Rajadhiraja Chola II (1166–1178 CE) reigned as the

Chola The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...

emperor succeeding

Rajaraja Chola II Rajaraja II was a Chola dynasty, Chola emperor who reigned from 1150 to 1173. He was made his heir apparent and Co-Regent in 1146 and so the inscriptions of Rajaraja II count his reign from 1146. Rajaraja's reign began to show signs of the comi ...

. Rajaraja Chola II chose Rajadhiraja II, a maternal grandson of

Vikrama Chola Vikrama Chola, known as Kō Parakēsari Varman, was a 12th-century ruler (''r. c''. 1118–1135 CE''The Cōḷas.'' 62-63.) of the Chola Empire in southern India. He succeeded his father Kulothunga I (''r. c.'' 1070–1120 CE) to the throne.''The ...

as he had no sons. Rajadhiraja II's father was Sangama chola (Neriyudai Perumal) who was the descendant of

Virarajendra Virarajendra Chola (1002 – 1070) was a Chola emperor. A son of Rajendra I, he spent a majority of his life as a subordinate to two of his elder brothers, Rajadhiraja I and Rajendra II. During his early reign, he founded a school to study t ...

chola. Hence a century later the real Chola heir ascended the chola throne. Soon after the installation of Rajadhiraja II, a fierce succession dispute in the

Pandya The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...

country led to the intervention of the Chola and the Sinhalese rulers on opposite sides which brought misery to both. Out of the ashes of this civil war arose the Pandya power which in its renewed strength soon swallowed both the Chola and Sinhalese kingdoms.

Accession

According to the Pallavarayanpettai inscription, towards the end of Rajaraja II's reign, the chief Kulatullan Tirucirrambalamudaiyan Perumannambi alias Pallavaraiyar brought to the king's notice that there were no sons of eligible age to ascend the throne. Accordingly, having enquired around about the other princes, he chose and brought Ediriliperumal the son of Neriyudaiperumal and the grandson of

from the palace at Gangaikondacholapuram. Rajaraja II then made this prince as heir-apparent. Four years after this event, when Rajaraja II died, the chief Pallavarayar got Ediriliperumal or Edhirilla Cholan anointed as the king with the title Rajadhiraja Chola II. He then safely escorted Rajaraja II's two sons aged one and two to another location as he believed that it was no longer safe for them to continue living in the palace. According to some historians, Neriyudaiperumal the father of Rajadhiraja Chola II was a brother of

Kulothunga Chola II Kulothunga II (died 1150 CE) was a Chola Emperor from 1133 CE to 1150 CE. He succeeded Vikrama Chola to the throne in 1135 CE. Vikrama Chola made Kulothunga his heir apparent and coregent in 1133 CE, so the inscriptions of Kulothunga II coun ...

and another son of

Real chola hier

Pandya Civil War

After the conquest of the Pandya country by

Kulothunga Chola I Kulottunga Chola I ('; Middle Tamil: Kulōttuṅka Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Kulottuṅgā Cōḷa; 1025–1122) also spelt Kulothunga (), born Rajendra Chalukya ( Telugu: Rājēndra Cāḷukyuḍu), was a Chola Emperor who reigned fro ...

, the local Pandya princes were allowed to rule as they liked, subject to a vague suzerainty of the Cholas. Some of the Pandyas were loyal to the Cholas as can be seen by one Parantaka Pandya took part in Kulothunga I's Kalinga campaigns. But after Kulothunga I, the Cholas lost any little control they had over the Pandyas. There are hardly any inscriptions to be found in the Pandya country after the reign of Kulothunga Chola I. About 1166 C.E. Parakrama Pandya in Madurai, and Kulasekara quarrelled about the succession and Kulasekara attacked

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

. Parakrama appealed to the Lanka king Parakramabahu I. Before the Sinhala help could reach Parakrama, Kulasekara took Madurai and killed Parakarama, his wife and some of his children. The Sinhala king instructed his general to continue to war until Kulasekara is defeated and the Pandaya throne was bestowed upon a son of Parakrama Pandya. Kulasekara put up a good fight and the Sinhala forces had to get reinforcements from Lanka. Kulasekara then appealed to Rajadhiraja Chola II, and a large force was sent to his aid. However Kulasekara lost his fight against the Lankan forces. The Lankan general installed Virapandya, a son of Parakrama Pandya on the throne. The fight continued between the Chola forces and that of the Sinhala. The Chola army soon defeated the Sinhalese forces and drove them back to the island. In the fight annan pallavarayan, chola general beheaded two sinhala generals lankapuri thandanayagan and jagathvisaya thandanayagan and many other soldiers. The two generals head were installed in pandya fort after cholas make Kulasekara as pandya king. Parakramabahu prepared a counter offensive against the Chola mainland. On hearing this the Chola general induced Srivallabha, a rival of Parakramabahu to the Sinhala throne to undertake an invasion of the Lanka island. A naval expedition landed in Lanka and attacked and destroyed many places. Seeing the damage his support of Parakrama Pandya had brought to him, Parakramabahu recognised Kulasekara as the rightful king of the Pandyas, and entered into an alliance with him against the Cholas. Cholas discovered Kulasekara's treachery and changed their policy at once. After further fighting, the Cholas set up Virapandya on the Pandya throne and drove Kulasekara into exile

Empire weakens

The growing independence of the local feudatories and chieftains started during Rajaraja Chola II became more pronounced in Rajadhiraja's reign. They began to extend more and more of their influences in the central government. This manipulation of the king's authority undermined the central administration to effectively exercise its control over the local government areas of the country. The growth of these feudatories had two consequences. The first was to weaken the prestige of the king's government by increasingly restricting the sphere of its influence and thereby to loosen its hold the rest of the administration. Secondly they began to form alliances and compacts with each other to convert the official positions they held within the Chola nobility into a hereditary right.

Death and succession

Kulothunga Chola III 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 agains ...

, the successor of Rajadhiraja Chola II dates his reign from 1178 CE in his inscriptions, "though Rajadhiraja Chola II lived up to 1182 AD". Rajadhiraja Chola II was Kulothunga Chola III's guardian and he made him his co-regent while he was still very young. This indicates that Rajadhiraja Chola II was succeeded by

, when he was alive, in 1178 CE and Rajadhiraja II lived up to 1182 CE. Rajadhiraja Chola was known to have raised flower gardens around the place.

References

{{reflist * The Cholas: mathematics reconstructs the chronology By N. Sethuraman * 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). Chola emperors 12th-century Indian monarchs