Raja raja chola - I

Why is in news? Biopic on Rajaraja-I the first CinemaScope film in Tamil

Raja raja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great, was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE.

He was the most powerful king in south India during his reign and is remembered for reinstating the Chola influence and ensuring its supremacy across the Indian Ocean.

His extensive empire included vast regions of the Pandya country, the Chera country and northern Sri Lanka.

To commemorate these conquests, Raja Raja assumed the title Munmudi-Chola, (the Chola king who wears three crowns – the Chera, Chola and Pandya).

He also acquired Lakshadweep and Thiladhunmadulu atoll, and part of the northern-most islands of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

Campaigns against the Western Gangas and the Chalukyas extended the Chola authority as far as the Tungabhadra River. On the eastern coast, he battled with the Chalukyas for the possession of Vengi.

Rajaraja I, being an able administrator, also built the great Brihadisvara Temple at the Chola capital Thanjavur.

The temple is regarded as the foremost of all temples constructed in the medieval south Indian architectural style.

He initiated a massive project of land survey and assessment in 1000 CE which led to the reorganisation of the country into individual units known as valanadus.

Raja raja died in 1014 CE and was succeeded by his son Rajendra Chola I.

From 1216 the Hoysala kings obtained lands in the Chola country, former Chola feudatories threw off their allegiance, northern powers intervened, and the upheaval facilitated the Pandya conquest of the Chola country in 1257. The Chola dynasty ended in 1279.