Chola Dynasty - Chōla

A dynasty in South India. In an inscription by King Ashoka in the 3rd century BC, the Chola dynasty appears alongside the Chera and Pandya dynasties as one of the dynasties in the southern part of the peninsula. The state of affairs in the 1st to 3rd centuries AD can be seen through the classics of Tamil literature known as Shangam literature, and the dynasty flourished with its capital at Uraiyur on the Cauvery River. Trade with the Roman Empire was also active through Cauverypatnam and other seaports. King Karikala of the late 2nd century was famous and has many heroic legends.

The dynasty disappeared after the 4th century, but was revived by Vijayalaya in the mid-9th century, and gradually became powerful with its capital at Thanjavur on the Cauvery River. At the end of the 9th century, the dynasty defeated the Pallava dynasty in the north and acquired its lands, and the golden age came during the reign of Rajaraja I and Rajendra I, father and son, from the end of the 10th century to the first half of the 11th century. That is, Rajaraja not only conquered the land of the Pandya dynasty at the southern tip of the peninsula and Kerala, but also took control of the northern half of Sri Lanka, and Rajendra sent expeditions across the sea to the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. In the north, the Chola army advanced as far as the Ganges River basin, and in the northwest, they captured the capital of the Chalukya dynasty, Kalyani. In 1070, a king from the Eastern Chalukya dynasty ascended to the throne and called himself Kulottunga I, but this was the result of his parents having married several times before that. The king's domestic administration was impressive, but during that period Sri Lanka was lost and the kingdom gradually weakened thereafter, inviting the advance of the Hoysala dynasty in the 13th century, and finally falling into ruin around 1279 after being attacked from both sides by the Kakatiya dynasty to the north and the revived Pandya dynasty to the south.

During the Chola period from the 9th to 13th centuries, many Brahmins were invited from the north, Brahmin villages were established all over Tamil Nadu, and many temples of the gods Shiva and Vishnu were built. This led to the widespread spread of Hinduism and the establishment of the caste system. The Shiva Temple (Brihadishwara Temple) in the capital, Thanjavur, continues to this day as a magnificent example of Chola temple architecture.

[Noboru Karashima]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

南インドの王朝。紀元前3世紀のアショカ王の刻文に半島南部の王朝の一つとしてチェーラ朝、パーンディヤ朝などとともにチョーラ朝の名がみえる。紀元後1～3世紀の状態については、シャンガム文学とよばれるタミル文学の古典を通して知ることができるが、カーベリ河畔のウライユールを都に繁栄した。カーベリパトナムその他の海港を通してローマ帝国との貿易も活発に行われた。2世紀末のカリカーラ王は高名で多くの英雄伝説をもっている。

　王朝は4世紀以降姿を消すが、9世紀中葉ビジャヤーラヤによって復活され、やはりカーベリ河畔のタンジャブールを都としてしだいに強力となった。9世紀末には北方のパッラバ朝を倒してその地を手に入れ、10世紀末から11世紀前半にかけてのラージャラージャ1世、ラージェーンドラ1世父子の時代には黄金時代を迎えた。すなわち、ラージャラージャは、半島南端のパーンディヤ朝の地およびケララを征服したのみならず、スリランカの北半をも手中に収め、ラージェーンドラは、さらに海を越えてマレー半島、スマトラにまで遠征隊を送った。北方ではガンジス川流域までチョーラ軍が攻め上り、北西方ではチャールキヤ朝の都カリヤーニをも落としている。1070年東チャールキヤ朝の王が王位につき、クローットゥンガ1世と称したが、これは両親がそれ以前に婚姻を繰り返した結果である。王の内政にはみるべきものがあったが、その時代にスリランカの地が失われ、以後しだいに衰弱し、13世紀にはホイサラ朝の進出を招き、1279年ごろ、北方のカーカティーヤ朝、南方に再興したパーンディヤ朝の挟撃を受けてついに滅亡した。

　9～13世紀のチョーラ朝期には多くのバラモンたちを北方から招き、タミル・ナド各地にバラモン村落がつくられ、またシバ神、ビシュヌ神の寺院が数多く建立された。それによってヒンドゥー教の信仰が広く行き渡り、カースト制度の確立をもみた。首都タンジャブールにあるシバ大寺（ブリハディシュワラ寺院）はチョーラ朝期寺院建築のみごとさを今日に伝えている。

［辛島　昇］

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