Kulothunga Chola III

Statue of Kulothunga III and his Queen Bhuvanamuludaiyal at Penneswaraar Temple. Kulothunga III was a Chola emperor who ruled from to 1218. He ascended the throne 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, Pandyas of Madurai, Cheras of Venad, the Sinhalese kings of Polonnaruwa, as well as the Telugu Cholas of Velanadu and Nellore. He also restored Chola control over Karur, which were ruled by the Adigaman chiefs as vassals of the Cholas. He drove out the Hoysalas under Veera 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 resurgent Pandyas, heralded a period of steady decline and ultimately, demise of the Cholas by 1280 CE.

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." During the rule of his predecessors Rajaraja Chola II and his successor Rajadhiraja 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 of Rajaraja Chola II became more pronounced under Rajadhiraja Chola II. The Sambuvaraya, Kadavaraya, Malaiyaman chieftains and the Telugu-Chodas of Nellore were making wars and alliances in the northern half of the Chola kingdom without any reference to the ruling monarch.

Campaigns against the Pandyas(1182 CE, 1188–89 and 1205 CE) 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 the Pandya kingdom. Parakramabahu of Sri Lanka, known as Ilangai in Tamil, renewed his efforts against the Cholas and even persuaded Pandya 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 the Pandyan kingdom by Kulothunga Chola III. The battle resulted in the defeat of the Pandya and Sinhala forces, Vira Pandya was driven into exile, and Vikrama Pandya was installed on the throne of Madurai. 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 of Nettur. Thence, Vira Pandya fled to Ceylon'.

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 the Cholas 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 next Pandya monarch Vikrama Pandya after his victory over Vira Pandya.

War with Hoysalas (1187–1188 to 1215 CE) After the second Pandya war, Kulothunga Chola III undertook campaign in Kongu to check the growth of Hoysala power in that quarter. Faced with reverses from his enemies in the north Kannada country, Hoysala Veera Ballala II tried to expand his territory eastwards and made some inroads into the areas adjoining the Kongu country like Tagadur which were administered by Adigaiman chiefs as vassals of the Cholas.

As a result, by 1186–87, Kulothunga Chola III who wound up his expedition against the Pandyan kingdom, had to deal immediately with the incursion of the Hoysala Veera Ballala II. Kulothunga Chola III set off for 'Kongu to check the growth of Hoysala power in that quarter. He fought successfully against Veera Ballala II in 1187–88, re-established Chola suzerainty over Adigaman chiefs of Tagadur, defeated a Chera ruler in battle and performed a virabhisheka in Karuvur in 1193. His relations with Hoysala Veera Ballala II seem to have become friendly afterwards, for Ballala married a Chola princess'.

Following his successful campaigns against Pandyans of Madurai, Eelam or Sri Lanka, Cheras of Karur and the kings of Venad, Kulothunga Chola III proudly proclaimed in his inscriptions as the conqueror of these regions and the 'crowned head of the Pandya'. Thus, in terms of military achievements, Kulothunga Chola III rivalled his predecessors. Also, his rule, which was the third longest among the Chola emperors, being for 40 years after Parantaka 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 in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada countries.

Wars in the Telugu country (1187–1208 CE) In Vengi, about the end of the reign of Rajaraja Chola II, the Velanadu or Velanati Cholas had declared their independence. They were followed by the Nellore branch of the Telugu Chodas which began with Beta, a feudatory of Vikrama Chola. The Velanati and Nellore Chodas had strongly aligned with Vikrama Chola in his war with the Western Chalukya ruler Someshvara III in 1125–1126, which led to the recovery of Vengi after its short occupation by the Western Chalukyas under Vikramaditya VI in 1118–1119. The successor of Rajaraja Chola II, Rajadhiraja Chola II had very little control over Nellore and Northern Circar areas in Telugu country.

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 the Chola fold. The exact years and details of Kulothunga Chola III's campaigns in Nellore against the Nellore 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'. 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 recover Vengi from the Velanadu Chodas, and 'in Kanchipuram'. The twin attacks on the Telugu Choda positions were a complete success and ultimately Nallasiddha Choda 'was driven out of Kanchipuram by Kulothunga Chola III in 1196'.

Kulothunga Chola III apparently failed to notice that the Pandya 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 the Cholas 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 in South India. However, it appears there was a change in approach of the, Cholas, who from the times of Kulothunga Chola I, adopted a policy of letting the defeated kings to rule without there being a Chola representative to administer those provinces despite subjugating the Pandyas and Cheras in South India. This policy reversed the practice followed mainly from the times of Raja Raja Chola I and his son Rajendra Chola I who, after defeating the Pandyas and conquering Madurai, sent a Chola prince to directly rule the Pandya country with the royal titles Chola-Pandyan. 'After the conquest of the Pandya country by Kulothunga Chola I, the princes of the local royal family were allowed to rule as they liked, subject to the vague suzerainty of the Cholas'. 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 and Sinhalese rulers on opposite sides, which brought no good to either' kingdom. The subsequent defeat of the Telugu Cholas by the Kakatiya Ganapatideva in 1216 also immensely handicapped Kulothunga Chola III, for the services of his erstwhile subordinates and feudatories were no longer available to him. 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 the Chola 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 of Maravarman Sundara Pandya under whom the Pandyas would gradually but firmly revive and become the paramount power in South India under his capable successors, and 'the swiftness of the attack rendered Chola resistance feeble'. In the absence of any allies to support him against the Pandyas, Kulothunga Chola III had the ignominy of seeing Thanjavur and Uraiyur being sacked by the forces of Maravarman Sundara Pandya. Kulothunga Chola III and his son, yuvaraja Rajaraja Chola III were driven into exile.

It was now Maravarman Sundara Pandya's turn to repeat the act of Kulothunga Chola III, in performing a virabhishekam in the coronation hall of the Cholas at Ayirattali in Thanjavur district. The Pandya monarch did not stop at this, he marched up to Chidambaram where he worshipped at the famous shrine of Nataraja. On his way back, Maravarman Sundara Pandyan fixed his camp at Pon Amaravati in Pudukottai. At this time, Kulothunga Chola III appealed for aid to Hoysala Veera Ballala II, with whom the Chola monarch had marital alliance. Veera Ballala II responded quickly, and 'sent an army under his son Vira Narasimha II to Srirangam. Maravarman Sundara Pandya, therefore, had to make peace with the Cholas and restore the Chola kingdom to Kulothunga Chola III and Rajaraja Chola III, after they made formal submission at Pon Amaravati and acknowledged him as suzerain. This was the beginning of the second empire of the Pandyas though it was not yet quite the end of that of the Cholas. The temple also contains an excellent series of Ramayana 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 at Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu and in another Sanskrit inscription engraved around the central shrine of Kampahareswara Temple at Tirubhuvanam on the outskirts of Kumbakonam in Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu. This temple is also called the Tribhuvanavireswara temple in his inscriptions.

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 of Chidambaram. "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. His achievements are mentioned incrementally, viz., he claims to have taken Madurai and the crowned head of Pandya are found as early as the 4th year, to this Ilam (Sri Lanka) is added in the 10th year and then followed by Karuvur in the 16th year. He also had the alias Tribhuvanaviradeva and bore the title Tribhuvanachakravarthi. 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. The king and his namesake, Kulottunga I are both mentioned together in an inscription of their successor Rajaraja III. An inscription from Govindaputtur dated in the sixteenth year of Kulottunga III mentions that as per a sanction accorded in the seventh year of Periyadevar Rajadhiraja Chola II a garden of areca-palms was made a devadana(gift) to the temple. Further it states that an inquiry was held in regards to the management of this gift.