Gangaikonda Cholapuram | The story of Rajendra Chola's conquests - Storytrails
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Gangaikonda Cholapuram |The story of the Chola king who conquered the Gangetic plains

A long time ago, the mighty king of South India, Rajendra Chola, had conquered much of India's southern peninsula. And to celebrate his conquests, he wanted to build a new capital. To anoint this new city, he wanted nothing less than the sacred waters from the Ganges. So he set on a long expedition with his army to bring back the holy water from the river. But the expedition was not without danger. How did the Chola king not only conquer the kingdoms along the way but also go on to make the largest manmade lakes in India?

Gangaikonda Cholapuram was the capital city of Rajendra Chola, the greatest Chola king that ever lived. Born to an illustrious father, Raja Raja Chola, this mighty king ruled over large parts of south India over 1000 years ago. He wanted to anoint his new capital city with water from River Ganga. So he sent his army on a long expedition from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu all the way to modern day Bangladesh. His army defeated many kingdoms en route, and brought back water from the holy river Ganga. He poured this water into a lake he built, the Chola Gangam, one of the largest manmade lakes in India till date. Gangaikonda Cholan literally means the Chola king who conquered the (plains of) River Ganga. Rajendra Chola commanded the largest blue water navy in Indian history, and used it effectively to subdue Srivijaya, a southeast Asian kingdom that lay 3000 kilometres away. The magnificent Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple was built by him and it still stands tall as a charming celebration of his might and power.


All images and video footage of Gangaikonda Cholapuram by Studio A


Brihadisvara Temple inscription reading “Rajaraja”

By David George – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40140126


Rajendra Chola in Battle, Kolaramma Temple, Kolar

By WestCoastMusketeer – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65239662 


Brihadeeswarar Temple from the right side

By Nirinsanity – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40493543 


A Siamese painting depicting the Chola raid on Kedah.

By Everdawn at en.wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16275150 


Ornamented pillar Darasuram

By Ravichandar84 at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11903916 

END OF STORY

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