Explaining the Kingdoms of Eastern

Java

Dr Uday Dokras

1
 Explaining the Hindu Kingdoms of Eastern Java

Explaining SANJAY- SHAILENDRA-SHRIVIJAI

“…There are things known and things unknown, and in between are the doors…” Jim
Morrison

Sanjaya or Sanjay Srivijaya is a Sanskrit- Sailendra, Syailendra or

(Sanskrit: सञ्जय, वि
derived name: रीविजय रीजयरी
, Selendra) was the name
meaning "victory") or Śrīvijaya. Śrī of a
means "fortunate",
Sanjaya Gavalgana is notable Indianised dynast
"prosperous", or "happy"
an advisor from the and Vijaya means y that emerged in 8th-
ancient Indian Hindu "victorious" or century Java, whose reign
war epic Mahābhārata. "excellence".The Srivijaya signified a cultural
In Mahabharata—An Empire controlled modern- renaissance in the
ancient story of a war day Indonesia and much of regionThe Shailendras
the Malay Archipelago from
between the Pandavas were active promoters
the seventh to twelfth
and the Kauravas—the centuries. The empire traded of Mahayana Buddhism a
blind king extensively with India and nd covered the Kedu
Dhritarashtra is the China, incorporating Plain of Central Java with
father of the principals Buddhist and Chinese Buddhist monuments, one
of the Kaurava side. It political practices into their of which is the
traditions. Srivijaya was
means means colossal stupa of Borobud
also a religious centre in the
“conquering,” region. It adhered ur, now
“triumphant,” or to Mahayana Buddhism and a UNESCO World
“victory.” Sanjay soon became the stopping Heritage Site.
name meaning point for Chinese Buddhist
is Victory; Lord pilgrims on their way to
India. The kings of Srivijaya
Shiva;
even founded monasteries at
Dhritarashtra's Negapattam (now
Charioteer; Nagappattinam) in
Triumphant; Caring. southeastern India.
The dynasty
promoted Hinduism on
the island.

2
 Early History

As early as the 1st century CE Indonesian

vessels made trade voyages as far as Africa. Picture: a ship carved on Borobudur, c. 800 CE.
The history of Indonesia has been shaped by its geographic position, natural resources, a
series of human migrations and contacts, wars and conquests, as well as by trade, economics
and politics. Indonesia is an archipelagic country of 17,000 to 18,000 islands stretching along
the equator in Southeast Asia. The country's strategic sea-lane position fostered inter-island
and international trade; trade has since fundamentally shaped Indonesian history. The area of
Indonesia is populated by peoples of various migrations, creating a diversity
of cultures, ethnicities, and languages.

Example of Rice Terraces in Indonesia//Megalithic statue found in

Tegurwangi, Sumatra, Indonesia, 1500 CE
The Indonesian archipelago was formed during the thaw after the Last Glacial Maximum.
Early humans travelled by sea and spread from mainland Asia eastward to New
Guinea and Australia. Early Indonesians were animists who honoured the spirits of the dead
believing their souls or life force could still help the living. Ideal agricultural conditions, and
the mastering of wet-field rice cultivation as early as the 8th century BCE, allowed villages,
towns, and small kingdoms to flourish by the 1st century CE. These kingdoms (little more
than collections of villages subservient to petty chieftains) evolved with their own ethnic and
tribal religions. Java's hot and even temperature, abundant rain and volcanic soil, was perfect
for wet rice cultivation. Such agriculture required a well-organized society, in contrast to the
society based on dry-field rice, which is a much simpler form of cultivation that does not
require an elaborate social structure to support it.

3
Buni culture clay pottery flourished in coastal northern West Java and Banten around 400
BCE to 100 CE. The Buni culture was probably the predecessor of
the Tarumanagara kingdom, one of the earliest Hindu kingdoms in Indonesia, producing
numerous inscriptions and marking the beginning of the historical period in Java.
Early kingdoms -Hindu Buddhist

8th century Borobudur Buddhist monument, Sailendra dynasty, is the largest Buddhist temple in the world/1600-
year-old stone inscription from the era of Purnawarman, king of Tarumanagara, founded in Tugu sub-district
of Jakarta

Indonesia like much of Southeast Asia was influenced by Indian culture. From the 2nd
century, through the Indian dynasties like the Pallava, Gupta, Pala and Chola in the
succeeding centuries up to the 12th century, Indian culture spread across all of
Southeast Asia.
References to the Dvipantara or Yawadvipa, a Hindu kingdom in Java and Sumatra appear in
Sanskrit writings from 200 BCE. In India's earliest epic, the Ramayana, Sugriva, the chief
of Rama's army dispatched his men to Yawadvipa, the island of Java, in search of Sita.
According to the ancient Tamil text Manimekalai Java had a kingdom with a capital called
Nagapuram. The earliest archaeological relic discovered in Indonesia is from the Ujung
Kulon National Park, West Java, where an early Hindu statue of Ganesha estimated from the
1st century CE was found on the summit of Mount Raksa in Panaitan island. There is also
archaeological evidence of Sunda Kingdom in West Java dating from the 2nd-century,
and Jiwa Temple in Batujaya, Karawang, West Java was probably built around this time.
South Indian culture was spread to Southeast Asia by the south Indian Pallava dynasty in the
4th and 5th centuries and by the 5th century, stone inscriptions written in Pallava scripts were
found in Java and Borneo.
A number of Hindu and Buddhist states flourished and then declined across Indonesia. Seven
rough plinths dating from the beginning of the 4th century CE were found in Kutai, East
Kalimantan, near the Mahakam River known as the Yupa inscription or "Mulavarman
Inscription" believed to be one of the earliest Sanskrit inscriptions of Indonesia, the plinths
were written by Brahmins in the Sanskrit language using the Pallava script of India recalling
of a generous king by the name of Mulavarman who donated a huge amount of alms to
Brahmin priests in his kingdom, the kingdom was known as the Kutai Martadipura
Kingdom located in present East Kalimantan Province, believed to be the oldest and first
Hindu kingdom of Indonesia.

Tarumanagara and Sunda

4
One such early kingdom was Tarumanagara, which flourished between 358 and 669 CE.
Located in West Java close to modern-day Jakarta, its 5th-century king, Purnawarman,
established the earliest known inscriptions in Java, the Ciaruteun inscription located
near Bogor. And other inscriptions called the Pasir Awi inscription and the Muncul
inscription. On this monument, King Purnawarman inscribed his name and made an imprint
of his footprints, as well as his elephant's footprints. The accompanying inscription reads,
"Here are the footprints of King Purnavarman, the heroic conqueror of the world". This
inscription is written in Pallava script and in Sanskrit and is still clear after 1500 years.
Purnawarman apparently built a canal that changed the course of the Cakung River, and
drained a coastal area for agriculture and settlement purpose. In his stone inscriptions,
Purnawarman associated himself with Vishnu, and Brahmins ritually secured the hydraulic
project.
India (Bharat) Connect
There were several trade routes between India and the Far East. One route started from
Bharukaccha to the coast of Suvarnabhumi and Yavadvipa- a term for modern Jāvā island-
Derivable forms: yavadvīpaḥ (यवद्वीपः).Yavadvīpa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the
terms yava and dvīpa (द्वीप). The next route started from Masulipatam and went across Bay
of Bengal to the Eastern Peninsula.

Indian Boat, From Rajrajeswar Temple, Kototlpur, Hooghly, West Bengal, 1694 CE. Photo by Partha
Sanyal. Second map is from the paper “Austronesian Shipping in the Indian Ocean: From Outrigger Boats
to Trading Ships” (2016).

5
This was the most direct route for Yavadvipa (Java), Suvarṇadvipa (Sumatra ), Champā
(Annam) and Kamboja (Cambodia). As this route was through the high seas, a special type of
ship known as colandia was required.
Ptolemy informs us about another route, which was generally adopted by the traders of
Kalinga. The ships starting from Polura (modern Gopalpur), near the mouth of the Ganjam,
crossed the Bay of Bengal for the Eastern Peninsula in the Far East.
For the traders of Mathura, Kausambi, Vārāṇasi and Campa the most convenient port was
Tamralipti. From Tamralipti the ships sailed on the open sea for Suvarnabhumi and other
countries like Yavadvipa, Campā and Kamboja.
When a regular sea-route between India and China became popular, the port of Tamralipti
(Tamluk in West Bengal) became the most suitable port for a trader from China trading with
North India. A trade mission from Funan, for India, in the 1st c. CE, actually landed on the
port of Tamralipti.
Around the same period, in the 6th to 7th centuries (501–700 CE), the Kalingga
Kingdom was established in Central Java northern coast, mentioned in Chinese account. The
name of this kingdom was derived from ancient Indian kingdom of Kalinga, which suggest
the ancient link between India and Indonesia. Sadhabas (or Sadhavas) were
ancient mariners from the Kalinga region, which roughly corresponds to modern Odisha,
India. They used ships called Boitas to travel to distant lands such as South-East Asia to carry
out trade.The early hours of Kartik Purnima (the full moon day in October and November)
was considered an auspicious occasion by the Sadhabas to begin their long
voyages. Coconuts, earthenware, sandalwood, cloth, lime, rice, spices, salt, cloves, pumpkins,

6
silk sarees, betel leaves, betel nuts, elephants, precious and semi-precious stones were the
main items of trade. Even women went on voyages as well and were known as Sadhabanis -
Odia navigators were instrumental in
spreading Buddhism and Hinduism in East and Southeast Asia. In addition, they
disseminated knowledge of Indian architecture, epics such as the Ramayana and
the Mahabharata, Brahmic scripts writing system and Sanskrit loan words which are present
in many Southeast Asian languages from different language families such
as Khmer, Thai, Cham, Balinese etc.Maritime trade declined only in the 16th century, with
the decline of the Gajapati Empire.

The political history of Indonesian archipelago during the 7th to 11th (601–1100 CE) around
centuries was dominated by Srivijaya based in Sumatra and Sailendra that dominated
southeast Asia based in Java and constructed Borobudur, the largest Buddhist monument in
the world. The history prior of the 14th and 15th centuries (1301–1500 CE) is not well known
due to the scarcity of evidence. By the 15th century (1401–1500 CE), two major states
dominated this period; Majapahit in East Java, the greatest of the pre-Islamic Indonesian
states, and Malacca on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, arguably one of the greatest of
the Muslim trading empires, this marked the rise of Muslim states in the Indonesian
archipelago.
Mataram

7
Sewu temple in Special Region of Yogyakarta//Prambanan in Java was built during the Sanjaya
dynasty of Mataram Kingdom; it is one of the largest Hindu temple complexes in Southeast Asia.
Mataram Empire
Mataram Empire, sometimes referred to as Mataram Kingdom, was an Indianized
kingdom based in Central Java around modern-day Yogyakarta between the 8th and 10th
centuries. The kingdom was ruled by the Sailendra dynasty, and later by the Sanjaya dynasty.
The centre of the kingdom was moved from central Java to East Java by Mpu Sindok. An
eruption of the volcano Mount Merapi in 929, and political pressure from Sailendrans based
in the Srivijaya Empire may have caused the move. The first king of Mataram, Sri Sanjaya,
left inscriptions in stone. The monumental Hindu temple of Prambanan in the vicinity of
Yogyakarta was built by Pikatan. Dharmawangsa ordered the translation of
the Mahabharata into Old Javanese in 996.
In the period 750 CE – 850 CE, the kingdom saw the blossoming of classical Javanese art and
architecture. A rapid increase in temple construction occurred across the landscape of its
heartland in Mataram (Kedu and Kewu Plain). The most notable temples constructed in
Mataram are Kalasan, Sewu, Borobudur and Prambanan. The Empire had become the
supreme power not only in Java but also over Srivijayan Empire, Bali, southern Thailand,
some Philippine kingdoms, and Khmer in Cambodia.
Later in its history, the dynasty divided into two dynasties based on their own religion,
the Buddhist and Shivaist dynasties. Civil war was unavoidable and the outcome was
Mataram Empire divided into two powerful kingdom based on region and religion.
The Shivaist dynasty of Mataram kingdom in Java led by Rakai Pikatan and the Buddhist
dynasty of Srivijaya kingdom in Sumatra led by Balaputradewa. The hostility between them
didn't end until in 1006 when the Sailendran based in Srivijaya kingdom incited rebellion by
Wurawari, vassal of Mataram kingdom and sacked Shivaist dynasty's capital in Watugaluh,
Java. Srivijaya kingdom rose into undisputed hegemonic Empire in the era as the result. Yet
the Shivaist dynasty survived and successfully reclaimed the east Java in 1019 then
descended to Kahuripan kingdom led by Airlangga son of Udayana of Bali.
The Sanjaya–Shailendra relationship has been uncertain. Poerbatjaraka theorized that there
was no distinct Sanjaya dynasty and one dynasty, Shailendra, ruled central Java. The
kingdom was called Mataram (Javanese: mātaram), with its capital in the Mataram]] area.
Sanjaya and his offspring belonged to the Shailendra family, who were initially Shaivist.
Another theory suggests that the Sanjaya dynasty was forced into northern Java by the
Shailendra dynasty, which emerged around 778. Evidence for this event is based on
the Kalasan inscription. The Sanjaya and Shailendra dynasties co-existed during this period
in central Java, which was characterized by peace and cooperation.
The association of Shailendra with Mahayana Buddhism began after the conversion of Raja
Sankhara (Rakai Panaraban or Panangkaran) to Buddhism. [3] Later Shailendran kings,
successors of Panangkaran, also became followers of Mahayana Buddhism and gave it royal
patronage in Java until the end of Samaratungga's reign. This theory is based on the Raja
Sankhara inscription (now missing), the Sojomerto inscription, and the Carita
Parahyangan manuscript. Shaivism regained royal patronage again from the reign
of Pikatan to the end of the Mataram Kingdom.
The Shailendra family used the Old Malay language in some of their inscriptions, which
suggests the dynasty's origin in Sumatra and their connections with Srivijaya. This theory
posits that the Shailendras, with their strong connections to Srivijaya, gained control of

