damodar/Ganges to Godavari and from Bay of Bengal to...
wars. From the brief nature of the description regarding the first war, we may conclude that this perhaps occurred during Kulothunga's youth. The second and later invasion happened after the fortieth regnal year of Kulothunga and was the subject of the celebrated Kalingathupparani by the poet Jayangondar.
The first Kalinga war seems to have been brought about by Kalinga aggression against Vengi. The war resulted in the annexation of the southern part of Kalinga to the Chola kingdom.
The second invasion took place about 1110 C.E. and is described in detail in the inscriptions of Kulothunga. Kalingathupparani describes the reason for war as a response to the default of Kalinga in its payment of annual tributes to Kulothunga.
The real cause of the war is obscure. The reason cited by the literary work of Kalingathupparani may be taken as a literary setting for an epic poem. There was no permanent political results of this invasion. There is no evidence to suggest that Chola territories included the northern Kalinga.
War with Chalukya Vikramaditya VI
The Cholas and the Western Chalukyas tried to fight many wars with the Chola emperors like Raja Raja Chola I and Rajendra Chola IRajendra Chola I
Rajendra Chola I was the son of Rajaraja Chola I and was one of the greatest rulers of Tamil Chola dynasty of India. He succeeded his father in 1014 CE as the Chola emperor...
but their Kings like Tailapa ended up being chased and being confined to Rodda, Satyashraya was banished to Kogali, Jayasimha was chased to Kadambalige and Someshwara I lost many a times to Rajadhiraja and Rajendra-II, losing not less than five times to Virarajendra Chola. On each occasion, the wars ended with the Cholas chasing their Chalukya rivals out of the battlefield, occupying their capital, capturing their generals, levying tribute on the Chalukyas from time to time.Even levying the tribute had several rules that need be followed. The ancient law books which had been originally authored through divinity by various sages like narada, vasistha, viswamitra, bhrigu, atri etc., proposed that a tribute may be levied only on that resources that are earned by the subdued state in a truly righteous manner and the same was verifiable. In case of the deccan kingdom almost always described as the degenerate one of age of kali, with no legal standing the tribute was a mere seven and a half lakhs in cash which was a very small sum compared to the mega millions free spending in gold and diamonds of those days. This once again underlines the fact the kingdom in spite of its massive power was a one of evil.
In fact, for playing a major role in repulsing the Western Chalukyas under Someshvara I, whose son Vikramaditya VI and Someshvara II were leading the Chalukyas, Kulothunga I earned the title 'Viruduraja Bhayankara' meaning the 'reason for the frightening of Viruduraja (Vikramaditya VI), the Chalukyan prince. For most of his rule, he succeeded in keeping up the successes of the Cholas over the Chalukyas. There was only the temporary loss of Vengi in 1118 to Vikramaditya VI when Kulothunga I was unwell and recalled his third son Vikrama Chola
Vikrama Chola
Kōpparakēsarivarman Vikrama Chola was a 12th century king of the Chola empire. He succeeded his father Kulothunga Chola I to the throne in 1120 C.E. A insscription of his from Sidlaghatta in Karnataka mentions the Saka date 1042...
, a favourite of his, for appointing him as heir to the Chola throne. When Vikrama Chola left for Gangaikonda Cholapuram from Vengi, of which part he was the ruler under Kulothunga I, the Chalukyan armies invaded Vengi, taking advantage of the Cholas being busy with the coronation preparations of Vikrama Chola and for about 4 years, Vengi passed to the Chalukyas. However, Vikrama Chola, after succeeding father Kulothunga I, swiftly consolidated his position and he too was benefited because by 1125-26 Chalukya Vikramaditya VI himself was old, ailing and close to death.
Accordingly, the first enemy to be dealt with was the Western Chalukya Vikramaditya VI, who now found that Kulothunga stood in the way of his ambitions to unite his kingdom with the Vengi kingdom. With Kulothunga's accession to the Chola throne, the two kingdoms had become more closely united than ever before. Vikramaditya therefore led an expedition against Kulothunga in 1075 C.E.
The war began with Vikramaditya's incursion into the Chola territories and encountered the Chola army at Kolar
Kolar
Kolara is a city in the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar District. It is known for being one of the gold mining sites in India....
. Vikramaditya was pursued by the Chola forces up to the banks of Tungabhadra and there was heavy fighting and Vikramaditya's armies were repulsed.
