He gained victories in war against the Hoysalas, Pandyas of Madurai, Cheras of Venad, the Sinhalese kings of Polonnaruwa, as well as the Telugu Cholas of Velanadu and Nellore.

He drove out the Hoysalas under Veera Ballala II who had made inroads in the Gangavadi and adjoining areas of Tagadur in Kongu country in an effort expand their territory.

However, during the last two years of his reign, he lost in war to the resurgent Pandyas, heralded a period of steady decline and ultimately, demise of the Cholas by 1280 CE.

The Hoysala king Veera Ballala married a Chola queen called Cholamahadevi and gave his daughter Somaladevi in marriage to Kulottunga III.

[2] The reign of Kulothunga Chola III is a story of the triumph of the personal ability of the monarch against the forces of disruption that were steadily increasing in their number and in the intensity of their action.

The Sambuvaraya, Kadavaraya, Malaiyaman chieftains and the Telugu-Chodas of Nellore were making wars and alliances in the northern half of the Chola kingdom without any reference to the ruling monarch.

From his exile, with the aid of his allies, Vira Pandya made another effort to retrieve his fortune, but the attempt was stopped by Kulothunga Chola III on the battlefield of Nettur.

[5][6] But even after attaining success while vanquishing the combined armies of his enemies, Kulothunga Chola III showed remarkable poise and dexterity in his conduct and treatment of the defeated adversaries.

[2] The act of demolishing the Coronation Hall of a vanquished enemy is interpreted by historians as either being a conduct indicative of the weakness of his own position,[2] or recognition by the Cholas of the steadily increasing power from 1150 CE of the Pandyas, who in any case never reconciled themselves to Chola suzerainty or domination, but were for the most part powerless in changing their subordinate position.

[7] After the second Pandya war, Kulothunga Chola III undertook campaign in Kongu to check the growth of Hoysala power in that quarter.

As a result, by 1186–87, Kulothunga Chola III who wound up his expedition against the Pandyan kingdom, had to deal immediately with the incursion of the Hoysala Veera Ballala II.

He fought successfully against Veera Ballala II in 1187–88, re-established Chola suzerainty over Adigaman chiefs of Tagadur, defeated a Chera ruler in battle and performed a virabhisheka in Karuvur in 1193.

[2] Kulothunga Chola III's successful diplomacy with the Hoysalas would stand him in good stead in periods of difficulty during the last part of his rule, by which time the Pandyan empire grew into the paramount power in both South India and Deccan[9] Following his successful campaigns against Pandyans of Madurai, Eelam or Sri Lanka, Cheras of Karur and the kings of Venad, Kulothunga Chola III proudly proclaimed in his inscriptions as the conqueror of these regions and the 'crowned head of the Pandya'.

[11] This was the time between 1187–88 to 1191–92, when Kulothunga Chola III was waging wars against Hoysala Veera Ballala II in the Kongu and Kannada countries, against the Cheras of Venad, twice against the Pandyas, who were also aided by the king of Eelam or Ceylon.

He also could not turn attention towards the occupation of Kanchipuram by Nallasiddha, the Nellore Choda ruler as 'Kulothunga Chola III first had to wind up his campaigns against the Hoysalas, the two wars against the Pandyas and Cheras of Venad, all of which, owing to his valour, leadership and war skills ended successfully', and hence, could not immediately lead an expedition against the Nellore Choda ruler Nallasiddha.

[11] Apparently, there was peace for nearly ten years from 1196 CE, following the quelling in war by Kulothunga Chola III of his rivals and feudatories like Hoysalas, Pandyas, Cheras of Venad, and finally the Telugu Chodas.

[11] Further, Kulothunga Chola III also claims to have 'entered' Warangal, capital of the Kakatiya kingdom, which 'was ruled at the time by the powerful monarch Ganapati'.

However, as the future events proved, 'the success of Kulothunga Chola III was by no means complete and the seed was thrown for a war of revenge'.

[2] Besides, the other wars waged before and after his Pandya invasions had also drained both the aging Kulothunga Chola III physically, and also his treasury.

There was no rebellion from the Pandyas, intrusions from the Nellore or Velanadu Chodas had stopped and the kingdoms of Eelam(Ceylon) and Chera also had been subdued.

This was also due to the Pandyas also not having a strong leadership who could mobilize his resources and forces so as to carve out a niche or distinct identity as a powerful kingdom in South India.

The aging Kulothunga Chola III did not live long after sustaining defeat against the Pandyas and died in 1218 CE.

Among many well known constructions, He initiated commissioned the Sarabeswara or Kampahareswara temple at Tribhuvanam near Kumbakonam which is considered a great specimen of Dravidian Architecture.

[19] The temple also contains an excellent series of Ramayana reliefs on its walls and was consecrated by Kulothunga Chola III's spiritual guru, Isvarasiva.

He also constructed a large number of public buildings, most of which were religious structures, which are enumerated in his inscriptions found at Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu and in another Sanskrit inscription engraved around the central shrine of Kampahareswara Temple at Tirubhuvanam on the outskirts of Kumbakonam in Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu.

[20] Kulothunga Chola III also erected the mukha-mandapa of Sabhapati, the gopura of Goddess Girindraja (Sivakami) and the verandah around the enclosure (prakara harmya) in the Siva Temple of Chidambaram.

At the Shiva temple at Thiruvarur, Kulothunga Chola III built the sabha mandapam and the big gopura of the shrine of Valmikeswara.

[21][22] "Siddhanta Ratnakara", a theological treatise, was written and composed by Shri Srikantha Sambhu, father of Isvarasiva, the spiritual guide of Kulothunga Chola III during the reign of this monarch.