Rajendra

chola
Rajendra the great
 Succession of rajendra chola

Rajendra chola was the only son of rajaraja 1 and succeeded

him after his death in 1014 . Rajendra chola ruled from 1014 to
1044 . He used to lead campaigns from 1002 as a co-regent
(yuvaraj)of the empire and continued his father’s policies
 Rajendra chola : a great conqueror
From the beginning rajendra chola followed the policy of
invasion and annexation, his campaigns were very successful
and chola dynasty is believed to be most powerful under his
reign . during his reign, he extended the influences of the
already vast chola kingdom to the banks of river ganges in
north and across the southern region
 Rajendra chola’s expeditions
Invasion of Sri Lanka:To complete the task begun by his father,
of conquering the island of Sri lanka, Rajendra invaded the
island in 1018 C.E and annexed the whole island of sri lanka
defeating ,the Sinhala king, Mahinda V and imprisoning him in
the Chola Country, where he died in captivity.
Expedition to ganges: around 1019 ,Rajendra’s armies
undertook this extraordinary expedition.Rajendra’s forces
marched through odisha , upto ganga river.The Emperor himself
advanced up to the river Godavari to protect the rear of the
expeditionary force. The Chola army eventually reach the Pala
kingdom of Bengal where they met Mahipala and defeated him.
From this victory, he gained the title “ Gangaikonda”(who took
the ganga)and to commemorate , he built a new capital
“gangaikonda-cholapuram”.
Overseas expedition: rajendra chola is believed the first indian
ruler to send his armies overseas. His most daring campaign is
believed to be of south -east asia when he captured the
kingdom shrivijaya which created a problem in trade of indian
merchants . as a result he sent out a huge navy and defeated
king of shrivijaya , this move greatly enriched the chola
kingdom
Shiva temple at gangaikonda
cholapuram
 Contributions of rajendra chola
❖ Rajendra Chola created at his capital a vast artificial lake,
sixteen miles long and three miles wide which to this day
remains one of the largest man-made lakes in India
❖ At the closing years of his reign , chola dynasty saw the
splendid period. The extent of his empire was widest , the
naval and military prestige was highest and he was ably
assisted by his sons
❖ He built a new capital of gangaikonda cholapuram and
decorated it with beautiful temples and magnificent places.
Sculpture of Rajendra I at
Gangaikondacholapuram
Thank you
Presentation by BHAWADEEP
LAKSHYA
PRATEEK