Uttama Chola

Uttama Chola was the son of Gandaraditya Chola and the famous Sembian Mahadevi. He was called as Madurantaga Uttama Chola. When Gandaraditya Chola died, he was a small kid. Hence, Gandaraditya's son Arinjaya Chola came to throne. After Arinjaya Chola, his son Parantaka Sundara Chola became the Chola king. Uttama Chola had equal rights for Chola throne similar to Parantaka Sundara Chola.

There is a theory that Uttama Chola would have killed Aditya Karikala Chola, the brave son of Sundara Chola to avoid any further challenges for him to become king. However, there is no solid proof for this. It's true that Sundara Chola made him as the successor in 970 AD, although he had another son Arunmozhivarman aka Rajaraja Chola who was very among the public. There is a possibility that Rajaraja Chola and Uttama Chola would have arrived at a treaty so that Uttama Chola became the king. It was probably as per the treaty that Rajaraja Chola succeeded Uttama Chola, whereas Uttama Chola's only son Madurantaga Gandaraditya was just given an official post.

Uttama Chola should have become the king in 973 AD after the death of Sundara Chola. He ruled the country till 985 AD.

Uttama Chola had many wives. Out of them, Orattanam Chorappaiyar was her queen.

He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva.

The oldest Chola period coins that we have today belongs to his period.

Aditya Karikalan Chola

Aditya Karikalan Chola was the elder son of Sundara Chola. His full name was Aditya II Parakesari Parthivendra Karikalan.

Parantaka I Chola had captured Pandia kingdom. However, in due course, Veera Pandian had started ruling his country as an independent king. As per the Leyden inscriptions and Karandai inscriptions, in a place called Chevur near Pudukkottai there was a battle between Chola and Pandya. Sundara Chola personally killed a lot of elephants in this battle. His son Aditya Chola was very young. Still, he fought bravely with Veera Pandian and got the title 'Veera Pandian Thalai Konda'. Although the inscriptions from Tiruvalankadu claim that the Pandyan king was killed, it need not to be true. It appears he was defeated by Cholas and ran away to Sahiyatri mountain. Pandian got help from Ceylong king for this battle.

Aditya Chola was killed under mysterious circumstances. It appears that Sundara Chola was broken down after his son's death and he was not successful in punishing those who were responsible for his son's murder. There is a theory that Aditya was killed by Uttama Chola, the cousin of Sundara Chola and son of Gandaraditya Chola. Uttama Chola had equal rights like Sundara Chola to become the king; hence, he would have probably killed Aditya Chola so that he could at least succeed Sundara Chola.

Sundara Chola

Sundara Chola was the son of Parantaka Chola I and Kalyani. He became prince in the year of 956 AD. He became king after Arinjaya Chola (in the year 957 AD?). He ruled the country till 973 AD. He had Rajakesari title and his full name was Parantaka II Sundara Chola.

Parantaka I Chola had captured Pandia kingdom. However, in due course, Veera Pandian had started ruling his country as an independent king. As per the Leyden inscriptions and Karandai inscriptions, in a place called Chevur near Pudukkottai there was a battle between Chola and Pandya. Sundara Chola personally killed a lot of elephants in this battle. His son Aditya Chola was very young. Still, he fought bravely with Veera Pandian and got the title 'Veera Pandian Thalai Konda'. Although the inscriptions from Tiruvalankadu claim that the Pandyan king was killed, it need not to be true. It appears he was defeated by Cholas and ran away to Sahiyatri mountain. Pandian got help from Ceylong king for this battle. It lead Chiriya Velalar to conquer Ceylon; however, he was not successful and died in the battle in 965 AD.

During the battle against Veera Pandian, Sundara Chola got help from Poori Vikrama Kesari from Kodumbalur and Parthivendravarman.

Even though the battle against the Pandyas was won by Sundara Chola, it doesn't appear that he had completely controlled the Pandyan kingdom during his period. However, it appears that he was successful to reclaim some of his regions in the north from Rashtrakutas.

He died in his golden palace in Kanchipuram. His wife Vanavan Madevi, the daughter of Malayaman, sacrificed her life through sati practice. Her statue was erected by her daughter Kundavai in Tanjore Brahadeeswarar temple. He also had another wife, a Chera princess.

Sundara Chola supported literature during his period. A poetic book named 'Veera Chozhiyam' was written to praise him during his period.

Sundara Chola's brave son Aditya II Parakesari Parthivendra Karikalan was killed under mysterious circumstances. It appears that Sundara Chola was broken down after his son's death and he was not successful in punishing those who were responsible for his son's murder. There is a theory that Aditya was killed by Uttama Chola, the cousin of Sundara Chola and son of Gandaraditya Chola. To avoid revolt or due to mutual acceptance by Rajaraja Chola, the popular son of Sundara Chola, Uttama Chola was made as the price and the successor of Chola throne in 970 AD.

