The Chola kingdom was a very ancient kingdom. It is mentioned in the Mahabharata, the travelogues of Megasthenes and the inscriptions of Ashoka. Many Chola rulers are described in Sangam literature. This state included Madras, its surrounding region and some areas of Karnataka. In Sangam literature, Karaikal has been called the founder of the Chola dynasty. His birth is considered to be the second century. In the first half of the ninth century, that dynasty rose to prominence again. The credit goes to Vijayalaya, the Chola ruler. Vijayalaya was a feudatory of the Pallavas. During the war of the Pallavas and Pandyas, he established his political power by taking over Tanjore and made Tanjore his capital. They became prominent in the 9th century and established an empire encompassing major parts of South India. They also extended their control to Sri Lanka and the Malay Peninsula and thus came to be known as the 'Imperial Cholas'.
Parantaka (907-955 CE) was considered the first imperial Chola. He defeated the Pandyans and Srilanka initially but was later defeated by the Rashtrakuta king. Rajaraja Chola and Rajendra I were two very important rulers who took the Empire to a new zenith.
RAJARAJA CHOLA (985-1014 CE)-
The most powerful ruler of the Chola Empire was Rajaraja who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. Rajaraja was a great conqueror and empire builder. He defeated the Pandya king of Madurai as well as Western Chalukyas of Kalyani. He also conquered the northern part of SriLanka and merged it with his kingdom. He destroyed their capital Anuradhapura. He built a powerful ship fleet and established his authority on the seashore. With this fleet, he captured the islands of Lakshadweep and Maldives and invaded the eastern archipelago. During the reign of Rajaraja, the Chola Empire spread all over the south.
Rajaraja was not only a great conqueror, but also a qualified administrator. He encouraged local self-government in his state. He was a devotee of Shiva and built magnificent Shiva temples. He built the Rajarajeshwara Temple or Brihadeshwara Temple at Tanjore.