1

Chola (Cola) Empire Digvijaya (conquest of the directions) cam-

paign related to assertion of power rather
RAKESH MAHALAKSHMI than leaving any lasting impact in terms of
Jawaharlal Nehru University, India the territorial control by the Cholas.
The origins of the Cholas in the Early
Throughout almost 400 years of its rule, Medieval period can be traced to Vijayalaya
Chola power extended over a large area of who ruled in the locality of Uraiyur in the Tir-
south India comprising the whole of the mod- uchirapalli region of Tamil Nadu in the mid-
ern state of Tamil Nadu and contiguous areas 9th century. The history of the Cholas has
of southern Karnataka and southern Andhra. been reconstructed on the basis of inscrip-
Emerging from their heartland in the vicinity tions on stone and copperplates used to rec-
of Uraiyur along the banks of the river Kaveri ord royal orders and donations. The kings
in the mid-9th century, they soon controlled were identified through their epithets and
the entire Tamil-speaking area. There are five by using the strategy of alternate titles of Raja-
major regions that comprised the Tamil kesari (“lion among kings”) and Parakesari
country according to early medieval sources: (“lion among enemies”) for successive rulers,
the Cholamandalam, the Tondaimandalam and from the end of the 9th century, a further
(the sphere of authority of the Pallavas cen- distinguishing feature was the use of specific
tering around Kancipuram), the Pandiman- introductory verses to describe a king. We
dalam (the Pandya realm with Madurai as also know from records of the practice of
its core), the Naduvilnadu (literally “the land co-regency, where the anointed successor
in the center” between Cholamandalam and ruled alongside his father. Chola rule can be
Tondaimandalam), and Kongumandalam broadly divided into four periods – early
(areas around the Dharmapuri and Coimba- (850–985), middle (986–1070), later-1
tore districts) (Heitzman 1997). At the apex (1071–1178) and later-2 (1179–1279) – marking
of its power between the late 10th and late their rise and consolidation, imperial expan-
11th centuries, the Chola Empire extended sion, struggle to maintain their power and
over the entire Andhra region, Mysore, and decline respectively. The major rulers of this
northern-central part of the island of Sri dynasty were Parantaka I (907–955), Rajaraja
Lanka. Other islands in the Indian Ocean I (985–1014), Rajendra I (1012–1044), and
such as the Lakshadweep and the Maldives Kulottunga I (1070–1120). While succession
were also brought under its control. During to the throne was based on patrilineal primo-
the time of Rajendra Chola (1012–1044), its geniture, the later-1 period was heralded by
power extended to the Malay Peninsula and the accession of Kulottunga I, the grandson
the eastern archipelago. The conquests of this of Rajendra Chola, and the son of Rajendra’s
ruler in particular suggest that he was victori- daughter Ammanga Devi and the eastern
ous over the entire region, from Andhra to Chalukyan ruler Rajaraja Narendra.
Orissa, parts of Madhya Pradesh, and Bengal, A matter of some curiosity is the link
which earned him the title of Gangaikondan between the Cholas of the Vijayalaya line
or the “conqueror of the river Ganga.” How- and the Cholas of the Sangam literature.
ever, this appears to have been more of a We know of the dynasty called Cholas, whose

The Encyclopedia of Empire, First Edition. Edited by John M. MacKenzie.

