History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer
Discuss the contribution of Rajaraja I and Rajendra I for the expansion of the Chola empire. Analyse the causes and impact of the naval expeditions of the Cholas.
- UPSC 1993
- Early Medieval India, 750-1200
Between 985 and 1044 CE, Rajaraja I and his son Rajendra I took the Chola kingdom from a strong regional power to the paramount state of the peninsula and, uniquely among contemporary Indian dynasties, into open-water naval warfare against a Southeast Asian empire. Their contribution has two distinct registers — sustained territorial consolidation on land,…
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What the full answer covers
- Rajaraja I: Consolidating the Southern Base and Opening the Seas (985–1014)
- Rajendra I: The Gangetic Campaign and the Push Beyond the Peninsula (1014–1044)
- The Standing Military Apparatus Behind Both Reigns
- Causes of the Chola Naval Expeditions
- Economic Causation
- Diplomatic and Strategic Causation
- …and 2 more sections, with a conclusion
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