Unleashing its expansionist policies, the Cholas not only raided deep into the north but went as far as Bengal and the river Ganga
In popular culture, the mighty Cholas are often hailed as an epitome of power and righteousness. The “sacred” Chola sceptre, the Sengol, a symbol of justice and fair rule, has even been enshrined in Parliament. Yet, as with any grand narrative, there are always layers beneath the surface.
Author and historian Anirudh Kanisetti’s Lords of Earth and Sea while bringing out the world of the mighty Cholas separates facts from fiction. In this book, the author challenges the romantic portrayals of the Chola dynasty in films like Ponniyin Selvan (2023), Parthiban Kanavu (1960) and Raja Raja Cholan (1973). He disrupts traditional historical accounts, by exposing the brutality of a powerful dynasty. In his Introduction he writes “the way we imagine the Cholas has never been about who they actually were. It’s who we wish they were, what contemporary anxieties we want to soothe”.
At the outset he demolishes the idealised vision of a Chola Navy, which apparently has also been popularised as a video game. “There are no actual Chola-era sources claiming that they had a navy,” Kanisetti claims. The Chola troops crossed the seas with the help of “powerful Tamil merchant corporations”.
Traditional history writing is often boring and dry. Written in captivating style and meticulously researched, Lords of Earth and Sea draws the reader into the events leading to the rise of the Cholas from a small, unknown peasant clan in 850 CE to one of the most powerful and longest-ruling dynasties in world history.
Unleashing its expansionist policies, the Cholas not only raided deep into the north but went as far as Bengal and the river Ganga. The Cholas were one of the first south Indian empires to go global, expanding their influence beyond the present-day India campaigns in Sri Lanka to the shores of Malay peninsula, “an expedition with no precedent in the Indian Ocean”. Rajaraja Chola’s ambassador, “Chola Samudran”, even landed in China.
For Kanisetti, the “actual achievements” of the Cholas have often been ignored “in favour of one or the other feel-good myth”. Beyond the military campaigns, the Chola dynasty, which spanned from 850 to 1279 CE, was also known for its “efficient administration” and pioneering temple politics. Dancing Shiva-Nataraja was in fact “evangelised” by a Chola queen, Sembiyan Mahadevi.
But the Cholas oppressed other religious sects, Buddhists, Jains and Vaishnavites. “One of the Chola kings, Kulottunga II, ordered a Vishnu shrine in the Chidambaram complex removed and had the idol thrown into the ocean...” The Cholas’ way of ruling was closely tied to religious orthodoxy, which also included destruction of Buddhist monasteries and slaughtering of monks.
The book uncovers brutal accounts of the Chola campaigns and the rise of the oligarchy — the “Five Hundred”, a powerful merchant corporation that held sway behind the Chola emperors. Tax evasion by the wealthy ultimately brought about their decline.
Lords of Earth and Sea
By Anirudh Kanisetti
Juggernaut
pp. 376; Rs 555
