UPSC Prelims 2025 Q16: Srivijaya and the Chola Navy — Explained
Who among the following led a successful military campaign against the kingdom of Srivijaya, the powerful maritime State, which ruled the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java and the neighbouring islands?
- Amoghavarsha (Rashtrakuta)
- Prataparudra (Kakatiya)
- Rajendra I (Chola)
- Vishnuvardhana (Hoysala)
Answer: (c) Rajendra I (Chola)
Statement-wise explanation
- a: incorrect — Amoghavarsha I was a Rashtrakuta emperor of the Deccan who ruled from about 814 to 878 CE. He founded Manyakheta as the Rashtrakuta capital and is credited with part of the Kavirajamarga, the earliest known Kannada work on poetics. He is remembered for literature and patronage of Jainism. He led no overseas naval campaign. He also lived about two centuries before the attack on Srivijaya.
- b: incorrect — Prataparudra was the last major ruler of the Kakatiya dynasty of Warangal in Telangana. His reign was taken up by invasions from the Delhi Sultanate, and Warangal fell in 1323. The Kakatiyas were a land power on the Deccan plateau and never sent a fleet to Southeast Asia.
- c: correct — Rajendra I ruled the Chola empire from 1014 to 1044 CE. In about 1025 CE he sent a naval expedition against Srivijaya. It sacked Palembang and Kadaram (Kedah) and captured the Srivijaya king, Sangrama Vijayottungavarman. The Chola aim was to protect Indian shipping and trade on the route through the Strait of Malacca to China.
- d: incorrect — Vishnuvardhana was a Hoysala ruler of Karnataka who reigned from about 1110 to 1141 CE. He is known for consolidating the Hoysala kingdom and for the Chennakeshava temple at Belur, where worship began in 1117 CE. The Hoysalas were an inland power and launched no maritime campaigns.
How to eliminate
This question mostly tests whether you know the fact. Remember one link: Rajendra I (Chola) attacked Srivijaya in about 1025 CE. Basic knowledge still narrows the options. The question describes a naval campaign across the Bay of Bengal. Of the four dynasties, only the Cholas held the Coromandel coast and kept a navy. The Rashtrakutas, Kakatiyas and Hoysalas were all Deccan plateau powers based inland. Rajendra's titles also help: 'Gangaikonda' (conqueror of the Ganga) and 'Kadaram Kondan' (conqueror of Kadaram, or Kedah, a Srivijaya port).
Know more
The imperial Cholas and the sea
Rajaraja I (985–1014 CE) built the Chola navy. He took the Maldives and northern Sri Lanka. His son Rajendra I (1014–1044 CE) used that navy to reach much farther:
- Sri Lanka: completed its conquest.
- Ganga campaign (c. 1023): an army went north to the Ganga. Rajendra brought its water to his new capital, Gangaikondacholapuram ("city of the conqueror of the Ganga"), and built the Brihadisvara temple there. The temple is part of the UNESCO site Great Living Chola Temples.
- Srivijaya (c. 1025): a fleet struck Palembang, Kadaram (Kedah) and other ports, and captured King Sangrama Vijayottungavarman.
Why Srivijaya? Srivijaya was a Buddhist maritime state based at Palembang in Sumatra. It controlled the Straits of Malacca and Sunda, the chokepoints on the sea route between India and Song China. Historians think the Cholas attacked because Srivijaya was getting in the way of Tamil merchants. Relations were not always hostile. The Larger Leiden copper plates record that a Srivijaya king paid for the Chudamani Vihara, a Buddhist monastery at Nagapattinam, under Rajaraja I.
| Ruler | Dynasty | Period | Remembered for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amoghavarsha I | Rashtrakuta | c. 814–878 | Manyakheta capital; Kavirajamarga |
| Rajendra I | Chola | 1014–1044 | Ganga campaign; Srivijaya expedition |
| Vishnuvardhana | Hoysala | c. 1110–1141 | Belur Chennakeshava temple (1117) |
| Prataparudra | Kakatiya | early 14th c. | Fall of Warangal to Delhi Sultanate (1323) |
The first three rulers are in date order. Prataparudra is placed last because the Kakatiyas fell latest.
In the news
The question was most likely set because 2025 marked the 1,000th anniversary of Rajendra I's Southeast Asian expedition (c. 1025 CE). The Ministry of Culture celebrated that anniversary at the Aadi Thiruvathirai festival in Gangaikonda Cholapuram in July 2025, after the exam.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Chola naval expedition to Shrivijaya: The question describes this exact campaign; know when it happened and which ruler sent it.
- Shrivijaya: Shows what kind of state Srivijaya was and why its control of the Malacca sea lanes drew an Indian attack.
- Rajendra Chola I: His reign dates tell you whether a ruler could have led an 11th-century overseas campaign.
- Gangaikondacholapuram: The capital's name records a Chola northern conquest, a common clue for telling Chola rulers apart.
- Amoghavarsha I: Helps you place this Rashtrakuta emperor's century and achievements when checking him as an option.