Aniruddha Brahmarayar was a leading minister in the court of the Chola emperor Parantaka II. The "Anbil plates" of Parantaka II are the primary source of information about him
Aniruddha was born in a Vaishnava Brahmin family of the village of Anbil. He belonged to Harita gotra. Aniruddha's father was a teacher of the Vedas.[ citation needed ]}
It is believed that many of the descendants of the Rayar dynasty moved to a small town Swamimalai situated in the present day Thanjavur district. The wards of Rayar blended with the local community to avoid persecution by the Mughals and later by the British Empire.
In the Anbil plates of Parantaka II, Aniruddha is mentioned as manya sachiva. He was given the title Brahmarayar or Brahmadhiraja meaning "Brahmin king", usually reserved for high-ranking Brahmin bureaucrats in the Chola Empire. Aniruddha's family was also given a generous grant of several velis by the monarch. [1]
Aniruddha Brahmarayar is one of the central characters in Kalki Krishnamurthy's semi-historical novel Ponniyin Selvan .
Aditya Chola I, the son of Vijayalaya Chola, was the Chola king who laid the foundation of the Imperial Chola Empire by the conquest of the Pallavas and occupied the Western Ganga Kingdom. Aditya Chola I was succeeded by his eldest son Parantaka Chola I.
Aditha Karikalan, also known as Aditha II or Adithya Karikalan, was a Chola prince who lived in the 10th century in India. He was born in Tirukoilur and was the eldest son of Parantaka Chola II. He was the elder brother of Rajaraja Chola I and Kundavai. He was called as Virapandiyan Thalai Konda Koparakesari Varman Karikalan.
Vijayalaya Chola was a descendant of the Early Cholas who founded the imperial Chola Empire. He ruled over the region to the north of the river Kaveri. Vijayalaya Chola is one of the descendants of famous Sangam age Chola king Karikala Chola. He was succeeded by his son Aditya Chola I, who laid the foundation of Imperial Chola Empire.
Parantaka Chola I was a Chola emperor who ruled for forty-eight years, annexing Pandya by defeating Rajasimhan II and in the Deccan won the Battle of Vallala against Rashtrakutas which happened before 916 CE. The best part of his reign was marked by increasing success and prosperity.
Gandaraditha Chola succeeded his father Parantaka I and became the Chola king about 955 CE. He was also a Tamil literary poet in the Thiruvisaippa Palandu. He had a son named Madurantaka Chola also known as Uttama Chola, who became Chola emperor after his cousin Sundara Chola.
Arinjaya Chola was a ruler of the Chola kingdom. He was the third son of Parantaka I and the younger brother of Gandaraditya Chola, whom he is thought to have succeeded in about 956. Arinjaya Chola was succeeded by his son Sundara Chola as Madurantaka Uttama Chola was not old enough to ascend the throne. Arinjaya seems to have ruled for a very short time.
Parantaka Chola II was a Chola emperor. He is also known as Sundara Chola as he was considered an epitome of male beauty. He was the son of Arinjaya Chola and queen Kalyani, a princess of Vaidumba family. Parantaka II ascended the Chola throne despite the fact that his cousin Madurantaka Uttama Chola, the son of Gandaraditya Chola(the elder brother of Arinjaya Chola) was alive and he had equal if not more claim to the Chola throne. During his reign, Parantaka Sundara Chola defeated the Pandyas and then recaptured the Tondaimandalam from Rashtrakutas.
Ilamchetchenni was an early Tamil king of the Chola dynasty during the Sangam period. He was a great warrior and ruled the Chola kingdom with Uraiyur as the capital. He married a Velir princess from Alundur and their child was Karikala Chola. Ilamchetchenni Chola was succeeded by his son, Karikala Chola, who is considered one of the greatest among the Early Cholas.
Medieval Cholas or Imperial Cholas are part of Chola dynasty that rose to prominence during the middle of the 9th century CE in Southern India and established one of the greatest maritime empires of the world. They successfully united South India under their rule and through their naval strength extended their influence in Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and Maldives. They had trade contacts with the Arabs in the west and with the Chinese in the east.