8
central Java and ruled the rakais (local Javanese lords); this included the Sanjaya,
incorporating the dynasty's kings into their bureaucracy. The dynastic court was apparently in
the southern Kedu Plain, near Magelang (north of Yogyakarta).
The Javanese kingdoms maintained a close relationship with the Champa polities of mainland
Southeast Asia as early as the Sanjaya dynasty. Like the Javanese, the Chams are
an Austronesian people. An example of their relationship can be seen in the architecture of
Cham temples, which share a number of similarities with temples in central Java built during
the Sanjaya dynasty.
Crown prince Rakai Pikatan married Pramodhawardhani (833–856), a daughter of the
Shailendra king Samaratungga. The influence of the Hindu Sanjaya began to replace the
Buddhist Shailendra in Mataram. Rakai Pikatan overthrew King Balaputra, son
of Samaratungga and the brother of Pramodhawardhani. In 850, the Sanjaya dynasty became
the sole ruler in Mataram. This ended the Shailendra presence in central Java and Balaputra
retreated to rule in Srivijaya, Sumatra.
Information about the Sanjaya dynasty is also found in the 907 Balitung inscription; when a
ruler died, he assumed a divine form. From this inscription, scholars estimated the sequence
of the Sanjaya kings:[5]: 88–89, 91, 92, 108, 126–127

 Sanjaya (732–760)
 Panangkaran (760–780)
 Panungalan (780–800)
 Samaragrawira(Rakai Warak) (800–819)
 Rakai Garung (819–838)
 Rakai Pikatan (838–850)
 Rakai Kayuwangi (850–898), also known as Lokapala
 Balitung (898–910)
During the Sanjaya dynasty, classic Javanese literature blossomed. Translations and
adaptations of classic Hindu literature into Old Javanese were produced, such as the Kakawin
Ramayana. Around the 850s, Pikatan began construction of the Prambanan temple in central
Java; it was later completed and expanded by King Balitung. The Prambanan temple complex
is one of the largest Hindu temple complexes in Southeast Asia, rivaling Borobudur (the
world's largest Buddhist temple).
Sanjaya kings after Balitung were:

 Daksa (910–919)
 Tulodong (919–924)
 Wawa (924–929)
 Mpu Sindok (929–947)
In 929, Mpu Sindok moved the Mataram court from central Java to eastern Java for unclear
reasons. Possible causes include an eruption of the Merapi volcano, a power struggle, or
political pressure from the Shailendra dynasty in the Srivijaya Empire. The move to eastern
Java marked the end of the Sanjaya dynasty, and it was followed by the Isyana dynasty.
Srivijaya-Sriwijaya was a kingdom on Sumatra which influenced much of the Maritime
Southeast Asia. From the 7th century, the powerful Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished as a
result of trade and the influences of Hinduism and Buddhism that were imported with
it.Srivijaya was centred in the coastal trading centre of present-day Palembang. Srivijaya was

9
not a "state" in the modern sense with defined boundaries and a centralised government to
which the citizens own allegiance. Rather Srivijaya was a confederacy form of society
centred on a royal heartland. It was a thalassocracy and did not extend its influence far
beyond the coastal areas of the islands of Southeast Asia. Trade was the driving force of
Srivijaya just as it is for most societies throughout history. The Srivijayan navy controlled the
trade that made its way through the Strait of Malacca.

The territory of the Srivijaya empire. Historically, Srivijaya was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia//The

depiction of Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa, the first king of Srivijaya

By the 7th century, the harbours of various vassal states of Srivijaya lined both coasts of the
Straits of Melaka. Around this time, Srivijaya had established suzerainty over large areas of
Sumatra, western Java, and much of the Malay Peninsula. Dominating the Malacca
and Sunda straits, the empire controlled both the Spice Route traffic and local trade. It
remained a formidable sea power until the 13th century. This spread the ethnic Malay culture
throughout Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and western Borneo. A stronghold of Mahayana
Buddhism, Srivijaya attracted pilgrims and scholars from other parts of Asia.
The relation between Srivijaya and the Chola Empire of south India was friendly during the
reign of Raja Raja Chola I but during the reign of Rajendra Chola I the Chola Empire
attacked Srivijaya cities. A series of Chola raids in the 11th century weakened the Srivijayan
hegemony and enabled the formation of regional kingdoms based, like Kediri, on intensive
agriculture rather than coastal and long-distance trade. Srivijayan influence waned by the
11th century. The island was in frequent conflict with the Javanese kingdoms,
first Singhasari and then Majapahit. Islam eventually made its way to the Aceh region of
Sumatra, spreading its influence through contacts with Arabs and Indian traders. By the late
13th century, the kingdom of Pasai in northern Sumatra converted to Islam. The last
inscription dates to 1374, where a crown prince, Ananggavarman, is mentioned. Srivijaya
ceased to exist by 1414, when Parameswara, the kingdom's last prince, fled to Temasik, then
to Malacca. Later his son converted to Islam and founded the Sultanate of Malacca on the
Malay peninsula.
Map of the expansion of the Srivijaya empire, beginning in Palembang in the 7th century,
then extending to most of Sumatra, then expanding to Java, Riau Islands, Bangka
Belitung, Singapore, Malay Peninsula (also known as: Kra Peninsula), Thailand, Cambodia,

10
South Vietnam, Kalimantan, Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah, and ended as the Kingdom
of Dharmasraya in Jambi in the 13th century.
Srivijaya was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-
day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia.[4] Srivijaya was an important
centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th to the 11th century AD. Srivijaya was the
first polity to dominate much of western Maritime Southeast Asia. Due to its location,
Srivijaya developed complex technology utilizing maritime resources. In addition, its
economy became progressively reliant on the booming trade in the region, thus transforming
it into a prestige goods-based economy.
The earliest reference to it dates from the 7th century. A Tang dynasty Chinese monk, Yijing,
wrote that he visited Srivijaya in year 671 for six months.[6][7] The earliest known inscription
in which the name Srivijaya appears also dates from the 7th century in the Kedukan Bukit
inscription found near Palembang, Sumatra, dated 16 June 682.[8] Between the late 7th and
early 11th century, Srivijaya rose to become a hegemon in Southeast Asia. It was involved in
close interactions, often rivalries, with the neighbouring Mataram, Khmer and Champa.
Srivijaya's main foreign interest was nurturing lucrative trade agreements with China which
lasted from the Tang to the Song dynasty. Srivijaya had religious, cultural and trade links
with the Buddhist Pala of Bengal, as well as with the Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East.
Although it was once thought of as a maritime empire, new research on available records
suggests that Srivijaya was primarily a land-based polity rather than a maritime power, fleets
were available but acted as logistical support to facilitate the projection of land power. In
response to the change in the maritime Asian economy, and threatened by the loss of its
dependencies, the kingdoms around the Malacca Straits developed a naval strategy to delay
their decline. The naval strategy of the kingdoms around the Malacca Strait was mainly
punitive; this was done to coerce trading ships to be called to their port. Later, the naval
strategy degenerated to raiding fleet.
The kingdom ceased to exist in the 1025 CE after several raids were launched by Chola
empire upon their ports. After Srivijaya fell, it was largely forgotten. It was not until 1918
that French historian George Cœdès, of l'École française d'Extrême-Orient, formally
postulated its existence.
Srivijaya is a Sanskrit-derived name: श्रीविजय, Śrīvijaya. Śrī[12] means "fortunate",
[
"prosperous", or "happy" and Vijaya means "victorious" or "excellence".Thus, the combined
word Srivijaya means "shining victory", "splendid triumph", "prosperous victor", "radiance of
excellence" or simply "glorious". According to the Kedukan Bukit inscription, dated 605
Saka (683), Srivijaya was first established in the vicinity of today's Palembang, on the banks
of Musi River. It mentions that Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa came from Minanga Tamwan.
The exact location of Minanga Tamwan is still a subject of discussion. The Palembang theory
as the place where Srivijaya was first established was presented by Cœdes and supported by
Pierre-Yves Manguin. Soekmono, on the other hand, argues that Palembang was not the
capital of Srivijaya and suggests that the Kampar River system in Riau where the Muara
Takus temple is located as Minanga Tamwan.
Other than the Kedukan Bukit inscription and other Srivijayan inscriptions, immediately to
the west of modern Palembang city, a quantity of artefacts have been revealed through
archaeological surveys commenced since the 20th century. Artefacts unearthed includes large
amount of Chinese ceramics and Indian rouletted ware remains, also the ruins of stupa at the
foot of Bukit Seguntang. Furthermore, a significant number of Hindu-Buddhist statuary has
been recovered from the Musi River basin. These discoveries reinforce the suggestion that

11
Palembang was the center of Srivijaya. Nevertheless, Palembang left little archaeological
traces of ancient urban settlement. This is probably because of the nature of Palembang
environment — a low-lying plain which frequently flooded by Musi River. Expert suggests
that the ancient Palembang settlement was formed as a collection of floating houses made
from thatched materials, such as wood, bamboo and straw roof. The 13th century Chinese
account confirmed this; in his Zhu Fan Zhi, Zhao Rukuo mentioned, "The residents of Sanfo-
tsi (Srivijaya) live scattered outside the city on the water, within rafts lined with reeds." It
was probably only Kedatuan (king's court) and religious structures were built on land, while
the people live in floating houses along Musi River.

Early 20th-century historians who studied the inscriptions of Sumatra and the neighboring
islands thought that the term "Srivijaya" referred to a king's name. In 1913, H. Kern was the
first epigraphist that identified the name "Srivijaya" written in a 7th-century Kota Kapur
inscription (discovered in 1892). However, at that time he believed that it referred to a king
named "Vijaya", with "Sri" as an honorific title for a king or ruler.[15]
The Sundanese manuscript of Carita Parahyangan, composed around the late 16th century
in West Java, vaguely mentioned about the name "Sang Sri Wijaya". The manuscript
describes princely hero that rose to be a king named Sanjaya that — after he secured his rule
in Java — was involved in battle with the Malayu and Keling against their king Sang Sri
Wijaya.
Subsequently, after studying local stone inscriptions, manuscripts and Chinese historical
accounts, historians concluded that the term "Srivijaya" was actually referred to
a polity or kingdom. The main concern is to define Srivijaya's amorphous statehood as
a thalassocracy, which dominated a confederation of semi autonomous harbour cities in
Maritime Southeast Asia.

