The naval prowess of the Cholas

A millennium ago, the dynasty achieved what INS Vikrant is expected to accomplish — to make India a superior maritime power

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a new insignia for the Indian Navy while marking a major milestone in its history – the commissioning of the country’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.

Roughly a millennium ago, the Chola dynasty achieved what INS Vikrant is expected to accomplish — to make India a superior maritime power. When the new insignia, which drew inspiration from the naval ensign of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji, was unveiled, it triggered a discussion on how apt it would have been for the insignia to have a symbol representing the Cholas, who proved their naval supremacy at least five centuries before the ascent of Shivaji.

The supremacy of Cholas, particularly their navy, attained its zenith during the reign of Rajendra Chola, who ascended the throne in 1012 AD. During his rule, the vast majority of peninsular India was under their control, which provided them with an unfettered access to the seas.

It was during his reign that the entire Sri Lanka (Ceylon) was brought under Chola rule and the Srivijaya kingdom in the Malay archipelago was subjugated.

However, the foundation for the imperial Chola domination was laid by his father Rajaraja, who reigned from 985 AD to 1014 AD. Renowned historian K.A. Nilakanta Sastri in his book, The Colas, says, “[the navy which] Rajendra used so effectively some years later had been organised under his great father who stands in many ways in the same relation to Rajendra as Philip of Macedon to Alexander the Great.”

Three campaigns during Rajaraja’s rule were important in establishing the naval dominance of the Cholas. Two conquests proved the superiority of the Chola navy, while the other ensured the destruction of an opponent’s naval fleet.

One of his first campaigns was against the Pandyas and the Cheras. Historian K.K. Pillai in his Tamil book Cholar Varalaru says the phrase ‘Kandalursalai kalamaruttaruliya’, found in many inscriptions, referred to the destruction of the naval fleet (kalam means ship, while arutta means destroy in this context) of the Cheras in Kandalur in the west coast. “The expedition against Kandalur in the early years of Rajaraja’s rule was primarily intended to sterilise the naval power of the Cheras,” says Sastri in his book.