Vikrama Chola, known as Kō Parakēsari Varman, was a 12th-century ruler of the Chola Empire in southern India. He succeeded his father Kulothunga I to the throne. Vikrama Chola was crowned as the heir-apparent by his father early in his life. He was appointed as viceroy of the Vengi province in 1089 C.E., succeeding his brother Rajaraja Chodaganga. Vikrama during his tenure successfully managed to check the ambitions of the Western Chalukya Vikramaditya VI on the Vengi kingdom.Vikrama Chola inherited the territories which included Tamil Nadu and some parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Kulothunga II was a Chola Emperor from 1133 CE to 1150 CE. He succeeded Vikrama Chola to the throne in 1135 CE. Vikrama Chola made Kulothunga his heir apparent and coregent in 1133 CE, so the inscriptions of Kulothunga II count his reign from 1133 CE. According to historians Nilakanta Sastri and T.N Subramanian, Kulottunga Chola II was not the son of Vikrama Chola and they have suggested that there was a break in the line of succession.
Vinayaditya ruled the Chalukya kingdom from 681 to 696 AD. He was the son of Vikramaditya I and the successor of the chalukya kingdom. Similar to his forefathers, he took up titles such as "Shri-Prithivi-Vallabha", "Satyasraya", "Yuddhamalla" and "Rajasraya". He carried campaigns against the Pallavas, Kalabhras, Haihayas, Vilas, Cholas, Pandyas, Gangas and many more. He levied tribute from the kings of Kavera, Parasika (Iran), Sinhala (Ceylon). He acquired the banner called Palidhvaja by defeating the Lord of the entire Uttarapatha.
Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan was a commander of the Chola Army. He was one among the famous chieftains of the Chola emperors Rajaraja I and Rajendra I and chief of the Samanthas of Chittoor and also the husband of Rajaraja's elder sister Kunthavai Pirattiyar. He was also the chieftain of the Sri Lanka Front Army of Rajaraja l and Rajendra I. Territory under his authority was known as Vallavaraiyanadu. He ruled Brahmadesam. Vandiyathevan is idealized in Kalki Krishnamurthy's (Kalki) famous novel Ponniyin Selvan and also in many other novels like Vandiyadevan Vaal, Vandiyadevan Senai Thalaivan.
Brahacharanam is a sub-sect of the Iyer community of Tamil Brahmins. The word "Brahacharanam" is a corruption of the Sanskrit word Brhatcharanam. Many Brahacharanam follow the Advaita Vedanta philosophy propounded by Adi Sankaracharya. However, some Brahacharanam are staunchly Saivite unlike followers of Adi Sankaracharya, or else adhere to "Sivadvaita" so to speak. The Brahacharanams, along with the Vadamas, form the major portion of the Kerala Iyer community.
Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri was an Indian historian who wrote on South Indian history. Many of his books form the standard reference works on the subject. Sastri was acclaimed for his scholarship and mastery of sources and was a recipient of the third highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Bhushan.
Maravarman Rajasimha II was the last major king of the early medieval Pandya kingdom of south India. He was the son and successor of Parantaka Viranarayana. He is the donor of the Larger Sinnamanur Plates.
Krishnan Raman was an officer in the Chola army who served as the Commander-in-chief of the Chola forces under Rajaraja Chola I. He held the title Mummadi Brahmarayar Niyomanam.
The Medieval Chola emperor Rajendra Chola I led an Chola Expedition of the Ganges between 1019 and 1021. The expedition traversed the states of Vengi, Kalinga, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odda, Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh culminating with their arrival at the Ganges river. The Chola victory over the Pala king Mahipala I is considered to be the climax of the expedition. In 1019 CE, Rajendra's forces marched through Kalinga towards the river Ganga. In Kalinga the Chola forces defeated Indraratha the ruler of the Somavamsi dynasty. The Chola army eventually reached the Pala kingdom of Bengal where they defeated Mahipala. The Chola army also defeated the last ruler of the Kamboja Pala dynasty Dharmapala of Dandabhukti. The Chola army went on to raid East Bengal and defeated Govindachandra of the Chandra dynasty and invaded Bastar region.
The first Chola invasion of Kalinga by Kulothunga Chola I in 1097 was intended to avenge the invasion of Vengi by the forces of Kalinga. The war resulted in the subjugation of Kalinga and its reduction to the position of a tributary state of the Chola Empire.
Srimara Srivallabha was a Pandya king of early medieval south India.