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Rajendra Chola
From Thanjavur to the Ganges and across the sea, 1014–1044 CE
The story, place by place
Rajendra Chola
In 1025, a war fleet from south India crossed the Bay of Bengal and captured a king in what is now Malaysia. It was sent by Rajendra Chola.
A new king
Rajendra became king in 1014. His father, Rajaraja, had just finished the great granite temple at Thanjavur, still standing a thousand years later.
Today: The Brihadeeswarar temple, Thanjavur: a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Plan a visit: Thanjavur, India →All of Lanka
In 1017, his army crossed to Sri Lanka and pushed deep into the south. The Sinhala king, Mahinda the Fifth, was captured with his crown and queen, and taken to India.
Today: Ruhuna, the old kingdom of Sri Lanka's deep south, around Tissamaharama
Plan a visit: Galle, Sri Lanka →To the Ganges
Around 1020, his general marched north for more than a thousand miles, through Odisha into Bengal, and defeated Mahipala, the Pala king. Rajendra guarded the road home from the Godavari River.
Today: The Ganges plain of West Bengal, India
Plan a visit: Kolkata, India →He who took the Ganges
The army carried Ganges water home. Rajendra took the title Gangaikonda, he who took the Ganges, built a new capital, and dug a great lake as his pillar of victory made of water.
Today: Its temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the Great Living Chola Temples
Plan a visit: Thanjavur, India →The fleet sails
Nagapattinam was the great Chola port, where a king of Srivijaya had once built a Buddhist monastery. In 1025, a Chola war fleet sailed east from this coast.
Today: Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu: still a port on the Bay of Bengal
Plan a visit: Thanjavur, India →The raid on Kadaram
The ships crossed the Bay of Bengal and stormed Kadaram, in today's Malaysia. The king of Srivijaya was captured, with his elephants, his treasure, and the jewelled gate of his city.
Today: The Bujang Valley, Kedah: an ancient port full of temple ruins
Plan a visit: George Town, Malaysia →Across Southeast Asia
Chola inscriptions list more than a dozen places the fleet took, in today's Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, among them Srivijaya on Sumatra.
Today: Palembang, on Sumatra, where Srivijaya once ruled the sea lanes
Plan a visit: Indonesia →Follow the Chola route
Rajendra died in 1044. From Thanjavur to the Ganges and across the sea, you can follow the Chola route on Next Stop Atlas.