INDIA , THAT IS BHARAT -A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, #BHARAT[PART-62][EP-291]

CHOLA DYNASTY

The CHOLA DYNASTY was a TAMIL DYNASTY . It originated from southern INDIA . We have earliest datable references about the CHOLA from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BC during the reign of ASHOKA , the Great of the MAURYAN EMPIRE . But the CHOLA EMPIRE achieved Imperial status under the medieval CHOLAS in the mid-9th century AD . As the three crown kings of TAMILAKAM (Southern most region of INDIA) , along with CHERA and PANDYA , the CHOLA DYNASTY continued to govern over varying territories until the 13th century . Its founder king was ILAMCHETCHENNI of the SANGAM period who ruled from 501 BC to 470 BC . He was a great warrior and ruled the CHOLA kingdom with URAIYUR as his capital . He married a VELLIR princess ALUNDUR and their son KARIKALA CHOLA was considered as one of the greatest among the early CHOLAS . N.K. SASTRI claims that this was the period when the MAURYA DYNASTY established its empire from PERSIA to southern INDIA . BINDUSARA , the son of CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA , had conquered much of INDIA besides KALINGA and the CHOLAS . SANGAM poems in the PURANANURU state that the CHOLA king ILAMCHETCHENNI , however, had successfully resisted the MAURYAN move .

ORIGIN & HISTORY OF THE CHOLAS

We have very little evidence of the origin of the CHOLAS before the 7th century AD .The CHOLAS are mentioned in ASHOKAN MAJOR ROCK EDICT No-13 (273 BC to 232 BC) as one of the MAURYAN EMPIRE’S neighbours to the south .The PERIPLUS OF THE ERYTHRAEAN SEA also have brief references of the CHOLA country and its towns , ports and commerce . A BUDDHIST text called MAHAVAMSA , written down during the 5th century AD , also recounts several conflicts between the people of SRI LANKA and CHOLAS in the first century BC . For the CHOLAS , other name  commonly used is CHODA also . In TAMIL lexicon , CHOLA means Soazhi or Saei which denotes a newly formed kingdom . CENNI in TAMIL means Head . One must know that the history of the CHOLAS falls into four periods : 1. The Early CHOLAS of the SANGAM literature ; 2. The CHOLAS of the Interregnum between the fall of SANGAM CHOLAS and the rise of the Imperial medieval CHOLAS under VIJAYALAYA (848 AD) ; 3. The Dynasty of VIJAYALAYA ; 4. The Later CHOLA DYNASTY of KULOTHUNGA CHOLA I from the third quarter of the 11th century .

1. EARLY CHOLAS

The CHOLAS were looked upon as descended from the Sun . Legends say that the early CHOLA king KANTAMAN was supposed to be contemporary of the sage AGASTYA , who brought the river KAVERI into existence .The CHOLA kings namely DHARMAVARCHOLAN and KILLIVALAVAN developed the shrine of SRIRANGAM into a big temple .They laid the basic foundations of the temple . KILLI , THIRU MANGAI , KULASEKARAN , RAJAMAHENDRA and THIRU VIKRAM, as being the name of ancestors of KILLIVALAVAN , were mentioned in the RANGANARTHAR temple in TIRUCHCHIRAPPALLI . DHARMAVARMA was another ancestor of KILLIVALAVAN . Perhaps he was his father . KARIKALA CHOLA , as mentioned in PATTINAPPAALAI (a TAMIL poem of 301 lines in the ancient SANGAM literature) , was a CHOLA king of 90 BC . It is said that KARIKALA’S father was ILAMCHETCHENNI who was a brave king and a hard father . KARIKALA means elephant feller or Charred leg . It is supposed that the prince KARIKALA might have got an accident by fire in his early age . PATTINAPPAALAI  has described about numerous battles KARIKALA fought against other two TAMIL kings in one of which the CHERA was disgraced and committed suicide . KARIKALA , thus , broke the confederacy and established hegemony over two TAMIL kingdoms i.e PANDYAs and CHERAS . The SANGAM poet KOVUR KILAR has mentioned about civil war between two CHOLA chieftains— NALANKILLI and NEDUNKILLI .The latter , out of fear, shut himself in a fort of AYUR , which was besieged by NALANKILLI’S younger brother MAVALATTAN . Whereupon through his poem the poet KOVUR KILAR first chided NEDUNKILLI to come out and fight and later begged both the princes to give up the civil war , as loser will be a CHOLA . Similarly , another SANGAM poet POYGAYAR has mentioned in KALAVALI that the CHOLA king KOCENGANNAN in his battle with the CHERA king KANAIKKAL IRUMPORAI , CHERA king was taken into prison by the former . Since the poet POYGAYAR was a friend of the CHERA king , he sang a song/poem of praise for the CHOLA king in 40 stanza that the CHOLA king became so pleased that he immediately ordered release of the CHERA king KANAIKKAL IRUMPORAI .

NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .

TO BE CONTINUED ……………….