Chola
After the decline of the Sangam period, the Cholas becamefeudatories in Uraiyur.
They became prominent in the ninth centuryand established an empire comprising the major portion of SouthIndia.
Their capital was Tanjore. They also extended their sway inSri Lanka and the Malay Peninsula.
Therefore, they are called asthe Imperial Cholas. The founder of the Imperial Chola line was Vijayalaya.
Hecaptured Tanjore from Muttaraiyars in 815 A.D. and built a templefor Durga. Famous Nataraja Temple.
Rajaraja I (985 – 1014 A.D.)
It was under Rajaraja I and his son RajendraI that the Chola power reached its highest point of glory.
His military conquests were:
The defeat of the Chera rulerBhaskararavivarman in the naval battle ofKandalursalai and the destruction of theChera navy.
The defeat of the Pandya ruler, Amarabhujanga andestablishment of Chola authority in the Pandya country.
The conquest of Gangavadi, Tadigaipadi and Nolambapadilocated in the Mysore region.
The invasion of Sri Lanka which was entrusted to his son Rajendra I.
As the Sri Lankan king Mahinda V fled awayfrom his country, the Cholas annexed the northern Sri Lanka.
The capital was shifted from Anuradhapura to Polanaruvawhere a Shiva temple was built
The Chola victory over the growing power of the WesternChalukyas of Kalyani. Satyasraya was defeated and RajarajaI captured the Raichur Doab, Banavasi and other places.Hence the Chola power extended up to the river Tungabadhra.
The restoration of Vengi throne to its rulers Saktivarman andVimaladitya by defeating the Telugu Chodas.
Rajaraja gavehis daughter Kundavai in marriage to Vimaladitya.
7. Rajaraja‟s last military achievement was a naval expeditionagainst the Maldive Islands which were conquered.He was a devout follower of Saivism. Hecompleted the construction of the famous Rajarajeswara temple orBrihadeeswara temple at Tanjore in 1010 A.D. He also helped inthe construction of a Buddhist monastery at Nagapattinam.
Rajendra I (1012-1044 A.D.)
Rajendra had demonstrated his military ability by participatingin his father‟s campaigns.
He continued his father‟s policy ofaggressive conquests and expansion. His important wars were:
Mahinda V, the king of Sri Lanka attempted to recover fromthe Cholas the northern part of Ceylon. Rajendra defeatedhim and seized the southern Sri Lanka. Thus the whole of SriLanka was made part of the Chola Empire.
He reasserted the Chola authority over the Chera and Pandyacountries.
He defeated Jayasimha II, the Western Chalukya king andthe river Tungabadhra was recognised as the boundary between the Cholas and Chalukyas.
His most famous military enterprise was his expedition to northIndia. The Chola army crossed the Ganges by defeating anumber of rulers on its way.
Rajendra defeated Mahipala I of Bengal.
To commemorate this successful north-Indian campaign Rajendra founded the city ofGangaikondacholapuram and constructed the famousRajesvaram temple in that city.
He also excavated a largeirrigation tank called Cholagangam on the western side of thecity.
Another famous venture of Rajendra was his naval expeditionto Kadaram or Sri Vijaya. It is difficult to pin point the realobject of the expedition.
Whatever its objects were, the navalexpedition was a complete success.
A number of places wereoccupied by Chola forces. But it was only temporary and no permanent annexation of these places was contemplated.
He assumed the title Kadaramkondan.
Rajendra I had put down all rebellions and kept his empire intact. he was also a devout Saiva and built a temple for that god at the new capital Gangaikondacholapuram.
He made liberal endowments to this temple and to the Lord Natarajatemple at Chidambaram.
He was also tolerant towards the Vaishnavaand Buddhist sects.
Chola Administration
Central Government
The Cholas had an excellent system of administration.
Theemperor or king was at the top of the administration.
The extentand resources of the Chola Empire increased the power and prestige of monarchy.
The big capital cities like Tanjore andGangaikondacholapuram, the large royal courts and extensive grantsto the temples reveal the authority of the king.
They undertook royaltours to increase the efficiency of the administration.
There waselaborate administrative machinery comprising various officials called perundanamand sirudanam.
Revenue
The land revenue department was well organized.
It was calledas puravuvarithinaikkalam.
All lands were carefully surveyed andclassified for assessment of revenue.