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe366
2

rulers, along with those of the Pandyas and arayan indicates that they were notables from
Cheras, were referred to as the Muvendar or the locality (Karashima 1984).
“three kings.” They seem to have vanished We have specific mention of the karrali or
into obscurity by the end of the 3rd century inscriber of the grants and olainayakam or
CE, and it is believed that a line of these rulers scribe, suggesting the institution of writing
surfaced in the Renadu area of Andhra by the and maintenance of records. There is a sepa-
7th century. There is no evidence to directly rate mention of the office of puravuvari tinai-
connect the Sangam Cholas with the early kalam, which appears to be a reference to the
medieval dynasty; however, frequent mention revenue department. Within this office, we
of the Tanjavur and Tiruchirapalli districts as have references to the varipottakam or reve-
the Chola core, in records of other dynasties nue register, the varipottaka kanakku or the
from the 6th century, such as the Pallavas one who makes entries into the tax register,
and Chalukyas of Badami, and the prasastis variyilidu or tax officer, pattolai or the copier,
of the Cholas themselves from the 10th cen- and kilmukavetti or the junior inscriber.
tury, indicate the living memory of the earlier Interestingly, we have references to the office
lineage. of the madhyasta, invariably in the context of
The administration of the Cholas as village assemblies, suggesting the function of
demonstrated through inscriptional sources arbitration or mediation. The office of the
suggests that a very elaborate revenue and nadalvan, one who governs the nadu or
bureaucratic structure was put into place by region, appears to be conspicuous in the last
the late 10th century. There are broadly two stage of Chola rule, leading us to the conclu-
kinds of officials – those important function- sion that community-centric decision making
aries who already wielded power within the had given way to individuals exercis-
locality whom we call proto-bureaucratic, ing power.
and those who were deliberately appointed There was a second tier of government
by the state – the bureaucratic officials machinery that functioned at the trans-local
(Heitzman 1997). A class of officials referred level. In the early medieval period, the nadu
to simply as nam karumam arayum – “those or peasant locality emerged, comprising a
following our (the king’s) orders” – is found cluster of villages called ur, dominated by
as conducting the affairs of the state. The non-brahmana landholding elite. These nadu
generic term atikari (Sanskrit adhikari) was had their own mechanisms of political and
also used for various classes of officers. Those economic control, marked by the assembly,
at the top of the ladder appear to have been also called nadu, which was managed by the
drawn from the elite vellala and brahmana village elites who together formed the nattar –
landowning sections of society. Both types “those who hold the nadu” (Stein 1994).
held the titles of the reigning king along with However, there were external elements that
their personal names; additionally, the former played a role in the nadu such as the sabha
carried the title of Muvendavelan, while the or assembly of brahmanas, who lived in sep-
latter carried the title of Brahmarayan. These arate settlements called brahmadeya that
titled officials’ names appeared in the context appear to have been royal creations. The state
of maintenance of records (olai), revenue appears to have had its own bevy of officials at
administration (vari), or as military function- the nadu level: the nadu vagai ceyvar, also
aries (senapati – military commander). Other referred to as the nadu kuru ceyvar, indicating
important offices include those of the Palla- one who was in charge of settling nadu
varayan and Vilupparayan, where the suffix accounts, and what may have been a superior
 3

office of nadu kankani nayakam or one who various small principalities ruled by the
oversaw the accounts of land sales and Nolambas, Gangas, and others (Sastri 1955).
arranged for services and suchlike At the zenith of their power, the Cholas
(Subbarayulu 1973). At the very local level, maintained cordial relations with kingdoms
the brahmana villages had a system of repre- in Southeast Asia and the Chinese Empire.
sentation in the corporate body called sabha, During Rajaraja I’s time, the Sailendra
with different committees or variyams having dynasty ruler of Sri Vijaya was permitted to
specialized functions such as supervision of build a Buddhist temple – the Chudamani
tanks and the weighing of gold. The method Vihara at Nagapattinam – in c.1008 CE. Rajen-
of election to five such committees is men- dra I received a golden chariot as a gift from
tioned in an inscription of the early 10th cen- the king of Kamboja (Khmer or Angkor,
tury. There were 30 kudumbus or wards modern Cambodia) (Kulke 2010). Rajendra
arranged into 12 ceris or streets. Nominations and his son Virarajendra led an expedition
were first invited from the kudumbus and to Kadaram against the Sri Vijayan kingdom
then a selection by lot or kudavolai was done in 1025 apparently to curb its imperialist
(Sastri 1937). Temples and other religious expansion vis-à-vis the Khmer. Chinese Song
institutions that also played an important role period chronicles Songshi identify this king-
in economic and social transactions in the dom as Sanfoqi while the Cholas are called
society had organizations to look after their Zhunian. The Songshi also mentions an
working. embassy from the Zhunian king in 1077
Regarding sub-rulers and provincial gover- (Sen 2010). Closer to home, there were fre-
nors, there is no specific indication of institu- quent skirmishes with the kings of Rajarata
tionalized tiers of rule under the Cholas. in Sri Lanka culminating in the conquest of
There is indication of heirs to the throne the northern and central parts of the island
being co-regents; and allied rulers and in the early 11th century.
military commanders or senapati also figure The saints of the bhakti or devotional tra-
during military campaigns. It appears that dition, which flourished in the Tamil region
the king of Sri Vijaya represented the Cholas between the 6th and 9th centuries CE, firmly
(Karashima 2009) at an embassy in Song established the worship of the brahmanical
China. The Cholas had very close ties with deities Siva and Visnu, extolled in the sacred
a number of chiefs in the area, like the Sam- texts called Purana composed in the Sanskrit
buvarayar, as well as neighboring kingdoms language. These saints localized the traditions
such as the Rashtrakutas and Eastern Chalu- by using Tamil language as their mode
kyas, often forged through marriage. Often of expression, and identifying local cult
these matrimonial alliances soured relation- sites as sacred to these Puranic deities
ships between the kingdoms at a later date, (Mahalakshmi 2011). Although we know of
as in the case of the Rashtrakutas, on the the presence of the northern religious
question of succession. The early years of traditions – Brahmanism, Buddhism, and
Chola rule saw them first conquering the Pal- Jainism – in the region since the 2nd century
lavas to the north and renaming their terri- BCE, it is the last two that held sway in addition
tories as Jayamkondacolamandalam. They to the local belief systems until this point. The
were also constantly attempting to conquer Chola period saw the construction, renova-
and maintain their control over the Pandyas tion, and expansion of a number of shrines
and Cheras in the extreme south, the Chalu- to these Puranic deities, thereby seeking legit-
kyas of Kalyani in the northwest, and the imacy from the bhakti tradition. The middle
4

