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| Kulothunga III | |
|---|---|
| Chakravartigal KoParakesarivarman | |
 Statue of Kulothunga III atBrihadisvara Temple. | |
| Chola Emperor | |
| Reign | c. 7 July 1178–1218[a] |
| Predecessor | Rajadhiraja II |
| Successor | Rajaraja III |
| Born | Kumara Kulothungan Kanchipuram,Chola Empire (modern dayTamil Nadu,India) |
| Died | 1218 (1219) Gangaikonda Cholapuram,Chola Empire (modern dayJayankondam,Tamil Nadu,India) |
| Empress | Bhuvanamuludaiyal |
| House | Cholas |
| Dynasty | Chola |
| Father | Sangama Chola[2] (aka) Nēriyudaiperumal |
| Mother | Unknown |
| Religion | Hinduism |
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| Interregnum (c. 200 – c. 848 CE) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kulothunga III was aChola emperor who ruled fromc. 7 July 1178 to 1218. He ascended the throne after succeeding his elder brotherRajadhiraja II. Kulothunga Chola III gained success in war against his traditional foes. He gained victories in war against theHoysalas,Pandyas of Madurai,Cheras of Venad, theSinhalese kings of Polonnaruwa, as well as theTelugu Cholas ofVelanadu andNellore. He also restored Chola control overKarur, which were ruled by theAdigaman chiefs as vassals of the Cholas. He drove out theHoysalas underVeera Ballala II who had made inroads in the Gangavadi and adjoining areas of Tagadur in Kongu country in an effort expand their territory. However, during the last two years of his reign, he lost in war to the resurgentPandyas, heralded a period of steady decline and ultimately, demise of theCholas by 1280 CE.[3] Kulottunga III had alliances with the Hoysalas. The Hoysala king Veera Ballala married a Chola queen called Cholamahadevi and gave his daughter Somaladevi in marriage to Kulottunga III.[4]
According to Sastri, "By his personal ability, Kulothunga Chola III delayed the disruption of the Chola empire for about a generation, and his reign marks the last great epoch in the history of Chola architecture and art as he himself is the last of the great Chola monarchs."[3] He is credited with building a number of temples, including theSarabeswara Temple at Tribhuvanam inKumbakonam district, Tamil Nadu, as well as the renovation and repairs to the two temples proclaimed as tutelary deities of the Cholas, namely theShiva temple atChidambaram and theSri Ranganathaswami Temple ofSrirangam. Kulothunga Chola III is also renowned for his patronage of art and literature. In some of his numerous inscriptions, including those at the Srirangam temple, Kulothunga Chola III has described in his inscriptions his pride in wearing the crown of therace of the Sun to which the Chola emperors derived lineage from.[3]
The reign of Kulothunga Chola III is a story of the triumph of the personal ability of the monarch against the forces of disruption that were steadily increasing in their number and in the intensity of their action. Kulothunga Chola III brought order to the besieged kingdom and reversed the weakness in theChola administration that had set in during the rule of his predecessorsRajaraja Chola II andRajadhiraja Chola II.[3] During the rule of his predecessorsRajaraja Chola II and his successorRajadhiraja Chola II between 1146–1178 CE, the hold of the central administration over the outlying parts of the empire was becoming less firm; and even at the centre, the administrative system was beginning to betray signs of weakness. Everywhere feudatory chieftains were becoming more and more assertive. The growing independence of the central power on the part of feudatories noticed in the reign ofRajaraja Chola II became more pronounced underRajadhiraja Chola II. The Sambuvaraya, Kadavaraya, Malaiyaman chieftains and the Telugu-Chodas ofNellore were making wars and alliances in the northern half of the Chola kingdom without any reference to the ruling monarch.[5]
Pandya affairs first claimed the attention of Kulothunga Chola III. The civil war in the Pandya country had not yet settled when he came to the throne, and the Chola forces were still involved in active fighting there. Kulothunga Chola III succeeded for the best part of his reign to continue the Chola hegemony on thePandya kingdom. Parakramabahu ofSri Lanka, known as Ilangai in Tamil, renewed his efforts against theCholas and even persuadedPandya Emperor Vira Pandya to make common cause with him. Vikrama Pandya sought the help of Kulothunga Chola III against Vira Pandya, which led to an invasion of thePandyan kingdom by Kulothunga Chola III. The battle resulted in the defeat of thePandya andSinhala forces, Vira Pandya was driven into exile, and Vikrama Pandya was installed on the throne ofMadurai. This campaign ended before 1182. From his exile, with the aid of his allies, Vira Pandya made another effort to retrieve his fortune, but the attempt was stopped by Kulothunga Chola III on the battlefield ofNettur. Thence, Vira Pandya fled toCeylon'.[3] This was Kulothunga Chola III's first campaign in thePandyan kingdom and he met with unprecedented success. The success in this war culminated in there being "no further fighting as both the ruler ofVenad and Vira Pandya made up their minds to submit to Kulothunga Chola III and offered their obeisance to the opendurbar (court) atMadurai, whereChola emperor performed a "Virabhishekam" and anointment of war heroes, who contributed to theChola victory against thePandyas and their allies fromSinhala andVenad kingdoms."[3]
