Writer's Corner: Anirudh Kanisetti's latest sheds light on how Chola empire's women and village assemblies shaped history

Indian Express

28-05-2025

Around the turn of the previous millennium, in the wake of the decline of the Pallavas and the collapse of the Rashtrakutas, a new power had arisen in the lands watered by the Kaveri. The Cholas would go from strength to strength, their influence felt far up the eastern coasts and across the seas in Southeast Asia. As the Cholas declined in their latter days, new social and cultural trends arose amid the political changes. It is this diverse history that historian Anirudh Kanisetti tackles in his latest book, Lords of Earth and Sea: A History of the Chola Empire.
Kanisetti first explored the history of the Cholas as part of his previous work, Lords of the Deccan, before devoting an entire book to the dynasty's history. Speaking to The Indian Express, he said, 'I became aware that my perspective was a very Deccan perspective. That's not all they were… They were an empire of the crossroads. They ruled over a large chunk of the East Coast, were connected to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. They were also well-connected to South Karnataka. I wanted to supplement this with the latest scholarship.'
He added, 'While a lot of actors and politicians have been speaking of the Cholas of late, I wanted to present a history extensively steeped in the primary source. The Cholas were remarkable for their extensive inscriptions on temple walls. Simply absorbing that immense mass of material was quite a challenge. Across medieval Tamil Nadu, for all donors, there was a tendency to make inscriptions when a gift was made. This allows us to read deeply into the social history of this region… How temple donation practices and socioeconomic systems changed over centuries.'
Apart from the help rendered by existing translations of Chola inscriptions and the latest research on them, Kanisetti's fieldwork also involved visiting Chola temple sites in Tamil Nadu and South Karnataka. The border region in South Karnataka, known as Gangavadi, was ruled by the Cholas after being captured by Raja Raja Chola. Recent archaeological discoveries were also of value.
Kanisetti recalled, 'There have been very interesting findings at the Chola Palace in Gangaikonda Cholapuram (the Chola capital built by Emperor Rajendra I) besides the presence in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. To understand the Cholas, you must not look just at literary claims but also the hard evidence. Archaeologists working in Anuradhapura (in Sri Lanka) and Sumatra have really transformed our understanding of how the Chola world operated.
On the Chola footprint in South Karnataka, he noted that it had manifested in multilingualism by way of the presence of the Tamil language, such as in temple inscriptions. Their presence was also felt in architecture, such as at the Kolaramma Temple where Chola officials and rulers had made proclamations. He added that the Begur Temple also had a shivalingam known as the 'Choleswara', possibly after a Chola general.
An interesting topic covered in the book is that of Chola queens such as Sembiyan Mahadevi as well as those women who did not have similar means. Kanisetti said, 'The popular understanding does not do justice. They were primarily seen as pious women. Quite a lot of scholarship and inscriptions shows that these women also had very intelligent political minds and were sophisticated patrons of art and architecture. It was evident while looking at the history of temple bronzes and patronage that, in a lot of ways, women were the pioneers.'
Kanisetti also noted that space in history ought to be given to those women smaller in stature than the queens, such as temple donors and politicians of various social classes, and those who did not leave as deep a mark on the historical record.
He added that it was an eye-opener as to how often people who might be considered less important had influenced Tamil devotional culture. 'Many of the famous gopurams (towers) that you see across temples were actually commissioned as the empire was declining. They were commissioned by generals and aristocrats who were attempting to break away from Chola authority. Their wives and children made gifts to these sites. The way that Tamil temples developed into sprawling compounds was really a development of the late Chola period.'
In his book, Kanisetti also highlights the role that village assemblies played, noting that often even Chola kings and princes took efforts to stay in their good graces. He noted that assemblies of cultivators such as the 'Shining Plough' would often take their own decisions on taxation without consulting royal officers.
He said, 'The voices of the smaller people insisted on being heard and leaving a mark on the historical record… It really opened my eyes to the fact that medieval India was vast and politically diverse. These were intelligent people capable of holding their rulers to account and taking their own decisions. In a way, it makes you appreciate how deep India's democratic roots go.'