Courtesy: https://twitter.com/bharadwajagain/status/1578367065626677248?s=48&t=WsJZo2VB5EujQNnk3LCNRg
Cholas proudly declared they were descendants of Lord Rāma
Many Chola kings ruled according to Manusmriti.
In Chola rule,Cow Killing was capital punishment.
Cholas built 1000s of Hindu temples.
If Cholas are not Hindus,then who are Hindus?Fake Italian Janeudhari Brahmins?
The Chola king Elara Chola was known as “Manu Niti Cholan” because he followed Manumsriti.
He executed his own son who was found guilty of inadvertently killing a cow.
His was very famous for administering justice to everyone. Even the Simhalese Buddhists venerated this king.
When it becomes too hard for them to deny the Hinduness of Cholas , they use the strawman argument of sects.
Kamal Hasan says that the Cholas were “Shaivites” but not Hindus.
Is this true? Is the Chola Shaivism different from Hinduism? Let us see.
Raja Raja Chola built many temples for Ganesha. One such example is the famous Vatapi Ganapati temple of Tiruchenkattankudi.
This temple was rebuilt in stone by Rajaraja Chola according to the inscription in the temple.
Raja Raja Chola also built many temples for Vishnu. Even in the newly conquered regions of Karnataka wrested from Western Gangas, he built Vishnu temples.
The temple of Sri Janardhana at Tadi Malingi was built during his reign.
It was ruined during Tipu’s incursions.
The Aprameya Swamy temple in Karnataka is a Vishnu temple was rebuilt by Rajaraja Chola in 1019 CE.
He granted the temple certain lands for the offerings of the deity.
Rajendra Chola had the title “Pandita Chola”.
Why?
He was a master of Vedas and Shastras. He was well versed in Sanskrit.
He also encouraged scholars throughout his kingdom.
He would have been shocked to know that he would be declared a Non-Hindu in future.
Cholas were great patrons of scholarship.
Rajendra Chola invited 40,000 Vedic Brahmins from North & granted them Agraharas.
In his 8th year alone,he invited 1080 Brahmins &settled them near Kaveri.
Chola inscriptions refer to these Vedic scholars as Bhumidevah(lords of earth).
Cholas built thousands of Hindu temples.
They include temples for Vishnu,Shiva,Skanda,Ganesha,Durga& Surya.
They also built Hindu temples in Srilanka &Sumatra.
How many Buddhist temples have they built? Hardly any is the answer.
If Hinduism did not exist,why this distinction?
The Kuladevi of Cholas the Goddess Nisumbasuthani.
Nisumbasuthani(=Slayer of Nishumbha) was a form of Durga.
Cholas built many temples for this Goddess.
Her main shrine is in Tanjavur.
Cholas were performers of Vedic sacrifices & rituals
Chola inscriptions say that Karikala chola performed Ashvamedha
Sangam literature tells us that ancient Chola king Perunakilli performed Rajasuya sacrifice& got the title Rajasuyam Vetta
Ancient Chola coins depict Ashvamedha
The Manimangalam inscription of Rajadhiraja Chola ( 1046 CE) tells us that he followed Manusmriti and performed Ashvamedha.
According to Chola inscriptions, the biggest sin that could be committed by a human is killing a tawny cow on the banks of Ganga or Kanyakumari.
This expression appears as a standard deprecation in most Chola inscriptions of Middle period.
Unlike today’s Dravidian politics, the Cholas were remarkably free of North-South regionalism.
Rajendra Chola invited several Shiva worshipers from North India to settle down in Kanchi and created a special colony for them.
The Cholas were biggest patrons of Vedic religion and scholarships.
The brahmin scholars well versed in Vedas were the biggest beneficiaries of Brahmadeyas and tax-free land grants.
A reciter of Mahabharata was granted 16 villages as tax free Brahmadeyas.
Many Chola kings also sponsored the propagation of Shri Vaishnavism.
They created of a Bashyavritti at Kanchipuram for the
Ramanuja Bhashya being regularly expounded by a competent person.
