Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the Srivijaya kingdom (Sumatra), reinstating trade links that had been interrupted and
sending trade missions as far as China. In addition to both its political and economic su-
periority, the Chola empire produced a brilliant legacy in the arts. Sculpture, most notably
bronze sculpture, reached astonishing new heights of aesthetic and technical refinement.
Music, dance and literature flourished and developed a distinctly Tamil flavour, endur-
ing in South India long after the Cholas had faded from the picture. Trade wasn't the only
thing the Cholas brought to the shores of Southeast Asia; they also introduced their cul-
ture. That legacy lives on in Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Bali (Indonesia) and Cambodia
in dance, religion and mythology.
But the Cholas, eventually weakened by constant campaigning, succumbed to expan-
sionist pressure from the Hoysalas of Halebid and the Pandyas of Madurai, and by the
13th century were finally supplanted by the Pandyas. The Hoysalas were themselves ec-
lipsed by the Vijayanagar empire, which arose in the 14th century. The Pandyas prospered
and their achievements were much admired by Marco Polo when he visited in 1288 and
1293. But their glory was short-lived, as they were unable to fend off the Muslim invasion
from the north.
History and Society in South India
by Noboru Karashima is an academic compilation focusing on the devel-
opment of South Indian society during the Chola dynasty and the rule of the Vijayanagars.