Talang Tuwo inscription, discovered in Bukit

Seguntang area, tells the establishment of the sacred Śrīksetra park.
Little physical evidence of Srivijaya remains. There had been no continuous knowledge of
the history of Srivijaya even in Indonesia and Maritime Southeast Asia; its forgotten past has
been resurrected by foreign scholars. Contemporary Indonesians, even those from the area
of Palembang (around where the kingdom was based), had not heard of Srivijaya until the
1920s. The Srivijayan historiography was acquired, composed and established from two
main sources: the Chinese historical accounts and the Southeast Asian stone inscriptions that
have been discovered and deciphered in the region. The Buddhist pilgrim Yijing's account is
especially important in describing Srivijaya, when he visited the kingdom in 671 for six
months. The 7th-century siddhayatra inscriptions discovered in Palembang and Bangka
Island are also vital primary historical sources. Also, regional accounts that some might be
preserved and retold as tales and legends, such as the Legend of the Maharaja of Zabaj and
the Khmer King also provide a glimpse of the kingdom. Some Indian and Arabic accounts

12
also vaguely describe the riches and fabulous fortune of the king of Zabag. It's likely that the
Zabag-Khmer story was based on Javanese overlordship over Cambodia.
Srivijaya, and by extension Sumatra, had been known by different names to different peoples.
The Chinese called it Sanfotsi, Sanfoqi or Che-li-fo-che (Shilifoshi), and there was an even
older kingdom of Kantoli, which could be considered the predecessor of
Srivijaya. The Arabs called it Zabag or Sribuza and the Khmers called it Melayu.[21] While
the Javanese called them Suvarnabhumi, Suvarnadvipa, Melayu, or Malayu. This is another
reason why the discovery of Srivijaya was so difficult. [21] While some of these names are
strongly reminiscent of the name of Java, there is a distinct possibility that they may have
referred to Sumatra instead.
Palembang and its relevance to the early Malay state suffered a great deal of controversy in
terms of its evidence build-up through the archaeological record. Strong historical evidence
found in Chinese sources, speaking of city-like settlements as early as 700 AD, and
later Arab travelers, who visited the region during the 10th and 11th centuries, held written
proof, naming the kingdom of Srivijaya in their context. As far as early state-like polities in
the Malay Archipelago, the geographical location of modern Palembang was a possible
candidate for the 1st-millennium kingdom settlement like Srivijaya as it is the best described
and most secure in historical context, its prestige was apparent in wealth and urban
characteristics, and the most unique, which no other 1st-millennium kingdom held, was its
location in junction to three major rivers, the Musi River, the Komering River, and the Ogan
River. The historical evidence was contrasted in 1975 with publications by Bennet Bronson
and Jan Wisseman. Findings at certain major excavation sites, such as Geding Suro,
Penyaringan Air Bersih, Sarang Wati, and Bukit Seguntang, conducted in the region played
major roles in the negative evidence of the 1st-millennium kingdom in the same region. It
was noted that the region contained no locatable settlements earlier than the middle of the
second millennium.
Lack of evidence of southern settlements in the archaeological record comes from the
disinterest in the archeologist and the unclear physical visibility of the settlement themselves.
Archeology of the 1920s and 1930s focused more on art and epigraphy found in the regions.
Some northern urban settlements were sited due to some overlap in fitting the sinocentric
model of city-state urban centers. An approach to differentiate between urban settlements in
the southern regions from the northern ones of Southeast Asia was initiated by a proposition
for an alternative model. Excavations showed failed signs of a complex urban center under
the lens of a sinocentric model, leading to parameters of a new proposed model. Parameters
for such a model of a city-like settlement included isolation in relevance to its hinterland. No
hinterland creates for low archaeological visibility. The settlement must also have access to
both easy transportation and major interregional trade routes, crucial in a region with few
resources. Access to the former and later played a major role in the creation of an extreme
economic surplus in the absence of an exploited hinterland. The urban center must be able to
organize politically without the need for ceremonial foci such as temples, monuments and
inscriptions. Lastly, habitations must be impermanent, being highly probable in the region
Palembang and of southern Southeast Asia. Such a model was proposed to challenge city
concepts of ancient urban centers in Southeast Asia and basic postulates themselves such as
regions found in the South, like Palembang, based their achievements in correlation with
urbanization.
Due to the contradicting pattern found in southern regions, like Palembang, in 1977 Bennet
Bronson developed a speculative model for a better understanding of coastal-oriented states
in Insular Southeast Asia, such as insular and peninsular Malaysia, the Philippines, and

13
western Indonesia. Its main focus was the relationship of political, economic and
geographical systems. The general political and economic pattern of the region seems
irrelevant to other parts of the world of their time, but in correlation with their maritime trade
network, it produced high levels of socio-economic complexity. He concluded, from his
earlier publications in 1974 that state development in this region developed much differently
than the rest of early Southeast Asia. Bronson's model was based on the dendritic patterns of
a drainage basin where its opening leads out to sea. Being that historical evidence places the
capital in Palembang, and in junction of three rivers, the Musi River, the Komering River,
and the Ogan River, such model can be applied. For the system to function appropriately,
several constraints are required. The inability for terrestrial transportation results in
movements of all goods through water routes, lining up economical patterns with the
dendritic patterns formed by the streams. The second being the overseas center is
economically superior to the ports found at the mouth of the rivers, having a higher
population and a more productive and technologically advanced economy. Lastly, constraints
on the land work against and do not developments of urban settlements.
An aerial photograph taken in 1984 near Palembang (in what is now Srivijaya Archaeological
Park) revealed the remnants of ancient man-made canals, moats, ponds, and artificial islands,
suggesting the location of Srivijaya's urban centre. Several artefacts such as fragments of
inscriptions, Buddhist statues, beads, pottery and Chinese ceramics were found, confirming
that the area had, at one time, dense human habitation.[29] By 1993, Pierre-Yves Manguin had
shown that the centre of Srivijaya was along the Musi River between Bukit Seguntang and
Sabokingking (situated in what is now Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia). Palembang is
called 'Giant Harbour', this is probably a testament of its history as once a great port.
The recent troves discovered from the muddy sediments in the bottom of Musi river seems to
confirms that Palembang was indeed the commercial centre of Srivijaya kingdom. In 2021
numbers of treasures were surfaced from shallows and riverbed by local fishermen that turns
to be treasure divers. The troves includes coins of certain periods, gold jewelries, Buddhist
statues, gems, colourful beads, and Chinese ceramic fragments. However, these troves are
immediately lost for the historical knowledge, since local treasure hunters immediately has
sold them to international antiquities dealers before archaeologists can properly study
them. These discoveries has led to the treasure rush in Musi river in 2021, where locals has
formed groups of treasure divers operating in some parts of Musi river in and around
Palembang.
Jambi

14
 Muaro Jambi Buddhist temple
compound, a possible location of Srivijaya's religious center
Some scholar argues that the centre of Srivijaya was located in Muaro Jambi, and not
Palembang as many previous writers suggested. In 2013, archaeological research led by
the University of Indonesia discovered several religious and habitation sites at the Muaro
Jambi Temple Compounds, suggesting that the initial centre of Srivijaya was located
in Muaro Jambi Regency, Jambi on the Batang Hari River, rather than on the originally-
proposed Musi River. The archaeological site includes eight excavated temple sanctuaries
and covers about 12 square kilometers, and stretches 7.5 kilometers along the Batang Hari
River, while 80 mounds (menapos) of temple ruins, are not yet restored. The Muaro Jambi
archaeological site was Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhist in nature, which suggests that the site
served as a Buddhist learning center, connected to the 10th century famous Buddhist
scholar Suvarṇadvipi Dharmakīrti. Chinese sources also mentioned that Srivijaya hosts
thousands of Buddhist monks.
Compared to Palembang, Muaro Jambi has richer archaeological sites, i.e. multiple red brick
temples and building structures along the Batang Hari river. On the other hand, no
comparable temple or building structure ever discovered in Palembang. The proponent of
Muaro Jambi theory as Srivijaya's capital pointing out that the descriptions written by I-
Tsing and Chau Ju-kua, the description of Srivijaya realms by the Cholas, also the
archaeological findings, suggests that the Srivijaya capital fits Muaro Jambi's environs better
than the marshy Palembang. The study also compares the environs, geographical location,
and the economic wealth of both cities; arguing that Jambi, located on the mouth of Batang
Hari river basin with its connection to Minangkabau hinterland was the centre of gold trade in
the area,that described as the fabulous wealth of Srivijaya.
Central Java
In the second half of the eighth century, the Srivijayan mandala seem to have been ruled by
the Sailendra dynasty of Central Java. Several Arabic sources mentioned that Zabag (the
Javanese Sailendra dynasty) ruled over Sribuza (Srivijaya), Kalah (a place in the Malay
peninsula, probably Kedah), and Ramni (a place in Sumatra, probably Lambri). However, it
was unknown whether Srivijaya's capital has moved to Java or Srivijaya simply became a
subordinate of Java
Other places
Another theory suggests that Dapunta Hyang came from the east coast of the Malay
Peninsula, and that the Chaiya District in Surat Thani Province, Thailand, was the centre of

15
Srivijaya.[39] The Srivijayan Period is referred to as the time when Srivijaya ruled over
present-day southern Thailand. In the region of Chaiya, there is clear evidence of Srivijayan
influence seen in artwork inspired by Mahayana Buddhism. Because of the large amount of
remains, such as the Ligor stele, found in this region, some scholars attempted to prove
Chaiya as the capital rather than Palembang. This period was also a time for art. The
Buddhist art of the Srivijayan Kingdom was believed to have borrowed from Indian styles
like that of the Dvaravati school of art.[41] Some scholars believe that Chaiya probably comes
from Srivijaya. It was a regional capital in the Srivijaya empire. Some Thai historians argue it
was the capital of Srivijaya itself, but this is generally discounted.
Formation and growth
Siddhayatra

The Kedukan Bukit inscription displayed in the National

Museum of Indonesia
Around the year 500, the roots of the Srivijayan empire began to develop around present-
day Palembang, Sumatra. The Kedukan Bukit inscription (683)—considered as the oldest
inscription related to the kingdom of Srivijaya, discovered on the banks of the Tatang River
near the Karanganyar site, states about the "glorious Srivijaya", a kadatuan (kingdom or
polity) which was founded by Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa and his retinue. He had embarked
on a sacred siddhayatra journey and led 20,000 troops and 312 people in boats with 1,312
foot soldiers from Minanga Tamwan to Jambi and Palembang. Many of this armed forces
gathered under the Srivijayan rule would have been the sea people, referred to generally as
the orang laut. In establishing its power, Srivijaya had first to consolidate its position in
Southeast Sumatra, which at that time consists of numbers of quasi-independent polities ruled
by local Datus (chieftain).
From the Old Malay inscriptions, it is notable that Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa launched a
maritime conquest in 684 with 20,000 men in the siddhayatra journey to acquire wealth,
power, and 'magical powers'. Under the leadership of Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa,
the Melayu Kingdom became the first kingdom to be integrated into Srivijaya. This possibly
occurred in the 680s. Melayu, also known as Jambi, was rich in gold and held in high esteem
at the time. Srivijaya recognised that the submission of Melayu would increase its own
prestige.
The empire was organised in three main zones: the estuarine capital region centred
on Palembang, the Musi River basin which served as a hinterland, and competitor estuarine
areas capable of forming competitor power centres. The areas upstream of the Musi
River were rich in various commodities valuable to Chinese traders. The capital was
administered directly by the ruler, while the hinterland remained under local datus or tribal
chiefs, who were organised into a network of alliances with the Srivijaya maharaja or king.
Force was the dominant element in the empire's relations with competitor river systems such
as the Batang Hari River, centred in Jambi.

16
The Telaga Batu inscription, discovered in Sabokingking, eastern Palembang, is also
a siddhayatra inscription, from the 7th century. This inscription was very likely used in a
ceremonial sumpah (allegiance ritual). The top of the stone is adorned with seven nāga heads,
and on the lower portion there is a type of water spout to channel liquid that was likely
poured over the stone during a ritual. The ritual included a curse upon those who commit
treason against Kadatuan Srivijaya.
The Talang Tuwo inscription is also a siddhayatra inscription. Discovered in Seguntang Hill,
western Palembang, this inscription tells about the establishment of the
bountiful Śrīksetra garden endowed by King Jayanasa of Srivijaya for the well-being of all
creatures. It is likely that the Seguntang Hill site was the location of the Śrīksetra garden.

II
The Federation of Srivijaya
Srivijaya8 – 13th century CE-(800 – 1,300 years ago)
Srivijaya was a kingdom that developed into a Federation States, encompassing states on the
archipelagoes of the present-day Indonesia, Such as, Sumatra and Java. It height of power
was between the eighth and thirteenth century CE (800 – 1,300 years ago).
A federated state (also state, province, region, canton, land, governorate, oblast, emirate,
or country) is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation.[1] A
federated state does not have sovereignty since powers are divided between the other
federated states and the federal government. Federated states are different from sovereign
states.
Importantly, federated states do not have standing as entities of international law. Instead, the
federal union as a single entity is the sovereign state for purposes of international law.
[2]
Depending on the constitutional structure of a particular federation, a federated state can
hold various degrees of legislative, judicial, and administrative jurisdiction over a defined
geographic territory and is a form of regional government.
In some cases, a federation is created from the union of political entities that are either
independent or dependent territories of another sovereign entity (most commonly a colonial
power).[A] In other cases, federated states have been created out of the administrative

17
divisions of previously unitary states.[B] Once a federal constitution is formed, the rules
governing the relationship between federal and regional powers become part of the country's
constitutional law and not international law.
In countries with federal constitutions, there is a division of power between the central
government and the component states. These entities – states, provinces, counties, cantons,
Länder, etc. – are partially self-governing and are afforded a degree of constitutionally
guaranteed autonomy that varies substantially from one federation to another. [C] Depending
on the form the decentralization of powers takes, a federated state's legislative powers may or
may not be overruled or vetoed by the federal government. Laws governing the relationship
between federal and regional powers can be amended through the national or federal
constitution, and, if they exist, state constitutions as well.
In terms of internal politics, federated states can have republican or monarchical forms of
government. Those of republican form (federated republics) are usually
called states (like states of the US) or republics (like republics in the former USSR).

