Vijayalaya Chola

The ancient Chola kingdom once famous in Tamil literature and in the writings of Greek merchants and geographers faded into darkness after c. 300 CE. Cholas during this period almost completely disappeared from their native land. They seem to have held on to their old capital city of Uraiyur. This dark age is said to have been caused by the invasion of the Kalabhras. This "dark" age of Tamil history came to an end with the ascendancy of the Pandyas and the Pallavas after overthrowing Kalabhras at 590 CE. The Cholas disappeared from the Tamil land almost completely in this debacle, though a branch of them can be traced towards the close of the dark period in Rayalaseema—the Telugu-Cholas, whose kingdom is mentioned by Yuan Chwang in the seventh century CE.[3]

Due to Kalabhra invasion and growing power of Pallavas, Cholas migrated from their native to Telugu country and ruled from there as chieftains of Pallavas at least since 540 CE. Several Telugu Chola families like Renati Cholas, Pottapi Cholas, Nellore Cholas, Velanati Cholas, Nannuru Cholas existed and claimed descent from ancient Tamil king Karikala Chola.[4] The Cholas had to wait for another three centuries until the accession of Vijayalaya Chola belonging to Pottapi Chola family in the second quarter of the ninth century to re-establish their dynasty as independent rulers by overthrowing Pallavas and Pandyas

Making use of the opportunity during a war between Pandyas and Pallavas, Vijayalaya rose out of obscurity and captured Thanjavur. However, there is no substantiate proof to verify the claim regarding his obscure beginnings. For a very long time, historians could not trace the ancestry of Vijayalaya Chola, who is considered to be the founder of Medieval Chola dynasty. However, in recent times, historians and epigraphists in the wake of Eastern Chalukya king's Copper plate grants,[5] Anbil plates[6] of Parantaka Chola II and Velanjeri plates[7] of Parantaka I believe that Vijayalaya chola might well belong to the Telugu Cholas lineage, who themselves trace their ancestry to the ancient Tamil King, Karikala Chola . Vijayalaya Chola's predecessor is Srikantha Choladhiraja according to Anbil plates of Parantaka Chola II. Srikantha Chola is from Telugu Pottapi Chola family ruling Mylapore and her daughter's name is Akkalanimmati, the mother of Pandyan king Parantaka Viranarayana. The following lines are taken from Dalavayapuram copper plate of Pandyan king Parantaka Viranarayana which confirms the aforementioned statement,[8]

"Aravaraiian paltuli ayirama yiruttalaiyal

peritaritin porukkinra penim porai man magalai tta

todittolil inrutangiya tondaiyarkon tulakkijli

vadippadai manabharanan tirumagan mayilayar kon

Pottappi kulacholan pugaltarusiri Kandarajan

mattama malai valal manimagalakklanimmidi

tiruvayiru karuvuyirtta Sri Parantakamagarajan"

According to Venkayya, The name Rajakesari Varman in some of the inscriptions like the one at Bhaktavatsala temple in Thirukalukundram is Srikantha Chola and not Aditya Chola I based on the age of the script used in those inscriptions. Those inscriptions were issued when Srikantha reissued the land grants made by previous rulers to Siva temples and this reissue happened when Srikantha Chola briefly occupied Tondaimandalam from the Pallava Dantivarman.[9] Later, Pallava Nandivarman III recaptured Tondaimandalam from Srikantha Chola during the closing years of the reign of Pallava Dantivarman who was very old then.[10]

Around mid ninth century CE, there was a great struggle going on between the Pallavas and the Pandyas for the political supremacy of South India. In this disturbed state of affairs, Vijayalaya Chola, the successor of Srikantha Chola seems to have found a good opportunity to defeat the Pandyas, and make himself the ruler of Thanjavur and the surrounding Chola country. He also defeated the Pallavas.

Vijayalaya Chola conquered Thanjavur from Elango Mutharaiyar who was the final ruler of Mutharaiyar dynasty. It is said that in the year 852 CE Vijayalaya Chola waged war with Pandya's and defeated the latter. Making use of the opportunity during a war between Pandyas and Pallavas, Vijayalaya rose and established the Chola kingdom at Thanjavur with help of Muttaraiyar king Sattan Paliyilli (826–852 CE). Cholas became so powerful that the Pallavas were also wiped out from the Thanjavur region at a later stage.

After Vijayalaya’s capture of Thanjavur, the Pandyan king Varagunavarman II (c. 862 – 885 CE) became a subordinate ally of the Pallava Nandivarman III (c. 846 – 869 CE). Nandhivarman wished to curtail the growing influence of Chola power under Vijayalaya and called upon the Varagunavarman to help suppress Vijayalaya. Varaguna led an expedition into the Chola country. The Pandyan army reached the north bank of the Kaveri near Thanjavur and for a while the Chola revival looked short lived. Vijayalaya, by this time a veteran of many battles, was aging and was an invalid.By this time Vijayalaya lost his kingdom to the Pandyas and he became a tax paying king under the Pandya reign but the Cholas who succeeded him conquered the Pandya kingdom.

The Tiruvalangadu plates state that Vijayalaya captured the city of Tanjavur and made it his capital and that he also built in it a temple to the goddess Nisumbhasudani (Durga). The Kanyakumari inscription states that he renovated the city of Tanjore.

Vijayalaya took the title of Parakesarivarman as his predecessor Srikantha Chola assumed Rajakesarivarman title. Chola kings succeeding him took the titles of Parakesari and Rajakesari in turns. This is probably to acknowledge their supposed ancestors Parakesari and Rajakesari.

Narttamalai, Pudukkottai has a solesvara temple attributed to Vijayalaya.

• Tamil And Sanskrit Inscriptions Chiefly Collected In 1886 - 87, E. Hultzsch, Ph.D., Published by Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi
• Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. (1935). The CōĻas, University of Madras, Madras (Reprinted 1984).
• Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. (1955). A History of South India, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002).