- B.L. Santhosh
Yesterday, our Hon’ble PM, Shri Narendra Modi spoke at the Aadi Thiruvathirai Festival at Gangaikonda Cholapuram reminding us that the “legacy of the Chola Empire reflects the strength and true potential of our great nation.” The ceremony was held to commemorate the 1000th year of the expeditions of Shri Rajendra Chola to South East Asia and commencement of the construction of the Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple.
Under the Chola regime, Tamil Nadu had become a bastion of military strength and religious depth. With visionary rulers like Rajaraja Chola I and his son Rajendra Chola I, the empire reached unprecedented heights, stretching its influence all the way from Southern India to Southeast Asia.
The Cholas were not only kings of land, but also were rulers of seas and visionaries well-tuned to the beat of commerce and culture. The greatest testimony to the same is that even centuries prior to Europe’s Magna Carta, the Cholas had institutionally established local self-rule, and that too through a public ballot pot process known as the “Kudavolai Amaippu system.”
Rajaraja Chola I, who reigned between 985 and 1014, set the stage for this golden era, and his campaigns spanned from Southern India to Northern Sri Lanka. Though he was a great military leader and enjoyed exalted titles, Rajaraja preferred to be remembered as “Sivapatha Sekaran” (one who bears Lord Shiva’s feet on his head), demonstrating once again that Tamil Nadu has always been a land of spirituality. This devotion was also the motivating force behind constructing the magnificent Brihadeshwara Temple at Thanjavur, which is a towering epitome of Chola architectural grandeur and spiritual ethos that remains a work of art even today.
His son, Rajendra Chola I (1014-1044 CE), succeeded in taking this legacy even beyond the Indian subcontinent. He sent out a grand naval campaign against the Srivijaya Empire in 1025 and established India’s maritime dominance in international waters by securing key trade routes. Under his reign, the Cholas had also claimed present-day Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Maldives, Lakshadweep, Coastal Burma and Thailand, as a result of which even ‘Coromandel’ bears the name of their land – “Chola Mandalam.” His victory over the Pala dynasty in Bengal was etched in history by the building of Gangaikonda Cholapuram and the bringing of sacred Ganga water to their Kingdom, epitomising Bharat’s civilisational strength from the Ganga to the Cauvery.
It is also essential to note that Rajendra Chola’s humility remained evident despite his vast conquests. In a touching gesture of respect to his father, the temple Gopuram he built at Gangaikonda Cholapuram was made slightly shorter than that of Gopuram of the Brihadeshwara Temple in Thanjavur. Therefore, the Cholas left their tale not just on stone but on seas and centuries with their extensive campaigns.