Between 1185–1186, Kulothunga Chola III undertook a second campaign against thePandya King Vira Pandya following a rebellion by him and non-payment of tribute to hisChola overlord. This time, however,Pandya King Vira Pandya did not get the usual support from theSinhala andVenad kingdoms. Kulothunga Chola III also seems to have grown from strength to strength, for in his first ten years, in addition to his feuds against his traditional enemies thePandya andSinhala kingdoms, he was able to reign on his traditional feudatories, who had taken advantage of the relatively weaker authority of Kulothunga Chola III's predecessorsRajaraja Chola II andRajadhiraja Chola II and had started to assert their independence.[6][7]
But even after attaining success while vanquishing the combined armies of his enemies, Kulothunga Chola III showed remarkable poise and dexterity in his conduct and treatment of the defeated adversaries. After being caught with his allies on the battlefield after trying to overthrow theCholas from his exile, 'Vira Pandya was treated better than he had a right to expect. His life was spared and he was allowed some land and other wealth suited to his new station'. Possibly, Kulothunga Chola III also had a hand in the identification and enthronement of the nextPandya monarch VikramaPandya after his victory over ViraPandya.[3]
A few years after Kulothunga Chola III's campaigns inKongu country to quellHoysala incursions and restoration ofChola power in the area, thePandya ruler Jatavarman Kulasekhara Pandyan, who 'succeeded Vikrama Pandyan in 1190 to the throne inMadurai, provoked Kulothunga Chola III by his insubordination. About 1205, Kulothunga Chola III led a third expedition into the Pandya country, sacked the capital and demolished the coronation hall of thePandya'.[3] The act of demolishing the Coronation Hall of a vanquished enemy is interpreted by historians as either being a conduct indicative of the weakness of his own position,[3] or recognition by theCholas of the steadily increasing power from 1150 CE of thePandyas, who in any case never reconciled themselves toChola suzerainty or domination, but were for the most part powerless in changing their subordinate position. The last quarter of the period 1150–1225 CE, in whichChola kingsRajaraja Chola II,Rajadhiraja Chola II and Kulothunga Chola III were prominent figures marks some high-points in terms of preservation and extension of traditionalChola territories between 1150–1200 CE, while the last part marks the emergence as the paramount imperial power of thePandyas, culminating in their becoming the most powerful empire in the region betweenDeccan in the north,Kalinga in the east, theKonkan andMysore plateau on the west and south west, andKanniyakumari andEelam orCeylon in the south and south east respectively. The rise of thePandyas between 1215–1230 CE contrasted directly with the decline of theCholas which started during the last part of Kulothunga Chola III's reign, mainly between 1214–1217 CE.[8]
After the second Pandya war, Kulothunga Chola III undertook campaign in Kongu to check the growth ofHoysala power in that quarter.[3] Apparently,Hoysala KingVeera Ballala II I tried to extend his rule beyond theKaveri-Tungabhadra basin northwards to the Malaprabha basin inKannada country. He had gained some success initially against theWestern Chalukya KingSomeshvara IV and against theYadava-Seuna Dynasty King Bhillama, both of whom he defeated in battle. However,Veera Ballala II had to face hostility initially between 1175–1180 CE from mainly the sons and successors of theKalachuri king Bijjala of Tardavadi including Sovideva, Someshvara and Sangama between 1175–1185 CE. Though after the rule of King Bijjala, the Kalachuri had not been as strong and ruled in quick succession till 1183 CE, however, they succeeded in keeping up the hostilities against Hoysala Ballala II.[6] The Kalachuris continued to war against theHoysalas underVeera Ballala II (1173–1220).[9] Faced with reverses from his enemies in the northKannada country,HoysalaVeera Ballala II tried to expand his territory eastwards and made some inroads into the areas adjoining theKongu country like Tagadur which were administered by Adigaiman chiefs as vassals of theCholas.
