Cholas

•  Muvendhar in the Sangam literature, 
• However, after the Sangam period until about the ninth century CE, there are no records about them.
• Bhakti movement Nayanmars & Azhwars.
• After Chola, Pandyas, who began their rule in the Vaigai river basin at Madurai, wielded tremendous power during the 14th century. 
• Trade expansion overseas. Tirunelveli, trade contacts with West and Southeast Asia.

CHOLAS

Origin of the Dynasty

• Cholas remained as subordinates to the Pallavas in the Kaveri region. The re-emergence of Cholas began with Vijayalaya (850–871 CE) conquering the Kaveri delta from Muttaraiyar. He built the city of Thanjavur and established the Chola kingdom in 850.
• Later Cholas or Imperial Cholas.
• Ancestry to the Karikala, well-known of the Cholas of the Sangam age.
• Names of Killi, Koc-cengannan and Karikalan are mentioned in copper plates.
• Successors from Parantaka I (907–955) to Kulothunga III (1163–1216).
• Rajaraja I (985–1014) - Brihadishvarar temple, Son Rajendra I (1012–1044), naval operation extended
• Establish Chola hegemony in peninsular India.

Source

• Religious works – Saivite & Vaishnavite canons.
• Quasi-historical literary – Kalingattupparani & Kulotungancholan Pillai Tamizh.
• Great epic - Muvarula, Kamba, Ramayanam.
• Grammatical works – Neminatam, Viracholiyam & Nannul.
• Literary works – Pandikkova & Takkayagapparani.

Territory

• Chonadu or Cholanadu - Kaveri-fed delta called Cholamandalam.
• “Coromandel” in the European languages,
• 11th century through invasions, Cholas extended their territory to Tondainadu or the northern portion of the Tamizh country
• Pandinadu or the southern portions of the Tamizh country,
• Gangaivadi or portions of southern Karnataka and Malaimandalam, the Kerala territory.
• Chola conquering parts of Sri Lanka, Control under Mummudi-Cholamandalam.

Empire Building

• Rajaraja I - naval expedition emerged victorious in the West Coast, Sri Lanka and conquered the Maldives.
• Appointed a Tamil chief to govern the annexed regions and ordered a temple to be built. Locally called Siva Devale.
• Sri Lanka built a temple in a place called Mahatitta. Temple name Rajarajesvara.
• Rajaraja I & Rajendra I, jointly ruled the Chola kingdom for two years.
• Rajendra I attacking the Western Chalukyas. Boundary extended up to Tungabhadra river.
• Rajaraja I attack Madurai, Pandyas escaped took shelter in Sri Lanka. Rajendra I conquered Sri Lanka and confiscated the Pandya.
• Rajendra I - Expedition up to the Godavari river. Gangaikonda Chozhapuram temple built to commemorate his victories in North India.
• Chola controlled Coromandel and Malabar coast.
• Rajendra’s naval operation was directed against Sri Vijaya. Similarly, Kheda (Kadaram), feudatory kingdom under Sri Vijaya, was also conquered by Rajendra.
• Invasions of Western Chalukya, 1003 by Rajaraja I & 1009 by Rajendra I.
• Rajen dra sent his son to ransack and ravage its capital Kalayani. dwarapala (door keeper) image brought from Kalayani installed at Darasuram temple
• Titles such as Mudikonda Cholan (the crowned Chola), Gangaikondan (conqueror of the Ganges), Kadaramkondan (conqueror of Kadaram) and Pandita Cholan (scholarly Cholan).

Sambuvarayars

• Feudatories of Chola kings, Rajathiraja and Kulothunga III.
• 13^th century to the end of Pandya ascendency, Sambuvarayars assumed high titles such as Sakalaloka Chakravartin Venru Mankonda Sambuvarayan (1322–1323 CE) and Sakalaloka Chakravartin Rajanarayan Sambuvarayan (1337–1338 CE), overthrown by Kumarakampana of Vijayanagar.
• He vanquished the Sultan of Madurai in a battle.

Chola Adminstration

King

• Hereditary monarchy.
• Peruman or perumagan (big man), ulagudaiyaperumal (the lord of the world) and ulagudaiyanayanar (the lord of the world).
• Titles such as Chakkaravarti (emperor) and Tiribhuvana Chakkaravarti (emperor of three worlds).
• Appointed Brahmins as spiritual preceptors or rajagurus
• Granted huge estates of land to Brahmins as brahmadeyams and caturvedimangalams (pronounced chatur-vedi-mangalam).

