Kulottunga III ascended the Chola throne sometime between the 6th and the 8th 1178

Kulottunga III ascended the Chola throne sometime between the 6th and the 8th 1178. Kulottunga at the time of his accession was not on good terms with Rajad who was compelled by him to spend the evening of his life somewhere in the, Pradesh.

The origin of Kulottunga III has been a matter of speculation. It is possible was one of the children saved by Pallavaraya from Rajadhiraja II. This of course cans the uneasy relationship between the two.

There is indication that Kulottunga did not* belong to the Chalukya-Chola family in the male line of succession. He is Kumarakulottunga in epigraph and in literature and was perhaps a greater stranger t family than Rajadhiraja himself. From the Kulottungan Kavai written probably after the of Kulottunga II we hear of a Sangamaraja and his son Kumarakulottunga and S? Chola.

But we know nothing else about this Sangumaraja. It is again possible that K Kulottunga was an overlooked member of the Chalukya-Chola family, possibly a Rajaraja II. He could even be considered to be a scion of the old Chola family of Vija brushed aside by Kulottunga I but waiting for a return to power which was now ac’ It is clear that Kulottunga III continued to be involved in Pandyan afairs and th Maduraiyam Pandyan Mudittalaiyum Kondaruliya indicates this. He celebrated a Viratr which may indicate his victories.

In the reign of Kulottunga III the Pandyan civil war continued. We have seen’ treachery of Kulasekhara Pandya led to the installation of Virapandya as the Madurai. Soon Virapandya also drifted into alliance with Ceylon, and behaved insoi towards the Chola. The Chola Emperor then treated the entire matter very seriousl ordered his army to support one Vikrama Pandya and to punish Vira Pandya.

Following campaign Virapandya’s son was killed. The Marava army was defeated a: Ceylonese soldiers driven out of the mainland. Virapandya himself went out of Ma’ and was at the mercy of Vikrama Pandya. There was a lot of cutting off of noses campaign. We learn from Chola sources that after the campaign was over Kulotfr took Virapandya’s women into his harem.

Virapandya who had taken rufuge in¹ came back to Madurai and made obeisance to the Chola Emperor who was then’ palace in Madurai. The Emperor then pardoned the recalcitrant Pandya. It seemi Virapandya had attempted on two occasions to regain Madurai; the first was in 118

The Chalukya-Cholas

The second sometime before 1189. The battle of Nettur settled the matter against Virapandya. After the successful termination of the southern campaign Kulottunga made gifts to many temples. His reconquest of Kanchi and even the Vengi Mandalam is mentioned, suggesting that Kanchi was for some time out of Chola control. The conquest of Ceylon mentioned alongside these claims was probably conventional. He waged a war against Kongu, crowned himself at Karur and assumed the Title Chola-Kerala.

The Decline of Kulottunga III

Vikrama Pandya installed on the Madurai throne by Kulottunga III was succeeded by Jatavarman Kulasekara I, his son in 1190. With him began the new Pandyan imperialism and with him the civil war came to a close. The Pandya-Chola hostility, however, continued and was perhaps intensified and the tables were beginning to be turned.

The indications are provided by Chola sources. Kulottunga III remembering his old glory tried the old methods against the Pandyas. Kulottunga’s coronation in Madurai seems to have infuriated Jatavarman Kulasekara’s brother Maravarman Sundara Pandyan and moved him to carry the war into the Chola country and to crown himself at Ayirattali. This was surely singeing the mane of the Chola lion in its own den.

The sovereignty of the Cholas in the north beyond Nellore had become uncertain though his subordinates there officially indicated Chola hegemony. Inscriptions of the Pandyas speak of an invasion of the Chola country by Maravarman Sundara Pandya, followed by a generous return of the conquered territories to the Chola.

Evidently even the competent Kulottunga IE could not stem the inexorable march of events. The Pandyas had begun to get the better of the Cholas who had held the stage in the Tamil country for nearly three centuries; in one sense it is justifiable to say that Kulottunga III was a witness to the fall of the Cholas and the rise of the Pandyas.

During Kulottunga’s reign the Western Chalukyan power declined and in the Deccan on the three sides new political powers grew, the Yadavas in the north, the Kakatiyas in the east and the Hoysalas in the south. A century later these three powers along with the Pandyas were destined to be the four Hindu states absorbing the shock of the Khalji invasion led by Malik Kafur. During Kulottunga’s reing occurred the Hoysala intervention in Tamilnad.

The Hoysalas who became active in Gangavadi under Vishnuvardhana became more powerful under Ballala II. Ballala married into the Chola family. When Kulottunga’s reign was ending, i.e., about 1216, Vira Narasimha, son of Ballala II, invaded Srirangam. This invasion was meant to save the Chola monarch from Pandyan harassment especially the invasion by Maravarman Sundara Pandyan.

This invasion occurred when Kulottunga III was living but Rajaraja III had already succeeded him. Sundara Pandya defeated Rajaraja III, drove him to Palaiyarai, i.e., Ayirattali and crowned himself there as noticed above.

Kulottunga himself went into exile. This was an opportune moment for the Pandya to destroy the Chola power. But unexpectedly the Pandya returned the conquered territory to the defeated. This was generosity under duress occasioned by the presence of Hoysala power in the neighbourhood. Kulottunga III died in his 40th regnal year, i.e., 1217/18. He is noted for the construction of new religious structures the most important of which was the Kampaharesvara at Tribuvanam.

He also built a separate shrine for the Goddess at Chidambaram and renovated many Siva temples. The peace and prosperity of the Chola period ending with Rajaraja II slowly yielded place to political chaos and economic ruin. There was widespread famine; private charity tried to mitigate it and there was no organised state famine relief.

The severity of the famine was such that people sold themselves as slaves for mere survival. Kulottunga conducted a partial resurvey of land in the Tanjore area in the 38th year of his reign. Apart from these peaceful activities and beyond their range there was every sign of weakening political authority. The entire edifice of Chola empire needed no longer any external force to destroy it. It needed but an incompetent king to finalise the ruin and that was provided by Rajaraja III.