Arinjaya Chola

Arinjaya Chola was the younger son of Parantaka Chola I. He was also called as Arikulakesari and Arindaman. It appears that he became prince in 956 AD and lived till 957 AD. It looks like he got a chance to rule the country only for a brief period after his elder brother Gandaraditya Chola. There is nothing much known about his reign.

Vengi (Chalukya) king Bheema II's daughter Kundavai was Arinjaya's wife. He also had another wife Kodai Piratiyar by name, who was probably the daughter of Vaanar king. He had a daughter named Arinjinga Piratiyaar through Kodai.

There is a possibility that he would have lost his life while trying to reclaim the southern region from Rashtrakutas. It appears he died in a place named Aattrur near Melpadi.

Gandaraditya Chola

Gandaraditya Chola was the son of Parantaka Chola I. He ruled the Chola kingdom between 949 AD and 957 AD. As the elder son of Parantaka, Rajaditya lost his life in Takkolam battle, he became the ruler.

During his period, Rashtrakuta king Krishna III aquired a lot of places from Chola empire.

His wife Sembian Madevi was very popular devotee. She built a lot of Shiva temples. He had a son named Uttama Chola.

Rajaditya Chola

Rajaditya Chola was the son of Parantaka Chola I and Kokkizhan.

Parantaka Chola had kept an army under his son Rajaditya in Tirumunaipadi permanently to fight back any attack from Vaanars and Vaidumbars. When there was no fight fought, Rajaditya utilized the man power of his army to construct Veera Narayana lake. He also built a temple for Lord Vishnu named Veera Narayana Perumal on the banks of the lake.

Arikulakesari, the brother of Rajaditya was also there in Tirumunaipadi. Rashtrakutas attacked the Cholas and the battle took place at Takkolam near Arakonam. The Chola prince Rajaditya was killed while riding the elephant by Bhutuga . Rashtrakutas won the war. Krishna III was the king of Rashtrakutas during that period. The war happened in 949 AD. Even after this, it appears Krishna kept invading the Cholas. It appears he won even Kanchi from the Cholas.

Parantaka Chola I

Parantaka Chola I was the son of Aditya Chola. He came to throne in 907 AD and ruled till 955 AD. Aditya had married the Rashtrakoota princess and had a son, Kannar Devan by name. After his death, the Rashtrakuta king Krishna II tried to make his grandson Kannara Devan as the Chola king. Parantaka had to face this challenge in his initial days and he was able to successfully handle this.

When he became the Chola king, his father had already aquired a lot of kingdoms and Chola was an empire.

After Thirupurampayam battle, Varaguna Pandian died. The successor, Parantaka Veera Narayanan spent most of his effort and time to control the revolt lead by Ukkiran. When the Pandyan kingdom was busy in handling its internal problems, Parantaka invaded Pandyan kingdom. Although he got the title 'Madurai Kondan' (which means 'one who won Madurai, the capital of Pandyan kingdom) in his third year itself, his victory over Pandyan kingdom was not complete. He had to fight many tiny wars and acquired Pandya kingdom little by little.

Once the Pandian was defeated in the first battle, he sought help of Sri Lankan king. Sri Lanka sent an army lead by general Chakka Senapati to Tamil Nady. Parantaka Chola defeated both Pandyan and Sri Lankan armies. The Sri Lankan general did not want to accept the defeat; he wanted to lead the army again. However, he died of Plague disease. As there was a widespread fear that all the soldiers would be affected by Plague disease, the Sri Lankan king called back his army. In Vellore, Pazhuvettaraiyar and Kandan Amudanaar won the battle against Sri Lankan army and Pandyan army in 915 AD. It resulted in Chola kingdom to acquire more regions of Pandya kingdom with his territory.

Parantaka got a title - 'Maduraiyum Eezhamum Konda Kopparakesari'. He also got other titles such as Veeranarayanan, Soorasigamani and Chola Sigamani.

After all the defeats, the Pandya king Rajasimha ran over to Sri Lanka. The king Tappula IV (923-934AD) was ready to send army for his help. However, he couldn’t do that due to internal revolt. Now, the Pandya king realized that he couldn’t get any help from Sri Lankan army. He left his royal chrone and other few important jewels in Sri Lanka and ran to his mother Vanavan Madevi’s birthplace – Chera country. This incident should have happened between the 16^th and 26the year of Parantaga’s rule.

