The Chola Empire was built with the help of a powerful army and navy. The militai policy of the Cholas was to create and maintain a standing army and an operative navy, Rajaraja realised that the destruction of the sources of the military power of the enemi was more important than inflicting defeats on them in battlefield.
Hence one of the first I things he did before attempting to build his empire was to destroy the military school and arsenal at Kandalur called Kandalur Salai in the extreme south.
The navy was used for the conquest of the Maldives, Ceylon and the empire of Sri Vijaya. The land army was efficier but ruthless. If the Mahavamsa and the Chalukyan records are to be believed the Chola army! Indulged in severe destruction of enemy property. The Kalingattupparani itself tells us vividly, what Karunakaran did to Kalinga. In the Imperial Chola period we get some new traditions! of military organization. The army was divided into regiments and each regiment had a name.
They had a corporate personality like the merchant guilds. The generals of these regiments made generous endowments to temples. They became a class of people. The Kaikkolar were armymen. The regiment of bodyguards called the Velaikkarar defended him j to the last. Some regiments bore territorial names like Pandippadai. The army was revenue collecting agency in one sense for the loot and the booty from the battlefield constituted and I considerable part of royal revenue.