Chola grandeur: Medieval marvel unveiled

Anirudh Kanisetti's 'Lords of Earth and Sea' vividly brings to life the Chola dynasty’s brilliance, global influence, and enduring legacy in medieval South India.
The Brihadishvara Temple in Tanjore
The Brihadishvara Temple in TanjorePhoto | wikimedia commons
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At every temple in South India, the aarti for the deity is performed by burning a piece of camphor on a platter. Who knew that this blessed, fragrant tree product found its way to the region via trade routes—exchanged for textiles and goods from Indonesia—through the seafaring merchants of the Chola kingdom in the 11th century?

Or that the psychedelic, painted towers of temple gopurams today—often accused as the garish handiwork of a Dravidian rationalist government—were the original style favoured by the ardent Saivite emperors?

And what of the matter about the cultural superiority of the Delta’s Thanjavur Brahmins—could it be traced back to the generational wealth accumulated during the Chola era?

The brilliant bronze emblem of Nataraja, admired across the world, was a gift from the Chola queen, Sembiyan Mahadevi and the imperial projection of Saivism could have been a precursor to organised Hindu religion in later centuries.

Even the Tamil penchant for deification and hero worship—be it of charismatic political leaders or movie stars—has a striking precedent. One of the medieval world’s most dazzling emperors, hailed as the “King of Kings,” lived life on an equally grand scale.

The Regal Superstars

Anirudh Kanisetti’s Lords of Earth and Sea is not just a historical narrative—it’s a voyage across time, space, and the vast waters of the Indian Ocean, charting the rise of one of India’s most formidable dynasties: the Cholas. With his signature style of rigorous research and accessible storytelling, Kanisetti brings to life a dynasty that shaped not just medieval South India but also the global historical landscape.

The Cholas, as Kanisetti discovered while writing his previous book Lords of the Deccan, were game-changers in the medieval world. Their unprecedented military conquests, temple-building grandeur, and mastery over maritime trade made them a force to reckon with. Their influence extended beyond India, weaving into the commercial and cultural networks of Southeast Asia and even China. Yet, outside Tamil Nadu, their story remains underrepresented in mainstream narratives—a gap that Lords of Earth and Sea seeks to fill.

"Medieval India is often seen as a monolithic entity, but the reality was far more complex. The kingdoms and communities of the time were deeply interconnected through trade, diplomacy, and war. I wanted to show how these interactions shaped not just the political landscape but also the everyday lives of people," he says.

A Unique Perspective

One of the most striking aspects of Kanisetti’s work is his ability to synthesize both Western and Indian scholarly traditions. The result is a balanced perspective—one that combines conceptual rigour with an intimate understanding of local contexts.

As a public historian, Kanisetti also brings an engaging narrative style that avoids being bogged down by academic jargon. His background—transitioning from engineering to policy research to history—gives him a unique ability to distil complex ideas into compelling storytelling. His fieldwork allowed him to visit over 30 temples across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, lending an immersive authenticity to his descriptions.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Lords of Earth and Sea is its focus on the Cholas’ naval dominance and global trade networks. Historically, India’s role in world history has often been sidelined in favour of Eurocentric narratives, but Kanisetti pushes back against this trend. He details how Tamil merchants established far-reaching diasporas, setting up outposts in Sumatra, Java, and even China. These merchants were not just traders but cultural ambassadors, spreading the Tamil language, architecture, and religious practices far beyond the subcontinent.

While Rajaraja Chola’s military expeditions across the Indian Ocean are well known, Kanisetti argues that the economic and cultural impact of Tamil merchant networks was just as significant.

A Monument of Imperial Vision

No discussion of the Cholas is complete without their monumental contributions to architecture, and Rajaraja Chola’s Brihadishvara Temple stands as a towering testament to their grandeur. Kanisetti describes his first visit to the temple with awe, recalling how its sheer scale dwarfed even the magnificent Kailasanatha Temple in Ellora. But beyond its aesthetic and spiritual significance, the temple was also an economic powerhouse. The book that shows how 10th-century temples looked across the world and the Brihadeshvara, about 40 times larger than the rest, was truly a gargantuan achievement. The temple and its staff consisted of astrologers and Brahmin priests and dancers, singers and musicians. “Rajaraja’s idea was to weave them all into one single imperial project,” says Kanisetti.

One of the book’s most exciting features is a visual reconstruction of what the temple might have looked like in its heyday, created in collaboration with illustrator Aurelia Frederick and Kanisetti’s reconstruction brings this lost world back to life.

The Cholas’ world was one of ambition, innovation, and interconnectedness—a world that, as Kanisetti compellingly argues, still echoes in today’s globalized reality. "History is never static—it evolves with the questions we ask of it." And through this work, Kanisetti ensures that we ask the right ones.

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