Gandaraditya

2021-07-03T06:07:14Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Gandaraditha Chola I<br />கண்டராதித்ய சோழன் (Kaṇṭarātitya)
| title = Rajakesarivarman, Sivagnana Gandaraditar
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| reign = 950–956 CE
| predecessor = [[Parantaka I]]
| successor = [[Arinjaya]]
| spouse = Sembiyan Madeviyar<br>Viranarayaniyar<ref>{{cite book|title=Early Chola Temples: Parantaka I to Rajaraja I, A.D. 907-985|author=S. R. Balasubrahmanyam|publisher=Orient Longman, 1971|page=250}}</ref>
| spouse-type = Queen
| issue = [[Uttama Chola|Madhurantaka]]
| father = [[Parantaka I]]
| birth_date = Unknown
| birth_place =
| death_date = 956 CE
| death_place =
| burial_place =
| religion =
}}
{{Chola history}}

'''Gandaraditha Chola''' ({{lang-ta|கண்டராதித்ய சோழன்}}) succeeded his father [[Parantaka I]] and became the [[Chola]] king about 955 CE. He was also a Tamil literary poet in Thiruvisaippa Palandu.<ref name="Epigraphy By Archaeological Survey of India. Southern Circle, page 11">''Epigraphy'', by Archaeological Survey of India. Southern Circle, page 11</ref>

==Turbulent period==
From the death of Parantaka I, to the accession of [[Rajaraja I]] in 985 CE, Chola history is obscure. During this period of 30 years there were five princes who must have occupied the throne. There are several theories surrounding the rapid ascension to the Chola throne.

One was that there were internal feuds among the different members of the royal family. The other is that the effects of the Rashtrakuta invasion, under [[Krishna III]] and his brother-in-law Ganga Butuga, and the defeat of the Chola army at Takkolam resulting in the death of heir-apparent Rajaditya Chola (the first in line to the throne - "''aanai mael thunjiya devar''") must have brought large-scale disorder in the kingdom.<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |pages=46–49}}</ref>

The second theory has more merit since the sons of Parantaka I (specifically Gandaraditya and [[Arinjaya]]) must have also fought along with their brother, Rajaditya in that epic battle and must have been variously injured and died rapidly. Thus, Parantaka I was forced to get his grandson Sundara Chola (the son of Arinjaya and probably the oldest surviving prince) to be the heir-apparent.

==Reluctant ruler==
As noted earlier, the eldest son of Parantaka I, prince Rajaditya lost his life in the [[Battle of Takkolam]] (c. 949 CE). Takkalom is identified with the area around present day [[Arakonam]] in the North Arcot district.<ref name="Historical perspectives of warfare in India: some morale and matériel determinants">''Historical Perspectives of Warfare in India: Some Morale and Matériel Determinants''</ref> Parantaka I must have made his second son Gandaraditya as heir apparent.

Gandaraditya was a reluctant monarch and focussed more on religious work and not on empire building.<ref>{{cite book|title=The early Chōḷas history, art, and culture|author=S. Swaminathan|publisher=Sharada Pub. House, 1998|page=77}}</ref> The Tondaimandalam continued to be occupied by the [[Rashtrakutas]] and Gandaratitya did not seem to have made any attempt to retrieve it. It is not clear if this is because he was uninterested in war or that he was assimilating his position south of the Paalar River and cutting his losses to keep Eelam (which was fast slipping out of Chola control) and to keep a resurgent Pandya Kingdom at bay.

For the time being, the martial Chola power seemed to have been toned down but trade (especially maritime) continued to flourish. There are only very few inscriptions to be found that could be directly attributed to him and this may be because earlier inscriptions were consciously deleted by later [[Uttama Chola]] who undertook the task of converting South Indian temples into granite from brick-and-mortar under the "Kalpani" scheme. The conscious decision by Uttama Chola is mentioned in his inscriptions at Kanchipuram.

He spent more time in religious discourse. He is [[#Contributions to Tamil literature|credited]] with writing a Tamil [[hymn]] on [[Shiva|Siva]] of the [[Chidambaram]] Temple.

==Co-regent==
Very early in his reign Gandharaditya must have made his younger brother Arinjaya co-regent and heir-apparent. It is possible that Gandaradhitya was without issue for a long time and in attempt to secure the continuation of the [[Vijayalaya Chola|Vijayalaya]] dynasty, Gandharaditya made his brother heir apparent.