After completely occupying Pandya kingdom, Parantaga wanted to wear the royal chrone of Pandya king. He sent emissaries to Sri Lanka during the period of Udayan IV (945-53 AD). However, the Lanka king was not ready to give them to Chola. Hence, the Chola king sent an army to Sri Lanka. The Chola army killed the Sri lankan general and chased the king. The king ran away to Rohana along with jewels. Due to some fear, the Chola army didn’t proceed further and returned to their kingdom.

Kerala king Pazhuvettaraiyar and Velir head of Kodumbalur have helped Cholas to fight Pandyas in various wars. Parantakan’s son Arikula Kesari married Kodumbalur group’s Tennavan Ilango Velir’s daughter Poodhi Adikka Pidari.

When Rashtrakuta king Krishna II wanted to make his grandson Kannar Devan as the Chola king, he attacked the Cholas along with Vaanars. The attack happened at the north western side of the Chola kingdom. The Cholas got help of the Ganga king Prathvipathi II. The battle took place at Tiruvallam aka Vallala in 911 AD. As Krishna II lost the battle, Parantakan got the title ‘Veera Cholan’.

Vaanars were ruling Vanagappadi area for more than 20 years. Although they were ruling the major area beyond north of Palar, between Punganoor in West and Kalasthi in East, after Chalukyas became powerful, they had to shift towards south. At last, they were ruling the place named Parigi in Anantpur district.
It appears Vaanar country was ruled by Vijayaditya Prabhumeru II till 909 AD. Between 909 and 916 the rulers of Vaanar country Vikramaditya II and Viyaditya III were defeated by Parantakan. As the Ganga king Prathvipathi II helped the Cholas to win Vaanars, he was given the throne of Vaanars for a brief period by the Cholas.

Vaidumbars were friends of Vaanars. Telugu and Kannada were their languages. They were ruling Renand region in the 9^th century AD. They along with Vaanars, won Nolumbars and Kaskars in Choremadi war in 850 AD. Their friendship continued forever and due to this they had to fight against the Cholas. Maharaja Chandaiyan Tiruvayan was the Vaidumbars king who was defeated by the Chola in 915 AD. It might be his predecessor also. Proper records on who lost to the Chola are not available. Vaanars and Vaidumbars surrendered to Rashtrakutas.

It appears there was a war against Vengi king Chalukya Veema II in 941.

Around 940 AD, the Ganga king Prathvipathi II died. He had already lost his only son Vikkiyannan. Bhutuga II married to Rashtrakuta king Krishnan III’s sister Revaka. Also, he killed his elder brother Raja Mallan and became the lonely leader of Gangas kingdom. Hence, the Cholas had lost the help of Gangas after Prathvipathi.

Parantaka Chola had kept an army under his son Rajaditya in Tirumunaipadi permanently to fight back any attack from Vaanars and Vaidumbars. Arikulakesari, the brother of Rajaditya was also there in Tirumunaipadi. Rashtrakutas attacked the Cholas and the battle took place at Takkolam near Arakonam. The Chola prince Rajaditya was killed while riding the elephant by Bhutuga . Rashtrakutas won the war. Krishna III was the king of Rashtrakutas during that period. The war happened in 949 AD. Even after this, it appears Krishna kept invading the Cholas. It appears he won even Kanchi from the Cholas.

Parantakan had many wives. The details about 11 wives are available. Rajaditya was Kokkizhan’s son. Kerala princess was Arinjayan's mother. Apart from that, Parantakan had sons such as Kandaraditya, Uttamacheeli and Arindigai. He also had daughters named Veeramadevi (wife of Govinda Vallavaraiyar) and Anupama (wife of Kodumbalur head).

Parantakan gave importance to village administration and irrigation facilities. He improved agriculture a lot. He was a great devotee of Shiva. He completed construction of many temples that were started by Aditya I. He also gave golden roof to Chidambaram Natraj shrine.

Aditya Chola I

Aditya Chola I was the son of Vijayalaya Chola. It appears that his reign was between 870 AD and 907 AD. He had "Rajakesari" title. He was also called as Kodnda Raman.

The famous Thirupurambiyam battle hapenned during the period of this great Chola king. Thirupurambiyam is a small town near Tanjore in Tamil Nadu state of India. The battle was mainly between the Pallava king Aparajit and Pandia king Varaguna Pandian aka Varagunavarman II. After the Pallava king Nandivarman III died in 869 AD, the differences arose between his eldest son Nripatunga and another son Aparajit. Nripatunga was supported by Pandians whereas Aparajit was supported by Pallavas. Aparajit also got the support of Ganga king Prithvipathi I and Aditya Chola I. This battle should have hapenned in 879 AD. The Pandians were defeated in this battle. Although Pallavas won the battle, the Ganga king Prithvipathi was killed in the battle. Hence, the maximum benefit of victory went to the Chola king. Pallavas gave many regions around Tanjore from Mutharaiyars to Chola king as the token of appreciation.

