11.1.1 Empire Building

. . Empire Building Rajaraja I is the most celebrated of the Chola kings. He engaged in naval expeditions and emerged victorious in the West Coast, Sri Lanka and conquered the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. The military victory of Raja Raja I over Sri Lanka led to its northern and eastern portions coming under the direct control of the Chola authority. Rajaraja I appointed a Tamil chief to govern the annexed regions and ordered a temple to be built. It is locally called Siva Devale (shrine of Siva). The Chola official appointed in Sri Lanka built a temple in a place called Mahatitta. The temple is called Rajarajesvara. Rajaraja I with his mentor Karuvur Devar XI History - Lesson - - Later Cholas and Pandyas Army Cholas maintained a well-organised army. The army consisted of three conventional divisions: infantry, cavalry (kudirai sevagar) and the elephant corps (anaiyatkal). There were also bowmen (villaligal), sword-bearers (valilar) and spearmen (konduvar). Two type of ranks in the army are also mentioned: the upper and the lower (perundanam and cirudanam). According to a Chinese geographer of the 13th century, the Chola army owned “sixty thousand war elephants that, when fighting, carried on their backs houses, and these houses are full of soldiers who shoot arrows at long range, and fight with spears at close quarters”. The overseas exploits of the Cholas are well known and it led historians to refer to their navy “with numberless ships”. Generally, soldiers enjoyed padaipparru (military holding) rights. Cantonments, which were established in the capital city, were known as padaividu. Military outposts in the conquered territory were called nilaipadai. The captain of a regiment was known as nayagam and later he assumed the title of padaimudali. The commander-in-chief was senapati and dandanayagam. Local Organisation Various locality groups functioned actively in the Chola period. These were bodies such as Urar, Sabhaiyar, Nagarattar and Nattar. They were relatively autonomous organisations of the respective groups. They are considered the building blocks using which the edifice of the Chola state was built. Urar With the expansion of agriculture, numerous peasant settlements came up in the countryside. They were known as ur. The urar, who were landholders in the village, acted as spokesmen in the ur. The urar were entrusted with the upkeep of temples, maintenance of the tanks and managing the water stored in them. They also discharged administrative functions of the state such as collection of revenue, maintenance of law and order, and obeying the king’s orders.