The Colas c19.24

c19.24

From the manner of his death Rājādhirāja came to be known as 'the king who died on the back of an elephant,' and he is so styled in the inscriptions of his successors.⁸⁶ From the time he was chosen as heir-apparent by his father to the day when he laid down his life on the field of Koppam, Rājādhirāja led the life of a warrior king and led many campaigns in person. His record strikes one as that of a born fighter and his warlike energy found full scope in the task of maintaining intact an overgrown empire that had risen on the ruin of old ruling families which never reconciled themselves to subjection to the Cōḷas. Some of this fighting, like the fatal expedition that led to Koppam, was of his own seeking. Rājādhirāja was first and foremost a soldier, and possibly his great military talent formed the reason for his being preferred for the succession against an elder brother of his. His performance of the *aśvamēdha* apparently in his father's life-time goes a long way to confirm this view.