chola

 

Gangai Konda Choleeswara Temple in Ariyalur, marking his triumph over the Pala dynasty;

                                            ruins

The city was founded by Rajendra I to commemorate his victory over the Pala Dynasty. It is now a small village, its past eminence only remembered by the existence of the Mahashiva Temple. The Chola Empire included the whole of southern India to the river Tungabhadra in the north. For administrative and strategic purposes, they built a new capital and named it Gangaikonda Cholapuram.

The surviving temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram was completed in 1035 CE.^[6] Rajendra emulated the temple built by his father after his victory in a campaign across India that Chola era texts state covered Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Bengal. After his victory, he demanded that the defeated kingdoms send pots of Ganges River water and pour it into the well of this temple.^[3]

Rajendra I, according to Tamil tradition, thereafter assumed the name of Gangaikonda Cholan,

                                                                Ardhanarishvara

 the Kadaram Konda Choleeswara Temple in Vellore, dedicated to his victory over Kadaram; and the

 Vijayam Konda Ch...cuddalore