Why did Rajendra Chola shift the Chola capital to Gangaikondacholapuram?

• “First, Rajendra needed a large tract of land, to station his army of nine lakh men, which was available there.
• Secondly, Thanjavur was surrounded by rivers, and so logistically Gangaikondacholapuram was a better choice.
• Thirdly, recruitment of soldiers was easier.

Facts for Prelims:

• Gangaikondacholapuram was a major commercial centre, many towns nearby became important trade centres
• Powerful merchant guilds, like disai ayirathu ainootruvar, manigramathar, padinen vishayattar, sankarappadiyar and anjuvannathar migrated to these areas.
• A bustling city called Vikramacholapuram (now called Vikramangalam) came up. A highway linking Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram passed through Vikramangalam. Coin moulds found near Vikramangalam indicate the presence of a mint there. Muthuvaancheri was a pearl centre. Terracotta pipes for melting iron found in Alavai show that weapons were made here. “Places named Keezhvannam and Melvannam point to the presence of gold assayers (vannakkan) here.
• Inscriptions say that orders were passed by Chola kings seated on a golden throne under a pearl-studded canopy in the Vikramangalam palace.

Powerful community

• The Nagarathars (merchants), who lived in the huge business city of Madurantakapuram, were very powerful — they had the right to auction temple properties and to grant tax exemptions. Pandya inscriptions (14th century CE) show that these merchants continued to be influential, even after the end of Chola rule in the area.
• In the Sangam age, merchant guilds were called sathu and the head of the guild was called maasaathuvaan. Export was ‘etru sathu’ and import was ‘irakku sathu!’
• “Places where merchants lived often had the prefix ‘satha.’ So businessmen must have lived in places like Sathampadi, in Ariyalur district, during Rajendra’s time. Names of their Gods, also invariably had ‘Satha’ in them. The deity in Peria Thirukkonam Ayyanar temple is called Uthanda Sathanar, and even today it is the family deity of many Vaaniya Chettis,” explains Tyagarajan.
• “We find inscriptions to show that many merchants were Jains or Buddhists. An inscription in Kamarasavalli says that the street where oil merchants lived was called Jina Chintamani theru. In the inscription, the merchants say that Mahabodhi (Buddha) was born in their community. These oil merchants were called Vaaniya Mudalis and Vaaniya Nagarathars. An inscription in Anbil Siva temple talks of a Jain temple in Idaikudi, which is probably the place now known as Kalvikudi. There is no trace of the Jain temple today, but there is a lone Jain icon, which, interestingly, is referred to by the villagers as Chettiar Sami!”

Social changes

• There were social changes too, as a result of Rajendra’s recruitment of Surutimans and Vanniyars into his army. They had originally lived in hilly regions, but later came down to the plains. They began to buy land, and when Chola power began to dim, they were among the most powerful landowning castes.
• Even before Rajendra’s time, Ariyalur had attracted the attention of the Chola kings. Some examples of early Chola art are seen in Kizhaiyur. Gandaraditya established an Agraharam called Gandaraditya Chaturvedi mangalam (now called Gandaraditam).
• A Siva and Vishnu temple built in Uthama Chola’s period can still be seen there, albeit modernised. Sembian Madevi built a lake in Gandaraditam called Sembian Madevi Pereri.

Source:TH