Kulothunga appealed to Somesvara II, the Western Chalukya king for help. There was no love lost between Somesvara and his younger brother Vikramaditya as Vikramaditya had made Somesvara part with the southern half of his kingdom. Somesvara agreed to assist Kulothunga and attacked Vikramaditya's rear.
Vikramaditya then concentrated all his efforts in saving his kingdom and attacked the forces of Somesvara and defeated them. Somesvara was imprisoned and Vikramaditya made himself the Western Chalukyan emperor. However, it appears that the combined forces of both Somesvara II and Kulothunga had made sufficient inroads and on seeing the retreat Vikramaditya VI, they declared victory. The cunning Vikramaditya VI seemed to wait for Kulothunga to go back to Chola country and at the first opportunity, he waged a separate war and defeated Somesvara II, imprisoned him and became unified northern and southern parts of the Chalukya Kingdom.
Eelam (Lankan) wars
While the wars with Vikramaditya were ongoing, Vijayabahu, the Sinhala leader proclaimed himself ruler of the entire island. In 1070 C.E. he attacked the Chola forces from his enclave in the Rohana district and defeated them. Vijayabahu then occupied the territories close to AnuradhapuraAnuradhapura
Anuradhapura, , is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization.The city, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies 205 km north of the current capital Colombo in Sri Lanka's North Central Province, on the banks of the historic...
. Kulothunga sent reinforcements and there was a bloody fighting near Anuradhapura and repulsed Vijayabahu.
The tirukkalukunram and tirunidur inscriptions of kulothunga say that he dispatched many expeditions to lanka. In one case some of the lankan emissaries actually sent to help of Chola enemies in deccan were intercepted, captured, insulted , disfigured and sent back dressed in women's clothes. This was in retaliation to the attacks of the Lankan king on a ship carrying Indian merchants and looting their property. The Lankans also looted the produce of the farmers from mainland Tamil Nadu further provoking the Chola monarch.
This apart the inscriptions like the Tiruvalangadu grant of Rajadhiraja II and Kulothunga III, who claimed to have occupied Madurai, Ilam, Karur and Kalinga (after which he built the famous Kampahareswara temple in commemoration), testify well to Chola involvement in lanka.
The Polannaruwa inscription of Vijayabahu is of much later date and does not first of all make any mention of any war or its out comes. It simply says that Vijayabahu fought many chieftains before consecrating the temple of Buddha's tooth relic in Polannaruwa. It neither mentions the names of the chiefs whom he fought with nor the outcomes. However, this alone cannot be taken as an evidence for the Lankan ruler not having fought cholas. But since we have the grants of Tiruvalangadu which appears not to have been a forgery, we may safely conclude that the chola involvement in the region continued till very late in their rule. In fact, the inscriptions of Kulothunga I till the end of his rule around 1124 still call him 'Madurantaka and Ilamkondaan' meaning lord of Madurai and Ilangai (Sri Lanka).
Pandyan conflicts
At the close of his wars with Vikramaditya VI, Kulothunga turned his attention to the south. The Pandya country never reconciled to the Chola overlordship and its rulers were a source of constant trouble for the Chola emperors. Pandya made use of the troubles in the Chola country during the controversial accession of Kulothunga and tried to reassert their independence.Kulothunga could not take this situation lightly as the loss of the Pandya territories meant a serious threat to the existence of the Chola kingdom itself. As soon the Chalukyan war ended, Kulothunga turned all his energy to the suppression of the revolts in the Pandya and the Kerala territories.
The record at the innermost prakaram
Prakaram
A Prakaram, also spelled Pragaram or Pragaaram) in Indian architecture is an outer parth around the Hindu temple sanctum. These may be enclosed or open and are typically enclosed for the inner most prakaram....
(closed precincts of a temple) of ancient Chidambaram temple in sragdhara metre in Sanskrit says that:
pandyaan dandena jitva prachura saramuchaha pancha panchanana sreehi
punye sahyadri srunge tribhuvana vijaya stambam ambothi theere
dagdhva korggara durggam trunamiva sayata, khandavam paandu soonuhu
pishtva tath keralanam balam athibalam kulothunga chola chakrehe sakra pratatapaha tribhivana vijaya sthambam
ambodhipaare, kshumbyat kshmapaalaya chakram savidham akaroth
which translates to “King Kulothungan vanquished the extremely dense army of Cheras and Pandyas and also burnt down the Korkai(Tirunelveli) fort, the same way as son of Pandu(Arjuna) burnt Khandava forest . “ The inscription also informs us of the war in Karnataka and Kulothunga’s subsequent placing of victory pillar in Sahyadri hills.
