How did the Cholas rise to power ?
- A minor chiefly family known as the Muttaraiyar held power in the Kaveri delta. They were subordinate to the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram. Vijayalaya, who belonged to the ancient chiefly family of the Cholas from Uraiyur, captured the delta and established his supremacy in the middle of the 9th century. He built the town of Thanjavur and a temple for Goddess Nishumbhasudini.