The residential portion of the village was called ur nattam.
These and other lands such as thelands belonging to temples were exempted from tax.
Besides landrevenue, there were tolls and customs on goods taken from one place to another, various kinds of professional taxes, dues leviedon ceremonial occasions like marriages and judicial fines.
During the hard times, there were remission of taxes and Kulottunga Ibecame famous by abolishing tolls and earned the title – SungamTavirtta Cholan.
The main items of government expenditure werethe king and his court, army and navy, roads, irrigation tanks andcanals.
Military Administration
The Cholas maintained a regular standing army consisting ofelephants, cavalry, infantry and navy.
About seventy regiments werementioned in the inscriptions.
The royal troops were called Kaikkolaperumpadai.
Within this there was a personal troop todefend the king known as Velaikkarar.
Attention was given to thetraining of the army and military cantonments called kadagamsexisted.
The Cholas paid special attention to their navy.
The navalachievements of the Tamils reached its climax under the Cholas.They controlled the Malabar and Coromandal coasts.
In fact, theBay of Bengal became a Chola lake for sometime.
Provincial Administration
The Chola Empire was divided into mandalams and each mandalam into valanadus and nadus.
In each naduthere were anumber of autonomous villages.
The royal princes or officers werein charge of mandalams.
The valanaduwas under periyanattarand naduunder nattar.
The town was known as nagaramand itwas under the administration of a council called nagarattar.
Village Assemblies
The system of village autonomy with sabhasand theircommittees developed through the ages and reached its culminationduring the Chola rule.
Two inscriptions belonging to the period of Parantaka I found at Uttiramerur provide details of the formationand functions of village councils.
That village was divided into thirty wards and each was to nominate its members to the village council.
The qualifications to become a ward member were:
Ownership of at least one fourth veliof land.
Own residence.
Above thirty years and below seventy years of age.
Knowledge of Vedas.
However, certain norms of disqualification were alsomentioned in the inscriptions. They were:
Those who had been members of the committees for the past three years.
Those who had failed to submit accounts as committeemembers.
Those who had committed sins.
Those who had stolen the property of others.
From the persons duly nominated, one was to be chosen foreach ward by kudavolaisystem for a year.
The names of eligible persons were written on palm-leaves and put into a pot.
A youngboy or girl would take out thirty names each for one ward.
Theywere divided into six variyamssuch as samvatsaravariyam,erivariyam, thotta variyam, pancha variyam, pon variyam andpuravuvari variyamto take up six different functions of the villageadministration.
The committee members were calledvariyapperumakkal.
They usually met in the temple or under atree and passed resolutions.
The number of committees and wardmembers varied from village to village.
Socio-economic Life
Caste system was widely prevalent during the Chola period. Brahmins and Kshatriyas enjoyed special privileges.
The inscriptionsof the later period of the Chola rule mention about two majordivisions among the castes – Valangaiand Idangaicastes.
However,there was cooperation among various castes and sub-castes in socialand religious life.
The position of women did not improve.
The practice of „sati‟ was prevalent among the royal families.
The devadasi system or dancing girls attached to temples emerged duringthis period.
Both Saivism and Vaishnavism continued to flourish duringthe Chola period.
A number of temples were built with the patronageof Chola kings and queens.
The temples remained centres ofeconomic activity during this period.
The mathashad great influenceduring this period. Both agriculture and industry flourished.
Reclamation of forest lands and the constructionand maintenance of irrigation tanks led to agricultural prosperity.
The weaving industry,particularly the silk-weaving at Kanchi flourished.
The metal works developed owingto great demand of images for temples andutensils.
Commerce and trade were brisk withtrunk roads or peruvazhisand merchant guilds.Gold, silver and copper coins were issued inplenty at various denominations. Commercialcontacts between the Chola Empire and China, Sumatra, Java andArabia were extensively prevalent.
Arabian horses were imported in large numbers to strengthen the cavalry.
Education and Literature
Education was also given importance.
Besides the templesand mathasas educational centres, several educational institutionsalso flourished.
The inscription at Ennayiram, Thirumukkudal andThirubhuvanai provide details of the colleges existed in these places.
Apart from the Vedas and Epics, subjects like mathematics andmedicine were taught in these institutions.
Endowment of lands wasmade to run these institutions.
Art and Architecture
The Dravidian style of art andarchitecture reached its perfection underthe Cholas.