As a result, by 1186–87, Kulothunga Chola III who wound up his expedition against thePandyan kingdom, had to deal immediately with the incursion of theHoysalaVeera Ballala II. Kulothunga Chola III set off for 'Kongu to check the growth ofHoysala power in that quarter. He fought successfully againstVeera Ballala II in 1187–88, re-establishedChola suzerainty overAdigaman chiefs of Tagadur, defeated aChera ruler in battle and performed avirabhisheka in Karuvur in 1193. His relations withHoysala Veera Ballala II seem to have become friendly afterwards, for Ballala married a Chola princess'.[3] Kulothunga Chola III's successful diplomacy with theHoysalas would stand him in good stead in periods of difficulty during the last part of his rule, by which time thePandyan empire grew into the paramount power in bothSouth India andDeccan[10]
Following his successful campaigns againstPandyans ofMadurai,Eelam orSri Lanka,Cheras ofKarur and the kings ofVenad, Kulothunga Chola III proudly proclaimed in his inscriptions as the conqueror of these regions and the 'crowned head of thePandya'. Thus, in terms of military achievements, Kulothunga Chola III rivalled his predecessors. Also, his rule, which was the third longest among theChola emperors, being for 40 years afterParantaka Chola I (52 years),Kulothunga Chola I (50 years) was for the most part (1178–1215) peaceful, stable and prosperous as borne out in his numerous inscriptions found inTamil,Telugu andKannada countries.[11]
InVengi, about the end of the reign ofRajaraja Chola II, the Velanadu orVelanati Cholas had declared their independence. They were followed by the Nellore branch of theTelugu Chodas which began with Beta, a feudatory ofVikrama Chola. The Velanati and Nellore Chodas had strongly aligned withVikrama Chola in his war with theWestern Chalukya rulerSomeshvara III in 1125–1126, which led to the recovery ofVengi after its short occupation by theWestern Chalukyas underVikramaditya VI in 1118–1119. The successor ofRajaraja Chola II,Rajadhiraja Chola II had very little control overNellore and Northern Circar areas in Telugu country.[12]
However, Kulothunga Chola III, after his accession in 1178 immediately focussed on recovery of Vengi by reigning in the Velanadu and Nellore Chodas and bringing them back into theChola fold. The exact years and details of Kulothunga Chola III's campaigns in Nellore against theNellore Chodas, followed by the war against the Velanadu Chodas are not available. 'But', what is clear is that 'there was a recovery under Kulothunga Chola III, whose sway was acknowledged by the Telugu Choda rulers Nallasiddha, and his brother Tammu Siddha, from 1187 to the end of Kulothunga Chola III's reign. There was, however, an interlude during which Nallasiddha occupied Kanchi in 1192–93'.[12] This was the time between 1187–88 to 1191–92, when Kulothunga Chola III was waging wars againstHoysalaVeera Ballala II in theKongu andKannada countries, against theCheras ofVenad, twice against thePandyas, who were also aided by the king ofEelam orCeylon. Being away to the west and south of the Chola country, the hold of Kulothunga Chola III overKanchipuram, immediately after subduing the Nellore Chodas, was perhaps, not as strong. He also could not turn attention towards the occupation ofKanchipuram by Nallasiddha, the Nellore Choda ruler as 'Kulothunga Chola III first had to wind up his campaigns against the Hoysalas, the two wars against the Pandyas and Cheras of Venad, all of which, owing to his valour, leadership and war skills ended successfully', and hence, could not immediately lead an expedition against the Nellore Choda ruler Nallasiddha.[13] However, Kulothunga III met with equally successful results against the Nellore Chodas, as he did in his wars against the Hoysalas, Pandyas aided by the kings of Eelam, and the Cheras in his previous war campaigns, even though there indeed was an interlude of 18 to 20 months between 1193–1195 CE. In 1195 CE Kulothunga Chola III invaded the areas controlled by Nallasiddha Choda and his feudatories, both in the Telugu country, ostensibly with an eye on his subsequent campaign to recoverVengi from the Velanadu Chodas, and 'inKanchipuram'.[14] The twin attacks on the Telugu Choda positions were a complete success and ultimately Nallasiddha Choda 'was driven out ofKanchipuram by Kulothunga Chola III in 1196'.[12]
Apparently, there was peace for nearly ten years from 1196 CE, following the quelling in war by Kulothunga Chola III of his rivals and feudatories like Hoysalas, Pandyas, Cheras of Venad, and finally the Telugu Chodas. The Telugu Chodas were to acknowledge suzerainty of the Cholas up to 1216–18 CE. This interlude allowed Kulothunga Chola III to consolidate on his war gains and concentrate on administration and development work in theChola territories. He had also by this time initiated construction work on the famousSarabeswarar temple at Tribhuvanam, nearKumbakonam inThanjavur district.
