Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Message
- Preface
- Introduction
- The Contributors
- 1 The Naval Expeditions of the Cholas in the Context of Asian History
- 2 Medieval Commercial Activities in the Indian Ocean as Revealed from Chinese Ceramic-sherds and South Indian and Sri Lankan Inscriptions
- 3 The Military Campaigns of Rajendra Chola and the Chola-Srivijaya-China Triangle
- 4 Rajendra Chola I's Naval Expedition to Southeast Asia: A Nautical Perspective
- 5 A Note on the Navy of the Chola State
- 6 Excavation at Gangaikondacholapuram, The Imperial Capital of Rajendra Chola, and Its Significance
- 7 New Perspectives on Nagapattinam: The Medieval Port City in the Context of Political, Religious, and Commercial Exchanges between South India, Southeast Asia and China
- 8 South Indian Merchant Guilds in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia
- 9 Anjuvannam: A Maritime Trade Guild of Medieval Times
- 10 Rajendra Chola's Naval Expedition and the Chola Trade with Southeast and East Asia
- 11 Cultural Implications of the Chola Maritime Fabric Trade with Southeast Asia
- 12 Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia during the Period of the Polonnaruva Kingdom
- 13 India and Southeast Asia: South Indian Cultural Links with Indonesia
- 14 Rajendra Chola's Invasion and the Rise of Airlangga
- 15 Rethinking Community: The Indic Carvings of Quanzhou
- Appendix I Ancient and Medieval Tamil and Sanskrit Inscriptions Relating to Southeast Asia and China
- Chinese Texts Describing or Referring to the Chola Kingdom as Zhu-nian
- Index
6 - Excavation at Gangaikondacholapuram, The Imperial Capital of Rajendra Chola, and Its Significance
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 November 2017
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Message
- Preface
- Introduction
- The Contributors
- 1 The Naval Expeditions of the Cholas in the Context of Asian History
- 2 Medieval Commercial Activities in the Indian Ocean as Revealed from Chinese Ceramic-sherds and South Indian and Sri Lankan Inscriptions
- 3 The Military Campaigns of Rajendra Chola and the Chola-Srivijaya-China Triangle
- 4 Rajendra Chola I's Naval Expedition to Southeast Asia: A Nautical Perspective
- 5 A Note on the Navy of the Chola State
- 6 Excavation at Gangaikondacholapuram, The Imperial Capital of Rajendra Chola, and Its Significance
- 7 New Perspectives on Nagapattinam: The Medieval Port City in the Context of Political, Religious, and Commercial Exchanges between South India, Southeast Asia and China
- 8 South Indian Merchant Guilds in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia
- 9 Anjuvannam: A Maritime Trade Guild of Medieval Times
- 10 Rajendra Chola's Naval Expedition and the Chola Trade with Southeast and East Asia
- 11 Cultural Implications of the Chola Maritime Fabric Trade with Southeast Asia
- 12 Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia during the Period of the Polonnaruva Kingdom
- 13 India and Southeast Asia: South Indian Cultural Links with Indonesia
- 14 Rajendra Chola's Invasion and the Rise of Airlangga
- 15 Rethinking Community: The Indic Carvings of Quanzhou
- Appendix I Ancient and Medieval Tamil and Sanskrit Inscriptions Relating to Southeast Asia and China
- Chinese Texts Describing or Referring to the Chola Kingdom as Zhu-nian
- Index
Summary
The emperor Rajendra Chola (1012–1044 CE) was the illustrious son of the great Chola King Rajaraja I (985–1014 CE), who shouldered the task of building, extending, and maintaining the Chola empire. The foundation laid by both Rajaraja I and Rajendra I paved the way for the existence of Chola power for about 250 years, making the Cholas the most powerful dynasty in Asia in the medieval period. Rajendra I was a great warrior and assisted his father in numerous expeditions to project the Cholas to supreme power. He conducted various expeditions: the Gangetic expedition, eastern/western Chalukyas, the wars against the Cheras, and Pandyas, the Ceylon expedition, and the Kadaram expedition, etc. Rajendra assumed the title of Gangaikonda Chola and the city Gangaikondacholapuram (which means the town of the Chola who captured the Ganges) was founded by him to commemorate his victorious march to the Ganges. He also constructed the Siva temple named after his title as Gangaikkondacholeswaram, and soon thereafter, the Chola capital was moved from Thanjavur to Gangaikondacholapuram. The city of Gangaikondacholapuram was probably founded by Rajendra I after his sixth regnal year, that is, c. 1020 CE.
Gangaikondacholapuram, once the flourishing capital of the imperial Cholas, is now a small forgotten village devoid of its ancient glory in Udyarpalayam taluk of the Ariyalur district. This district is a centrally located inland district of Tamilnadu which was trifurcated from the erstwhile composite Tiruchirappalli district. The district is bounded by the Cuddalore district in the north, Tiruchirappalli district in the south, Thanjavur in the east, and Namakkal and Tiruchirappalli districts are in the west.
South India has was always been noted for the art of building temples which were constructed with blocks of granite stones. The medieval period kings built permanent structures for the gods while their dwelling places were constructed with mud and bricks. Hence, only the ruined remains of their living quarters were exposed in the excavation.
Rajendra I and his successors built a big palace at Utkottai, which is about 1.5 km away from the Brihadisvara Temple in Gangaikondacholapuram, where even now a mound is called Maalikai Medu (palace mound). The capital itself has disappeared, the place where the emperor dwelt does not exist, and the ruins are marked by brick debris, which the nearby villagers even today take for the construction of their houses.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Nagapattinam to SuvarnadwipaReflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia, pp. 96 - 101Publisher: ISEAS–Yusof Ishak InstitutePrint publication year: 2009