They built enormous temples.
The chief feature of the Cholatemple is thevimana. The earlyChola templeswere found at Narthamalai and Kodumbalur in Pudukottai districtand at Srinivasanallur in Tiruchirappalli district.
The Big Temple at Tanjore built by Rajaraja I is amaster-piece of South Indian art and architecture.
It consists of the vimana, ardhamandapa,mahamandapa and a large pavilion in the frontknown as the Nandimandapa.
Another notablecontribution made by the Cholas to templeChola Bronze architecture is the Siva temple atGangaikondacholapuram built byRajendra I.
The Airavathesvara templeat Darasuram in Tanjore District and theKampaharesvaratemple atTribhuvanam areexamples of later Chola temples.
The Cholas also made rich contributionsto the art of sculpture.
The walls of the Cholatemples such as the Tanjore andGangaikondacholapuram temples containnumerous icons of large size with fine execution.
The bronzes of the Chola periodare world-famous.
The bronze statues ofNataraja or dancing Siva are master pieces.
The Chola paintings were found on the wallsof Narthamalai and Tanjore temples.
Central Asia
Central Asia was a great centre of Indian culture in the earlycenturies of the Christian era.
Several monuments have beenunearthed in the eastern part of Afghanistan.
Khotan and Kashkar remained the most important centres of Indian culture.
Sanskrit texts and Buddhist monasteries were found in these places.
Indian cultural influence continued in this region till eighth century.
Indian culture had also spread to Tibet and China through CentralAsia.
In the fifth century, Buddha Ghosha visited SriLanka and consolidated there the Hinayana Buddhism.
The famouspaintings of Sigiriya were modeled on the Ajantha paintings.
Cambodia was colonised by Indians in the first century A.D.
They influenced thenative people called theKhemers.
The rulingdynasty was known as Kambojas and theircountry was Kambojaor modern Cambodia.
Under the early rulersSaivism and Vaishnavism made steady progress.
The Kamboja empire at itsgreatest extent included Laos, Siam, part of Burma and the Malay peninsula.
Numerous Sanskrit inscriptions give us a detailed history of its kings.
A number of Hindu literary works like the Vedas, theRamayana, the Mahabharata, Panini‟s grammar, Hinduphilosophical treatises were all known to the people of Cambodia.
There are plenty of Sanskrit inscriptions.
The most famous of these temples was the temple (wat) of Vishnu built by Suryavarman II in his capital city Angkor.
It was popularlycalled as the Angkorwat Temple.
Champa-
Under its Hindu rulers the Hindu religion and culture, customs andmanners were introduced in Champa.
Saivism and Vaishnavismflourished. Buddhism also existed side by side.
Various works onHindu philosophy, grammar, fine arts and astrology were written.
The most important Hindu kingdom in the big island of Sumatra was Sri Vijaya.
It was agreat centre of trade and culture in the seventh century.
Subsequently,the Sri Vijaya kingdom developed into a powerful maritime and commercial power known as the Sailendra empire extending its swayover the neighbouring islands of Java, Bali, Borneo and over Cambodia.
The Sailendra rulers were Mahayana Buddhists and maintained cordial relations with the Indian kingdoms of the Palasof Bengal and the Cholas of Tamil Nadu.
Rajaraja Chola allowedthe Sailendra king Maravijayottungavarman to build a Buddhist monastery at Nagapattinam.
His son Rajendra conquered theSailendra kingdom for sometime. Later they became independent.
The Sailendra empire continued intact till the eleventh century A.D.
The greatest monument of IndoJava art is the Borobudur which wasbuilt during A.D. 750-850 under the patronage of the Sailendras.
It issituated on the top of a hill.
It consistsof nine successive terraces, crownedby a bell-shaped stupa at the centre of the topmost terrace.
The open galleries in the terraces contain 2000 bas-reliefs (small carved stone figures) illustrating various incidentsin the life of the Buddha.
Borobudur isdescribed as an epic in stone, the most wonderful Buddhist stupa inthe world.
Myanmar
The cultural contacts between India and Burma (nowMyanmar) dates back to the period of Asoka, who sent hismissionaries there to preach Buddhism. Many Hindu kingdomsexisted in Burma.
Pali and Sanskrit were the languages of Burma tillthirteenth century.
Both Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism werefollowed by the Burmese.
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