The art of Srivijaya

The art of the region is known as Srivijaya started to move away from stone sculptures to a
new material showing advancements in technological. Srivijayan art is characterized by a mix
of influences in the early period, the Dvaravati as well as Indian and Indo-Javanese styles,
and later, Khmer as shown in bronze-cast sculptures. By the mid13th C, Srivijaya lost the
maritime supremacy in the region to the Chinese Song dynasty and Sukhothai, the new power
of the region, extended into the peninsula and brought the southern regions under its rule.

The elements of Srivijayan culture found in the region Suggest that Srivijaya was a center of
the Mahayana Buddhist World considering the philosophical propagation and artistic
tradition. Thus, the Srivijayan Buddhist sculptures and architectures found in Thailand are
mostly related to Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. It was particularly popular for
Buddhists to produce icons of Bodhisattvas.

18
 BODHISATTVA AVALOKITESHVARA AS
PADMAPANI
Origin: 8-9th C, SrivijayaFound: Wat Phra Barommathat,
Chaiya Surat Thani Province Moved by HRH Prince Damrong
Aajanubhab to the National Museum Bangkok in 1905-bronze
with silver inlay- H 63cm

This beautiful bust is all that remains of a complete statue

of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, probably in the form
of the universal savior Padmapani, meaning “lotus
bearer”. Padmapani is one of Mahayana Buddhism’s
celestial bodhisattvas, the immortal helpers of enlightened
buddhas. Bodhisattvas are spiritually advanced beings
who choose to hold back from their own enlightenment in
order to remain in the world serving others. Cast in the
round, this finely crafted bronze is poised in the tribhanga
or triple-flexion posture with a loincloth tied around the
hips. The rounded face has downcast eyes beneath arched
brows, the hair is intricately braided, and the sacred cord
is decorated with the head of an antelope over the left
shoulder. The ornaments that richly adorn him are typical
of a bodhisattva and symbolize his enlightened
experiences. Though this image is incomplete, Padmapani
usually appears with right arm lowered, the hand in the
wish-granting gesture, and the left hand holds the stem of
a lotus flower. Most images of Padmapani also have a
small effigy of Amithaba, the Buddha of Infinite Light, in
the hair just above the forehead.

Created from black, gilt bronze, this statue was cast

B
UDDHA SHELTERED BY NAGA
HOODS OR BUDDHA OF GRAHI
in three separate parts: the naga’s hood, the
Buddha, and the naga serpent’s intertwined coils.
These sections are supported by a rectangular base
bearing an inscription in Khmer, stating that the
image was ordered by the Governor of Grahi, or
Chaiya, a dependency of the Malayu Kingdom.
The image’s unusual mix of artistic styles has been
the subject of many scholarly interpretations. The
serpent’s hood and coils recall Khmer sculpture. A
decorative necklace adorns each of the seven naga
heads and each breast has a lotus-pattern rosette
formerly set with a jewel. Arranged in three
horizontal bands, the coils are punctuated at the
middle, and at either side, by a large blossoming
lotus flower. The Buddha is seated with legs folded
and hands in the “Calling the Earth to Witness”
bhumisparsa mudra. His monastic robe is worn in
an open style, with the left shoulder covered by a
pleated flap of cloth. The arrangement of the
ushnisha above the coiled hair is smooth and it is

19
 Origin: 12-13th C, Srivijaya decorated with a bodhi leaf, characteristic of
Found: War Hua Wiang, Chaiya, Surat Srivijayan art. Reflecting pure serenity and grace,
Thani Province by HRH Prince the face of the Buddha gives this statue a rare
DamrongRajanubhab Brought by King elegance.
Mongkut to War Benchamabopit,
moved to Bangkok, National Museum
Bangkok in 1928
Material: bronze
Dimension: H 165cm
Location: South Wing, S9 (Srivijaya
Room)

Srivijaya: Great Mandala that Vanished

Fast Facts
1. Name: Srivijaya Empire
2. Origin: Unified Indianized kingdoms that established economic control over the
Straits of Malacca
3. Language: Ancient Malay
4. Religion: Buddhism (minor Hinduism)

Era: 7th-13th Centuries CE

Location: Centered on Sumatra, Java, and Peninsular Malaysia.

Capital: Palembang

Decline: Attacks from the Chola dynasty weakened Srivijaya and they were soon
replaced by more powerful Javanese kingdoms.

Glossary
Buddhism
Dharmic religion centered on the belief of karma and release from the cycle of reincarnation.
Based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama.
Cham
Austronesian ethnic group native to Southeast Asia that once controlled the Hindu Champa
civilization in the region of modern Vietnam. Today, the Cham people are a minority in
Vietnam and largely practice Islam.
Champa
An Indianized Hindu kingdom in ancient Vietnam known for constructing Tháp Chàm, their
iconic Cham Towers dedicated to Shiva and other Hindu deities.
Chenla Kingdom
Early period (6th-9th Centuries CE) of independent Khmer states before being united into the
Khmer Empire by Jayavarman II.

20
Dvaravati
Mon-Burmese ethnic group based in modern Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. Responsible for the
introduction of Buddhism (Theravada sect) to Thailand.
Hinduism
Dharmic religion centered on the belief of karma and release from the cycle of reincarnation.
It stems from Vedic teachings and one of the oldest extant religions in the world.
Khmer Empire
Hindu-Buddhist kingdom which ruled much of Southeast Asia from their capital at Angkor.
Strait of Malacca
Narrow waterway between Sumatra and the Malaysian Peninsula that has been one of the
busiest shipping lanes in the world throughout history.
Srivijaya Empire
Empire based in Sumatra which controlled or influenced Buch of the Malay archipelago circa
600-1200 CE.
thalassocracy
A maritime society that uses its navy to project power.
Vajrayana Buddhism
Sect of Buddhism that embraces tantric practices and mysticism.

Cultural Profile: Srivijaya, Maritime Empire of

Ancient
B rief history of the Srivijaya Empire, a maritime power based in Sumatra that controlled
ancient Indonesia and the China-India trade routes.

The Straits of Malacca are often cities as the busiest commercial shipping route on Earth. Fly
into any major airport along the Straits of Malacca today — be it Singapore, Kuala Lumpur,
or Penang — and you will see the narrow strip of water (2.8 km at its narrowest) filled with
dozens to hundreds of cargo ships.

21
This trend has remained unchanged for over 2000 years, when these waterways were also
used in transit between the cultural goliaths of China and India, and were ruled over by
the Srivijaya Empire.

Who Are the Srivijaya?

The Srivijaya empire was a thalassocracy (a seaborne empire) and a commercial sea-power
that thrived between the 8th and 13th centuries. A large portion of this empire is what is now
known as Indonesia. It was formed on the island of Sumatra, which had a strong influence on
Southeast Asia.
Srivijaya, also known as Sri Vijaya or Sriwijaya, was a Buddhist empire in Indonesia.
It was a seaborne empire and played an important role in the expansion of Buddhism
between the 8th and 12th centuries. It was a powerful state at one point in time due
to its excellent maritime resources and trade.
This article focuses on the complete history of the culture and civilization of the Srivijaya
empire. To know more about its historical background, religious practices, and rapid cultural
and economic growth, keep reading!

Origins of the Srivijaya

For well over 2000 years, the sea lanes between India and China have been maintained as a
vital commercial shipping route. Just as massive amounts of freighters pass trough the straits
surrouning Malaysian peninsula today, ancient traders would likewise make similar voyages
based on he predictable seasonal weather patterns.
Along the trade routes, small pockets of of locals began to adopt Indianized cultures, societal
structures, and belief systems. Along the Mainland Pacific coast, these included the Funan,
Champa, and Tambralinga, while on the Indian Ocean coast, kingdoms flourished along the
Straits of Malacca, including at Lembah Bujang in Northern Malaysia, and the Melayu
Kingdom of Sumatra, which would later evolve into Srivijaya.
It is believed that the empire began around the year 500 in Sumatra. According to the
Kedukan Bukit inscription, the empire of Srivijaya was founded by Dapunta Hyang Sri
Jayanasa. Under his leadership, a classical Malay Buddhist kingdom known as the Melayu
kingdom became the first to be integrated with Srivijaya.
The empire was the first major Indonesian kingdom and also its first commercial sea power.
It controlled the Strait of Malacca, and thereby the India-China trade route, gaining power
over much of the trade at sea.
Though there are not many historical records to support this theory, historians believe that by
the 7th century, the kingdom of Srivijaya had established suzerainty over many areas
belonging to Sumatra, Western Java, and the Malay peninsula.

Srivijaya Name Origins

“Srivijaya” is derived from the Sanskrit word, which translates to “fortunate,” “prosperous,”
“glorious,” and other synonymous words of triumph and happiness.
Historians believe that the empire may have been named after a king who shared the same
name, H. Kern, an epigraphist and linguist, believed that the term “Vijaya” might have
referred to a king’s name, with “Sri” being a title of respect.
The other variations in the spelling, such as Sri Vijaya and Sriwijaya, are based on the
Sundanese and Javanese pronunciations.

Culture and Beliefs of the Srivijaya

22
The Srivijaya empire is known for its Buddhist religious beliefs and practices. Let’s look at
their complex cultural beliefs and how this formed their way of life and living.

Religious Beliefs
The kingdom was one of the most prominent religious centers in the region. The kings of
Srivijaya played a major part in the expansion and establishment of Buddhism in many places
that they conquered or interacted with, such as Java and the Malayasian Peninsula.
Pilgrims of any religion were encouraged to spend time interacting with the monks in the
capital city of Palembang, before heading for India.
The Srivijayan realm had numerous Buddhist temples. It is believed that these sites served as
monastic Buddhist learning centers, which students and scholars from all over Asia visited.
Historians are convinced that Palembang alone housed over 1000 monks who had dedicated
their lives to teaching and training traveling scholars in Buddhism.
One of the most popular forms of Buddhism in the empire was Vajrayana Buddhism. This
was a mystical form of the religion and involved supernatural powers through yantras. This
form of Buddhism originated in India but was possibly passed on to the empire because of
strong trade connections between the two regions.
The influence and the importance of Buddhism were so dominant at the time that an
inscription gives an account of how a particular king did his best to claim a role as a religious
figure because he believed associating himself with Buddhism would elevate his image and
popularity with the public.

Srivijaya Architecture
Unlike many of the other Indianized kingdoms in Southeast Asia, Srivijaya was not a culture
of monumental builders. There are some examples of refined brick Buddhist architecture,
such as the temple complex at the Muaro Jambi. However, most public and residential
buildings, and settlements in general, were not heavily fortified cities, but rather wooden
homes built either or with easy access to water.
Modern Palembang in Southern Sumatra was home to the ancient capital of Srivijaya.
Surrounding the city are hundreds of artificial canals and islands which have yodeled many
Srivijaya artifacts. Poopulating these canals today are wooden home that are built on stilts or
floating on the water, mirroring in many ways the way their Srivijaya ancestors once lived.

Srivijaya Artwork
Commercial trade flourished in the empire, and with that came the proliferation of art. Most
of the art was influenced by Buddhism in an attempt to spread the religion through the trade
of art. Furthermore, the art of Srivijaya was greatly influenced by the Indian art of the Gupta
and Pala empires.
There were also numerous Buddhist sculptures that were discovered by archaeologists in
Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. Additionally, Chinese artworks were very popular in the
kingdom, leading to an escalation in various art styles in pottery, fabrics, and silks.

History of the Srivijaya Empire

Although the empire was a symbol of greatness and prosperity for many centuries, it
remained almost entirely forgotten after its disappearance in the 1200s.
Although Srivijaya left few archaeological remains, the discovery of this ancient and
powerful empire by the historian George Cœdès in the 1920s brought Indonesia’s former
glory to light. It was also a frame of reference for how ancient globalization, maritime trade,
and foreign relations had formed the Indonesian civilization.

23
In the 20th century, it was referred to by Indonesian nationalist intellectuals to prove the
Indonesian identity within the state before the establishment of the Dutch colonial state.

Trade and Economic Power

Sumatra was known as the ‘Land of Gold’ due to its richness in natural resources. It was a
source of cloves, camphor, tortoiseshell, pepper, aloeswood, and sandalwood, all of which
contributed to the empire’s growing business of trade.
Srivijaya was the first Indonesian commercial sea power. It drew most of its riches and power
from its considerable naval fleet and the maritime trade that fleet enabled. By the second half
of the 7th century, Srivijaya had become an important and wealthy Asian power.
Srivijaya also controlled the Sunda and Malacca straits and remained an indisputable sea
power until the 13th century.

Conquests and Expansion of Srivijaya

Historians believe that the empire conquered most of southern Sumatra and the neighboring
islands as well. According to the inscriptions, the empire also launched a war against Java in
the late 7th century. By the end of the 8th century, many western Javanese kingdoms were
under the rule of the empire.
In the same century, Srivijaya managed to conquer Langkasuka on the Malay Peninsula.
Within no time, Pan Pan and Tambralinga also came under Srivijayan influence. All these
kingdoms on the peninsula transported goods across the peninsula’s isthmus.

