War in Ancient India c10.109

c10.109

During the reigns of the successors of Rājendra there were frequent wars between the Choḷas and the Ceylonese with whom the Pāṇḍyas were often in league. In 1077 Kulottunga I sent an embassy to the Chinese court for trade purposes. The men who visited the court were given 81,800 strings of copper cash, i.e., about as many dollars in return for the articles of tribute comprising glassware, camphor, brocades (called Kimhwa in the Chinese text), rhinoceros horns, ivory, incense, rose water, putchu asafoetida, borax, cloves, etc.⁷⁰ About 1090, the king of Śrī Vijaya sent an embassy to the court of Kulottunga I after having built a vihāra at Śolakulavalli Paṭṭinam, probably the modern Negapatam. The facts clearly show that the Choḷas maintained supremacy over the sea and kept a strong and powerful navy which was useful not only for carrying on extensive commerce with foreign countries but also for conducting military expeditions.