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Early Cholas
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| Interregnum (c. 200 – c. 848 CE) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medieval Cholas
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Later Cholas
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Related dynasties
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| Chola society | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Urayur (Tamil : உறையூர்),located near the city of Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, India, was the capital of the early Cholas from ancient times. Uraiyur is also known as Thirukkozhi / Nikalaapuri / Uranthai/ Kozhiyur. It is mentioned in the inscriptions and rock edicts of Ashoka the Great and the Satavahanas as "the citadel and centre of the Cholas". It has a history dating back to before 2 BCE. There is definite mention of the Cholas and their capital in Asokan inscriptions in Orissa pushing back the antiquity of the Cholas as well as Uraiyur to 272–232 BCE which was the period of Ashoka who was ruler of the Maurya Dynasty of Pataliputra (modern Patna).
Uraiyur is also mentioned as the capital of the ancient great Chola King Karikalan before the first century CE until the dynasty was revived by Vijayalaya Chola c. 850 CE. The Cholas were one of the four great Tamil dynasties; (Pallavas, Cheras and Pandyas are the other three) who ruled over the Tamil country in South India, the Konkan coast, Deccan Plateau and during the peak reached beyond the Narmada up to the Ganga-Damodar delta from early antiquity.
The word Urayur in Tamil literally means "the residence". Urayur was an ancient Chola city with a fortress and city wall on the southern banks of the river Kaveri. The Imperial Cholas of the 9th century CE and later made Tanjavur their capital, and Urayur slowly lost its place in the Chola administration.
It is also known as Kozhiyur after the legend of a cock attacking the elephant of the king. He was taken aback for a moment but then decided to build his empire around that place after he realized the cause for the boldness was the soil.
Several notable temples are situated here:
References
- Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1935). The CōĻas, University of Madras, Madras (Reprinted 1984).