The Srivijayans’ Exploration

Between the 9th and 12th centuries, explorers from the Srivijayan empire have gone in search
of new lands for trade and commercial development. Navigators, sailors, and traders engaged
in trade with Borneo, Philippines archipelago, Eastern Indonesia, coastal Indochina, and
Madagascar.
The migration to Madagascar is believed to have taken place around 830 CE. It is also
speculated that the settlers from Srivijaya may have colonized Madagascar.
The Srivijayan explorers reached Manila by the 10th century. A 10th-century Arab account
called Ajayeb al-Hind records an invasion in Africa. The invaders are believed to have been
the Malay people of Srivijaya. The main reason for this invasion was to acquire coveted
African commodities like ivory and tortoiseshell for the Asian market. It is also presumed
that they captured black slaves from Bantu tribes.

Geography of Srivijaya
The territories and cities controlled by Srivijaya were primed for easy access to the sea. Even
in their homeland of Sumatra, the rulers of Srivijaya paid little attention to the affairs of the
inland cultures. This seafaring nature instead brought them into contact with exotic. Cultures
more often than their inland neighbors, as well as spreading Sriviujayan influence was far out
as Philippines, and even Madagascar.

Srivijaya in Sumatra and Java

The maritime influence of Srivijaya was focused along the coastlines and riverways
extending inland. Beyond this, the rulers of Srivijaya did not concern themselves too deeply
with the affairs of their inland neighbors. Because of this, many inland cultures continued to
thrive apart from the Indianized states, such as the Batak culture around Lake Toba or the
megalithic culture of the Pasemah Highlands.
Meanwhile, Srivijaya had a strong relationship with Mataram, an inland culture based on
Java. Mataram had more in common with mainland contemporaries, such as Dvaravati, in

24
that they based their cultures on stable settlements and rice cultivations. They were also
monumental builders in a way that the Srivijaya were not.
The dynamic of the relationship between Mataram and Srivijaya is still debated, however,
they appears to be some periods where Mataram was also the dominant of the two.

Srivijaya in Mainland Southeast Asia

Although their center of power was in the islands of Sumatra and Java, Srivijaya had contact
with, influence over, and even conflicts with the contemporary cultures of Mainland
Southeast Asia. As their power expanded, many of the small and formerly independent
kingdoms were brought under the control of Srivijaya, including Indianized states such as
Tambralinga, Chaiya, and Kedah in modern-day Thailand and Malaysia.
Evidence also exists of conflicts between Srivijaya and both the Champa Kingdom of
Vietnam and the pre-Angkorian Khmers (Chenla Kingdom) of Cambodia.

Srivijaya in China
Srivijaya was highly regarded as a both a powerful trade empire and bastion of Buddhism by
the Chinese. Buddhist pilgrims from China seeing to travel to their religion’s roots in India
would often pass through Srivijaya on their way. It was common practice for these pilgrims
to remain in Srivijaya for unto two years studying scriptures and learning the language.

What Happened to the Srivijaya?

By the 11th century, Srivijaya had been weakened due to continuous warfare with Java and
the Chola dynasty from India. The Cholas systematically plundered the Srivijayan ports along
the Malacca strait, until they captured the Srivijayan king in Palembang.
These attacks marked the beginning of the end of the empire. The empire slowly started to
lose its unity and began to fragment. Finally, it lost its remaining power in 1288, when the
Singhasari empire from East Java invaded their empire.
Despite its far-reaching influence, the empire quickly and suddenly disappeared into
obscurity.

Cities of the Srivijaya

1. Palembang
South Sumatra, Indonesia
GPS: -3.01485, 104.73436
2. Muaro Jambi (Jambi)
Jambi, Indonesia
GPS: -1.47763, 103.66707
3. Batujaya
Jakarta, Indonesia
GPS: -6.05634, 107.15491
4. Singapura (Singapore)
Singapore, Singapore
GPS: 1.34789, 103.87427
5. Tambralinga (Nakhon Si Thammarat)
Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand
GPS: 8.41206, 99.96645
6. Chaiya
Surat Thani, Thailand
GPS: 9.38461, 99.18544

25
Monuments of the Srivijaya
1. Borobudur
Central Java, Indonesia
GPS: -7.60721, 110.20334
2. Candi Muara Takus
Riau, Indonesia
GPS: 0.33456, 100.64098
3. Candi Muaro Jambi
Jambi, Indonesia
GPS: -1.47763, 103.66707
4. Candi Bahal Portibi Temples
North Sumatra, Indonesia
GPS: 1.40516, 99.73049
5. Wat Long
Surat Thani, Thailand
GPS: 9.38213, 99.19039

Thalassocracy

Srivijaya’s success was to create and then manage a system by which lesser monarchs
maintained their own status and local loyalty arrangements while conforming to the overall
interests of the Srivijayan monarchy. The concept of a Mandala was of a set of dependent
relationships in which rulers maintained their autonomy within a common interest
framework. It was at the heart of an Indian notion of kingship and government, a series of
concentric circles of fealty and obligation headed by one supreme leader. The pre-eminent
lord led by virtue of his accomplishments, while bonds with lesser nobles were cemented
through marriages.

The Srivijayan Mandala was based on the city’s geographical position dominating the Melaka
strait. From there it could control trade and ensure fair distribution of its revenues. Dispersed
entities had their own commercial interests and their own supplies of ships and sailors. They
paid tribute to Srivijaya; in return they enjoyed the benefits of being part of a larger entity
which could provide protection and trade access. Over time this loose hegemony came to
include all the trading ports of the peninsula, and those on the Gulf of Thailand and Mekong
delta, but Srivijaya was content to be first among nominal equals. It also ensured that its own
sailors, with their intimate knowledge of the rocks and shoals, were kept happy with a fair
share of trade income – otherwise they would resort to piracy.

Local rulers retained many of the characteristics of traditional Malay datus (chieftains), who
relied heavily on personal leadership qualities. But grafted on to this were Indian ideas about
the divine nature of kingship within an all-encompassing system of beliefs and codes. These
required the monarch to provide honest government and to attend to the welfare of his
subjects in return for their loyalty, which in turn would be rewarded…. A Persian writing in
Arabic in the tenth century noted that parrots in Palembang could speak many languages
including Arabic, Persian and Greek.

The Guangzhou Massacre

26
Palembang also benefited commercially from the expansion of Arab and Persian trade with
China, while the Abbasid empire dominated its region and the Tang era was one of prosperity
in China. Srivijaya’s political clout probably waned as the Arabs used their own ships as well
as Nusantarian ones. Their merchants came to dominate trade – but they still needed
Srivijayan ports and sailors. So Srivijaya still collected its dues. After an initial interruption,
it also benefited from a massacre of foreign traders in Guangzhou in 878 that forced the
traders to move their bases to other ports.

The scale of the Guangzhou massacre, carried out by rebels opposing the Tang dynasty, gives
an idea of the size of the trade: it supported a foreign community that was several thousand
strong, comprising Muslim Arabs and Persians, Parsees, Jews, Hindus, and Greek, Armenian
and Nestorian Christians. A century earlier, in 758, Arab, Persian and other merchants had
plundered the city after being infuriated by the greed of Chinese officials. This followed an
incident in 684 when Kunlun merchants had killed the governor of Guangzhou. The series of
troubles illustrates both the wealth that trade generated and the weakness of Chinese imperial
control over a distant province where Sinicization was still far from complete….

The industrial scale of trade is shown in the wreck of a ninth century ship in the treacherous
waters near Belitung Island between Sumatra and Borneo. It carried 60,000 pieces of Chinese
ceramics probably destined for Basra. Mostly made to standard designs, some had Buddhist
motifs, others Islamic calligraphy. There were even ceramic pots inscribed under the glaze
with Manichean writing. This was a religion which had once thrived in Persia, central Asia
and western China and, though much reduced by competition and persecution, lingered on
until about the fourteenth century. China in turn bought cotton textiles from India, muslin and
damask from Syria, frankincense from Arabia and indigo, ivory, precious woods,
tortoiseshell and aromatic oils from a variety of locations to the south and west. Although
maritime archaeological evidence of this is lacking, there are plenty of Chinese written
records.

Malagasy Genes and African Echoes

Language is the starting point for uncovering another forgotten manifestation of Nusantaria
and its intercontinental maritime role. It is the key to the solution of one of the mysteries of
the first millennium Ce: the first permanent human settlement of Madagascar. The island
marks the most westward expansion of Austronesian language and culture, its settlement
roughly coinciding with the Pacific push from Polynesia to New Zealand, Hawaii and Rapa
Nui (Easter Island).

The world’s fourth largest island at 592,000 square kilometres, Madagascar lies only 200
kilometres from the trading ports on the east coast of Africa and yet lay uninhabited by
humans until the arrival of Nusantarian seafarers from 7,000 kilometres away. This
remarkable feat has gone largely unrecorded in written history, so it can only be pieced
together from scientific evidence and inferences from Arab and other sources. Much else can
be inferred or guessed at, but with, as yet, limited proof.

Even the modern name ‘Madagascar’ (‘Madagasikara’ in the Malagasy language) has its
origin in ignorance and confusion. It was first used by the traveller Marco Polo, who never
went there. He confused it with Mogadishu, the trading port on the Somali coast, and
compounded the error with a corrupted transliteration.

27
The main settlement may have occurred during the period of Srivijayan ascendancy in
Nusantaria but does not appear to have been politically driven. All that is Malagasy Genes
and African Echoes known for sure is that the language of Madagascar is basically
Austronesian but with a significant number of words from the Bantu language from Africa,
and some from Indian and Arab sources. Language origin does not itself prove that people
from Nusantaria were the first settlers. But the genetic evidence does. The gene pool of the
island’s population today shows that it is of roughly 50 percent Nusantarian island origin…

Indian Ocean Trade Triangle

Nusantarian commerce in the western Indian Ocean did not suddenly vanish, leaving the
settlements cut off from their roots. Ships from Java and Sumatra continued to play a role in
Indian Ocean trade at least until the thirteenth century, not least in the slave trade. In the mid-
tenth century an Arab ship encountered off Mozambique a group of raiders described as
‘Waqwaq’. ‘Waqwaq’ was a vague term used by Arabs to denote peoples from the extreme
south or east, hence probably Nusantarian. (Waqwaq was the subject of myths about islands
where girls grew on trees.) East Africa was a source of slaves for hundreds of years, with the
Baghdad-based Abbasid empire the main market. The Zanj slaves became so numerous that
they became a major factor in the long-lasting anti-Abbasid rebellion which led to the sack of
Basra in 871. This horrific event was widely written about in near contemporary Arab
literature, including Muhammad el-Tabari’s History of Prophets and Kings and Muhammad
al-Biruni’s Chronology of Ancient Nations. Some slaves were even sold in China. A Chinese,
Zhu Yu, writing around 1100, recorded that wealthy people in Guangzhou employed what
they called ‘devil slaves’ from Africa…

28
Tremble and Obey: The Zheng He Voyages
China’s engagement with Nusantaria during the Yuan era has been overshadowed by the
attention given to the voyages of Zheng He in the early Ming dynasty. The seven voyages
between 1405 and 1433 of the fleets headed by Zheng’s so-called ‘Treasure Ships’ were
remarkable demonstrations of Chinese naval power. The voyages abruptly ceased as Ming
China became more concerned with internal and land border issues than with seas where they
faced no threats. But they did have a lasting impact on the Chinese trading and migration
presence across Nusantaria….

The fleets never failed to leave a mark and a message of Chinese power. It was power
wielded more benignly than by the Yuan dynasty even if the underlying assumption was that
non-Chinese must bow before the emperor – and so must Chinese settled in the region. The
sheer size and number of its ships was awe-inspiring. A mere envoy would never need a
heavily armed fleet. That he returned with ‘treasures’ such as a giraffe from Africa, not to
mention a vast collection of precious objects from other exotic places, also helped establish
the Zheng He voyages as memorable, particularly for Chinese, for centuries afterwards. Chau
Ju-kua had referred to the African coast, to Zanzibar and people with fuzzy hair, and gave
vague descriptions of zebras and giraffes. (10) A few individual Chinese had probably been
there previously on Arab or Nusantarian ships. But to go there and bring back these creatures
was more memorable, at least to later generations, than the rote messages of fealty to the
emperor.