Chola period saw the “cathedral” style of either part of or whole settlements. As
building marked by towering spires and mag- these were controlled by those from outside
nificent proportions, exemplified in the Siva the locality they also provided leverage for
temples in Tanjavur, Gangaikondaolapuram, the state to make its presence felt in disparate
and Darasuram (Srinivasan 1972). In the later regions (Champakalakshmi 1996). While pri-
Chola period, there was the horizontal expan- vate ownership of land was not known in the
sion of the temple complex and a number of non-brahmana villages with the vellan-vagai
subsidiary shrines to minor deities and differ- or peasant cultivators until the 10th century,
ent forms of the main deity were added. What thereafter we see rapid development of indi-
is striking is that the temples were named vidual tenures as compared to the communal
after kings, the best example being the mas- ownership of earlier times. We have a number
sive Rajarajesvaram in Tanjavur built by of instances of irrigational facilities instituted
Rajaraja I. This may be seen as an ideological and maintained by the local governmental
mechanism through which the association machinery in the form of raising embank-
between the king and the deity was invoked, ments, tanks, and canals. We also hear of
thereby granting divine sanction to the king. committees levying taxes and fines for this
This was linked to the absorption of local purpose. Inscriptions tell us of livestock gifted
gods and goddesses who were gradually asso- to temples and their redistribution among the
ciated with the brahmanical deities, and the pastoral communities (Heitzman 1997).
adoption of brahmanical rituals for their wor- The Chola period also saw craft specializa-
ship. The patronage to the ritual specialists – tion and trading activities accelerating due to
brahmanas – and the creation of a liturgy in the highly productive agrarian system that
an evolving Sanskritized Tamil language was put into place by the state. A number
helped to strengthen this assimilation of specialists such as weavers, oil pressers,
(Stein 1994). goldsmiths, and so on, are known from
The Chola state was dependent on the sur- inscriptions. As a result, we also have a con-
pluses generated from the expansion of wet comitant development of trade within the
rice cultivation and the intensification of region and outside, including maritime
agrarian processes in already cultivated areas. trading activities. A third institutional mech-
In addition, due to the presence of a large anism, closely linked to the temple, that con-
number of craft specialists, burgeoning trade tributed to the economic transformations in
and the concomitant urbanization led to new the Chola period was the nagaram or urban
economic bases for the state coming into settlement. The corporate assembly of the
being. The evolution of nadu or peasant local- same name comprising merchants from the
ities was a gradual process that began in the settlement, the nagarattar, directed trade
early centuries of the Common Era, and and other affairs (Hall 1980). Cities became
which was accelerated in the early medieval important production centers over the Chola
period. There are numerous sources that talk period, and we hear of specialized centers
of the “killing” of forests and the creation of such as the Saliya Nagarattar of the weavers
the agrarian areas as well as the clearing of and Sankarappadi nagarattar of the oil-
wastelands (Subbarayulu 1973). This process mongers. Merchant bodies such as the Mani-
was facilitated through the operation of insti- gramam and Ayyavole, also called Nanadesa
tutional mechanisms in the form of the brah- Disai Ayiratti Ainurruvar, which had a
madeya or brahmana settlements and the trans-regional presence, were dominant
devadana or temple settlements that were from the latter half of the Chola rule, while
 5

