Part 34 - Rajaraja I (A.D. 1200-1273)

Rajaraja I succeeded his father probably about A.D. 1200. The upper limit of his reign is definite A.D, 1273 when he was succeeded by his son Vijayaditya II. So Rajaraja had a long reign of seventy years. He is said to have been a moon among kings and a Brahma in wisdom. None of his records are available. Rajaraja I had two sons—Vijayaditya II or Vijayarka and Purushottama.

Rajaraja I and the Gangas

The Ganga contemporaries of Rajaraja I were Rajaraja III, the son and successor of Ananga Bhima II, and the ruler from A.D.1198 to 1212, his son Ananga Bhima III (A.D.1211-1238), his son Narasimha I (A.D. 1238-1264) and his son and successor Bhanudeva I (A.D. 1264-1279). Of these Ganga emperors “Narasimha I (was) the second great king of the dynasty, the first being Anantavarman choda Ganga.” The period of the reign of Narasimha I is the most glorious in the annals of the Eastern Ganga dynasty, By taking the offensive.against the Musalmans of Bengal, Narasimha I adopted the only policy that was likely to be successful against the Musalmans of northern India.” As a result of his campaign the Muslim governors of Bengal respected the Hindus of Orrissa, and the southern districts of Western Bengal namely Midnapur, Howrah nnd Hooghly became a part of the kingdom of Orissa.

Vijayadita did not owe allegiance to the Ganga emperors who were not strong in that period. But Rajaraja I was a minister of Viranarasimha I. Probably he participated in the Ganga campaigns against the Muslims of Bengal from A.D. 1243 ownwards. We do not know whether Rajaraja I served Ehanvdeva I.