Rajaraja Chola III succeeded

Kulothunga Chola III Kulothunga III was a Chola emperor who ruled from 1178 to 1218 CE, after succeeding his elder brother Rajadhiraja II. Kulothunga Chola III gained success in war against his traditional foes. He gained victories in war against the Hoysalas, ...

on the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

throne in July 1216 CE. Rajaraja came to the throne of a kingdom much reduced in size as well as influence. With the rise of the Pandya power in the south, the Cholas had lost most of their control of the territories south of the river

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dis ...

and their hold on the Vengi territories in the north was slipping with the emergence of the

Hoysala The Hoysala Empire was a Kannada people, Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially loca ...

power.

Period of political changes

The reign of Rajaraja III was a period of continuous trouble. It coincided with a period of great political changes in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

. Rajaraja was neither a great warrior nor a statesman to deal with the prevailing situation. The Pandyas in the south and the

Hoysalas The Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur, but was later moved ...

in the west had by now risen to the ranks of great powers led by rulers of exceptional merit. The only chance of survival for the Cholas was the rivalry between these new powers, neither of whom wanted the Cholas to come under the other's influence. The

Chalukyas The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

of Kalyani had given way for the rising power of the Seunas and the

Andhra Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

country around the

Vengi Vengi (or Venginadu) is a delta region spread over the Krishna and Godavari River, (also called Godavari and Krishna districts), the region is also known as Godavari Delta, that used to house world famous diamond mines in the Medieval period. The ...

territories were controlled by the

Telugu Cholas The Telugu Cholas or Telugu Chodas ruled parts of present-day Andhra Pradesh between the sixth and the thirteenth century. Velanati Chodas Telugu Chodas of Velanadu (Velanati Chola) were one of the Telugu Choda families. Velanadu is locate ...

Internal revolts

This was the signal the Chola feudatories and the overgrown vassals were waiting for in order to declare their independence. At the earliest opportunity that arose, they transferred their allegiance to either of the growing powers. Rajaraja Chola III came to power at this stage and he was the most incompetent king. His reign was characterised by growing revolt and conflicts even in nominally Chola territories. The

Kadava Kadava was the name of a Tamil ruling dynasty who ruled parts of the Tamil country during the thirteenth and the fourteenth century. Kadavas were related to the Pallava dynasty and ruled from Kudalur near Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. Hiranyavarman, ...

chieftains of Kudalur were quick to take advantage of the growing weakness of their suzerain.

Pandya invasion

Rajaraja was evidently not only weak, but incompetent. Pandyan inscriptions of the period state that he deliberately broke the terms of the treaty with his Pandyan overlord and refused to pay his tribute. This led to a punitive invasion by the Pandya forces. The Pandya army entered the Chola capital and Rajaraja took flight. The Kadava

Kopperunchinga I Kopperunchinga I (reigned c. 1216–1242 CE) was a Kadava chieftain. He played a major role in the political affairs of Tamil country. Once an official in the service of the Chola king Kulothunga Chola III (1178-1218), Kopperunchinga utilized ...

who had once been a Chola feudatory had begun to exercise their independence. Kopperunchinga wanted to gain some ground in the confused state of affairs. Muttiyampakkam is to be identified with the present village of Muttumbaka of the Gudur taluk ofNellore district, as has ... the Kadava chieftain Kopperunjinga who had imprisoned the Chola emperor Raja Raja-Ill (1216-1257 A. D.). He caught and imprisoned the fleeing Chola king at

Sendamangalam Sendamangalam also known as Senthamangalam is a town panchayat in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu is situated in Namakkal District. History The history of Sendamangalam, Namakkal is often misunderstood with Sendamangalam, Kallkurichi dt (forme ...

Hoysala aid

The Cholas made alliances with the Hoysalas from the time of Kulothunga Chola III. Rajaraja III married a sister or a daughter of

Vira Narasimha II Vira Narasimha II ( kn, ಇಮ್ಮಡಿ ವೀರ ನರಸಿಂಹ) (r. 1220–1234) was a king of the Hoysala Empire. During his reign the Hoysalas gained much influence in the affairs of the Tamil country. He defeated the Kadavas and P ...

. So when the Hoysala king Narasimha heard of the abduction of Rajaraja, and the subsequent devastation of the Chola country by Kopperunchinga's men, he immediately sent his army into the Chola country. The Hoysala army engaged Kopperunchinga's troops and sacked two of his towns. When the Hoysala army was preparing to lay siege to the Kadava capital of Sendamangalam, Kopperunchinga sued for peace and released the Chola king. While his generals were attacking the Kadava chieftain Kopperunchinga, the Hoysala king Narasimha himself led his troops against the Pandya. A decisive battle took place between the Pandya and the Hoysala troops near Mahendramangalam on the banks of the river Kaveri and the Pandya army was defeated.

State of the Chola kingdom

For the rest of his reign Rajaraja had to depend heavily on Hoysala help. There was a continuous decrease in order within the kingdom and the disregard for the central control on the part of the feudatories increased. The extent of the kingdom over which Rajaraja had nominal control remained as during the times of Kulothunga III.

Civil War and Succession

Rajendra Chola III Rajendra Chola III was a brother and rival of Rajaraja Chola III, and came to the Chola throne in 1246 CE. Rajendra began to take effective control over the administration, and epigraphs of Rajendra Chola III indicate there was civil war endin ...

who succeeded Rajaraja Chola III to the

throne in 1246 CE was his brother and subsequent rival. Although Rajaraja III was still alive, Rajendra began to take effective control over the administration. The epigraphs of Rajendra Chola III indicate a civil war between Rajaraja III and himself which came to end with the former killing the latter and ascending the throne. Rajendra's inscriptions laud him as the "cunning hero, who killed Rajaraja after making him wear the double crown for three years".

Officials

Mallan Sivan alias Brahmadaraya muttaraiyan, referred to as ''pillai'' (son) was one of the officials of Rajaraja III. He was the holder of the royal fief (''arasukuru'') and the governor of Urattur-nadu.

References

* 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). {{DEFAULTSORT:Rajaraja 03 Chola kings 1260 deaths Year of birth unknown 13th-century Indian monarchs 13th-century Hindus