Today, the voyages are often presented as peaceful exercises in exploration, diplomacy and
trade promotion. In reality the emperor’s goal was to make himself respected and feared
around the southern and western seas and emphasize the superiority of things Chinese. At the
same time, however, the emperor presented himself as an impartial peacemaker in dealing
with foreign states: ‘I do not differentiate between those here and those there.’ He was the
father figure who issued orders to others not to fight each other, as in a directive to Cambodia
and Champa, ordering Siam not to harass Melaka. More broadly, as the Xuande emperor
claimed in 1429: ‘I serve Heaven by treating the people as my children. In the 10,000 states
within the four seas, I try to provide prosperity and abundance.’ The emperor’s sway was
mostly rhetoric, the succinct if empty expression of China’s sense of being above all others
and occasionally, as in the case of the voyages, given substance by the presence of Zheng
He’s large force. The purpose of that demonstration of power was insufficiently clear in
Beijing, however, leaving the Chinese at the time less impressed than the foreigners. This
was to be China’s last, until very recent, attempt to extend towards the tropical regions of
Nusantaria and the Indian Ocean. Dislike of the heat and humidity may have played a role,
reflecting an earlier imperial comment about deployment there:

“The government of our present dynasty, out of affection for the army and for the good of
humanity, deemed it advisable that our troops should no longer be kept in this pestilential
climate for the purpose of guarding such an unprofitable territory.”

The voyages contributed nothing to global knowledge of navigation, winds and currents.
Zheng He visited places that had already been in communication with each other for a
millennium. The Zheng He trade legacy is also debatable, because the voyages were just a
three-decade episode in a boom in Asian trade which began around 1400 and involved
Europe and the Muslim world as well as China, and to which Japan also contributed. But they
did make China itself more aware of the world and of the southern seas in particular. The
voyages helped development of Nusantarian trade with China in which the already

29
established Chinese Muslims, sometimes intermarried with other foreign Muslims as well as
local women, played a major role. These connections speeded the advance of Islam in the
archipelago as trade boomed during the following two centuries.

The ending of the Ming voyages has been seen as short-sighted and opening the way for
European entry into Nusantaria in the next century. But it was for legitimate economic
reasons: the cost of inducing tributes was far ahead of any possible gains from trade. Nor did
China face any obvious security threats from the southern seas, in contrast to the northern and
western frontiers. The end of the voyages did not mean the end of trade, which continued
thanks both to demand from a prospering China (and Europe) and the Chinese presence in the
ports of the mercantile zone. But it did mean the end, for the next 500 years, of China’s
attempts to control Nusantaria.

The Indian Ocean trade routes connected Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and East Africa,
beginning at least as early as the third century BCE. This vast international web of routes
linked all of those areas as well as East Asia (particularly China).

Long before Europeans "discovered" the Indian Ocean, traders from Arabia, Gujarat, and
other coastal areas used triangle-sailed dhows to harness the seasonal monsoon
winds. Domestication of the camel helped bring coastal trade goods such as silk, porcelain,
spices, incense, and ivory to inland empires, as well. Enslaved people were also traded.

Classic Period Indian Ocean Trading

During the classical era (4th century BCE–3rd century CE), major empires involved in the
Indian Ocean trade included the Achaemenid Empire in Persia (550–330 BCE), the Mauryan
Empire in India (324–185 BCE), the Han Dynasty in China (202 BCE–220 CE), and
the Roman Empire (33 BCE–476 CE) in the Mediterranean. Silk from China graced Roman
aristocrats, Roman coins mingled in Indian treasuries, and Persian jewels sparkled in
Mauryan settings.

Another major export item along the classical Indian Ocean trade routes was religious
thought. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism spread from India to Southeast Asia, brought by
merchants rather than by missionaries. Islam would later spread the same way from the 700s
CE on.

Indian Ocean Trade in the Medieval Era

During the medieval era (400–1450 CE), trade flourished in the Indian Ocean basin. The rise
of the Umayyad (661–750 CE) and Abbasid (750–1258) caliphates on the Arabian Peninsula
provided a powerful western node for the trade routes. In addition, Islam valued merchants—
the Prophet Muhammad himself was a trader and caravan leader—and wealthy Muslim cities
created an enormous demand for luxury goods.

Meanwhile, the Tang (618–907) and Song (960–1279) dynasties in China also emphasized
trade and industry, developing strong trade ties along the land-based Silk Roads, and
encouraging maritime trade. The Song rulers even created a powerful imperial navy to
control piracy on the eastern end of the route.

30
Between the Arabs and the Chinese, several major empires blossomed based largely on
maritime trade. The Chola Empire (3rd century BCE–1279 CE) in southern India dazzled
travelers with its wealth and luxury; Chinese visitors record parades of elephants covered
with gold cloth and jewels marching through the city streets. In what is now Indonesia,
the Srivijaya Empire (7th–13th centuries CE) boomed based almost entirely on taxing trading
vessels that moved through the narrow Malacca Straits. Even the Angkor civilization (800–
1327), based far inland in the Khmer heartland of Cambodia, used the Mekong River as a
highway that tied it into the Indian Ocean trade network.

For centuries, China had mostly allowed foreign traders to come to it. After all, everyone
wanted Chinese goods, and foreigners were more than willing to take the time and trouble of
visiting coastal China to procure fine silks, porcelain, and other items. In 1405, however,
the Yongle Emperor of China's new Ming Dynasty sent out the first of seven expeditions to
visit all of the empire's major trading partners around the Indian Ocean. The Ming treasure
ships under Admiral Zheng He traveled all the way to East Africa, bring back emissaries and
trade goods from across the region.

Europe Intrudes on the Indian Ocean Trade

In 1498, strange new mariners made their first appearance in the Indian Ocean. Portuguese
sailors under Vasco da Gama (~1460–1524) rounded the southern point of Africa
and ventured into new seas. The Portuguese were eager to join in the Indian Ocean trade
since European demand for Asian luxury goods was extremely high. However, Europe had
nothing to trade. The peoples around the Indian Ocean basin had no need for wool or fur
clothing, iron cooking pots, or the other meager products of Europe.

As a result, the Portuguese entered the Indian Ocean trade as pirates rather than
traders. Using a combination of bravado and cannons, they seized port cities like Calicut on
India's west coast and Macau, in southern China. The Portuguese began to rob and extort
local producers and foreign merchant ships alike. Still scarred by the Moorish Umayyad
conquest of Portugal and Spain (711–788), they viewed Muslims in particular as the enemy
and took every opportunity to plunder their ships.

In 1602, an even more ruthless European power appeared in the Indian Ocean: the Dutch East
India Company (VOC). Rather than insinuating themselves into the existing trade pattern, as
the Portuguese had done, the Dutch sought a total monopoly on lucrative spices
like nutmeg and mace. In 1680, the British joined in with their British East India Company,
which challenged the VOC for control of the trade routes. As the European powers
established political control over important parts of Asia, turning Indonesia, India, Malaya,
and much of Southeast Asia into colonies, reciprocal trade dissolved. Goods moved
increasingly to Europe, while the former Asian trading empires grew poorer and
collapsed. With that, the two-thousand-year-old Indian Ocean trade network was crippled, if
not completely destroyed. Szczepanski, Kallie. "Indian Ocean Trade Routes." ThoughtCo,
Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/indian-ocean-trade-routes-195514https://www.thoughtco.
com/indian-ocean-trade-routes-195514 &

Philip Bowring.I.B. Tauris.2019(978-1788314466)

31
Eastern Javanese inscriptions throw little light on happenings before the 10th century, but the
evidence from south-central Java, especially from the Kedu Plain in the 8th and 9th centuries,
is more abundant. This period in central Java is associated with the Shailendra dynasty and its
rivals. An Old Malay inscription from north-central Java, attributed to the 7th century,
establishes that the Shailendras were of Indonesian origin and not, as was once suspected,
from mainland Southeast Asia. In the middle of the 9th century, the ruler of Srivijaya-
Palembang was a Shailendra who boasted of his Javanese ancestors; the name Shailendra also
appears on the undated face of an inscription on the isthmus of the Malay Peninsula; the other
face of the inscription—dated 775—is in honour of the ruler of Srivijaya.

In spite of ambiguous references to Shailendra connections overseas, there is no solid

evidence that the territories of the central Javanese rulers at this time extended far beyond
central Java, including its north coast. Yet the agricultural wealth of this small kingdom
sustained vast religious undertakings; the monuments of the Kedu Plain are the most famous
in Indonesia. The Borobudur temple complex, in honour of Mahayana Buddhism, contains
2,000,000 cubic feet (56,600 cubic metres) of stone and includes 27,000 square feet (2,500
square metres) of stone bas-relief. Its construction extended from the late 8th century to the
fourth or fifth decade of the 9th. Shiva’s great temple at Prambanan, though not associated
with the Shailendra family, is less than 50 miles (80 km) away, and an inscription dating to
856 marks what may be its foundation stone. The two monuments, which have much in
common, help to explain the religious impulses in earlier Javanese history.

Borobudur is a terraced temple surmounted by stupas, or stone towers; the terraces resemble
Indonesian burial foundations, indicating that Borobudur was regarded as the symbol of the
final resting place of its founder, a Shailendra, who was united after his death with the
Buddha. The Prambanan temple complex is also associated with a dead king. The inscription
of 856 mentions a royal funeral ceremony and shows that the dead king had joined Shiva, just
as the founder of the Borobudur monument had joined the Buddha. Divine attributes,

32
however, had been ascribed to kings during their lifetimes. A Mahayana inscription of this
period shows that a ruler was said to have the purifying powers of a bodhisattva, the status
assumed by the ruler of Srivijaya in the 7th century; a 9th-century Shaivite inscription from
the Kedu Plain describes a ruler as being “a portion of Shiva.”

Standing deity, andesite sculpture from central Java, 9th century; in the Honolulu Academy
of Arts.(more)

The divine qualities of these kings, whether of Mahayana or of Shaivite persuasion, had
important implications in Javanese history and probably in the history of all parts of the
archipelago that professed the forms of Indian religion. The ruler was now and henceforth
seen as one who had achieved union with the supreme god in his lifetime. Kingship was
divine only because the king’s soul was the host of the supreme god and because all the
king’s actions were bound to be the god’s actions. He was not a god-king; he was the god. No
godlike action was more important than extending the means of personal salvation to others,
always in the form of union with the god.

The bas-relief of the Borobudur monument, illustrating Mahayana texts and especially
the Gandavyuha—the tale of the tireless pilgrim in search of enlightenment—is a gigantic
exposition of the Mahayana path to salvation taken by the king; it may be thought of as a type
of yantra to promote meditation and ultimate union with the Buddha. But Borobudur can also
be identified as a circle, or mandala, of supreme mystical power associated with
the Vairocana Buddha (one of the self-born Dhyani-Buddhas), according to the teachings
of Vajrayana Buddhism. The mandala was intended to protect the Shailendra realm for all
time. The pedagogical symbolism of the Prambanan temple complex is revealed in its
iconography, dominated by the image of the four-armed Shiva, the Great Teacher—the
customary Indonesian representation of the supreme deity. Prambanan affirms the Shaivite
path to salvation; the path is indicated in the inscription of 856, which implies that the king
had practiced asceticism, the form of worship most acceptable to Shiva. Thus, in
Java, Shaivism as well as Mahayana Buddhism had become hospitable to Tantric influences.
An almost contemporary inscription from the Ratu Baka plateau, which is not far from the
Prambanan complex, provides further evidence of Tantrism; it alludes to special rites for
awakening Shiva’s divine energy through the medium of a ritual consort.

33
These royal tombs taught the means of salvation. The royal role on earth was similar. The
kings, not the religious elite, bore the responsibility of ensuring that all could worship the
gods, whether under Indian or Indonesian names. Every god in the land was either
a manifestation of Shiva or a subordinate member of Shiva’s pantheon, and worship therefore
implied homage to the king, who was part of the god. The growing together, as a result of
Tantric influences, of Shaivism and Mahayana Buddhism meant that over the centuries the
divine character of the king was continually elaborated. His responsibility was the
compassionate one of maintaining his kingdom as a holy land. The bodhisattva-king was
moved by pity, as were all bodhisattvas, while the Shiva-like king, as an inscription of the 9th
century indicates, was also honoured for his compassion. Compassion was expressed by
providing an environment wherein religion could flourish. Keeping the peace, protecting the
numerous holy sites, encouraging religious learning, and, above all, performing purification
rituals to render the land acceptable to the gods were different aspects of a single mission: the
teaching of the religious significance of life on earth. The lonely status of the ruler did not
separate him from the religious aspirations of his subjects; Prambanan provides a recognition
of the community of interest between ruler and ruled. The 856 inscription states that a tank of
purifying water, filled by a diverted river, was made available as a pilgrimage centre for
spiritual blessings. Hermitages had been built at the Prambanan complex, and the inscription
states that they were “to be beautiful in order to be imitated.”