==Personal life==
Gandaraditya had two queens namely Sembiyan Mahadevi, described as the daughter of Malavarayar and another called Viranarayaniyar who is described as the daughter of Solamadeviyar.<ref>{{cite book|title=Early Chola Temples: Parantaka I to Rajaraja I, A.D. 907-985|author=S. R. Balasubrahmanyam|publisher=Orient Longman, 1971|page=250}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Early Cholas: Mathematics Reconstructs the Chronology|author=N. Sethuraman|publisher=Sethuraman, 1980|page=39}}</ref> [[Sembiyan Mahadevi|Sembiyan Madeviyar]] bore him a son called Madhurantaka [[Uttama Chola]]. This must have been very late in his life.<ref name=bhakti>{{cite book|title=The Embodiment of Bhakti|author=Karen Pechilis Prentiss|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2000|page=97}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Ancient India: Collected Essays on the Literary and Political History of Southern India|author=Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1911|page=103}}</ref> At the time of Gandaraditya’s death (c. 956 CE), Uttama Chola must have been a young boy, as he was set aside in the order of succession and Arinjaya took over the Chola crown.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Great Chola Temples: Thanjavur, Gangaikondacholapuram, Darasuram|url=https://archive.org/details/greatcholatemple00siva|author=C. Sivaramamurti|publisher=Archaeological Survey of India|year=2007|page=[https://archive.org/details/greatcholatemple00siva/page/11 11]}}</ref> Sembiyan Madeviyar survived her husband for a long time. She seems to have been a pious lady as she figures in several inscriptions, making donations to various temples. She died c. 1001 CE during Rajaraja’s reign.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Topographical List of Inscriptions of the Madras Presidency, Volume II, with Notes and References|author=V. Rangacharya|publisher=Asian Educational Services, New Delhi|year=1985|page=1357}}</ref> She was the daughter of [[Mazhavaraayas|Malavarayar]] chieftain and is described thus in inscriptions.<ref>{{cite book|title=Early Chola Temples: Parantaka I to Rajaraja I, A.D. 907-985|author=S. R. Balasubrahmanyam|publisher=Orient Longman, 1971 - Architecture, Chola - 351 pages|page=210}}</ref>

Gandaraditya was also known as "''Merkey elundarulina devar''" - the king who rose in the west, that is who went west and attained salvation. The meaning of this phrase is not clearly understood but could possibly mean the king who went west to Kerala. There are claims that Gandaraditya in his later life adapted the [[Jain]] faith and went to the [[Kannada]] land in the west of the Chola country with a Jain ascetic named Loka-pala acharya. This claim does not have many supporters amongst historians especially because of his Saivaite background and his wife's and son's continued persuasion of this faith.

==Contributions to Tamil literature==
It has been widely accepted by researchers of Tamil literature and Saiva religious scholars that Gandaraditya was the author of a ''Thiruvisaippa'' on Siva at the Temple of [[Chidambaram]].<ref name="The History and culture of the Indian people, Volume 4, page 157">''The History and Culture of the Indian People'', Volume 4, page 157</ref> In this there is a distinct statement that [[Parantaka I]] conquered the [[Pandya]] country and ''Eelam'' ([[Sri Lanka]]) and covered the temple of [[Nataraja]] with gold. Gandaraditya composed eleven poems on Lord [[Nataraja]] of [[Chidambaram]]. These are part of the ninth volume of the [[Tirumurai]] and are called ''Tiruvisaippa''. He refers to himself as "Koli Vendan Thanjaiyar Kon Gandaradittan" in these poems.<ref>{{cite book|title=Early Cholas: Mathematics Reconstructs the Chronology|author=N. Sethuraman|publisher=Sethuraman, 1980 - Chola (Indic people) - 124 pages|page=42}}</ref> It is not clear when he composed this poetry and whether it was he who covered the Chidambaram shrine in lieu of his father, or if it was done at Parantaka I's term.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* Venkata Ramanappa, M. N. (1987). ''Outlines of South Indian History''. (Rev. edn.) New Delhi: Vikram.
* Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. (1935). ''The CōĻas'', University of Madras, Madras (Reprinted 1984).
* Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. (1955). ''A History of South India'', OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002).
* ''Epigraphy'', by Archaeological Survey of India. Southern Circle
* ''Historical Perspectives of Warfare in India: Some Morale and Matériel Determinants'', by Sri Nandan Prasad, Centre for Studies in Civilizations (Delhi, India)
* ''The History and Culture of the Indian People'', Volume 4 by Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bhāratīya Itihāsa Samiti
* ''The Twelve Thirumurai'' - http://tamilnation.co/sathyam/east/thirumurai.htm
{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|title=[[Chola]]|before=[[Parantaka Chola I]]|after=[[Arinjaya Chola]] |years=950–957 CE}}
{{s-end}}

[[Category:Chola kings]]
[[Category:956 deaths]]
[[Category:Hindu monarchs]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:10th-century Indian monarchs]]

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Gandaraditya