The Rise and Fall of the Chola Empire - History of India's Greatest Maritime Empire

In 1114 CE, the great king Raja Rajachola was taking his last breaths. He told his ministers, Please do not be disheartened. After me, my son Madurangadan will become king. But all the ministers were worried. Will the son be able to be as great as his father? To understand the reason for their worry, we need to understand the history of South India. Most of the Tamil history is known from Sangam literature. For many centuries, there were three major royal clans in South India. Chola, Chera and Pandya. In the year 320, another clan came, which is called Kalabraha. They ruled from the year 300 to 600 AD. In the year 600 AD, Pallava and Pandya overthrew the Kalabraha clan. After that, in the year 650 AD, when there was a fierce battle between Pallava and Pandya, a local king Vijayala Chola captured Tanjavur. And from there, the Chola clan was established. Later, in the year 981, King Rajachola took the throne. He was the greatest king ever. And the Chola empire spread to the south Sri Lanka and north to Kalinga. Under his leadership, economic, administrative, military and cultural boom happened. He began to touch new heights. He built the huge temple of Brahadishwar in Tanjavur. The Brahadishwar temple was a real miracle of its time. At that time, the world's tallest structure was made entirely of greenite, in which there were 80 tons of Gopura, beautiful Hindu statues and about 100 secret underground passages. To promote art and literature, the works of Apar, Sambandar and Sundarar were included in the famous book named Thirumurai. The people were very content and the treasury was absolutely rich. That is why, at the time of his death, everyone had the same question in their minds. Will Prince Madharanthagan be an excellent ruler like his father? They do not know that Madharanthagan is destined to touch great heights. King Rajachola and Queen Tripuvana Madhaviyar's son will be known as Rajendra Chola and his name will be among the greatest kings of India. From the year 1002 CE, he began to play a major role in his father's military campaigns. After becoming emperor, he wanted to ensure that the state's economy was strong before the military campaign. First, we will bring prosperity to the thief kingdom by using the poor and expanding trade with the Chinese and Arabs. Then, in the year 1017, he began his victorious campaign from Sri Lanka. His father had already taken over half of the land there. Oh, Sinhalese King Mahinda, my father had already taken over half of Lanka. From today, you are completely under our control. Then, in the year 1019, he began his victorious campaign towards the north. He ordered his skilled general Arayyanraja Rajan. We're heading to North India. You manage the barrack door from the front and I'll personally handle the rear defense line. First of all, he conquered Vengi. Then King Rajarajan set up a camp at Oda. He defeated the king of Oda, Indrarath. His next success was against the king of Dandavati, Darbal. This was a disputed region between Odisha and Bengal. Then he defeated the king of Lada, Rahasur. In the end, a decisive battle took place with the Chakravarti king of the Pal dynasty, Mahipal. Mahipal was a very powerful king. He brought the Pal dynasty to great heights. The region in which he ruled, we will call it Bengal today. I will present this Gangajal to our Maharaja Rajendra Chola in celebration of victory. On this great victory, many accolades to Sirapati Arayyan Rajarajan. In memory of these splendid victories, we will build a grand capital which will be named Gangaikonda Cholapuram. But Indrakola's thoughts and ambitions were on a different level. Thousands of miles away from Cholapuram, a struggle was going on between the Hindu Saivite Kamir emperor, Suryavarman and the Buddhist kingdom of Tambralinga. Suryavarman asked Rajendra Chola for help. Tambralinga requested the powerful Buddhist kingdom of Malaysia, Srivijaya for help. This is the right opportunity to strengthen power in South Asia. Once this route is secured, our culture will spread across the sea. Send a fleet of large ships continuously and show the Srivijaya empire what the Chola are made of. All these ships were equipped with the latest weapons and were built for the battle of Srivijaya. In those days, to reach Indonesia from India, the ships would go from the coast of Bengal to the east. From there they would enter Malacca through Assay or Malay. But the army of Cholapuram's fighting ships reached the west coast of Sumatra in the waters of Sunda. Srivijaya's navy was protecting the coast and surrounding areas. Surprised by the sudden attack by the Cholapuram army, the first attack took place on the capital of Srivijaya, Palembang. After this, they attacked other Srivijayan ports such as Malayu, Tumasic, Penay and Kedah and defeated them. The secret of the Cholapuram army's success was to attack. This speed of attack prevented the enemy from being able to respond. These victories helped the Tamil trade unions such as Manigramam, Anuvaram and Ayyavole to establish widespread influence in Southeast Asia. For the next 100 years, the Tamil trade unions were active in Southeast Asia. Rajendra Chola was as talented as he was in administration. He constructed roads on a large scale and built a lake for water supply which was 16 miles long. The Chola empire was divided into several regions which were called mandals. Each mandal was divided into several villages which were called kuttam. Each village had a representative according to the Kudavoli system for which only educated candidates could apply. The people were given a lot of rights. After various battles, he had 500,000 prisoners of war. But instead of killing them, they employed them for useful work. He made many trade agreements with the Chinese which benefited the economy a lot. After his 30 years of unprecedented rule, Rajendra Chola died in 1044 AD. Due to an illness, Rajendra Chola built the strong foundation of the Chola empire. Because of that, this dynasty lasted for 250 years after him. Finally, in 1289 AD, the Pandan empire conquered it. Even if Rajendra Chola ruled 1,000 years ago, his great legacy is an indisputable part of Indian culture. In his memory, the name of the training ship of the Indian navy was named T.S. Rajendra. We hope that such a great person and his legacy will always remain immortal and will guide the coming generations.