In his inscriptions, Kulothunga Chola III also listsVengi across the Northern Circars, which is the area comprising modernPrakasham, theWest Godavari andEast Godavari districts ofAndhra Pradesh. 'Kulothunga Chola III waged war once again in the north in 1208 CE when he claims to have subdued Vengi'.[12] Further, Kulothunga Chola III also claims to have 'entered' Warangal, capital of theKakatiya kingdom, which 'was ruled at the time by the powerful monarch Ganapati'.[12] This is a pointer to the fact that Kulothunga Chola III did venture northwards toVengi and on the way back there was a skirmish with theKakatiya forces, which did not lead to any territorial loss to theCholas. In any case, there is no inscriptional or epigraphical evidence left by theKakatiyas claiming to have subdued theCholas under Kulothunga Chola III.
In the war against the Jatavarman Kulasekhara in 1205, Kulothunga Chola III had demolished the coronation hall of thePandyas atMadurai,[3] although he followed up his action by restoring the defeatedPandya ruler back to the throne. However, as the future events proved, 'the success of Kulothunga Chola III was by no means complete and the seed was thrown for a war of revenge'.[3] Besides, the other wars waged before and after hisPandya invasions had also drained both the aging Kulothunga Chola III physically, and also his treasury. After the first expedition against the Pandyas between it was mainly between 1192–1205 CE that Kulothunga Chola III had to undertake his expeditions against theHoysalas, Nellore Chodas in Kanchi, Velanadu Chodas at Vengi, followed by a skirmish with theKakatiyas betweenRajahmundry and Visaiyavadai (modernVijayawada), followed by his third victorious expedition against thePandyas in 1205 against Jatavarman Kulasekhara Pandyan. In 1208 CE, Kulothunga Chola III again led an expedition, this time against the Velanadu Chodas. As a consequence, there was overall peace in theChola dominions, between 1208–1215 CE, after the recovery ofVengi from the Velanadu Chodas. During this period, Kulothunga Chola III concentrated on some developmental activities in his country, including construction, repair and restoration activities in temples and other religious places. He was reassured mainly because his enemies and feudatories had been brought under control and their loyalty had been secured. There was no rebellion from thePandyas, intrusions from the Nellore or Velanadu Chodas had stopped and the kingdoms ofEelam(Ceylon) andChera also had been subdued.[15]
Kulothunga Chola III apparently failed to notice that thePandya princes, who always administered their territory by dividing it among themselves, were more or less united at most times, though they did not have the military strength to overwhelm and overcome theCholas in war. This was also due to the Pandyas also not having a strong leadership who could mobilize his resources and forces so as to carve out a niche or distinct identity as a powerful kingdom inSouth India. However, it appears there was a change in approach of the,Cholas, who from the times ofKulothunga Chola I, adopted a policy of letting the defeated kings to rule without there being aChola representative to administer those provinces despite subjugating the Pandyas andCheras inSouth India. This policy reversed the practice followed mainly from the times ofRaja Raja Chola I and his sonRajendra Chola I who, after defeating thePandyas and conqueringMadurai, sent a Chola prince to directly rule the Pandya country with the royal titles Chola-Pandyan. 'After the conquest of the Pandya country byKulothunga Chola I, the princes of the local royal family were allowed to rule as they liked, subject to the vague suzerainty of the Cholas'.[16] An important reason for this was the involvement of the Chola kings in the periodic but many a times fierce succession disputes that arose among the Pandya princes leading 'to the intervention of the Chola andSinhalese rulers on opposite sides, which brought no good to either' kingdom.[16] One such prominent war in the Pandyan country took place 'soon after the installation ofRajadhiraja Chola II (1163–1178 CE)', and 'out of the ashes of this civil war arose thePandya power which in its renewed strength soon swallowed both theChola andCeylonese kingdoms'.[16]
