Rajadhiraja Chola I (994 – 28 May 1052), was a Chola emperor, as the successor of his father, Rajendra I. He was the only Chola emperor who was killed while leading his army in war, and although he had a short reign, he helped his father conquer several territories as well as to maintain the Chola authority over most of Sri Lanka, Eastern Chalukyas and Kalinga, among others. He also established imperial relations with overseas allies despite a series of revolts in the territory.
Rajadhiraja Chola proved capable of maintaining the vast and expansive empire with territories even outside the shores of India. Records also show that the king was a skilled commander on the battlefield, leading his soldiers from the front lines. He earned the title Jayamkonda Solan (The Victorious Cholan) after numerous victories. Towards the end of his reign, he sacked the Western Chalukyan capital Kalyanapuram and assumed the title Kalyanapuramkonda Chola and performed a Virabhisheka (anointment of heroes) under the name Vijaya Rajendra Cholan (the victorious Rajendra Cholan).
The Copper-plate inscription of Rajadhiraja I and his younger brother Rajendra II, was discovered on 20 May 2010 at Thiruvilandur near Mayiladuthurai.Sridhar, T. S. (2011) p. 25–39
Early life and ascension
According to the Thiruvilandur Copper Plate inscriptions, Rajadhiraja I's birth name was Jayangondachola. He was the second son of Rajendra I and the elder brother of his successor, Rajendra II. His elder brother Rajaraja died at a young age before reaching the age of thirteen. The Tiruvalangadu Copper Plates of Rajendra I record that Rajadhiraja had been appointed as the Chola-Pandya viceroy in charge of the Pandya country, around 1018. From that time onward, he and his father, Rajendra I, ruled together. Rajadhiraja's inscriptions indicate that he exercised royal authority during his father's lifetime and participated in several of Rajendra I's military campaigns.
According to an interpretation of the Thiruvilandur inscription, Rajendra I may have intended shortly before his death to elevate Rajendra II to the position of Yuvaraja. Rajendra II, however, declined the appointment after Rajendra I's death, on the grounds that Rajadhiraja, as the elder son and established heir, should succeed their father. Rajadhiraja therefore succeeded Rajendra I as emperor, in 1044 AD, while Rajendra II continued to exercise authority over the Pandya territory and supported the authority of his elder brother.
Rajathiraja gave them the titles of 'Vanavan' (for the Chera country); 'Minavan' (for the old Pandya kingdom); 'Vallaban' (for Chalukya territory, after, probably, his defeat of Someshwara I); 'Tennavan' (for Southern Pandya dominions); 'Gangan' (for the Gangavadi province); 'King of Lanka' (for Ceylon); 'Pallavan' (for the former Pallava kingdom); and 'Protector of the people of Kanyakubja' (probably after his defeat of the Singhalese prince, Vira Salamegha, who was said to have come to the island from Kannauj).
Military campaigns
Revolts in Lanka
The Buddhist text Mahavamsa shows that the years following the defeat and deportation of the Sinhalese king Mahinda V by Rajendra in 1017 CE were filled with revolt and anarchy due uprisings by the Sinhalese subjects against the reign of the Chola invaders. Mahinda was captured and transported to the Chola country as prisoner where he died 12 years later. Mahinda's son Kassapa had formed the resistance against the Chola occupiers and the revolts were centered on Kassapa.See Sastri, KAN, A History of South India, p165
Kassapa managed to face off the almost 95,000 strong Chola army for over six months and push them northwards from the Rohana area in southern Sri Lanka he then crowned himself Vikramabahu in 1029 C.E. Cholas never intended to subjugate the entire island of Sri Lanka and only occupied the whole island for a period of about 10 years. Sinhalese resistance was assisted by various Pandyan princes against their common enemy. Pandyas had a very close political as well as marital relationship with the Sinhalese.
During Rajadhiraja's reign this became very acute as Vikramabahu launched an all out attack on the Tamil armies to expel them from the island. He was assisted by a Pandya prince Vikarama Pandya and Jagatpala, a prince from the distant Kanyakubja in northern India. Rajadhiraja's forces battled and killed these princes.See Sastri, KAN, A History of South India, p167
The version of the Mahavamsa has to be taken in the right perspective in that it states itself to be a Buddhist chronicle and its point of view is only supposed to favour Buddhist subjects. We cannot expect it to speak in very complimentary terms about non-Buddhist kings. In any case, at least in war, the Cholas were known to be very uncompromising with their enemies and believed in eliminating them rather than setting them free. whether it was the "Chalukyas", "Pandyas" or the "Sinhalese kings"... their treatment was the same, which the Mahavamsa chroniclers found inhuman.
