Chola military

It has not been possible to assemble an internal chronology of the Sangam works and pinpoint when and how the early Chola military was formed. The earliest mention of the Chola army comes from Indian historian, K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, who claimed that King Ilamchetchenni defeated Maurya Empire King Bindusara, son of Chandragupta Maurya, in battle. Fragmentary poems in the Purananuru[1] also state that, Ilamchetchenni Chola, revered as a brave king and hard fighter, successfully resisted the exploration of the Mauryan army in Tamilakam. Sastri further claimed that Ilamchetchenni ruled between 301 BCE - 270 BC and overpowered the Cheras and Pandyas in battle. He was succeeded by his son, Karikala Chola, who is considered one of the greatest kings among the Early Cholas.

The Chola Dynasty faded into darkness after c. 300 CE. During this period, the Cholas lost their sovereignty in Tamilakam and held on to their old capital city of Urayur by serving as a vassal state under the Kalabhra and Pallava dynasties. Making use of the opportunity during a war between the Pandyas and Pallavas, Vijayalaya Chola rose out of obscurity and captured Thanjavur and re-established the Chola Dynasty. In 852 CE, Vijayalaya Chola declared war on the Pandyas and defeated them. The Cholas became so powerful that the Pallavas were also wiped out from the Thanjavur region at a later stage. The Medieval Chola Empire traced their ancestry to the ancient Tamil King, Karikala, making him the dynasty's ancestral father.[3]

At it's peak under Rajaraja Chola I and his son Rajendra Chola I, the Chola Army was stationed across the Indian Ocean from the Maldives all the way to Sumatra and had a total combined force of 1,000,000 foot soldiers, 60,000 war elephants and 120,000 cavalry.[4]

The Medieval Army of the Cholas followed the ancient Indian tradition of Chaturangabala for organization and Sadangabala for administration, the fourfold force and sixfold control. In its shortened form, it is called RathaGajaTuraPadai, where Ratha is the chariot, Gaja the elephant, Tura the horses, and Senai or Padhathi the infantry. It was said that an army with proportional growth of the said forces was a balanced and well-composed one. Like Ashoka's army, the Cholas recruited military personnel of four types: soldiers of hereditary military families, soldiers raised from various tribes, personnel provided by various tradesman and merchants, and mercenaries.[5]

In addition to the divisions, there were the Nadapu – the commissariat and Payanam – the admiralty and logistics. The addition to these, bureaucratic reforms revolutionized the Chola Army, resulting in victories on a massive scale.[6]

The regiments of the Chola Army had a degree of autonomy and were free to endow benefactions and build temples in their own names. Some regiments were entrusted with the management of minor temple shrines and were expected to provide for them. Others took money from the temple on interest, which they agreed to pay in cash. It is not known for what purposes they used this money, although the transactions serve to reveal the army's interest and involvement in the temples.

Famous Generals

Araiyan Raja Rajan
Chola Army commander-in-chief
Araiyan Rajarajan (aka) Vikrama chola

There were hundreds of generals in the Medieval Chola Army, some notable commanders include:

