Parantaka I
Parantaka Chola I was the Chola emperor from 907 until his death in 955. During his 48-year long reign, he annexed the Pandyas by defeating Rajasimhan II, and in the Deccan won the Battle of Vallala against Rashtrakutas in 911.
Invasion of the Pandya kingdom
Parantaka I continued the expansion started by his father, and invaded the Pandya kingdom in 915. He captured the Pandyan capital Madurai and assumed the title Madurain-konda. The Pandyan ruler Maravarman Rajasinha II sought the help of Kassapa V of Anuradhapura, who sent an army to his aid. Parantaka defeated the combined army at the Battle of Vellore, a decisive victory for the Cholas, but this victory was narrow.At the battle of Vellur, during the first attempt, Cholas defeated Pandyan army and slained the Lankan army. According to the Chronicles, Ceylon troops made the second attempt in this most of the Ceylonese troops have caught a plague and caused the death of most of the troops including the commander this causes the remaining Ceylonese troops to be recalled by King Kassapa V. This second attempt was not mentioned in Chola sources. Then Pandya king fled into exile in Sri Lanka and Parantaka I completed his conquest of the entire Pandya country.Parantaka wanted to celebrate his victory by a coronation in Madurai in which he was to invest himself with the insignia of Pandyan monarchy. However he was failed in this attempt by the Pandyan king, who had carried them away and left them in the safe custody of the Lankan king.
Lankan Expedition
Towards the end of his reign, Parantaka tried to capture Pandya regalia back by invading Lanka, although the Colas were victorious in battle and conquered the northern provinces, but failed to take them. Now at that this time the Senapati here was absent in a rebellious border province. The king had him fetched and sent him forth to begin the war. The Senapati set forth, delivered battle and fell in the fight. Thereupon the king took the crown and the rest and betook himself to Rohana. The Chola troops marched but finding no way of entering Rohana, they turned and betook themselves from here to their own country but Chola troops made off with other booties allegedly there was a counter invasion by Ceylon and they were able to recover the loot but this is not mentioned by the Cholas. Mahavamsa also records that the Lankan king Udaya IV took the Pandya crown and the jewels and hid himself in the Rohana hills. After his exploits in the Pandya country and in Lanka, he took the title of Maduraiyum Eelamum Konda Parakesarivarman – Parakesarivarman who conquered Madurai and Sri Lanka.War against the Rashtrakutas
had two sons namely Parantaka I and Kannara Deva. The eldest son was Parantaka, born to a Chera wife; the youngest son was Kannara Devan, born to a Rashtrakuta wife. After the death of Aditya I, Rashtrakuta king Krishna II tried to exert his influence in the Chola country by placing his grandson Kannara Deva on the throne. But in 907 CE, Parantaka became the king. Disappointed by this, Krishna II invaded the Chola country. On Rashtrakuta side, prince Indra III lead the battle, while the Chola side was led by King Parantaka and Prince Rajaditya. In the year 911, in the Battle of Vallala, a large number of Rashtrakuta soldiers died and their army began to weaken. Krishna II withdrew and his forces retreated. The Cholas advanced further and attacked the Rashtrakutas and chased away from their territory. Eventually the Cholas defeated the Rashtrakutas. Parantaka Chola's early series of victories would also includes this Rashtrakuta War.Civic and religious contributions
Although Parantaka I was engaged for the greater part of his long reign in warlike operations, the internal administration of his country was a matter in which he took a keen interest. He laid out the rules for the conduct of the village assemblies in an inscription. The village institutions of South India date from a much earlier period than that of Parantaka I, but he introduced many salutary reforms for the proper administration of local self-government.Image:parantaka territories late.png|thumb|Chola Territories c. 905
The copper-plate inscriptions detail Parantaka I's promotion of agricultural prosperity by the digging of numerous canals all over the country.
He also utilised the spoils of war to donate to numerous temple charities. He is reported to have covered the Chidambaram Siva Temple with a golden roof. He was a devout Saiva.
Personal life
Parantaka had many wives, of whom no fewer than eleven appear in the inscriptions. He was religious but secular and encouraged various faiths. Various members of his family built temples and regularly donated to various shrines across the kingdom. Kotanta Rama, incidental with Rajaditya, was the eldest son of Parantaka I. There is an inscription of him from Tiruvorriyur making a donation for some lamps during the 30th year of his father. Besides Kotanta Rama, Parantaka had several other sons; Arikulakesari, Gandaraditya and Uttamasili.Parankata had the Chera Perumals as his close allies and the relationship was further strengthened by two marriages. The king is assumed to have married two distinct Chera princesses.
A member of the retinue of pillaiyar Rajadittadeva gave a gift to the Vishnu temple at Tirunavalur/Tirumanallur in the 32nd year of Parantaka I. Tirunavalur was also known as "Rajadittapuram" after Rajaditya. It is assumed that a large number of warriors from the aristocratic families of the Chera kingdom were part of the contingent of this Chera-Chola prince. In the 39th year of Parantaka I, his daughter-in-law, Mahadevadigal, a queen of Rajaditya and the daughter of Lataraja donated a lamp to the temple of Rajadityesvara for the merit of her brother. He had at least two daughters: Viramadevi and Anupama. Uttamasili does not appear to have lived long enough to succeed to the Chola throne.
He bore numerous epithets such as Viranarayana, Virakirti, Vira-Chola, Vikrama-Chola, Irumadi-Sola, Devendran, Chakravartin, Panditavatsalan, Kunjaramallan and Surachulamani.
Parantaka I died in 955. His second son Gandaraditya succeeded him.
Inscriptions
The following is an inscription of Parantaka I from Tiruvorriyur. It is important as it shows that his dominions included regions beyond Thondaimandalam:This is of his son Arinjaya making a donation. Once again it is from Tiruvorriyur:
There are also several inscriptions of his son Rajaditya from Tirunavalur. One such inscription is the following from the temple of Rajadityesvara in Tirunavalur. The temple was also called Tiruttondîsvaram: