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{{Short description|Battle in South India}}
{{See also|Atakur inscription}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Takkolam
| image =
| caption =
| date = 948–949
| place = [[Thakkolam|Takkolam]]
| result = * [[Rashtrakuta]] victory - Death of Chola prince Rajaditya
* Defeat of the Chola empire
* Tondaimandalam annexed by Rashtrakutas
| combatant1 = [[Chola Empire]] (supported by their allies: [[Chera Perumals]]<ref name=":0" />)
| combatant2 = [[Rashtrakuta Empire]] (supported by their vassals: [[Western Gangas]], [[Bana Kingdom]], and Vaidumbas)
| commander1 = *[[Rajaditya Chola]] [[Killed in action|†]]
*[[Vellan Kumaran]] ([[Chera dynasty|Chera]]/[[Kerala]])<ref name=":0" />
| commander2 = *[[Krishna III]]
*[[Butuga II]]
| strength1 =
| strength2 =
| casualties1 =
| casualties2 =
}}

The '''Battle of Takkolam''' (948–949) was a military engagement between a contingent of troops led by [[Rajaditya]], crown prince<ref>{{cite book|title= The Cambridge History of War: Volume 2, War and the Medieval|first= Anne |last= Curry|publisher= Cambdrige |year= 2020 |page= all|url= https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Cambridge_History_of_War_Volume_2_Wa/Bm_-DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=cambridge+chalukyas&pg=PT517&printsec=frontcover }}</ref> and eldest son of the [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] king [[Parantaka I]] (907–955), and another led by the [[Rashtrakuta]] king [[Krishna III]] (939–967) at [[Takkolam]] in southern [[India]]. The battle resulted in the death of Rajaditya on the battlefield and the defeat of the Chola garrison at Takkolam.<ref name=":1">Ali, Daud. "The Death of a Friend: Companionship, Loyalty and Affiliation in Chola South India." ''Studies in History'', vol. 33, no. 1, Feb. 2017, pp. 36–60.</ref>

The battle is considered as the climax of the confrontation between the two imperials powers, the [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]] and the [[Rashtrakuta dynasty|Rashtrakutas]], for mastery of south India.<ref name=":0">Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 100-101.</ref> The death of prince Rajaditya is unusually commemorated by the Cholas. The Chola version of the events can be found in Larger Leiden Grant<ref>''Epigraphia Indica'' 22 (1933–34), no. 34: vv. 19–21.</ref> (1006 AD) of [[Raja Raja Chola I|Rajaraja I]] and Tiruvalangadu Plates (1018 AD) of [[Rajendra Chola I|Rajendra Chola]].<ref>''South Indian Inscriptions'' 3 (1920), no. 205: v. 54.</ref><ref name=":1" /> An account of the battle, which differs in some details from the Chola version, is found in the Atakur inscription issued by [[Krishna III]] and prince [[Butuga II]] (a young underlord of Krishna III<ref name=":13">Ali, Daud. “The Death of a Friend: Companionship, Loyalty and Affiliation in Chola South India.” ''Studies in History'', vol. 33, no. 1, Feb. 2017, pp. 36–60.</ref>) of the [[Western Ganga dynasty|Western Ganga]] family.<ref>''Epigraphia Indica'' 6 (1900–01), no. 6c: 53–56.</ref><ref name=":13" /> The Sravana Belgola record of Ganga king Marasimha (963 - 975 AD) also claims victory of the king for his predecessor Bhutuga II.<ref>Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 100-101 and 113-114.</ref>

== Background ==
It seems that king Parantaka I anticipated a climatic battle with the Rashtrakutas and their allies in Tirumunaippati Nadu.<ref name=":1" />

Sometime in the 930s, or perhaps as early as 923 AD,<ref>''South Indian Inscriptions'' 7 (1932), No. 1009.</ref> prince Rajaditya was sent with a substantial military contingent, including elephants and horses, as well as his entire household, to the region (to protect the northern edges of a nascent Chola state).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The prince was joined in Tirumunaippati Nadu by his mother and his half-brother Arinjaya (whose mother also might have been from the Chera Perumal family).<ref name=":1" />

== Battle at Takkolam ==
The Rashtrakuta contingent at Takkolam included a collection of feudal militias and royal soldiers (from [[Western Gangas]], [[Bana Kingdom|Banas]] and Vaidumbas among others).<ref name=":1" /> Prince Rajaditya was supported by a number of military personnel from [[Kerala]] (Chera) chiefdoms.<ref name=":1" />

An account of the battle, which differs in some details from the Chola version, is found in the Atakur inscription issued by [[Krishna III]] and prince Butuga (a young underlord of Krishna III<ref name=":1" />) of the Western Ganga family. According to the inscription, during the battle, Rajaditya was struck while seated atop his war elephant by an arrow from prince Butuga.<ref>''Epigraphia Indica'' 6 (1900–01), no. 6c: 53–56.</ref> The Chola prince died instantly. The Chola army was subsequently defeated and retreated in disorder.<ref name=":1" />

== Consequences ==
The collapse of the Chola resistance after the battle of Takkolam lead to the virtual destruction of the Chola empire. The Rashtrakutas conquered eastern and northern parts of the Chola empire and advanced to [[Rameswaram]]. As per the Karhad copper plates of Krishna II, dated 959 AD, the king "uprooted the Cholas, distributed their territory among his followers, and extracted tribute from the Chera (Kerala) and [[Pandyan dynasty|Pandya]] kings" during his campaign.<ref name=":0" />

The epithet ‘Tanjaiyunkonda’ or the 'conqueror of [[Thanjavur|Tanjore]]' was given to Krishna III as mentioned in many records found in Tondai-Mandalam, that the conclusion becomes inevitable that he had conquered and occupied the Chola capital at least for some time. The statements in the Karhad plates states that Krishna defeated the Pandyas and the Keralas, exacted tributes from the king of Ceylon and planted the creeper of his fame at [[Rameshwaram|Ramesvara]]{{sfn|A. S. Altekar|1934|p=134}}

As per historians, the defeat at Takkolam reversed the substantial political gains made by Parantaka Chola in previous decades. It opened the way for a period of multiple (and perhaps even disputed) Chola accessions.<ref>Nilakantha Sastri, ''Cōḷas'', 140–67.</ref> The Chola royals remained in confusion, and perhaps continued a precarious political existence under the threat of Rashtrakuta invasion.<ref name=":0" />

== See also ==

* [[Krishna III]]
* [[Parantaka I]]

== References ==
{{cite book |author=A. S. Altekar |title=Rashtrakutas And Their Times|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.57217/page/n133/mode/2up?q=tanjore |year=1934 |publisher=Digital Library of India}}
{{Reflist}}<br />
[[Category:10th century in India]]
[[Category:Rashtrakuta dynasty]]
[[Category:Western Ganga dynasty]]
[[Category:949]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Chola Empire|Takkolam]]

Battle of Takkolam - Revision history

Bot at 05:15, 16 December 2022