• Senathipathi Araiyan Rajarajan (11th century)
  • Younger brother of Rajendra Chola I and highest ranking general of the Chola Army during their victories against the Western Chalukya Dynasty, Somavamsi Dynasty, the Pala Kingdom, and the Kamboja Pala dynasty
• Senathipathi Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan (10th-11th century)
  • Commander of the Sri Lanka Front Army of Rajaraja l and Rajendra I during the Chola conquest of Anuradhapura
• Senathipathi Karunakara Tondaiman(Late 11th century)
  • Famous general during the reign of Kulottunga Chola I that defeated the Kalinga armies of King Anantavarman and went on to plunder Lanka
  • The Karunakara Pillaiyar temple in the Jaffna peninsula was built after him. The village, Thondaimanaru, in Ceylon was also named after him
• Senathipathi Naralokaviran(Late 11th century)
  • General during the reign of Kulottunga Chola I and his successor Vikrama Chola that led many Chola campaigns in the deep south and distinguished himself in the Pandya Wars
• Senathipathi Paluvettaraiyar Maravan Kandanar(Late 10th century)
  • An important general during the reign of Parantaka Chola II who strengthened the Pazhuvettaraiyar regiment that was actively deployed during the Chola conquest of Anuradhapura
• Thalapathi Thiruchitrambalamudaiyan Perumanambi(Late 12th century)
  • Defeated Polonnaruwa Army generals Lankapura Dandanatha and Jagad Vijaya in battle and successfully re-conquered the Pandyan Kingdom on behalf of Rajadhiraja Chola II during the Pandyan Civil War (1169-1177)
• Anipathi Annan Pallavarayan(Late 12th century)
  • Invaded Polonnaruwa and destroyed Parakramabahu's preparations for the invasion of Chola Nadu and provided support for Sinhalese Prince Sri Vallabha, nephew of Parakramabahu and a rival claimant to the Polonnaruwa throne

Chola inscriptions mention numerous regiments by specific names. Rajaraja Chola I created a powerful standing army and a considerable navy, which achieved even greater success under his son Rajendra Chola I. The prominence given to the army from the conquest of the Pandyas down to the last year of the king’s reign is significant and shows the spirit with which the king treated his soldiers. Rajaraja evidently gave his army its due share in the glory derived from his extensive conquests. The army composed chiefly of Kaikolars (men with stronger arms), which were royal troops receiving regular payments from the treasury. (e.g. Arul mozhideva-terinda-kaikola padai; in this, arulmozhideva is the king's name, terinda means well known, and padai means regime)[8][9]

The following regiments are mentioned in the Tanjavur inscriptions:

• Uttama- Chola-terinda-Andalagattalar
• Perundanattu Anaiyatkal – Elephant corps.
• Pandita-Chola-Terinda-villigal – Archers
• Nigarili- Chola terinda-Udanilai-Kudiraichchevagar – Cavalry
• Mummadi- Chola-terinda-Anaippagar – Elephant corps
• Vira- Chola-Anukkar
• Parantaka-Kongavalar – Light Infantry
• Mummadi- Chola-terinda-parivarattar
• Keralantaka-terinda-parivarattar
• Mulaparivara-vitteru alias Jananatha-terinda-parivarattar
• Singalantaka-terinda-parivarattar
• Sirudanattu Vadugakkalavar
• Valangai-Parambadaigalilar
• Sirudanattu-Valangai-Velaikkarappadaigal
• Aragiya- Chola-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar
• Aridurgalanghana-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar
• Chandaparakrama-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar
• Ilaiya-Rajaraja-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar
• Kshatriyasikhamani-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar
• Murtavikramabharana-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar
• Rajakanthirava-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar
• Rajaraja-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar
• Rajavinoda-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar
• Ranamukha-Bhima-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar
• Vikramabharana-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar
• Keralantaka-vasal-tirumeykappar
• Anukka-vasal-tirumeykappar – Personal bodyguards
• Parivarameykappargal – Personal bodyguards
• Palavagai-Parampadaigalilar
• Perundanattu-Valangai-Velaikkarappadaigal

Velaikkarappadaigal or Velaikkarar is the equivalent of "Guards regiment" or "King's Regiment"—a royal suffix given in honor of their loyalty and bravery. Some historians like Stein also propose that they were drawn from the civilian population during wartime, suggesting they were more like a national guard. They are mentioned in the Mahavamsa; according to that account, the Sinhalese kingdom tried to use them as mercenaries against the Chola empire. They were later silenced and decommissioned when they refused and rebelled.

There are almost seventy of such regiments that have been found in these inscriptions. In most of the foregoing names, the first portion appears to be the surnames or titles of the king himself or that of his son. That these regiments were called after the king or his son shows the attachment that the Chola king bore towards his army.

It may not be unreasonable to suppose that these royal names were prefixed to the designations of these regiments after they had distinguished themselves in some engagement or other. It is worthy of note that there are elephant troops, cavalry and foot soldiers among these regiments.

