THE UNDEFEATABLE GREAT WARRIOR

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Rajendra chola I  (1012-1043 AD) was  born to a great king  Rajaraja I and Vanavan madevi alias Tribhuvanamadevi. The birth star of Rajendra I was Tiruvathirai.  He was originally called as Maduranthagan. He spent his childhood in Palayarai  and great grandmother Sembian Mahadevi. He was the co regent in 1012 AD with his father and ascended the throne in 1014 AD.   His consorts were  Tribuvana or Vanavan Mahadeviar, Mukkokilan, Panchavan Mahadevi, Arindhavan Madevi and Viramadevi who committed  Sati on his death. Rajendra had three sons namely  Rajadhiraja, Rajendra II and Virarajendra, who followed him on the Chola throne in succession. He had two daughters Pranaar Arul Mozhi Nangai and Ammanga Devi.

Rajendra Chola  was great Chola emperor who is considered one of the greatest ruler of India in the medieval period. During his reign he extended the influence of the chola empire to the banks of the river Gangas. His conquest also extended upto South East Asian countries in the Indian Ocean. His conquest included the countries Andaman and Nicobar islands, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Srivijaya in Malaysia, Southern part of Thailand and Indonesia.

In 1017 CE, the king captured the whole of Sri Lanka, of which his father, Raja Chola was able to conquer only the northern half. He realized his father’s dream of gaining complete control over Sri Lanka.

Rajendra Chola was among the first Indian kings to conquer territories outside India. His conquests included areas of present day Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Andamans, Lakshadweep and Cambodia.

After supressing the Western and Eastern Chalukyas, Rajendra Chola moved northwards through Kalinga empire to river Ganges and reached the Pala kingdom of Bengal around 1019 A.D. There he defeated Mahipala, king of Pala empire and acquired elephants, women and treasure. According to Thiruvalangadu plates, the campaign lasted for nearly two years in which many kingdoms of the north felt the might of the powerful Chola army. These inscriptions further claim that Rajendra Chola  defeated the armies of Ranasura and entered the land of Dharmapala. He also defeated last ruler of Kamboja Pala dynasty Dharmapala of Dandabhukti. The Chola army raided East Bengal and defeated Govindachandra of Chandra dynasty.

After these mighty victories over Chalukyas, Kalinga, Ganga, Palas etc,. he assumed the title Gangaikonda which means "Chola king who took over or defeated (the kings near) Ganga". To commemorate these victories he built a new capital Gangaikonda Cholapuram, which served as a capital to later Cholas until the Chola dynasty came to an end in 1280 A.D. He built the Brihadeeswarar temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram similar to Brihadeeswarar temple at Thanjavur which was built by his father Rajaraja Chola I.Rajendra Chola I was the only ruled who controlled the greatest army that India had ever seen. While Raja Raja Chola I had an army 900,000 strong men, Rajendra Chola had an army of close to 1.5 million which is greater than current number of Indian army which is only 1.1 million.

He had a naval fleet that was unmatched by anyone at that time. The Indian government named the Naval Training Academy as TS Rajendra, to appreciate the greatness of naval fleet of Rajendra. During his rule the Arts and Architecture flourished. He built numerous Shiva temples. He was a secular king who gave importance to all religions. He was a poet and composed hymns in praise of Lord Shiva.

The reason for death of Rajendra is unknown. He had many wives including Vanavan Mahadeviyar, Panchavan Mahadevi, Arindhavan Mahadevi and Vira Mahadevi. Vira Mahadevi committed Sati on Rajendras death. He was succeeded by his son Rajadhiraja Chola I.