Aditya Karikalan

Aditha Karikalan or Aditya II was a Chola prince who lived in the tenth century in South India.[1] He was born in Tirukoilur and was the eldest son of Sundara Chola. He was the elder brother of Rajaraja Chola I and Kundavai. He had title as Virapandiyan Thalai Konda Koparakesari Varman Karikalan.[2]

Aditya Karikalan
Siblings	Raja Raja Chola I Kundavai
Born	Tirukoilur
Died	969 AD
Father	Sundara Chola
Mother	Uttām Māhadēvī
Religion	Shaivism

He led the Chola expedition against the Pandyas and defeated the Pandya king Veerapandyan at the battle of Chevur. He killed Veerapandyan after chasing him on the banks of Vaigai river. Aditya was made the co-regent and heir apparent to the Chola throne even though Uttama Chola, the son of Gandaraditya Chola, had more right to throne. He was planned and murdered by the associates of Veerapandyan in revenge for the defeat. Aditya was succeeded by Uttama Chola.[3] As per epigraphs, the inquiry into the death was completed in the second year of Rajaraja Chola I's reign and the lands of certain officials were confiscated for their complicity in the murder of "Karikala Chola who took the head of the Pandya".[4][5]

According to archaeologist Kudavayil Balasubramanian, "Dr K T Tirunavukkarasu in his collection of historical essays titled "Arunmozhi Aiyvu Thogudi", comprehensively ruled out Madurantaka Uttama's role in Aditya Karikala's murder. In the said article, basing his view on a number of historical data points, Dr Tirunavukkarasu has gone on to explain that there was a delay in apprehending the perpetrators immediately thereafter and it was only during Raja Raja I's second regnal year that the culprits were brought to book and given that the assassins were Brahmins" .[6] Suspicions were pointed to Uttama Chola but confiscations of land belonging to culprits started before Raja Raja's period suggesting that Uttama Chola did not spare the plotters. Among the punished were Ravidasan, Soman and Parameshwaran who were all government officials and brothers born to a brahmin family.[7][8][9] They avenged for the decapitation of Veerapandyan by Aditha Karikalan. According to Kudavayil Balasubramanian, claims that Raja Raja would have spared the plotters if they were Brahmins sound absurd because Cholas would not show lenience on account of anyone's caste. (https://www.thehindu.com/books/Who-killed-Aditya-Karikalan/article16366706.ece).