supra-local trading bodies dealing in a partic- irupuvilaiyum nilam or two-crop lands; nir
ular commodity are also known. The Ainur- nilam or wet lands; punjey or dry/waste-
ruvar, particularly, played an important role lands; and nanjey or improved lands
in linking different trading bodies and regions (Karashima 1984). Essentially there were
as indicated by their name – “the 500 from two tiers of revenue extraction – local and
one thousand directions in different regions” – supra-local. The most pervasive tax was that
and had a significant presence outside the levied on the cultivator – kutimai. Among
region as well as across the ocean in Sri Lanka. the local taxes there were various kinds of
A guild of foreign merchants called Hanju- labor dues, the most common being irriga-
mannam is also known, that may initially tional labor – vetti/vettinai – at the village
have included Jewish and Arab merchants and nadu levels. There was a general tax
but was later exclusively associated with the called natacci/uracci referring to the taxes
Arabs (Subbarayulu 2012). There appears to on residential spaces and commons. There
be little doubt that the Cholas were aggres- were a number of trading and artisanal dues
sively following a policy of promotion of trade as well, such as cunkam or toll, tattar pattam
and it has been argued that the numerous or tax on goldsmiths, ennai irai/urai nali on
naval expeditions undertaken by them into oil, kurai kacu on cloth, verrilai on betel leaf,
Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, and China may vannar parai on washermen, paci pattam on
be attributed to the commercial potential of fishing, and so on. What is interesting to
the area (Sen 2010). This has also led to the note is that most were specified to be paid
assertion that while the early Cholas were in kind. At the state level, the most abiding
focused on the internal revenue base the tax term we find is the katamai, which is also
imperial Cholas were influenced by the pull called kanikatan, which was paid in kind.
of the coast (Chakravarti 2011). Both terms are revealing: katamai means
The many gifts recorded to religious institu- duty while kanikatan refers to a debt on land.
tions suggest that goods and land were in circu- There are taxes mentioned under the generic
lation, and, in the case of the latter, in the 12th head irai in the early Chola period that
century the state was forced to pass injunctions referred perhaps to this land tax. We have
restricting land sales. The Cholas oversaw a another land tax to be paid in cash called
vibrant money economy with kings issuing antarayam, literally meaning “income com-
coins in gold called in ascending order of value ing in” identified as an interior tax.
as manjadi, kacu, and kalanju although with A particularly interesting tax was the eccoru
varying values (Chattopadhyaya 1977). We also referring to provisions made to feed the offi-
hear of a gold coin in circulation presumably cials engaged in revenue administration.
from Sri Lanka called ilakacu (Ilam is the name There were general taxes clubbed as perum-
for Sri Lanka found in Tamil sources). Many vari and ciru/kil vari meaning big and small
gifts in gold were channeled into the agrarian taxes respectively. A special right of protec-
economy, and we also hear of usury as an estab- tion called padikaval was given to locality
lished practice. chiefs such as the Malaiyaman, Vana-kovar-
Land revenue was the main source of ayar, Kadava, and Sambuvaraya, recognizing
income for the state and the entire taxation their privileged status.
system was organized to harness this in In conquered territories such as the Pallava
various ways. We hear of assessment of land areas of Tondaimandalam, earlier structures
in terms of the cropping pattern – orupuvi- were maintained. The same policy was also
laiyum nilam or one-crop lands, and followed in the Pandya regions, although
6

