Raja Raja

(r. 985–1014) Monarch under whose rule
(and that of his son Rajendra) the Chola
dynasty reached the apex of its power,
stretching its influence from the Tanjore
district of Tamil Nadu throughout
southern India and into southeast Asia
all the way to Malaysia. Raja Raja directed
the wealth that such power brought
toward the construction of massive
temples. Of these, he is most noted
for the Brhadeshvar temple in the city
of Tanjore, dedicated to the “Great
Lord” Shiva.