Vijayalaya Cholan (AD 846-871) was the founder of the later Chola dynasty. He
conquered the country from a vassal chief of the pallavas, and established Thanjavur as the capital of the dynasty. His
son and successor Aditya I conquered the pallavas and the Kongu country; and his son
Parantakan I (AD 907-953), under his leadership, the cholas acquired a dominion which
foreshadowed the greater empire Rajarajan and Kulothungan. Parantakan I won victories over
the Banas, the Gangas, the Pandyas and the King of Ceylon. The fact and the extent of his
conquest are known from his inscriptions. Towards the end of his reign, or before his
death , the Rashtrakutas under Krishnaraja III invaded the Tamil Country, killed the Chola
Prince Rajadityan at Takkolam (near Arakonam) in AD 947-948, and seized Tondainadu which
they seemed to have ruled for about a quarter of a century, confining the sway of the
Cholas to their ancestral dominion comprising the Thanjavur and Trichy districts. The names of
the next five kings after Rajaditya are known, but little is on record regarding their
life history. They were Gandaraditya, Arinjaya, Parantakan II, Aditya Karikala or Aditya
II and Madurantaka. Aditya Karikala II appears to have re-conquered Tondainadu a few
years later.On Aditya's death, or on the death of Parantakan II, whichever was the later,
the succession was probably disputed. The subject besought, Arunmolivarman (Rajarajan) to
become the King, but he did not want the throne as long as his paternal uncle Madurantak
Uttama Cholan was fond of the crown. Eventually, Arunmolivarman was appointed
heir-apparent. Rajarajan became the king in 985 AD. His reign was the starting point of a
period of unexampled prosperity.
