KINGS. QUEENS, BATTLES, AND LIFE IN TAMIL NADU

Great Emperors:

Mahendra Varman:

Mahendra varman was a great and noble king . He was not only a brave warrior but was also a great painter and musician. He used to disguise himself all the time to mingle with people to find out what their real problems were. For that reason he was known as "Vichitra Chithar".  He initially started building the great temples in Mahabalipuram which were later completed by the other great Pallava kings. Mahendra Varman paid too much attention to arts and music and ignored national security. Pulikesi the king from the neighboring Chalukya kingdom (present day Karnataka) waged several battles against Mahendra Varman and Mahendra Varman was defeated in the decisive battle at Pullalur.

புள்ளலூர் (www.thehindu.com)

Narasimha Varman:

Narasimha Varman was the son of Mahendra Varman and he was also known as "Maa Mallan" (the great wrestler). Narasimha Varman defeated Pulikesi in the "Battle of Vaadapi"  to regain the glory of Pallava kingdom. Narasimha Varman was one of the very few kings who never lost a single battle.








Raja Raja Chozhan:

Raja Raja Chozhan was the first Indian emperors to conquer countries outside India. The countries that he conquered includes Sri Lanka. He built an extensive Navy possibly for the first time in Indian history. He also built the "Periya (big) temple" in Thanjavur considered as one of the greatest architectural wonders of the world.


The Chozha's conquered countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia.  Thus one could say that the Chozha's were the the first emperors in India who conquered countries outside India. The Chozha's were instrumental in spreading Hinduism in other countries mentioned above.

Hindu temple in Cambodia: 

(www.daryush.net)

http://www.divinebrahmanda.com

Nedunchezhian:

Nedunchezhian pandian was a great and noble Pandya king. Once he punished an innocent person (Kovalan) suspecting that he stole the Queen's anklet that had pearls inside. Then Kovalan's wife Kannaki proved to the king that the anklet that Kovalan sold had actually rubies  inside. When the king realized his mistake, he died instantly.


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Kanaikal Irumporai:

Kanaikal Irumporai was a brave warrior with several victories to his credit.  Once he lost to the Choza king Chengannan and was imprisoned. He was felling very thirsty and asked the prison guard to bring him some water. The guard was late in bringing water, and the king took that as an insult and gave up his life.