RAJARAJA CHOLA KINGS OF KINGS (HB)

Rajaraja Chola, King of Kings,
Incomparable Chola, Great Saviour, Jewel of the Solar Dynasty, Lion Among
Kings, was one of the greatest rulers of medieval India. During his reign,
the Chola empire expanded through virtually all of the southern reaches of
the peninsula and beyond, from the Krishna-Godavari delta in northern Andhra
Pradesh to large parts of northern Sri Lanka. Born Arulmozhi Varman in 947
ce, he trained under his father and uncle for over a quarter of a century and
then ruled for twenty-nine years. King of Kings is a fitting title for this
multifaceted man who was brilliant, ambitious, ruthless, and a visionary. He
fortified the foundations of what was till then a ragtag kingdom, put into
place a meticulously organized system of administration, and led the kingdom
to reign supreme in military might, as an economic powerhouse, and in art,
architecture, literature, music, and dance.

In this book, Kamini Dandapani explores the man behind the larger-than-life
image of Rajaraja and the milieu in which he reigned. The origins of the
Chola empire lie in the Sangam era around 2,000 years ago, when the first
rulers of the family, men like Karikala and Kochengannan, ruled over small
tracts of land around the Kaveri delta. By the middle of the ninth century,
the ?Imperial Cholas? (as historians named them) began to consolidate power
at the expense of rivals like the Pallavas, Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas, Cheras,
Gangas, Pandyas, and other smaller kingdoms. Rajaraja became king in 985 ce
and, during his reign, the Chola empire reached its zenith. All his major
achievements are described in detail?victories on the battlefield, the
expansion of territory, the building of the monumental Brihadeeshwara Temple,
the gargantuan land survey, and much else besides. The book
goes into every aspect of Chola society?the place of women, the flowering
of culture, including the making of exquisite Chola bronzes, the spread of
religion, and the lives of ordinary people. After the death of Rajaraja in
1014, his son Rajendra expanded the empire; others that followed had mixed
fortunes and, a couple of centuries later, the dynasty succumbed to their
greatest rivals,
the Pandyas.
However, in their heyday, and especially under their greatest king, few
empires or emperors could compare with the Cholas and Rajaraja. This
scrupulously researched and brilliantly told biography brings to vivid and
compelling life one of India?s greatest empires and rulers.