1033rd Birth anniversary of King of Kings Rajaraja chozhan!

Evolution of a society, in different dimensions, needs a spark to get triggered, which is always seeded by the ideas of great brains. To understand the value we imbibe today, it becomes essential to glance through the history sculpted by the efficient architects of our ancient past, at different time periods. When we learn that the various dimensions of this timeline is found under a single ruler, we obviously tend to get inspired. He is none other than Rajaraja Chozhan, greatest king from South India.

Facts about Rajaraja
The real name of Rajaraja was Arulmozhivarman, born to the royal couple of Sundara Chozhan and Vanavan Maadevi of Chozha dynasty, in the year 947 A.D. It was the day of Sadhayam star in the Tamizh month of Aipasi falls between October - November. His elder brother was Aditya Chozhan and elder sister was Kundhavai Piratiyaar. Rajaraja meaning ‘King of Kings’ was the title offered to him for his valour and achievements.

At the age of 42, he stepped on the throne of Chozha dynasty with Tanjore as its capital. His efficient administration and political intelligence marked his rule as the golden age of Chozha dynasty. One of the unique specialities was his naval supremacy, which was only a dream to many kingdoms of his period. We can blindly say that only victory embraced him wherever he led his mission, thus stood as a greatest and undefeatable opponent to not only surrounding kingdoms but far to the Sri Lanka and Spice Islands of South east Asia.

Remarkable administrator:
When many countries were not even aware of democracy and ruthlessly slaying its citizens, Rajaraja introduced the Kudavolai system meaning the Pot Ballot system. In this system, people who intends to contest in elections for the post of various administrative departments are expected to fulfil certain conditions like they should be free from legal convictions, should possess specified amount of property so that they won’t indulge in corruption etc. The names of these people are written in palm leaves and kept in a pot. A small kid is asked to pick up the ballots based on which the positions are assigned.

The Election commission of Tamilnadu, Chennai has exhibited the scene of Kudavolai system at its outer premises thus honouring the early glimpses of democracy. The kingdom was divided into various divisions and the administration was divided into various departments thus focussing on the development from the root level. The revenue administration was another milestone in the era of Rajaraja where reasonable taxes were levied and the collected taxes were properly appropriated to the welfare of the society.

King of land and the sea:
As I quoted earlier, the speciality of Rajaraja was his breathtaking naval facilities which made him to strongly hold his dominance both at land and coastal areas. He posed threat to the combined forces of Chera and Pandya kingdoms on the west and south respectively. He also conquered the Chalukyas of north. With excellent naval forces, he did not sit back in his kingdom, but plunged into the sea towards Sri Lanka, south east etc. Waved his victory flag all over his path.

His naval supremacy not only earned him hold of kingdoms but also helped in international trade with countries like Rome, Greece and even China. From the coins excavated in the Chozhamandalam area, this can be witnessed. Poompuhar was the active and busiest port where the international trade boomed. Economy got flourished under this trade, people’s standard of living got improved and the Chozha dynasty was filled with wealth in tonnes and tonnes.

Importance of women:
When we study about Rajaraja, it is impossible to skip the chapters of his elder sister Kundavai Piratiyaar. She is believed to be the brain behind the abled administration of Rajaraja. He was so polite and emotionally bonded with his sister. She was more of a mentor and held the top royal position next to the king. It is believed that Rajaraja discussed about confidential political and social affairs with his sister and took decisions based on her advice. The secret paths from royal palace to various destinations were only aware to Kundavai after Rajaraja.

Brihadeeswara temple:
The Brihadeeswara temple, popularly known as the Tanjore Big temple is one of the finest asset provided by Rajaraja to the Tamizh region. This monstrous grandeur was built in 1010 A.D over a period of 7 years. The unique feature of this monument is the technology behind its construction where the granite stones are bonded only by interlocking them and still the massive structure stands upright without any misplacement. There are many wonders associated with this world heritage site which needs a separate article to be written on.

 

But an interesting and mostly unknown story about this temple is, it is believed to be actually monitored and constructed by the royal women under the headship of Kundavai. The temple was continuously built for about 7 years and a king who has to tackle political conquests cannot spend much of his time in its construction, which makes possible the involvement of women in it. This is also evident on seeing the construction of separate verandah for the royal women to stroll around the temple, which might be the idea of the women behind its construction.

Rajaraja - the proud father:
When Rajaraja was believed to be irreplaceable, his son Rajendra Chozhan who succeeded his father proved it wrong by his more abled and brilliant administration. He kept his father as his role model and his ambition was to excel his father in every aspect. He invaded and conquered upto the Gangas of Bengal area and earned an epithet called Gangaikondan. His conquests were far wider than his predecessor. He even tried to recreate the replica of Brihadeeswara temple at Gangaikonda Chozhapuram which added one more glory to the Great Living Chozha temples. Thus he made his father proud and his citizens happy.

Time to remind the glory:
When Indian cinema is moving towards technically contented movie on par with hollywood, Bahubali being a monarchical fantasy surprised everyone as a mega grosser of its time. We celebrate these onscreen heroes even when we are aware that it is just an imaginary fairy tale but we have forgotten the real life heroes like Rajaraja. Once a great king who ruled the entire south is not even honoured back with a proper memorial. A small muddy structure is laid somewhere in the interior part of his grand dynasty.

20 October 2018, happens to be the 1033rd birth anniversary of this great ruler. It is celebrated as Sadhayam festival every year in the big temple as per the instruction of the king himself. He made valuable inscriptions thus to register his achievements to the future society and also ordered to stage his life history as dance drama every year, so that people should be aware of the roots of their culture. The year 2018 seems to be a comeback for him after when his stolen idols were brought back to his royal kingdom and let us hope that the greatest ruler of this era receives his honour which actually he deserves.

 

WRITTEN BY SOCIAL AUTHOR: PRABHA KATHAMUTHU

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