Kulothunga’s inscription at the Sriranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam says that “ King Neriyan (Kulothunga I), had been happy to appropriate from the vanquished Pandyas, the magnificent pearl fisheries at Tiruananthapuram(Trivandrum) and also militarily occupy the Potiyil hills where the great seer Agastya was blessed with the knowledge of language of Tamil by lord Sivan.”. These records illustrate that during Kulothunga’s time the Cholas had crushed the rebellions of Pandyans and were in complete control of the south. The smaller leyden grant of Kulothunga as well as his Suchindram(in Kanyakumari Dist.) temple inscription testify this.
Vengi
While Kulothunga was busy in Lanka, the Vengi kingdom was raided by Yakshakanaradeva, the ruler of TripuraTripura
Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are...
. However this was merely a raid in search of booty rather than an invasion for territorial gains. Vijayaditya, the Vengi king soon repulsed these intruders. Kulothunga left the administration of Vengi with Vijayaditya. After Vijayaditya died, Kulotunga took over the administration of Vengi under direct Chola rule and appointed his son Rajaraja Mummudi Chola viceroy of the province in 1076 C.E. He however did not enjoy the rigours of the viceroyalty and relinquished his position the next year. His younger brother, Vira Choda, was then chosen as Viceroy until 1084 C.E. Vira Choda was succeeded by another son of Kulothunga Rajaraja Chodaganga ruled between 1084 and 1089 as the Vengi Vieceroy. He was then succeeded by Vikrama Chola
Vikrama Chola
Kōpparakēsarivarman Vikrama Chola was a 12th century king of the Chola empire. He succeeded his father Kulothunga Chola I to the throne in 1120 C.E. A insscription of his from Sidlaghatta in Karnataka mentions the Saka date 1042...
as the Viceroy.
Overseas contacts
Kulothunga sent an embassy to ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in 1077 C.E. This 'embassy' was a trading venture and seems to have ended profitably for the Cholas. The Cholas returned with over 81,000 strings of copper cash and many more valuables.
There is also evidence to suggest that Kulothunga in his youth (1063 C.E.) was in Srivijaya
Srivijaya
Srivijaya was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern day Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6...
restoring order and maintaining Chola influence in that area. While there is little evidence of the political power of the Cholas having extended to the Malay Archipelago
Malay Archipelago
The Malay Archipelago refers to the archipelago between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. The name was derived from the anachronistic concept of a Malay race....
, trade relations and cultural contacts established during the reigns of Rajaraja Chola and Rajendra Chola I seem to had been actively maintained by Kulothunga and his successors. It seemed that even during these times, the Cholas would successfully pursue diplomacy with the far-east by having trade relations and cultural contacts. But it appears that at least two Chola commanders had their battalions stationed at Srivijaya and Kamboja.
Kulothunga also maintained friendly relations with the Khmer
Khmer Empire
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city...
kingdom of Kampuchea (Kambhoja). The Khmer king sent a peculiar stone to the emperor in c. 1114 C.E.
According to Burmese accounts, Kyanzittha, the ruler of Pagan (Burma) met with the Chola royal family by sending an ambassador to the Chola emperor.
Extent of the Empire
The Chola kingdom remained formidable under Kulothunga in his forty-fifth regnal year. Except for the loose hold over Lanka, the rest of the empire remained intact. The boundary between the Cholas and the Western Chalukyas was as always the Tungabhadra river. The hold over Vengi was quite firm and Kalinga was under the Chola rule for the conquest of which and the levying of tribute over Alipurdoar areas of Bengal, Kulothunga I claims in his inscriptions to have built two temples dedicated to Sun god, namely the Suryanaar Koils of Nagapattinam and Pudukkottai.Vishnuvardhana
Vishnuvardhana was an emperor of the Hoysala Empire in present day Indian state of Karnataka. Vishnuvardhana took the first step in consolidating the Hoysala Empire in South India through a series of battles against his overlords, the Western Chalukya empire...
who attacked this major Chola province (c. 1116 C.E.) in Kannada country from the times of and defeated the Chola Viceroy Adigaiman, the controller of Kongu and Kannada country there,but this proposition seems to stand on very fragile ground considering the massive power of chola empire during the period and its domination of Asia during kulothunga's time. The disintegration of empire seem to have begun only after the rule of kulothunga chola III(1178.C.E-1216.C.E), who was once again praised as a very powerful ruler and the same occurred not due to the excellence or power of the enemies but due to vicissitudes of time only.Even as this happened the later pallava kingdoms of kopperunjingan who was a devotee "at the feet of lord at thillai", were able to deliver death knell to the horde of enemies.