there were some new taxes as well as those effort to study the political economy of the
known in Chola areas (Karashima 1984). Cholas was through a statistical analysis of
We know of a large standing army of the the pattern of landholding in brahmana and
Cholas and its various regiments, such as non-brahmana villages in the early Chola
the kudirai cevagar or cavalry, anaiatkal or period which had implications for the changes
elephant corps, villigal or archers, and val- heralded by the royal creation of the brahma-
perra kaikkolar or swordsmen. The king deya in rural society. Another groundbreaking
was the head of the armed forces in principle work focusing on the political geography of the
and there were various expeditions led by Cholas established that the state created new
individual rulers or their sons or feudatories. agrarian pockets, renamed old ones, and was
There was an official functionary called the constantly redefining its political boundaries.
senapati who was the commander of the Some scholars have argued that the period
forces. The specialized group of valangai marked by Chola rule represented a feudal
velaikkarar or left-handed groups who per- social formation. A very important study on
formed a velai, or task, is known as the back- the Cholas focused on the issue of ritual sover-
bone of the army not merely in the Chola eignty, where ideological mechanisms prima-
lands but also in Sri Lanka. These have been rily drawing from religions were seen as the
understood as mercenary armies that offered main props of the state. Countering this claim
their services to any party in the later Chola that the state had no real power as well as the
context (Hall 1980). Grants of land for mili- feudalism proponents, scholars have stressed
tary services known as padaiparru were given the many institutional apparatuses created
by kings. Specialized communities such as the by the Chola state to establish and maintain
Kaikkolas (“by the strength of their arms”) itself as a centralized entity. Recent studies
and Curuttiman (bowmen) are also known have questioned the assumption of Chola
from the latter half of Chola rule. colonization of Southeast Asia by focusing
The navy of the Cholas has attracted a lot of on the maritime trading networks from China
scholarly attention, and while the military to the Arab world as the key to understanding
expeditions are not disputed the possibility this interaction. Works that have focused on
that the state was itself engaged in mercantile religious traditions and transformations of
activities has also been raised. It has further the cultural landscape of the Tamil region
been suggested that rather than maintain draw attention to the ideological institutions
their own fleet of ships they used mercantile used by the state to further its reach and main-
vessels or outriggers such as Sangara (large tain its power.
oceangoing single log vessels) and Colandia Conventional histories have tended to
(massive oceangoing vessels). The kattu focus on the decline of the Cholas because
maran (catamarans) were the small bounded of weak rulers in the late 12th century. Recent
log-boats used in shallow waters and were studies indicate that the onus must be shifted
possibly used to ferry soldiers’ arms and to the political economy on the one hand, and
ammunition and provisions to the larger car- on the other to the rise of additional regional
riers (Sakhuja and Sakhuja 2010). powers such as the Hoysalas and Kakatiyas to
Early historiography of the Cholas focused the northwest and northeast, and the Pandyas
on its grandeur, comparing it to the Byzantine in the south. The last known ruler of this
Empire, while emphasizing the democratic dynasty was Rajendra III who was defeated
structures in the form of elected representa- in 1279 by the Pandyan king Maravarman
tion in village assemblies. The first systematic Kulasekara.
 7

SEE ALSO: Administration and bureaucracy; Mahalakshmi R. 2011. The Making of the Goddess:
Agriculture and empire; Chalukya dynasty; Korravai-Durga in the Tamil Traditions. Delhi:
Chera Kingdom; Eastern Ganga and Gajapati Penguin.
Sakhuja, V.and S. Sakhuja. 2010.“RajendraChola I’s
empires; Hoysala Empire; Kakatiya Kingdom;
Expedition to Southeast Asia: A Nautical
Pandyan Empire; Rashtrakuta Empire; Perspective.” In Hermann Kulke et al. (Eds.),
Śailendra Empire of Java; Srivijaya, Kingdom of; Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on
Trade and commerce the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia:
76–90.
Sastri, K. A. N. 1935, 1937. The Colas, 2 vols.
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Delhi: Oxford University Press. to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval
Chattopadhyaya, B. D. 1977. Coins and Currency Expeditions to Southeast Asia: 61–75.
Systems in South India. New Delhi: Munshiram Srinivasan, K. R. 1972. Temples of South India.
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Hall, K. R. 1980. Trade and Statecraft in the Age of Stein, B. 1994. Peasant and Society in Medieval
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Indian Society in Transition. Delhi: Oxford Uni- las. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
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Kulke, H. 2010. “The Naval Expeditions of the
Cholas in the Context of Asian History.” In FURTHER READING
H. Kulke, K. Kesavapany, V. Sakhuya, and Insti-
tute of Southeast Asian Studies (Eds.), Nagapat- Kulke, H., K. Kesavapany, and V. Sakhuja (Eds.)
tinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola 2010. Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflec-
Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia: 1–19. New tions on the Chola Naval Expeditions to South-
Delhi: Manohar Publishers. east Asia. New Delhi: Manohar Publishers.