Rajaraja Chola I

Rajaraja Chola loved his Tamil homeland and dreamed of making it strong and beautiful. He built a huge temple in Thanjavur made completely of granite stones, called Brihadeeswarar.

It is so tall that people say its shadow never falls on the ground at midday. He also built a strong navy of tall wooden ships.

His sailors crossed the ocean to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, carrying spices, silk and stories. Under him, the Chola kingdom became one of the wealthiest and cleverest in the world.

Rajaraja Chola I ruled Tamil Nadu from 985 to 1014 CE. He turned a smaller kingdom into an empire by defeating the Cheras and Pandyas in the south, and taking the northern part of Sri Lanka.

He also reorganised the government from the ground up, making careful surveys of every village so that taxes were fair.

His greatest gift to the world is the Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur, finished in 1010 CE. Its main tower is one of the tallest built in ancient India, and every stone was cut and lifted by hand.

Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Rajaraja also built up a strong navy that his son Rajendra later used to sail as far as Southeast Asia, spreading Tamil trade, poetry and temple styles across the seas.