Rajendra Chola empire ¦ Rajendra Cholan History in English ¦ History of India in English for upsc

When I say the greatest emperor of the world, who comes to your mind? Alexander the Great? Ashoka the Great? Maybe? But did you know that there was a Tamil king who ruled South India, Sri Lanka, Orissa, West Bengal, East Bengal, Maldives, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia? Yes, all of it. Next time someone asks you who the greatest emperor was, your response should be Hello everyone, this is Ungal Ranman Hemant. Today we are going to look at the most powerful emperor that India ever had. But before we get there, make sure you subscribe to this channel so that you don't miss out on these videos. Rajendra Chora was the most powerful Tamil king ever. Originally called Madhurandakan, Rajendra was born to Rajaraja Chora and Tribhuvanamadevi. He also had a sister by the name Kundavai. In 1014 AD, four years after the construction of the Brihadishwara temple, Rajaraja Chora died. But two years prior to that, Rajendra Chora was made a co-regent and he started ruling the Chora empire along with his father. And that was the beginning of the most powerful rule in the entire history of Chora dynasty. Within a few years of becoming the king, Rajendra Chora invaded Sri Lanka. During his father's rule, only the northern part of Sri Lanka was captured. But Rajendra set his eye upon the whole island. With his massive army, he captured the Sinhala king Mahinda V who was hiding in the jungles and conquered the whole island of Sri Lanka. And Mahinda was taken back to the Chora country as a prisoner. Rajendra Chora's sister Kundavai had been married to Vimaladitya, the eastern Charukya king of Vengi. After the death of Vimaladitya, his son Rajaraja Narendra could not take the throne because of the interference of the western Charukya king Jayasimha II. Rajendra defeated Jayasimha and installed his nephew Rajaraja Narendra as the new king of eastern Charukya dynasty. Later, it was Rajaraja Narendra who established his new capital which is today's Rajamundri in Andhra Pradesh. In 1019 AD, Rajendra Chora set out on an expedition to the north. Led by his commander-in-chief Aryan Rajarajan, he was able to defeat the kings of Kalinga which is today's Orissa, Dandabhukti kingdom between today's Orissa and Bengal and then the rulers of Bengal. Finally, after defeating the Pala ruler Mahipala I in a fierce battle, he took water from the Ganges back to the Chora country. After conquering the north, up to the banks of the Ganges, he was hailed as Gangai Kondachoran or the Chora who conquered the Ganges. He also shifted the Chora capital from Tanjavur to a new city Gangai Kondachorapuram. This city served as the Chora capital for about 250 years since then. In his new capital, he built the massive Gangai Kondachoriswaram temple which looks very similar to his father's Brihadishwara temple in Tanjavur. The most striking difference is that Rajendra's temple tower has a concave slope and it is a bit shorter in height. However, the reason behind creating almost a replica of the Tanjavur temple is still a mystery. Also to commemorate his victory in the banks of the Ganges, Rajendra Chora created one of the largest man-made lakes in India called the Chora Gangam. He considered this lake to be a liquid pillar of victory that he erected after conquering the Ganges. The conquered rulers were made to bring pots of water from the Ganges to his capital which was poured into the new lake to sanctify it. Today this lake is called Honneri. Though Rajendra Chora's Gangai Kondachorapuram is said to have been a great city in the past with two thick fortifications and exquisite palaces, unfortunately only mounds Okay, he conquered the whole island of Sri Lanka and a huge portion of India. Now what? He turned his eyes towards the countries in Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was a powerful kingdom in Southeast Asia which included today's Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. During Raja Raja Chora's period, there were cordial relations between the Srivijaya kingdom and the Chora kingdom. However, things changed during Rajendra's rule. The Khmer emperor Suryavarman I who ruled today's Cambodia sought the help of Rajendra Chora to conquer Tambaralinga kingdom which is today's southern Thailand. Learning about this, the Tambaralinga kingdom requested help from the Srivijaya king Sangrama Vijayathungavarman. This alliance eventually led to the Chora and Srivijaya empires coming into conflict. In 1025 AD, Rajendra led the Chora forces across the Indian Ocean and invaded Srivijaya. He attacked Kadaram, Pannai and many other places in Malaysia, Indonesia and southern Thailand and defeated the Srivijayan king. After this victory, Rajendra Chora was hailed as Kadaram Kondal. After capturing the strategic ports of trade in Southeast Asia and thus monopolizing trade between the western world and China, the Chora empire became the power of maritime trade in the Indian Ocean. Rajendra Chora had many wives including Tribhuvana Mahadevi, Panjavan Mahadevi and Veeramahadevi. He had three sons Rajadhiraja, Rajendra II and Veerarajendra. He also had two daughters Arulmuli Nangai and Ammangai Devi. In 1044 AD, Rajendra Chora died and his queen Veeramahadevi committed sati upon her husband's death. Yes, the most valiant king died but his fame and glory never will. He will be remembered for the several centuries to come. Rajendra Chora, the most powerful Indian emperor of all time would be remembered forever as the king of the seas, land and his people. Rajendra Chora.