Top officers took various titles after the different kings such as Rajaraja chola Brahmarajan, Rajarajakesari Muvendavelar, Jayamkondachola Villuparaiyar, Uttamachola Muvendavelar, Manukula Muvendavelar, Nittavinotha Muvendavelar, Atirajendra Muvendavelar, Mummudi chola pallavaraiyar, and Viranarayanan Muvendavelan.[10]

The army was stationed throughout the country in the form of local garrisons and in cantonments called Kadagams. The Cholas also stationed garrisons outside the country to consolidate the administration of their conquered territories. Following the Chola conquest of Anuradhapura, Senathipathi of the Sri Lanka Front Army of Rajaraja l and Rajendra I, Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan, garrisoned the city of Polonnaruwa to administer control over the island and deter any attempt of reconquest by the Sinhalese armies.[11] After the troubles in the Pandya country, Kulothunga Chola I stationed his army in a number of military colonies along the main route to Pandya from Chola lands. One such colony was found at Kottaru and another at Madavilagam near South Arcot district in Tamil Nadu.[12]

There are no records of Chola recruitment methods or the number of permanent troops in the army. In feudal times, the children of warriors and soldiers readily joined the army in keeping with the spirit of chivalry and Tamil martial tradition. They were a highly motivated and professionally trained force with a very strong martial tradition. Some of the regiments clearly had martial customs and history of their own and the members of such regiments clearly exhibited high levels of discipline, pride and self-esteem.

The presence of military cantonments called Kadagam in Sangam Tamil indicates that there were regular training and military practices as part of the Tamil martial arts tradition. The Palayam system was based on a feudal class structure of warriors, farmers, artisans and merchants, where the distinctions between the caste statuses of the constituent classes were strictly enforced. To symbolize this society, Tamil warriors wore swords in everyday life because the system was maintained by their military prowess. These martial tradition and practices were later outlawed by the British. The modern Indian army has a Madras regiment that serves as the sole unit for all of South India.

There were military colonies known as nilai puram. A nilaipuram contained a number of forts. In Keralasinga Valanadu of the North Pandya country, there were five nilaipurams. These were named after the five coronational names of the Pandyas: Sundara, Kulasekhara, Vikrama, Vira, and Parakrama Pandya.

The Chola Navy comprised the naval forces of the Chola Empire along with several other naval arms of the country. It played a vital role in the expansion of the Chola Empire, including the conquest of the Ceylon islands and Sri Vijaya (present-day Indonesia), the spread of Shaivism, Tamil architecture and Tamil culture to Southeast Asia, and in curbing the piracy in Southeast Asia in the tenth century.

There is evidence that even in the time of Parantaka I, there was a considerable navy involved in the numerous invasions of Lanka. Rajendra Chola's naval victories in Srivijaya were a culmination of centuries of naval tradition. All the Tamil kingdoms had some sort of navy in their arsenal.

The Cholas continued the ancient tradition and gave much attention to developing their naval strength. The conquest of Sri Lanka and Maldives and the embassies sent to China show the success of the Chola Navy. The Chola Admirals acted as ambassadors in many South-East Asian Kingdoms during this time.

During the reigns of RajaRaja Chola I and his son Rajendra Chola I, it is said that the Cholan navy had over one million naval soldiers.

Many types of ships (including Colandia) and naval weapons were employed in the navy.

• Chau Ju-Kua: his work on the Chinese and Arab trade in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Trans. by Rukuo Zhao; Friedrich Hirth; William Woodville Rockhill
• Hermann, Kulke; Rothermund D (2001) [2000]. A History of India. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-32920-5.
• Nilakanta Sastri, K.A (1984) [1935]. The CōĻas. Madras: University of Madras.
• Nilakanta Sastri, K.A (2002) [1955]. A History of South India. New Delhi: OUP.
• Tripathi, Rama Sankar (1967). History of Ancient India. India: Motilal Banarsidass Publications. ISBN 81-208-0018-4.