Provinces

• control of minor chiefs “feudatories”
• Appointed “viceroys” in region of Chola-Pandya in pandinadu, Chola-Lankeswara in Sri Lanka, which was renamed as Mummudicholamandalam, and Chola-Ganga in the Gangavadi region of southern Karnataka.
• Less prominent region - territories of chiefs - Irukkuvels Ilangovels or Mazhavas or Banas.

Army

• Infantry, cavalry (kudirai sevagar), the elephant corps (anaiyatkal) & navy “with numberless ships”.
• Rank in army, Upper & lower (perundanam and cirudanam).
• Padaipparru (military holding) rights.
• Nayagam - captain of a regiment, assume title padaimudali.
• Cantonments (Padaividu), Military outposts (Nilai padai), Commander-in-chief (Dandanayagam)

Local Organisation

• Autonomous organisations
• Urar
• Landholders in the village, acted as spokesmen in the ur.
• Upkeep of temples, maintenance of the tanks and managing the water stored.
• Collection of revenue, maintenance of law and order, and obeying the king’s orders.
• Sabhaiyaar
• Sabha looked after the affairs of the settlement
• Carrying out administrative, fiscal and judicial functions.
• Nagarattaar
• Settlement of traders, regulated their association with temples.
• Rajaraja I, Mamallapuram was administrated by a body called Maanagaram. Local goods were exchanged in nagarams.
• To promote trade - way, Kulotunga revoked the collection of toll fee (sungam), title Sungam Thavirtha Chozhan
• Nattar
• Grouping of several urs. Functioned as pillars of the state structure.
• Nattar (literally those belonging to the nadu).
• Landholders honorific titles - asudaiyan (possessor of land), araiyan (leader) and kilavan (headman).
• Naattukanakku & nattuviyavan recording the proceedings of the Nattar.

Economy

• Agriculture
• Irrigation by digging tanks, Tanks & Wells.
• Collected land tax out of the agrarian surplus for its revenue. There was an elaborate “department of land revenue” known as puravuvari-tinaikkalam, with its chief called puravuvari-tinaikkalanayagam.
• Paddy as tax was collected by a unit called kalam (28 kg).
• Land Revenue and Survey
• Rajaraja I (1001), Kulotunga I (1086) and Kulotunga III (1226) appointed people for land survey.
• Naduvagaiseykira - surveyors of the land.
• Taxes collected included irai, kanikadan, iraikattina-kanikadan and kadami. Kudimai was paid by the cultivating tenants
• Tax rates were fixed depending on the fertility of the soil and the status of the landholder.
• Opati were levied and collected by the king and local chiefs. Temples and Brahmins were exempted from paying the taxes.
• ur (village) level, urar (village assembly) were responsible for collecting the taxes.
• Irrigation
• Vativaykkal, a criss-cross channel.
• Vati runs in the north–south direction while vaykkal runs in the east–west direction. Technically, vati is a drainage channel and a vaykkal is a supply channel.
• Many canals were named after the kings, queens and gods.
• Big size irrigation tanks such as Cholavaridhi, Kaliyaneri, Vairamegatataka created by the Pallavas, Bahur big tank and Rajendra Cholaperiyaeri.
• Periodical or seasonal maintenance and repair of irrigation works.
• Gangaikonda Chozhapuram was an embankment of solid masonry, Rajendra described it as his jalamayam jayasthambham, meaning “pillar of victory in water. Jawaharlal Nehru in The Glimpses of World History.
• Water Management
• The allotment of water is described as nirkkiintavaru (share of water as allotted). The water was released through kumizh (sluice) or talaivay (head-channel).
• Commonly owned village tank was called enkalkulam (our tank).
• Land transaction accompanied by water rights as well.
• Maintenance and repair of the irrigation tanks, rendering free labour (Vetti and amanji were the forms of free labour).
• Village assemblies collected a tax called eriayam for repair & Maintain tank.
• Special groups known as talaivayar, talaivay-chanrar and eri-araiyarkal were in charge of releasing the water.
• People charge of kulam was called kulattar.
• Later period, temples were entrusted with the upkeep of the irrigation sources.
• Trade
• Agriculture as well as artisanal activities.
• Anjuvannattar – comprised West Asians, including Jews, Christians and Muslims. They were maritime traders.
• Manigramattar were busy with trade in the hinterland.
• Both groups merged and got incorporated under the banner of ainutruvar, disai-ayirattu-ainutruvar and valanciyar functioning through the head guild in Ayyavole in Karnataka.
• Valanciyar, a group of traders, once dug an irrigation tank called ainutruvapperari in Pudukottai.

