Rajendra Chola the Great the Greatest Indian Monarch of All Time, If someone asks who the greatest king in the world is, you will say Alexander the Great, Ashoka the Great, or even King Raja Raja Chola. However, have you known that King Rajendra Chola truly stands out as a great king yes He accomplished something that even our modern sovereign country cannot be conquered it? Remarkably King Rajendra Chola achieved this feat over a thousand years ago.
What he did: he is the conqueror of the water silk road means the maritime silk route & name to be kind of Indian Ocean list of countries which is a huge trade in those days with an expansion mentality
Personal life and family
Rajendra Chola I was the son of the great Chola king Rajaraja Chola I and became emperor in 1014 C.E. during his father’s reign. When the king Rajendra took the throne, he not only extended the influences of the already vast Chola empire but he is known for extending them to the banks of the river Ganges in northern India
And also across overseas to coastal Burma, Lakshadwepressureep Islands and all the way to Padang Pandjang on Sumatra. He defeated Mahipala, the Pala king of Bengal and Bihar before being victorious over all rival empires in Asia.
To remember his conquest and honor the Shiva, Rajendra built a new city that he named Gangaikonda Cholapuram. Tamil Chola armies exacted tribute from Thailand and Khmer kingdoms, such as Cambodia.
Rajendra became the first Indian king to lead troops overseas and also built a temple devoted to Shiva at Gangaikonda Cholapuram that resembled the Tanjore Brihadeshvara Temple of Rajaraja Chola. He took on titles Parakesari, Durvinita and Yuddhamalla.
Military conquests
initial campaigns Beginning around 1002 C.E., Rajendra carried out numerous campaigns for Rajaraja. These include the conquest of the Rashtrakuta nation and the area surrounding the present-day state of Karnataka in the northwest. Rajendra also overcame the Tungabhadra River, dragged the conflict into the centre of the Chalukya nation, and assaulted their capital. He also led campaigns against the Western Chalukya Satyasraya.
Invading Sri Lanka to complete the mission of conquest started by his father, Rajendra did so in 1018 C.E. The royal jewels of the Pandya kings, which Parantaka I strove in vain to seize, were allegedly taken by Rajendra as a result of the campaign.
The crowns of the Sinhala monarch, his daughter, and queen were also taken by Rajendra. Mahinda V, the monarch of Sri Lanka, was taken prisoner by him and taken to the Chola empire, where he was held captive for more than a dozen years until passing away. Mahavamsa claims the invading army destroyed monasteries in search of treasure and provides a detailed account of the havoc caused by the pillaging Chola army in the Sinhala land. Chola inscriptions obscure the specifics of this campaign because they are silent about it.
Kassapa, the son of Mahinda, emerged to represent the Sihalese opposition against the Tamil Power. Over the course of the conflict, which lasted more than six months, many Tamil people perished. After winning the conflict, Kassapa took the throne as Vikramabahu I after driving the Chola army from the southeast part of the island. Hindu temple ruins have been found in and around the Polonnaruwa region, attesting to the Tamil army’s presence.
Rajendra led a second expedition into Sri Lanka in 1041 CE to put a stop to Vikramabahu’s ongoing assaults against the Chola army. Soon after, Vikramabahu passed away, and chaos ruled outside of the Chola domains. Parts of the island were ruled by a variety of explorers, including Sinhalese, exiled Pandya princes, and even a certain Jagaitpala from Kanauj. The Chola army had to battle them all and win.
Overseas conquests
The Chola Navy crossed the ocean before Rejendra’s fourteenth year of rule, or around 1025, and attacked the Srivijaya kingdom of Sangrama Vijayatungavarman. The mighty maritime kingdom’s capital, Kadaram, was ravaged by Chola, who captured the monarch as a prisoner. They attacked Pannai in modern-day Sumatra and Malaiyur in the Malayan peninsula, along with Kadaram. Sangarama Vijayatungavarman was the Sailendra dynasty’s Mara Vijayatungavarman’s son. In Sumatra, Srivijaya kingdom was close to Palembang.
