Inscriptions and historical sources describe the Medieval Chola Emperor Rajendra I sending a naval expedition to Indochina, the Indonesia and Malay Peninsula in 1025 in order to subdue Srivijaya.Kulke, p 212 The Thiruvalangadu plates, the Leyden grant, and the Tamil stele of Rajendra I are the principal sources of information about the campaign.

Sources The most detailed source of information on the campaign is the Tamil stele of Rajendra I.Sastri, p 211 The stele states:

The Thiruvalangadu plates, from the fourteenth year of Rajendra Chola I, mentions his conquest of Kadaram but does not go into the details. The first attempt by someone from outside India to identify the places associated with the campaign was made by epigraphist E. Hultzsch, who had published the stele in 1891.Sastri, p 212 Hultzsch identified the principalities mentioned in the inscription with places ruled by the Pandyan Dynasty. In 1903, he rescinded his theory and stated that the stele described Rajendra Chola I's conquest of Bago in Burma. George Coedès' Le Royaume de Sri Vijaya published in 1918 after several years of research, rejected both the theories and provided the first convincing description of Rajendra Chola I's conquest of Southeast Asia.Sastri, p 213

Causes The relation between Srivijaya and the Chola dynasty of Tamilakam was initially friendly during the reign of Rajaraja I. In 1006, a Srivijayan Maharaja from Sailendra dynasty, king Maravijayattungavarman, constructed the Chudamani Vihara in the port town of Nagapattinam.Sastri, pp 219–220 However, during the reign of Rajendra I the relations deteriorate as the Chola Dynasty started to attack Srivijayan cities.Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium by Ronald Findlay,Kevin H. O'Rourke p.67

The causes of the hostility are obscure. While some scholars opine that the campaign was undertaken to establish Chola dominance over the seas of South-East Asia, other suggest that it might have been a war of plunder. It seems that the Khmer king Suryavarman I of the Khmer Empire requested aid from the powerful Chola Emperor Rajendra against the Tambralinga kingdom.Kenneth R. Hall (October 1975), "Khmer Commercial Development and Foreign Contacts under Sūryavarman I", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 18 (3), pp. 318-336, Brill Publishers After learning of Suryavarman's alliance with Rajendra Chola, the Tambralinga kingdom requested aid from the Srivijaya king Sangrama Vijayatungavarman.R. C. Majumdar (1961), "The Overseas Expeditions of King Rājendra Cola", Artibus Asiae 24 (3/4), pp. 338-342, Artibus Asiae Publishers This eventually led to the Chola Empire coming into conflict with the Srivijiya Empire. The war ended with a victory for the Chola dynasty and Angkor Wat of the Khmer Empire, and major losses for the Srivijaya Empire and the Tambralinga kingdom.

Conquests

Sri Vijaya

The stele of Rajendra Chola I mentions Sri Vijaya as the first of the countries conquered.Sastri, p 215 The Tamil inscription lists Sri Vijaya with "its jewelled wicket-gate" and "a gate of large jewels" as the first of the treasures captured by the fleet. The Sri Vijaya, mentioned in the inscriptions, has been identified by Coedès with the Sri Vijaya kingdom which rule from its base at Palembang in South Sumatra.

Pannai Pannai, with its bathing ghats, is second of the lands to be conquered by the naval fleet. Pannai has been identified as Panai or Pane, a city on the eastern coast of North Sumatra, located on the estuary of Panai River and Barumun River.

Malaiyur Malaiyur, with "its strong mountain", has been identified with Malayu in today's Jambi province in Batanghari river valley, where a strong principality flourished at that time. Other suggestion is the southern part of the Malay Peninsula

Mayirudingam Mayirudingam is believed to be the same as Ji-lo-ting listed by the Chinese writer Chau Ju-Kua among the dependencies of Sri Vijaya and is identified with the city of Chaiya in the centre of the Malay Peninsula. Some placed it at the Sathing Phra Peninsular in Songkhla, where the Chinese called Rìluótíng in the 13th–14th century.

Ilangasoka The land of Ilangasoka (Langkasuka) mentioned in the inscriptions has been located on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula and is believed to be the same as the province of Ling-ya-sseu-kia mentioned in Chau Ju-Kua's list.

Mapappalam The epigraphist V. Venkayya identifies Mapappalam of the inscription with the city of Papphalama mentioned in the Mahavamsa.Sastri, p 216 The place is believed to be located in the Talaing region of Lower Burma.

Mevilimbangam Mevilimbangam is identified with Kamalanka or Lang-ya-hsiu, centered at the ancient Nakhon Pathom on the north shore of the present-day Gulf of Siam.

Talaittakkolam Talaittakkolam is believed to be the same as Takkola mentioned by Ptolemy as a trading emporion on the Golden Chersonese, and identified with Trang or the modern-day city of Takuapa in the Isthmus of Kra.

Nakkavaram Nakkavaram, mentioned in the records, has been identified by V. Venkayya with the Nicobar Islands.

Kadaram

The place Kadaram (modern Kedah) mentioned in the stele is identified with the Kataha of Sanskrit literature and Kadaram of the Kalingattuparani and the Kiet-cha of the Chinese chronicles.Sastri, p 217Sastri, p 218

Results

The Southeast Asia campaign intensified interactions between India and Southeast Asia. The campaign also led to the establishment of diplomatic ties with China. The first Tamil embassy to the court of the Song Emperor was sent by Rajaraja I in 1015. This was followed by a second embassy by his son, Rajendra I, in 1033 and a third by Kulottunga I in 1077. The Chola Empire did not establish its direct rule over South-East Asia though they might have levied a periodic tribute.

Traders from the Tamil country firmly established themselves over various parts of South-East Asia. A merchant guild was set up in Burma and another in Sumatra in 1088.

Rajamuda Lumaya, a half-Malay and half-Tamil from Sumatra.Santarita, J. B. (2018). Panyupayana: The Emergence of Hindu Polities in the Pre-Islamic Philippines. Cultural and Civilisational Links Between India and Southeast Asia, 93–105. founded the Rajahnate of Cebu in the Philippines, the capital of Cebu was locally rendered as Singhapala (ᜐᜒᜅ᜔ᜑᜉᜎ)THE GENEALOGY OF HARI' TUPAS: AN ETHNOHISTORY OF CHIEFLY POWER AND HIERARCHY IN SUGBU AS A PROTOSTATE Astrid Sala-Boza Page 280. the Tamil-Sanskrit root being for "Lion City", the same root words with the modern city-state of Singapore (சிங்கப்பூர்).

Indian historian V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar suggests that Tamil traders of the Chola period might have had a knowledge of Australia and Polynesia.

Notes

Bibliography