Society and its Structure

• Agrarian
• Brahmin landholders called brahmadeya-kilavars at the top brahmadeya settlements.
• Temples were gifted land known as devadana. Temples became the hub of several activities.
• Ulukudi (tenants) could not own land but had to cultivate the lands of Brahmins.
• Landholders retained melvaram (major share in harvest), the ulukudi got kizh varam (lower share). Labourers (paniceymakkal) and slaves (adimaigal) stayed at the bottom of social hierarchy.
• Others armed men, artisans & traders.

Religion

• Puranic Hinduism, worship of Siva, Vishnu and associated deities.
• Chola rulers were ardent Saivites.
• Parantaka I and Uttama Chola (907–970) made provisions and gifted the lands to promote religion.
• Fresco painting - Rajaraja I is portrayed with his wives worshiping Lord Siva in Thanjavur Brihadishvarar temple.
• Iconic form of Siva, Lingodhbhava & Nataraja idol was the human form.
• Nataraja or Adal Vallan (king of dance) in the form of idol was the motif of Tamil music, dance and drama with hymns composed by Nayanmars, the Saiva saints.
• Saiva canon, the Thirumurai, was codified after it was recovered by Nambi Andar Nambi. Oduvarsand PadikamPaduvarswere appointed to sing in the temples to recite Thirumurai daily.
• Girls were dedicated for the service of god.
• Highly evolved philosophical system called Saiva Siddhanta (Fourteen Text) was founded.
• Devotion of Chola rulers to Saivism became a strong passion in Kulothunga II regin.
• Theological tussle was fierce between state religion, Saivism, and Vaishnavism, so Vaishnavism was sidelined. Apostle Sri Ramanujar leaving the Chola country for Melkote in Karnataka.

Builders of Temples

• Cholas built and patronised innumerable temples - Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Chozhapuram and Darasuram.
• Initial stages, architecturally, the Chola temples are simple and modest. Sepulchral temples (pallip-padai) also were built where the kings were buried.

Temple as a Social Institution

• Prime temple officials were koyirramar, koyilkanakku (temple accountant), devakanmi (agent of god), srivaisnavar, cantesar (temple manager) and others.
• Development of learning, dance, music, painting and drama.
• Festivals of Chithirai Tiruvizha, Kartigai and Aippasivizha were celebrated.
• Nirutya and karna poses are shown in sculptural forms in the Thanjavur big temple.
• Temples functioned as banks, Temple accounts were audited and the auditor was called koyilkanakku.
• Gangaikonda Chozhapuram
• Commemoration of his victory in North India, Rajendra I also built an irrigation tank called Cholagangam near the capital called Jala-stambha (water-pillar).
• Brihadishvarar Temple
• Also called Rajarajisvaram and Brihadishvarar Temple.
• Fresco paintings and the miniature sculptures of the scenes from puranas and epics in the temple walls reveal the religious ideology of the Chola rulers.
• Singers had been appointed to recite the bhakti hymns in the temple premises.
• Darasuram Temple
• By Rajaraja II (1146–1172), Incidents from the Periyapuranam in the form of miniatures, are depicted on the base of the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) wall of the temple.

Cholas as Patrons of Learning

• Kamba Ramayanam and Periyapuranam belong to this period.
• Rajendra I established a Vedic college at Ennayiram (South Arcot district).
• Two more such colleges were founded, at Tribuvani near Pondicherry in 1048 and the other at Tirumukudal, Chengalpattu district, in 1067.

The End of Chola Rule

• Local chiefs began to grow in prominence.
• Frequent invasions of Pandyas.
• In 1264, the Pandyan ruler, Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I, sacked the Chola’s capital of Gangaikonda Chozhapuram.
• 1279, when King Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I defeated the last king Rajendra Chola III and established the rule by Pandyas.