The great monuments of the 9th century suggest something of the cultural ambience within
which events took place. One new development in central Java was that capable raka (local
rulers) were gradually able, when opportunities arose, to fragment the lands of some raka and
absorb the lands of others. At the same time, they established lines of communication
between themselves and the villages in order to guarantee revenue and preserve a balance
between their own demands and the interests of the independent and prosperous
agricultural communities. When a ruler manifested divine qualities, he would attract those
who were confident that they would earn religious merit when they supported him. Local
princes from all over the Kedu Plain constructed small shrines around the main Prambanan
temple in a manner reminiscent of a congregation gathered around a religious leader. The
inscription of 856 states that they built “cheerfully.”
Eastern Java and the archipelago from c. 1000 to c. 1300

Documentation in the form of inscriptions and monuments ceased in central Java after the
beginning of the 10th century. For a period of more than 500 years, little is known of events
in central Java, and simultaneous developments in western Java and in the eastern hook of the
island have also remained a mystery. Evidence of the events of these years comes almost
exclusively from the Brantas River valley and the adjacent valleys of eastern Java. This
abrupt shift in the locus of documentation has never been satisfactorily explained.
Government and politics

Eastern Java did not form a natural political unit. No single town was so exceptionally
endowed in local resources as to emerge as a permanent capital; instead, the residencies of
defeated kings were simply abandoned. There remains no trace of the location of some of
these royal compounds. The problems of government in these conditions are illustrated by the
events of the 11th century.

In 1016 the city of the eastern Javanese overlord was destroyed, likely by a rebellious vassal,
in what an inscription of 1041 (called the “Calcutta” inscription) described as “the destruction
of the world.” The kingdom consequently fell apart, but it was restored by the dead king’s

34
son-in-law Erlangga (Airlangga), a half-Balinese prince. Erlangga lived with hermits,
probably practicing asceticism, from 1017 to 1019, the year in which he was hailed as ruler of
the small principality of Pasuruan, near the Brantas delta. He could not take the military
offensive until 1028, however, and his final success was not before 1035; he dispatched his
last opponent by provoking an uprising in the manner taught by Kautilya, the master of
Indian statecraft who recommended the use of subversion against an enemy. Erlangga’s
victories gradually vindicated his claims to divine power, and in the “Calcutta” inscription he
expressed the hope that all in the land would now be able to lead religious lives.

Erlangga then undid the results of his achievement. Foreseeing that two of his sons might
quarrel, he divided his kingdom so that one son should rule over the southern part, known as
Panjalu, Kadiri, or Daha, and the other over the northern part, Janggala. Erlangga’s sons
refused to honour their father’s intentions. Fighting broke out, and the Kadiri rulers were
unable to establish their uneasy domination over the kingdom until the early 12th century.
The consequences of Erlangga’s decision to split the kingdom are mourned in
the Nagarakertagama, a poem written in 1365 that survives in a manuscript found
in Lombok at the end of the 19th century.

The chain of command between the capital and the villages—and the number of officials
involved—had grown since the central Java period. The ideal of a greater Javanese unity,
protected by a divine king, was probably cherished most by the villagers, since they
especially would benefit from peace and safe internal communications. Inscriptions
sometimes acknowledge the king’s gratitude for villagers’ assistance in times of need. The
villages were prosperous centres of local government. As a result of increasing contacts with
the royal court, village society had now become more stratified, with elaborate signs of
status. But local lords could make difficulties for the villages by tampering with the flow of
the river or exacting heavy tolls from traders. In comparison with these local vexations, the
royal right to the villagers’ services and part of their produce was probably not resented. No
document was more respected than the inscription that recorded a village’s privileges.

The king’s chief secular responsibility was to safeguard his subjects’ lands, including the
estates of the temples and monasteries that were so conspicuous a feature of the Javanese
landscape. When the king wanted to build a temple on wet-rice land, he was expected to buy
the land, not confiscate it. At court he was assisted by a small council of high-ranking
officials, whose services were rewarded with appanages from royal lands. Of the council
members, the king’s heir seems to have been the most important. Council officials conveyed
royal decisions to subordinates, typically by visiting village elders while making a circuit of
the country.

Royal rule was probably not harsh. The protests that have been preserved were probably
prompted by unusually weak government. A reasonable relationship between ruler and
villagers may be seen in a Balinese inscription of 1025 that records a king’s sale of his
hunting land to a village after the villagers had complained of their lack of land. Village
elders sat with the officers of royal law in order to guarantee fair trials and verdicts reflecting
the consensus of local opinion. Customary law was incorporated into the royal statutes.
Aggrieved individuals could appeal to the king for redress; groups of villages sought his
assistance for large-scale irrigation works. The villages paid taxes to the ruler, who thus
enjoyed an economic advantage over other regional lords. Everything depended on the ruler’s
energy and a general agreement that his government served the interests of all.

35
The Kadiri princes of the 12th century ruled over a land that was never free from rebellion. In
1222 the king Kertajaya was defeated by an adventurer, Ken Angrok. A new capital was
established, with Ken Angrok as king, at Kutaraja—later renamed Singhasari—near the
harbours of east Java.

III

The empire of Kertanagara

Changed economic circumstances in the archipelago had an important impact

on Java beginning in the 13th century. Long before the 12th century, Chinese shipping had
become capable of distant voyages, and Chinese merchants sailed directly to the numerous
producing centres in the archipelago. The eastern Javanese ports became more prosperous
than ever before. A smaller entrepôt trade developed on the coasts
of Sumatra and Borneo and in the offshore islands at the southern entrance to the Strait of
Malacca. Heaps of Chinese ceramics from the 12th to the 14th century attest to the existence
of an important trading centre at Kota Cina, near present-day Medan on the northeast coast of
Sumatra. As a result of these shifts in the trade pattern, the Minangkabau princes in
the hinterland of central Sumatra, heirs to the pretensions of the great overlords of Srivijaya-
Palembang, were unable to develop their port of Jambi as a rich and powerful mercantile
centre. A power vacuum thus opened in the seas of western Indonesia, and the Javanese kings
aspired to fill it.

36
Java had probably long been regarded as the centre of a brilliant civilization, and Old
Javanese (Kawi) became the language of the inscriptions of the island of Bali in the 11th
century. The grafting of Tantric ritual onto a megalithic shrine at Bongkisam in Sarawak (part
of Malaysian Borneo), sometime after the 9th century, is indicative of Javanese
cultural diffusion to the maritime fringes of Indonesia. Javanese cultural influence in other
islands almost certainly preceded political domination.

Disunity in the Malay world and the cultural fame of Java are not sufficient to explain why
the Javanese king Kertanagara (reigned 1268–92) chose to impose his authority on Malayu in
southern Sumatra in 1275. It has been suggested that the king’s concern was to protect the
archipelago from the threat of the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan by organizing a religious
alliance. But Kertanagara probably imposed his political authority as well, though his
demands would have been limited to expressions of homage and tribute.

The king’s activities overseas were almost certainly intended to enhance his prestige in Java
itself, where he was never free from enemies. His political priorities are reflected in a
Sanskrit inscription of 1289, attached to an image of the king in the guise of the wrathful
Aksobhya Buddha (a self-born Dhyani-Buddha), claiming that he had restored unity to Java;
his overseas exploits are not mentioned.

The precise doctrinal contents of Kertanagara’s Tantric cult are unknown. In his lifetime and
after his death, his supporters revered him as a Shiva-Buddha. They believed that he had
tapped within himself demonic forces that enabled him to destroy the demons that sought to
divide Java. The 14th-century poet Prapancha, author of the Nagarakertagama and a
worshipper of Kertanagara, on one occasion referred to the king as the “Vairocana Buddha”
and associated him with a ritual consort who was, however, the consort of Aksobhya Buddha.
Prapancha also admired the king’s scholarly zeal and especially his assiduous performance of
religious exercises for the good of mankind.

The role of the royal ascetic had long been a familiar feature of Javanese kingship. The king
who had been buried in the 9th-century mausoleum of Prambanan was identified with Shiva,
the teacher of asceticism. Early in the 13th century King Angrok, according to a later
chronicle, regarded himself as the Bhatara Guru, the divine teacher who was equated with
Shiva. Shaivite and Mahayana priests had been under royal supervision from at least as early
as the 10th century. Consequently, the Tantric concept of a Shiva-Buddha, taught by
Kertanagara, was not regarded as extraordinary. Javanese religious speculation had come to
interpret Shaivism and the Mahayana as identical programs for personal salvation, with
complementary gods. Union with divinity, to be achieved here and now, was the goal of
all ascetics, including the king, who was regarded as the paragon of ascetic skill.

Kertanagara’s religious status, as well as his political problems and policies, were in 13th-
century Java by no means eccentric or contradictory features. Indeed, such religious and
political authority enabled Kertanagara to take advantage of circumstances stemming from
Chinese trade in the archipelago to extend his divine power beyond Java itself. By the 14th
century the homage of overseas rulers to the Javanese king was taken for granted.

IV
Singhasari : Karaton Singhasari

37
Singhasari : Karaton Singhasari or Karaton Singosari, Indonesian, also known
as Tumapel, was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist kingdom located in east Java between 1222 and
1292. The kingdom succeeded the Kingdom of Kediri as the dominant kingdom in eastern
Java. The kingdom's name is cognate to the Singosari district of Malang Regency, located
several kilometres north of Malang City.Singhasari (alternate spelling: Singosari) was
mentioned in several Javanese manuscripts, including Pararaton. According to tradition, the
name was given by Ken Arok during the foundation of the new kingdom to replace its old
name, Tumapel, located in a fertile highland valley which today corresponds to the area in
and around Malang city. It derives from Sanskrit word singha which means "lion"
and sari which in Old Javanese could mean either "essence" or "to sleep". Thus Singhasari
could be translated as "essence of lion" or "sleeping lion". Although the lion is not an
endemic animal of Java, the symbolic depiction of lions is common in Indonesian
culture, attributed to the influence of Hindu-Buddhist symbolism.

Foundation- Ken Arok

Singhasari was founded by Ken Arok (1182–1227/1247), whose story is a popular folktale in
Central and East Java. Most of Ken Arok's life story and also the early history of Singhasari
was taken from the Pararaton account, which also incorporates some mythical aspects. Ken
Arok was an orphan born of a mother named Ken Endok and an unknown father (some tales
stated he was a son of the god Brahma) in the Kediri kingdom's territory.

Ken Arok rose from being a servant of Tunggul Ametung, a regional ruler in Tumapel
(present-day Malang) to becoming a ruler of Java from Kediri. He is considered the founder
of the Rajasa dynasty of both the Singhasari and later the Majapahit line of monarchs.[1] He
killed Tunggul Ametung and he was later assassinated by Anusapati, in revenge for killing
his father, Tunggul Ametung. Ken Arok's son Panji Tohjaya assassinated Anusapati, but he in
turn reigned only a few months in 1248 before his nephews revolted. These two, Ranga Wuni
and Mahisha Champaka, ruled together under the names Vishnuvardhana and
Narasimhamurti.

In the year 1275, King Kertanegara, the fifth ruler of Singhasari who had been reigning since
1254, launched a peaceful naval campaign northward towards the weak remains of
the Srivijaya[2]: 198 in response to continuous Ceylon pirate raids and Chola kingdom's invasion
from India which conquered Srivijaya's Kedah in 1025. The strongest of these Malaya
kingdoms was Jambi, which captured the Srivijaya capital in 1088, followed by
the Dharmasraya Kingdom, and the Temasek Kingdom of Singapore.

The military force known as the Pamalayu expedition was led by Admiral Mahesa Anabrang
(a.k.a. Adwaya Brahman) to the Malaya region, and was also intended to secure the Malayan
strait, the ‘Maritime Silk Road’, against potential Mongol invasion and ferocious sea pirates.
These Malayan kingdoms then pledged allegiance to the king. King Kertanegara had long
wished to surpass Srivijaya as a regional maritime empire, controlling sea trade routes from
China to India.The Pamalayu expedition from 1275 to 1292, from the time of Singhasari to
Majapahit, is chronicled in the Javanese scroll Nagarakrtagama. Singhasari's territory thus
became Majapahit territory. In the year 1284, King Kertanegara led a hostile Pabali
expedition to Bali, which integrated Bali into the Singhasari kingdom's territory. The king
also sent troops, expeditions, and envoys to other nearby kingdoms such as the Sunda-Galuh
Kingdom, Pahang Kingdom, Balakana Kingdom (Kalimantan/Borneo), and Gurun Kingdom
(Maluku). He also established an alliance with the king of Champa (Vietnam).King
Kertanegara erased any Srivijayan influence from Java and Bali in 1290. However, the

38
expansive campaigns exhausted most of the Kingdom's military forces and in the future
would stir a murderous plot against the unsuspecting King Kertanegara.