After Thirupurambiyam battle, the Pandyas wanted to reduce the importance of Cholas. They even invaded Cholas and camped at a place called Idavai in the northern part of Chola kingdom. However, nothing much is known about this incident.

Later, the chola king Aditya Chola I became very powerful. In a battle, he defeated Aparajit and captured Pallava kingdom. It is believed that he himself killed Aparajit who was riding an elephant in the battle. This battle would have hapenned in 890 AD. However, it appears that for the next few years there was no peace in the newly acquired kingdom. Aditya and his son Parantaga Chola had to keep controlling the revolt and fight tiny battles. Although there is no proper records, it appears that Gangas would have helped Cholas to win Pallavas. It is evident from the fact that they accepted Pallavas as their masters.

Aditya married Ilango Pitchi, the daughter of Rashtrakoota king Krishna II. She was his first wife. He also married a Pallava princess.

It was during his period the Chola kingdom spread like anything. He captured Tondai Mandalam (region) from Pallavas. Gangas were under his control. He also captured Kongu country. He maintained good relationship with Tanu Ravi, the Chera king. Parantaga Chola and Kannara Deva are his sons.

He was a great devotee. He built a lot of Shiva temples across Tamil Nadu. It is said that he built totally 64 Shiva temples across the banks of river Cauvery right from its origin till the site where it merges with the ocean.

He died in a place called Maanadu near Kalahasti. His son Parantaga built a temple called as Kodanda Rameswaran aka Aditeeswaram on his tomb.

It was during his period the Cholas started claiming themselves as the descendants of Sun. The inscriptions were made with the list of 15 kings before Vijayalaya Chola in Anbil. Tiruvalankadu inscription gives the list of 44 Chola kings. Kanyakumari inscription gives the list of 52 kings whereas Leidan inscription gives the list of 12 kings. The ancient Tamil literature books such as Kalingathu Barani and Ottakkootharin Ulakkal give different list of Chola kings. Not any two lists give similar names.

Vijayalaya Chola

Reign: 846 AD - 881 AD (or 850 AD - 890 AD)
Father: Kumaraan Kusan (according to some scholars)
Wife: Not known
Children: Aditya Chola
Capital city: Uraiyur or Palaiyaru

'Parakesari' Vijayalaya Chola was the first Chola of medieval period. The early Cholas were very powerful. However, they lost thier power and became princes. Even, Vijayalaya Chola was just a prince under the control of Pallava empire. He came to power in 850 AD or 846 AD. Uraiyur or Palaiyaru was his capital city.

During his period, the Pallavas had to keep fighting with Pandyas and Chalukyas. The Pallava king Nandivarman III won Pandian Varagunan and Chola in the battle of Tellaru. Either Vijayalaya Chola or his predecessor would have helped Pandya king in this war.

Later, in 854 AD, there was a battle between Pandian king and Pallava in Kudamooku (current day's Kumbakonam). In this battle, the son of Varaguna Pandian I, Srimaran Srivallaba won the Pallava. Then, there was a battle between Nandivarman's son Nirupadunga Pallava and Srimaran in the banks of river Arichilaru. The Pallava won this battle.

 In 862 AD, Srimaran's son Varaguna Pandian II waged war against the Pallavas. The Pallava king Aparajithavarman got help from his grand father Ganga king Prithvipati. The Chola king Vijayalaya helped the Pallava king. The war hapenned in a small place called Tirupurambiyam near Kumbakonam. There was a royal clan named Mutharaiyar who either used to support Pallavas or Pandyas depending upon the situation. During Vijayalaya's reign, Mutharaiyars were supporting Pandyas and were ruling from Niyamam aka Chenthalai. Tanjore city was also under their control. The Pallava won the battle; Vijayalaya captured Tanjore from Mutharaiyars. Prithvipathi was killed in the battle. It should be noted that it was not him but was his son Aditya Chola was participated in the Tirupurambiyam battle. He would have been very old during this period.

According to few scholars, he had already won Tanjore from Mutharaiyar in 846 AD.

It appears that he had built a temple for Durga (Nisumbasudhani) in Tanjore.

It is not known what was his father's name. However, few scholars assume it would be Kumaraan Kusan.

It is said that he had fought 32 battles and have 96 brave marks in his body.

It is not known about his wife. He had a sone named Aditya Chola.