Rajadiraja Chola II

Rajadhiraja Chola II (1163 – 1063 C.E.) reigned as the Chola king succeeding Rajaraja Chola II. He was not the direct descendant of Rajaraja Chola II, but a grandson of Vikrama Chola by his daughter. Rajaraja Chola II chose Rajadhiraja as his heir as he did not have any sons of his own. Soon after the installation of Rajadhiraja II, a fierce succession dispute in the Pandya country led to the intervention of the Chola and the Sinhalese rulers on opposite sides which brought misery to both. Out of the ashes of this civil war arose the Pandya power which in its renewed strength soon swallowed both the Chola and Sinhalese kingdoms. Pandya Civil War After the conquest of the Pandya country by Kulothunga Chola I, the local Pandya princes were allowed to rule as they liked, subject to a vague suzerainty of the Cholas. Some Of the Pandyas were loyal to the Cholas as can be seen by one Parantaka Pandya took part in Kulothunga I's Kalinga campaigns. But after Kulothunga I, the cholas lost any little control they had over the Pandyas. There are hardly any inscriptions to be found in the Pandya country after the reign of Kulothunga Chola I.