Stalin announces restoration of grand lake constructed by Rajendra Chola

A liquid pillar of victory erected by the great emperor Rajendra Chola to commemorate his successful military expedition of the Gangetic plains, lying in ruins in Ariyalur district, will be restored to its pristine glory and enhance irrigation, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin announced on Wednesday.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to participate in the 1,000th birth anniversary of the monarch, whose rule extended up to the Gangetic plains in the north to present-day Indonesia in the far east, at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, lying 250 km south of Chennai, and release a commemorative coin on July 27, the ruling DMK can’t allow saffron appropriation of the valiant Tamil king.

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The birth anniversary of Rajendra I, son of emperor Raja Raja Chola, falls on the star Thiruvaathirai in the Tamil month of Aadi and it is celebrated at the Brihadeeswara temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram, a replica of the Thanjavur Big temple, a marvel in granite. The nondescript town, close to Neyveli town, was once a bustling capital of the Chola dynasty for over 250 years. Besides erecting the temple, which stands majestic even today, Rajendra constructed the lake, christening it ‘Chola Gangam’ (Ganges of the Cholas).

Restoration of the lake, which originally stretched to 17 miles, has now shrunk to 17 km and remains dry for most parts of the year since the channels bringing water from river Kollidam, which branches off from Cauvery, now possess only traces of them. South Indian historian KA Nilakanta Sastri, citing the Tiruvalangadu copper plates and other inscriptions, says that emperor Rajendra erected the massive tank, as a ‘liquid pillar of victory’ in his capital with water from the Ganges.

During his reign (1012-1044), he possessed a formidable navy and the Bay of Bengal remained Chola’s captive zone.

In a post on ‘X’, Stalin extolling the greatness of emperor Rajendra, who has the honorifics ‘Gangai Kondan’ (who won the Gangetic plains) and ‘Kadaram Kondan’ (annexing Indonesia), wrote “I am very happy to announce the restoration of Chola Gangam and its water resource development along with developing the place as a tourist attraction.

“It was the DMK government which declared Aadi Thiruvathirai, the birth anniversary of Rajendra, as a Government function in 2021. Further, I had laid the foundation stone for a museum to display the pre-eminence of the Chola history and their expansive maritime trade. It is coming up exquisitely.”