Some political setbacks although not in terms of loss of territory in wars, adversely affected theCholas during the reign of Kulothunga Chola III itself. While he recoveredVengi with ease in 1208 CE from the Velanadu Chodas, their power in any case had disappeared after 1186 CE and their territories had been divided among five chieftains. UltimatelyGanapatideva, the powerfulKakatiya monarch, had made their country subordinate to his rule by 1214 CE.[17] The subsequent defeat of theTelugu Cholas by theKakatiyaGanapatideva in 1216 also immensely handicapped Kulothunga Chola III, for the services of his erstwhile subordinates and feudatories were no longer available to him.[16]
As a consequence, 'towards the close of reign, thePandya reprisal overwhelmed him' and heralded the decline of theCholas which continued till the demise of theChola empire in 1280 CE.[18] In 1216 CE, 'Jatavarman Kulasekhara, whom Kulothunga Chola III had humiliated in a signal manner in 1205, was followed on the throne, more than ten years later, by his younger brother,Maravarman Sundara Pandya, who wanted to avenge the wrongs he had shared with brother and invaded theChola country soon after his accession'. Kulothunga Chola III, having ruled for almost 40 years, was aging and did not have the support of his erstwhile feudatories and subordinates at this time.
The zeal and determination ofMaravarman Sundara Pandya under whom thePandyas would gradually but firmly revive and become the paramount power in South India under his capable successors, and 'the swiftness of the attack renderedChola resistance feeble'.[19] In the absence of any allies to support him against thePandyas, Kulothunga Chola III had the ignominy of seeingThanjavur andUraiyur being sacked by the forces ofMaravarman Sundara Pandya. Kulothunga Chola III and his son,yuvarajaRajaraja Chola III were driven into exile.
It was nowMaravarman Sundara Pandya's turn to repeat the act of Kulothunga Chola III, in performing avirabhishekam in the coronation hall of theCholas at Ayirattali inThanjavur district. ThePandya monarch did not stop at this, he marched up toChidambaram where he worshipped at the famous shrine ofNataraja. On his way back,Maravarman Sundara Pandyan fixed his camp at Pon Amaravati inPudukottai. At this time, Kulothunga Chola III appealed for aid toHoysalaVeera Ballala II, with whom theChola monarch had marital alliance.Veera Ballala II responded quickly, and 'sent an army under his sonVira Narasimha II toSrirangam.Maravarman Sundara Pandya, therefore, had to make peace with theCholas and restore theChola kingdom to Kulothunga Chola III andRajaraja Chola III, after they made formal submission at Pon Amaravati and acknowledged him as suzerain. This was the beginning of the second empire of thePandyas though it was not yet quite the end of that of theCholas.[19] The wheel of fortune had thus, turned a full circle during the last part of Kulothunga III's reign itself, and from being the powerful suzerains of the once-dominatedPandyas, it was the turn ofCholas to remain dominated and subservient to their arch-enemy, during the best part of their remaining existence between 1217 CE to 1280 CE. The period 1217–1280 CE was a period was a period of continuous decline of theCholas which is also characterized by the steady and constant growth of the renewed power of thePandyas. Kulothunga Chola III and his sonRajaraja Chola III became tribute-paying subordinates ofMaravarman Sundara Pandya. The aging Kulothunga Chola III did not live long after sustaining defeat against thePandyas and died in 1218 CE. He was succeeded by his son and heir-apparentRajaraja Chola III (1218–1256 CE).