the chola navy the ancient cholas navy was one of the best navy in the world with the help of that navy they conquered many southeast ancient countries how is that possible let’s see during the period of raja raja chola 1 the cholas used ships for both commercial and army purposes but after the period of raja raja chola won his son regendra chola created a big navy and used separate ships for both commercial and army chola navy attained its peak during the period of regendra chola 1.
navigation techniques of the cholas are quite interesting in recent times we have many advanced technology like gps compass and powerful engines with the help of that devices we are able to travel long distances very quick and easy but in ancient times the chola people are traveled safely and quickly with the help of one animal
that is turtles yes how are that possible yes turtles have the ability to travel thousands of kilometers and return back to the same place without swimming by traveling in a water current by knowing the science of the turtles the cholas started steering their ships along the path of the turtles by using this technique the Cholas conquered many southeast Asian countries
how did they build ships
cholas are very talented in building ships for navies the ships must be very strong and to carry heavy weights the trees used to build the ships are usually neem tree mahua alexandrian laurel and java plum for some reasons if the trees have any rings they avoid the trees to build the ships they use wooden nails instead of iron nails to prevent it from rusting coconut fibers cotton lime oil and jutes are grinded and mixed to apply on the bottom of the boat to make it waterproof this techniques helps the ships for long-lasting few centuries later the famous traveler marcapolo was astonished and appreciated the shipbuilding techniques of cholas when he arrived in coromandel coast
sections of chola’s naval fleet
the kanni
this kanni naval force is used to initiate the war and draw the enemy ships to the suitable attacking place
the thalam
this the land naval force is used for surveillance and coast guard
the mandalam
this mandolin naval force is specially trained for deep sea operations the
ganam
this ganam naval force is big size warships
ani and kurivu this type of naval force is used only for small operations
rajendra chola is the only king who showed how a navy should work a thousand years ago the naval army is not as simple as the land army we simply told regendra chola navy conquered many countries but practically they faced lots of sufferings for their country behind their each and every victories they faced lots and lots of challenges like waves water current storms rain shark attack and psychological problems each and every soldiers in the navy are specially trained for long-distance sea travel
how they carry the animals with them on ships
if a man sails in the sea for the first time he gets sea sickness like vomiting fainting and digestive problems if it is too difficult for a human being just think about animals if one elephant become angry in the middle of the sea it will destroy the whole ship to prevent this problem the chola people specially trained the elephants and horses for sea expeditions in some cases they give the natural drug to put animals in sleep while traveling
they have separate elephants and horses for both land forces and naval forces they never used land forces animals to see expeditions and how they drink water in the sea more than locks of liters of drinking water taken by the navy ships during the sea expeditions drinking water is used by the thousands of soldiers as well as the animals every ships having the storages of drinking water in some cases a whole ship is carrying only drinking water for all soldiers and animals
how they eat food foods are prepared in the ship itself
each soldier was provided with high quality nutritious food like fishes rice and pulses they took goats and buffaloes for milk and curd so that they can fight fastly and bravely rajendra chola took care of his soldiers with great care because of his care his soldiers risked their lives to fight and conquered many kingdoms in gratitude to the king undoubtedly the chola navy is one of the best navies in the world
Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Rajendra used the name Gangaikonda Chola and had the Siva Temple Gangakkondacholeswaram constructed as a tribute to his illustrious northern march to the Ganges.
After that, he transferred the seat of government from Thanjavur to Gangaikondacholapuram. Before turning 17, Rajendra most likely created the town of Gangaikondacholapuram, the majority of the Chola monarchs who succeeded Rajendra were crowned n Gangakkonda choleswaram. They kept it as their capital, changed their focus, and developed the effective Chola army. It seems unlikely that the decision to move the capital to the new location was made for strategic reasons because Thanjavur, the previous city, possessed strong defenses.
Rajendra’s legacy
The most glorious time under the Cholas was during Rajendra’s final years in power. The empire’s size increased to its greatest extent, and military and naval prestige peaked. The emperor’s sons and other family members gave him competent assistance.
The existence of traditional leaders in the Pandya and Kerala nations, as well as the decision to restore the Srivijaya king after his defeat, are proof that Chola imperialism was beneficent