Kulothunga also lost much of his territories in Vengi. The northern half of the Vengi kingdom if not the whole of it seems to have slipped from his hands and gone to the Western Chalukyan empire under Vikramaditya VI. Encouraged by the successes of Hoysala, Vikaramaditya invaded Vengi in 1118 C.E. The aging Kulotunga summoned the Viceroy of Vengi Vikrama Chola and installed him as heir apparent to the Chola throne. Lacking any meaningful leadership in Vengi, it soon fell to Vikramaditya and remained in his hands until his death in 1126 C.E. However, overall for the Cholas the loss of Vengi was a purely temporary one for they would regain Vengi under Vikrama Chola with him routing the Chalukyas in 1124-25 and Vengi would remain in the Chola-fold till rule of Kulothunga-III (1176–1218).
As regards Gangavadi, Kannada records themselves speak of the Hoysalas under Vishnuvardhana suffering losses after his conquest of Gangavadi and Nolambavadi in Kannada country, which brought him into direct conflict both with the Cholas as well as the Western Chalukyas under Vikramaditya VI, who was the overlord of the Hoysalas, and of the subsequent loss of southern and eastern parts of Gangavadi coming back to the Cholas, who further embellished the Narasimha and Vishnu temples at Melkote and further expanded the Siva temple at Talakkad. Around 1129-30 Kulothunga-I's able successor Vikrama Chola would also re-conquer Kalinga along with Vengi, eastern and southern parts of Gangavadi from the Hoysalas and re-establish links with Kadaram, Kataha, Srivijaya etc. for trading purposes.
Therefore, towards the end iof Kulothunga's reign the extent of the empire became marginally reduceed than it was during his accession.
Personal life
Kulothunga married Madurantaki, the daughter of Rajendra Chola of the Solar race and had by her seven sons, of which Vikrama Chola, the successor of Kulothunga was perhaps fourth. This fact is re-iterated at several places the most notable being in one of his son's plates. She seems to have died sometime before the thirtieth year of Kulothunga (1110 C.E.) Another queen Thyagavalli took the place of the chief queen. Kalingathupparani mentions her and Elisai Vallabhi (also known as Elulagudayal) . It also states that Thyagavalli enjoyed equal authority with the king. Solakulavalliyār, another queen of his is also mentioned in inscriptions. One of his queens was the daughter of the King of Ilangai namely Vikramabahu, whom he married with 1088 and with that arrangement Kulothunga I heralded peaceful relations between the Cholas and the Ilam country. This was a political move that also negated any influence the traditional allies of the Lankan kings, the Pandiyans would have tried to exert on Vikramabahu. Following this marriage Lanka was allowed to be ruled with more freedom than under previous Chola kings, thus giving it a semblance of independent existence.Religious attitude
Kulothunga I also had very friendly relations with the Gahadval Kings of central India who were very artistic builders of temples and had Lord Surya as their tutelary deity. Later, inspired by his visits to the Gahadvala kingdom, Kulothunga I would build several temples dedicated to the Sun God, especially the Suryanar Temples at Pudukkottai and Nagapattinam. He built a sculptural beautiful temple Karakkoilat MelakadamburMelakadambur
Melakadambur is a village located from Chidambaram,and can reach at 6 km from Kattumannarkoil, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is known for Arulmigu Amirthakateshwarar Thirukkoil, constructed during the reign of Cholas by Kulothunga Chola...
in 1113AD in his 43rd thrown period, rarely made miniature sculptures all around the karbagraha is a finest memorable of the king. It's said to be karakkoil in Devara and the only temple named as it was like a chariot shaped one.
In Kulothunga Chozhapuram, a village named after him, we have streets prised equivalent to Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
(square shape), hence it is called as siru madurai
Siru madurai
The historical name of Thungapuram is called Siru madurai which is located at perambalur district.Thungapuram : In the period of Kulothunga Chola kings this village was very famous for its festivels. The shape of this street was prised equivalent to madurai, hence it is called as siru madurai even...
. In the period of Kulothunga Chola made two important temples, the first one Lord Siva "Sokkanathar" temple. Another one Lord Vinava Perumal temple. From the very beginning of his reign sometimes as early as the second year, we can see that he devoted his time to renovating temples and appointing committees even in the remote parts of the empire such as Kuvalala Nadu, a district of Vijaiya Rajendra Mandalam and other places.