Kulothunga Chola III was a great builder and his reign is a noteworthy period in Chola architecture. Among many well known constructions, He initiated commissioned theSarabeswara or Kampahareswara temple at Tribhuvanam nearKumbakonam which is considered a great specimen ofDravidian Architecture. Its general design resembles theBrihadisvara Temple inThanjavur, but the temple of Sarabeswara still has several significant features that distinguish it from their earlier models i.e. theBrihadisvara Temples at bothThanjavur andGangaikonda Cholapuram.[20] The temple also contains an excellent series ofRamayana reliefs on its walls and was consecrated by Kulothunga Chola III's spiritual guru, Isvarasiva. Besides this temple, Kulothunga also contributed to the extension and renovation of many temples around his kingdom. He also constructed a large number of public buildings, most of which were religious structures, which are enumerated in his inscriptions found atPudukkottai, Tamil Nadu and in another Sanskrit inscription engraved around the central shrine of Kampahareswara Temple at Tirubhuvanam on the outskirts ofKumbakonam inThanjavur District, Tamil Nadu. This temple is also called the Tribhuvanavireswara temple in his inscriptions.[21]
Kulothunga Chola III also erected the mukha-mandapa of Sabhapati, the gopura of Goddess Girindraja (Sivakami) and the verandah around the enclosure (prakara harmya) in the Siva Temple ofChidambaram.[21] He also improved and expanded the greatShiva temples atTiruvidaimarudur,Thiruvarur,Ekambareswarar Temple atKanchipuram and the Halahalasya Temple atMadurai. In addition, the Rajarajeswara (Airavateswara temple) atDarasuram received Kulothunga Chola III's devoted attention. At theShiva temple atThiruvarur, Kulothunga Chola III built the sabha mandapam and the big gopura of the shrine of Valmikeswara.[21]
Kulothunga Chola III was keenly aware of the secular religious traditions of theChola monarchy. Contrary to popular impression, theChola kings, despite constructing some of the largest temples forSiva, nonetheless considered theNataraja temple ofChidambaram, calledPeriya Koil or "big temple" in Saivite parlance as well as theSri Ranganathaswami Temple ofSrirangam, also calledPeriya Koil or simply "big temple" in Vaishnavite parlance as their "Kuladhanams" or tutelary deities which attests their secular outlook in religious matters. Such a declaration was made for the first time in the inscriptions of the secondChola emperorAditya I, which was also repeated by his sonParantaka Chola I and this was also repeated by Kulothunga Chola III (in his inscription No. 133) at the Sri Ranganathaswami Temple at Srirangam.[22][23] "Siddhanta Ratnakara", a theological treatise, was written and composed by Shri Srikantha Sambhu, father of Isvarasiva, the spiritual guide of Kulothunga Chola III during the reign of this monarch.[21]
In the 23rd and 24th years of Kulothunga's reign there was a widespread famine in the Chola kingdom. Kulothunga organised relief by ordering construction of tanks and river embankments. Kulothunga died some time in 1218 andRajaraja Chola III became the Chola king.
The inscriptions of Kulottunga III mostly begin with the introductionPuyal vaayttu valam peruga.[24] His achievements are mentioned incrementally, viz., he claims to have taken Madurai and the crowned head ofPandya are found as early as the 4th year, to this Ilam (Sri Lanka) is added in the 10th year and then followed byKaruvur in the 16th year.[25] He also had the aliasTribhuvanaviradeva and bore the titleTribhuvanachakravarthi.[citation needed] An inscription from the Mahalingswami temple in Tiruvidaimarudur dated in the 28th year of the king's reign refers to the 16th year of his predecessor Sungadavirtha Kulottunga Chola I. Among the places mentioned is Vikramasolanallur in Tiruvalundur nadu a sub-division of Jayangondachola valanadu.[26] The king and his namesake, Kulottunga I are both mentioned together in an inscription of their successor Rajaraja III.[27] An inscription from Govindaputtur dated in the sixteenth year of Kulottunga III mentions that as per a sanction accorded in the seventh year of PeriyadevarRajadhiraja Chola II a garden of areca-palms was made adevadana(gift) to the temple. Further it states that an inquiry was held in regards to the management of this gift.[28]
| Preceded by | Chola 1178–1218 CE | Succeeded by |
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