Parantaka Chola II
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 Chola Territories c. 970 C.E. |
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| Reign | ?957 C.E. - ?970 C.E. |
| Title | Rajakesari |
| Capital | Thanjavur |
| Queen | Vanavanmahadevi and others |
| Children | Aditya II (Karikala) Arulmolivarman Kundavai |
| Predecessor | Arinjaya |
| Successor | Uttama Chola |
| Father | Arinjaya |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | 973 C.E. |
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Parantaka Chola II (957 c.e. – 973 c.e.) ruled for approximately twelve years. Parantaka II was also known by the name Sundara Chola. He was the son of Arinjaya. His mother’s name was Kalyani, a princes from the clan of Vaidumbas. Parantaka II ascended the Chola throne despite the fact that Uttama, the son of Gandaraditya, the elder brother of Arinja was alive and he had equal if not more claim to the Chola throne. When Parantaka II became king, the Chola kingdom had shrunk to the size of a small principality. The Pandya in the south had revived their fortune and had defeated the Chola armies and occupied their ancestral lands.
During Parantaka II reign, foundations were laid to the Chola Empire that in its height stretched from the island of Sri Lanka in the south to the Pala kingdom of Bengal in the north to the Sri Vijaya kingdom in the east.
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[edit] Pandyan War
Immediately after becoming the Chola king, Parantaka II’s attention was directed towards the growing strength of the Pandyas in the south. Vira Pandya, having repulsed Gandaraditya’s attempts to restore Chola supremacy in the Pandya country, was ruling as an independent potentate. The invading Chola army met the Pandyas at Chevur. The Leyden copperplate inscriptions tell us in that war, ‘Parantaka caused rivers of blood to flow’. Other inscriptions mention that Parantaka and his young son, Aditya Karikalan (also referred to as Aditya II) defeated Vira Pandya and made his flee to the hills surrounding the battlefield. It is also possible that Aditya Karikalan killed Vira Pandya in that battle. Aditya’s inscriptions use the epithet ‘Vira Pandyan Thalai Konda’ - took the head of Vira Pandya. After the battle of Chevur, Parantaka’s armies continued their thrust into the Pandya country. The Pandya king had the Sinhalese king Mahinda IV as his ally and the Sri Lankan troops supported the Pandya army in the battle field. C. 959 C.E. Parantaka’s armies also invaded Lanka to neutralise this support.
Although the Chola armies won the battle, the war was still not won. Parantaka II did not succeed in re-establishing the Chola powering the Pandya lands.
[edit] Success against Rashtrakutas
Parantaka II next concentrated in his war against Rashtrakutas. With his son and heir apparent Aditya II at the command, the Chola armies succeeded in pushing back the occupying Rashtrakuta armies. Chola armies regained the Tondaimandalam and pushed the Chola frontiers north of Kanchipuram.
[edit] Aditya II’s Assassination
Parantaka II’s last days appear to have been clouded by a personal tragedy. The heir apparent Aditya II was assassinated by a group of conspirators. It has been speculated, based on circumstantial evidence, Uttama Chola was a party in this conspiracy. Uttama coveted the throne and was not satisfied with a subordinate role assigned to him. Being the son of a former Chola king, he might have felt that the crown was his by right and that his cousin (Parantaka II) and his children were usurpers.
There are other theories, claiming that the Pandyan spies were involved in the death of Aditya II and he was assassinated to avenge the death of Veerapandiyan in the battle of Chevur. There are however no direct evidence to support this theory. One of the inscriptions found at Udayarpatti temple in Tamil Nadu of Rajaraja notes that the property of some persons were confiscated as punishment for their involvement in the plot.
[edit] Uttama’s ascension
Having brought about the murder of Aditya II, Uttama forced Parantaka’s hand to make him heir apparent. Arulmolivarman, Parantaka’s the second son did not protest, anxious to avoid a civil war. It was apparently part of the compromise that Uttama was to succeed, not by his own children, but by Arulmolivarman. Thiruvalangadu copperplate inscription states that Madhurantaka Uttama Chola made Arulmoli heir apparent.
[edit] Parantaka II death and Legacy
Parantaka II, heart broken by the personal tragedy, died in Kanchipuram at his golden palace (c. 973 C.E.). He was thereafter known as ‘Pon maligai thunjina thevar’ – the king who died in the golden palace. One of his queens, Vanavanmahadevi, a prices from the clan of Malaiyaman, committed sati at the king’s death and her image was perhaps installed at the Thanjavur Temple by her daughter Kundavai. Another queen, a Chera princess survived him until 1001 C.E. During Parantaka II’s reign, literature, both Sanskrit and Tamil received encouragement. The Buddhist work on Tamil grammar, Virasoliyam eulogises hims as a parton of letters and of Buddhism. The eulogy furnishes evidence that friendly relationship between Chola monarchs and Buddhists.
[edit] References in Popular Tamil Fiction
Parantaka II, Sundara Chola, forms a main character in Kalki Krishnamurthy’s historical Romance Ponniyin Selvan. In his story, Kalki imagines Sundara Chola to be an impotent ruler, handicapped by a debilitating illness. He is caught between opposing forces of his love for his children and his dependence on powerful courtiers.
[edit] 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).
- South Indian Inscriptions - http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/
