Rajendra Chola (1014 AD – 1044 AD) was king of the Chola kingdom which was a powerful kingdom of Tamil decent in South India. Suryavarman I (1006 AD – 1050 AD), king of the Khmer kingdom had diplomatic relations with the Chola kingdom.
The Khmer kingdom was threatened by the Tambralinga kingdom, an Indianized kingdom of the Malay Peninsula in the south. Conflict erupted between the Khmer and Tambralinga kingdoms. Suryavarman I requested military aid from the Chola kingdom and a large army was sent. The Tambralinga learned of this and requested military aid from the Sri Vijaya kingdom to battle the Khmers and Cholas.
The Khmer and Chola kingdoms were the victors leaving massive loss to both the Tambralinga and Sri Vijaya kingdoms. The alliance between Rajendra Chola and Suryavarman I is a link that identifies a common relation between the Khmers and the Tamil people of India today.
One of the oldest Tamil text from the Tirukkural will be translated to Khmer and will be part of the syllabus in Cambodian schools. Statues of Rajendra Chola and Suryavarman I will be unveiled in 2022 in Cambodia.
![San Pisith - Kro Ob Te Klen (ក្រអូបតែក្លិន ឬ បុប្ផាលាក់ខ្លួន) [Official MV] Produced by Johnny Phay](http://khmerlife.com/cdn/shop/articles/Copy-of-San-PisithJohnny-Phay_b7c6ff3c-be20-454f-9ad6-024ea3ab2eec_{width}x.png?v=1668547366)