The Chola provinces in Lanka were a separate administrative division of the empire. The deep southern half was however a Sinhalese stronghold in perpetual conflict with the Cholas. Prince Kitti, son of Vikramabahu became Vijayabahu in 1058 CE and took over the leadership of the resistance. The generals of Cholas executed the captured Lankan generals along with their family members.See Mendis, GC, p53
Continuing Chalukya Wars
Rajadhiraja's first invasion of the Chalukya country resulted he defeated Someshvara I and causing his sons Vikramaditya VI and Vijayaditya to flee in the Battle of Pundur. He pursued the Chalukyas and drove them over the Tungabhadra northwards as far as Kollippakkai (Kulpak) and destroyed that town. These events are given in the inscriptions of the 26th year. Rajadhiraja, eager to subdue the rising power of the Western Chalukyas and to restore Chola influence with the Eastern Chalukyas in Vengi, personally led an expedition into the Telugu country in 1046 CE.Indian History by Reddy p.56 He defeated the Western Chalukya forces in the Battle of Dannada on the river Krishna and set fire to their fort.See Sastri, KAN, A History of South India, p168 This expedition was followed by number of raids into the Chalukya country by the Chola army after defeating the Chalukyas in the Battle of Kampili which they captured several generals together with numerous women's and feudatories of Chalukyas and demolished the Chalukya palace at Kampili. The victorious Chola forces crossed the Krishna river and erected a victory pillar at a place called Yadgir. After more fighting, Kalyani, the capital of Chalukya, which is identified as Kalyan or Basavakalyan in Bidar was sacked. Cholas also placed a victory pillar in Kolhapur or Kollapuram in Maharashtra. The victorious Rajadhiraja entered the capital of the vanquished Chalukyas and his coronation was performed at 'Kalyanapura', subsequent to which he assumed the title Vijayarajendra.Inscriptions in the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram records that a Dwarapala sculpture from Kalyanapura was brought to the temple by Rajadhiraja after his capture of the capital of the Chalukyas. See P.V. Jagadisa Ayyar, p 353See Richard Davis, p 51 Someshvara I was banished to places like Rodda, Kadambalige and Kogali 1000 territories in the Nolambavadi areas.
Rajadhiraja brought a finely sculpted stone statue of a Dwarapalaka in the Chalukyan style. It bears a two-line inscription on its /base,
The Thiruvilandur Copper Plate of Rajadhiraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola II records,
In 1050 CE Chalukya king Someshvara reneged on his payment of tribute to his Chola overlords and usurped the Chalukya throne from the Chola viceroy in Kalyani(modern Basavakalyan). He also sent an expedition to Vengi in order to re-inforce Western Chalukyan hegemony over the Eastern Chalukyas, whom they always regarded as their dominions. It is also speculated that Someshvara I 'may' have captured Kanchi and Kalinga. However, according to Nilakanta Sastri and Majumdar, these are baseless claims because Someshvara I had as his feudatories the Uchangi Pandyas and the Nolamba Pallavas who had provided shelter to his predecessors Jayasimha-II and Satyashraya. The Nolamba Pallavas pompously held the birudas 'Lord of Kanchi', which may lead one to believe that the feudatories of the Chalukyas were ruling from Kanchi or occupying Kanchipuram, both of which presumptions are false. Also, the Cholas were controlling Kalinga through the Vengi Kings like Vimaladitya and Raja Raja Narendra who were related to the Chola Kings. While Someshvara-I did destabilise Vengi by temporarily displacing Rajaraja Narendra, this act also initially disturbed Chola connections with Kalinga. This however, was short-lived for immediately Rajadhiraja-I set off for war against Someshvara-I and that too not at Vengi or Kalinga but by the Chalukya capital itself. But that was after thoroughly preparing himself for war before which he undertook in 1052, the task of anointing his younger brother Rajendra Chola II as co-regent in preference to his own sons. The latter seems to have ascended the throne in 12th for he has the title Rajakesari from then on. When these tasks were completed, in 1054 Rajadhiraja invaded the Chalukyan territory.
Rajadhiraja invaded Rattamandalam (southern Karnataka) and immediately seized many of the southern parts of Chalukyan territory like Uchangi, Nulambavadi, Kadambalige, Kogali etc. These developments shook Someshvara-I, who had given himself the title of Trailokyamalla after installing his puppet in Vengi and he had to rush back to save his own kingdom and he had no option but to march against the marauding Chola armies. The two armies met at a place called Koppam on the banks of the Krishna River.
A battle broke out at Koppam between the Chola forces and the Chalukya army. The inscription describes the fighting between the infantry, cavalry and elephant divisions of both sides. Rajadhiraja fought from atop his elephant, but was killed by a shower of arrows from the Chalukya army. His younger brother Rajendra II, who was commanding another division of the Chola army, then assumed command of the forces. He rallied the Chola army and continued the battle against the Chalukyas, resulting in the withdrawal of Someshvara.
The Thiruvilandur Copper Plate of Rajadhiraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola II records,
Inscriptions
Thiruvilandur Copper Plate
Thiruvilandur Copper Plate, is a royal land-grant charter of the medieval Chola dynasty, issued during the reigns of Rajadhiraja Chola I and his younger brother Rajendra Chola II. The charter mentions the grant records,
Tiruvenkadu inscriptions Rajadhiraja's inscriptions begin with the introduction tingaler-taru. The following is an inscription from the Swetharanyeswarar Temple in Tiruvenkadu, a few miles from Vaitheeswaran Koil temple in Mayiladuthurai district. It mentions the king's father, i.e., emperor Rajendra I
There is another inscription of the king his 29th regnal year from the Manimangalam village about donation of land which speaks on a detailed way his military achievements. Inscription goes on to describe the following:
a. Appointment of his 7 relatives as governors to Chera, Chalukya, Pandya, Ganga, Ceylon, Pallava and Kanyakubja (Kannauj – UP).
b. Victorious war against ahavamalla, vikki, vijayaditya who are Someswarar I, Vikramaditya VI and Vijayaditya respectively of Western Chalukya and the burning of Kollipakai.
c. His exploits at Ceylon where he attacked its four kings (Vikramabahu, Veera Salamegan, Vikrama Pandya and Srivallabha madanaraja) . Out of four, vira salamegan had initially ruled over Kannauj.