Follow this link to see the sorry state of King Raja Raja Chola's grave- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpLsha2naao. The three ruling dynasties of old Tamil Nadu are written and pronounced in Tamil as Cheran, Cholan and Pandian (or Cherar, Cholar and Pandiar) but most English writers write them as Chera, Chola and Pandia.
Rajaraja Chola I (born as Arulmozhi Varman) is one of the greatest emperors of the Tamil Chola Empire and India, who ruled between 985 and 1014 CE. He established the Chola empire by conquering the kingdoms of southern India expanding the Chola Empire as far as Sri Lanka in the south, and Kalinga (Orissa) in the northeast. He fought many battles with the Chalukyas in the north and the Pandyas in the south. By conquering Vengi, Rajaraja laid the foundations for the Later Chola dynasty. He invaded Sri Lanka and started a century-long Chola occupation of the island. Rajaraja Chola I holds the distinction of being one of the six Indian Kings who never lost out on the battlefield to the enemies. His great warrior son Rajendra Chola is also one among that exclusive league. ( Source Wikipedia). Tamil readers who can relate to the great writer Kalki will understand that the novel " Ponniyin Selvan " narrates the story of King Raja Raja Chola.

Raja Raja was a great builder, and the Peruvudaiyar Koyil or the Big Tempie at Thanjavur was his creation. His son Rajendra Chola (1014 - 1044 AD) was a greater conqueror who marched all the way to the banks of the Ganges. This march was commemorated with a new capital Gangaikonda Cholapuram and another 'Periya Koyil'. Gangai Konda Cholapuram was the capital of the Cholas for about two centuries, although it is nothing more than a village now with this rather well maintained magnificient temple.

35 Kilometers from Thanjavur lies Darasuram, once known as Rajarajapuram - a part of the Chola's secondary capital of Pazhaiyarai. Here is the Airavateeswarar Temple built by Raja Raja II (1146 - 1173). It was during the reign of Kulottunga III (1178 - 1218) that the Kambahareswarar temple at Tribhuvanam was built.Rajaraja Chola the Great was the first Chola King to document archives of his rule in the form of written evidence on stone tablets and copper plates. These recorded his achievements, his philanthropy, his judicial decisions, his administration, irrigation and healthcare systems. In the famous inscriptions in the Rajarajeeswaram( Brahadeeswara temple) complex he records not only the donations given by him and his sister and relatives ,the noblemen but also the commoners who donated to the temple. The Udayarkudi inscriptions record the punishment Rajaraja Chola gave to the traitors who killed his brother the crown prince Aditha Karikalan in the second year of his rule. Interestingly Rajaraja Chola let his uncle Uthama Chola for 16 years after the assassination of the crown prince Aditha Karikalan and then ascended the throne. The punishment he gave is again very novel since the miscreants were Brahmins he couldnt sentence them to death instead he confisticated all their power and properties and evicted them with their families from his kingdom.