Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c13.s3.t2.45

v2.c13.s3.t2.45

The Chola kingdom was located on the Coromandel coast of India, between Nellore and Pudukkottai. Its name can be found in Asoka’s inscriptions which mention that it was beyond the jurisdiction of the Maurya dynasty with Buddhism prevalent. In the 2nd century BCE, the king Elara once conquered Simhaladvipa (now Sri Lanka). Around 100 CE, during the reign of the famous King Karikkal, the country was very strong. He defeated two other important kingdoms in southern India, the Pandyan and Cera (Chera) kingdoms and launched an expedition to Simhaladvipa. In the 3rd-4th century, with the rise of the Pallava in the north and invasions by the Pandyan and Cera kingdoms, the Chola went into decline. In the 7th century, they surrendered to the Pallava. In the early 7th century, when the Buddhist monk Xuanzang visited the Chola kingdom, he noted that “Chola’s circumference is 2,000 and 400 or 500 *li*, the capital’s circumference is more than 10 *li*, with spacious land, deserted lakes and ponds, few households, rampant thieves, warm weather and many malefactors. People are more barbarous and follow beliefs other than Buddhism”.