Mongol invasion of Java

A mandala of Amoghapāśa from the Singhasari period

Singhasari, and its successor kingdom, Majapahit, were among the few kingdoms in Asia that
were able to thwart an invasion by the Mongol horde by repelling a Mongol force in 1293. As
the centre of the Malayan peninsula trade winds, the rising power, influence, and wealth of
the Javanese Singhasari empire came to the attention of Kublai Khan of the Mongol Yuan
dynasty based in China. Moreover, Singhasari had allied with Champa, another powerful
state in the region. Both Java (Singhasari) and Champa were worried about Mongol
expansion and raids against neighbouring states, such as their raid of Bagan in Burma.Kublai
Khan then sent emissaries demanding submission and tribute from Java. In 1280, Kublai
Khan sent the first emissary to King Kertanegara, demanding Singhasari's submission and
tribute to the great Khan. The demand was refused. The next year in 1281, the Khan sent
another envoy, demanding the same, which was refused again. Eight years later, in 1289, the
last envoy was sent to demand the same, and King Kertanegara refused to pay tribute.

Singhasari temple built as a mortuary temple to honour Kertanegara, the last king of
Singhasari./ The serene beauty of Prajnaparamita statue found near Singhasari temple is

39
believed to be the portrayal statue of Queen Ken Dedes, wife of Ken Arok (the collection
of National Museum of Indonesia).
In the audition throne room of the Singhasari court, King Kertanegara humiliated the Khan's
envoy by cutting and scarring the face of Meng Ki, one of the Mongols' envoys (some
sources even state that the king cut the envoy's ear himself). The envoy returned to China
with the answer – the scar – of the Javan king written on his face.Enraged by this humiliation
and the disgrace committed against his envoy and his patience, in late 1292 Kublai Khan sent
1,000 war junks for a punitive expedition that arrived off the coast of Tuban, Java in early
1293.

King Kertanegara, whose troops were now spread thin and located elsewhere, did not realize
that a coup was being prepared by the former Kediri royal lineage.

Fall of Singhasari
In 1292, Regent Jayakatwang, a vassal king from the Kingdom of Daha (also known as
Kediri or Gelang-gelang), prepared his army to conquer Singhasari and kill its king if
possible, assisted by Arya Viraraja,[2]: 199 a regent from Sumenep on the island of Madura.

The Kediri (Gelang-gelang) army attacked Singhasari simultaneously from both north and
south. The king only realized the invasion from the north and sent his son-in-law, Nararya
Sanggramawijaya, informally known as 'Raden Wijaya', northward to vanquish the rebellion.
The northern attack was put at bay, but the southern attackers successfully remained
undetected until they reached and sacked the unprepared capital city of Kutaraja.
Jayakatwang usurped and killed Kertanagara during the Tantra sacred ceremony, thus
bringing an end to the Singhasari kingdom.

Having learned of the fall of the Singhasari capital of Kutaraja due to Kediri's
treachery, Raden Wijaya tried to defend Singhasari but failed. He and his three colleagues,
Ranggalawe, Sora, and Nambi, went to exile in favour of the same regent (Bupati) Arya
Wiraraja of Madura, Nambi's father, who then turned his back to Jayakatwang. With Arya
Wiraraja's patronage, Raden Wijaya, pretending to submit to King Jayakatwang, won favour
from the new monarch of Kediri, who permitted him to open a new settlement north of
Mount Arjuna, the Tarik forest. In this wilderness, Wijaya found many bitter Maja fruits, so it
was called Majapahit (literally meaning “bitter Maja”), the future capital of the empire.

The land of Singhasari when at its

peak during 1291
In early 1293, the Mongol naval forces arrived on the north coast of Java (near Tuban) and on
the Brantas River mouth to flank what they thought was Singhasari. Raden Wijaya found the

40
opportunity to use the unsuspecting Mongols to overthrow Jayakatwang. Raden Wijaya's
army allied with the Mongols in March 1293 and a battle ensued between Mongol forces
against Daha forces in the creek bed of Kali Mas River, a distributary of Brantas River, which
was followed by the battle of Mongol forces against Daha forces that attacked the Majapahit
regional army led by Raden Wijaya. The Mongols then stormed Daha
and Jayakatwang finally surrendered and was executed.

Once Jayakatwang was eliminated, Raden Vijaya then turned his troops on his former
Mongol allies, forcing them to withdraw from the island of Java on 31 May 1293.The victor,
Prince Wijaya, son-in-law of Kertanegara, the last Singhasari king, then ascended the throne
as Kertajasa Jayawardhana, the first king of the great Majapahit Empire, on 12 November
1293.

Rulers of Singhasari

 Anusapati 1227–1248
 Panji Tohjaya 1248
 Vishnuvardhana-Narasimhamurti 1248–1268
 Kertanegara 1268–1292
Family Tree
Family Tree of Singhasari Kings

Gondang inscription
The Gondang Inscription is an in-situ inscription dating back to the era of the Singhasari
Kingdom which was only discovered in 2017 in the middle of rice fields in Rejoso Hamlet,
Gondang Village, Gondang District, Mojokerto Regency, East Java. The inscription was
founded by local residents and was written in the Old Javanese language bearing the date
1197 Saka or 1275 AD.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
o

41
 V

The Majapahit era

terra-cotta head of Gajah Mada

Terra-cotta head identified as Gajah Mada; in the Trawulan Site Museum, Indonesia(more)
In 1289 the Javanese king Kertanagara maltreated Kublai Khan’s envoy, who had been sent
to demand the king’s submission. The Mongol emperor organized a punitive expedition in
1292, but Kertanagara was killed by a Kadiri rebel, Jayakatwang, before the invaders landed.
Jayakatwang in his turn was quickly overthrown by Kertanagara’s son-in-law, later known
as Kertarajasa, who used the Mongols to his own advantage and then forced them
to withdraw in confusion. The capital city of the kingdom was moved to Majapahit. For some
years the new ruler and his son, who regarded themselves as successors of Kertanagara, had
to suppress rebellions in Java; not until 1319 was Majapahit’s authority firmly established
in Java with the assistance of the renowned soldier Gajah Mada. Gajah Mada was the chief
officer of state during the reign of Kertanagara’s daughter Tribhuvana (c. 1328–50), and in
these years Javanese influence was restored in Bali, Sumatra, and Borneo. Kertanagara’s
great-grandson, Hayam Wuruk, became king in 1350 under the name Rajasanagara.

Hayam Wuruk’s reign (1350–89) is remembered in the archipelago as the most glorious
period in Javanese history. Prapancha’s poem the Nagarakertagama provides a rare glimpse
of the kingdom from a 14th-century point of view. The poem, originally called the Desa

42
warnana (“The Description of the Country”), describes itself as a “literary temple” and
endeavours to show how royal divinity permeates the world, cleansing it of impurities and
enabling all to fulfill their obligations to the gods and therefore to the holy land—the now
undivided kingdom of Java. The poem resembles an act of worship rather than a chronicle.
The poet does not conceal his intention of venerating the king, and, in the tradition of
Javanese poetry, he may have begun it under the stimulus of pious meditation intended to
bring him into contact with the divinity that was embodied in the king.

The core territories of Hayam Wuruk’s polity were probably considerably more extensive
than those of his predecessors. Important territorial rulers, bound to the royal family by
marriage, were brought under surveillance through their incorporation into the court
administration. Although a network of royal religious foundations was centred in the capital,
it remains unclear whether a more centralized and enduring structure of government was
introduced or whether the unity of the realm and the ruler’s authority still depended on the
ruler’s personal prestige. Prapancha, at least, did not ascribe to Hayam Wuruk an unrealistic
degree of authority, even though his poem is an undisguised representation of the attributes of
royal divinity and the effects of divine rule in Java. In their travels around the kingdom,
subordinate officials asserted their royal authority in such matters as taxes and the control of
religious foundations. A sign of the king’s prestige was his decision to undertake a land
survey to ensure that his subjects’ privileges were being maintained. In the absence of an
elaborate system of administration, the authority of the government was strengthened by the
ubiquity of its representatives, and no one set a more strenuous example than the king
himself. According to Prapancha, “the prince was not for long in the royal residence,” and
much of the poem is an account of royal progresses. In this way Hayam Wuruk was able to
assert his influence in restless areas, enforce homage from territorial lords, reassure village
elders by his visits, verify land rights, collect tribute, visit holy men in the countryside for his
own spiritual enlightenment, and worship at Mahayana, Shaivite, and ancient Javanese holy
sites. His indefatigable traveling, at least in the earlier years of his reign, meant that many of
his subjects had the opportunity to come into the presence of one whom they regarded as the
receptacle of divinity.

One of the most interesting sections of the Nagarakertagama concerns the annual New
Year ceremony, when the purifying powers of the king were reinforced by the administration
of holy water. The ceremony, attended by scholarly Indian visitors, enabled the poet to assert
that the only famous countries were Java and India because both contained many religious
experts. At no time in the year was the king’s religious role more emphatically recognized
than at the New Year, when the notables of the kingdom, the envoys of vassals, and village
leaders went to Majapahit to pay homage and to be reminded of their duties. The ceremony
ended with speeches to the visitors on the need to keep the peace and maintain the rice fields.
The king explained that only when the capital was supported by the countryside was it safe
from attack by “foreign islands.”

Since the poem venerates the king, it is not surprising that more than 80 places in the
archipelago are described as vassal territories and that the mainland kingdoms, with the
exception of Vietnam, are said to be protected by the king. Prapancha, believing that the
king’s glory extended in all directions, delineated in detail what he perceived to be the limits of
relevant space. No fewer than 25 places in Sumatra are noted, and the Moluccas, whose spices and
other products were a source of royal wealth, are well represented. On the other hand,
northern Celebes (Sulawesi) and the Philippines are not mentioned.

43
During Hayam Wuruk’s lifetime Javanese overseas prestige was undoubtedly considerable, though
the king demanded no more than homage and tribute from his more important vassals, such as the
ruler of Malayu in Sumatra. In 1377, when a new Malayu ruler dared to seek investiture from the
founder of the Ming dynasty in China, Hayam Wuruk’s envoys in Nanking convinced the emperor
that Malayu was not an independent country. Javanese influence in the archipelago, however,
depended on the ruler’s authority in Java itself. When Hayam Wuruk died in 1389,
the Palembang ruler in southeastern Sumatra saw an opportunity to repudiate his vassal status. He had
noted the Ming dynasty’s restoration of the long-abandoned tributary trading system and its
prohibition of Chinese voyages to Southeast Asia and supposed that foreign traders would again need
the sort of entrepôt facilities in western Indonesia that Srivijaya-Palembang had provided centuries
earlier. He may even have announced himself as a bodhisattva and heir of the maharajas of Srivijaya.
The Javanese expelled him from Palembang, and he fled to Singapore and then to Malacca on
the Malay Peninsula.
VI
AYUDHYA city of Ayutthaya Kingdom
Who built Ayodhya city in India ?

According to the Ramayana, Ayodhya was founded by Manu, the progenitor of mankind, and
measured 12x3 yojanas in area. Both Ramayana and Mahabharata describe Ayodhya as the
capital of the Ikshvaku dynasty of Kosala, including Rama and Dasharatha. The ancient
capital of Thailand. Founded in 1350 CE, Ayutthaya was the Kingdom of Thailand's capital
until the 18th century. Ayutthaya developed into a booming city, and was very influential in
the urban planning and design of the current capital city of Bangkok in Thailand.

'Glory of Rama'; sometimes also spelled Ramakian) is one of Thailand's national epics. It is a
Thai version of the Hindu epic Ramayana. Ramakien is an important part of the Thai literary
canon.

40 miles (64 km) north of Bangkok, lies Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya also spelled "Ayudhya",
or locally and simply Ayutthaya is the capital of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya
province of Thailand. Ayutthaya was the capital of the Ayutthaya kingdom. Located on an
island at the confluence of the Chao Phraya and Pa Sak rivers, Ayutthaya is the birthplace of
the founder of Bangkok, King Rama I. The ruins of the old city are preserved in
the Ayutthaya Historical Park. Ayutthaya is named after the city of Ayodhya in India, the
birthplace of Rama in the Ramayana (Thai, Ramakien); phra is a prefix for a noun
concerning a royal person; nakhon designates an important or capital city (from
Sanskrit: nagara); the Thai honorific sri or si is from the Indian term of veneration Shri. It is
located at the confluence of the Chao Phraya, Lopburi and Pa Sak rivers, this picturesque city
44
was the Thai capital between 1350 and 1767, It was also Thailand’s cultural and commercial
epicentre thronged by global traders, the Dutch,Portuguese, French, English and Tamilians.
The city was founded on Friday, the 6th day of the waxing moon of the 5th month,
1893 Buddhist Era, corresponding to Friday, 4 March 1351 Common Era, according to the
calculation of the Fine Arts Department of Thailand.
Ayutthaya Kingdom

Ayutthaya is shown in the Fra Mauro map of the

world (approximately 1450 CE, with south at the top) under the name "Scierno", derived
from the Persian "Shahr-i Naw", meaning "New City"// Ayutthaya skyline, photographed
by John Thomson, early 1866
Is there Ayodhya in Thailand?

45
Ayodhya in Thailand called “Ayutthaya” was a flourishing Buddhist kingdom in Thailand for
400 years, from the 14th to 18th century. Not only is this place named Ayodhya, but there are
some connections between these two places in history as well.The Indian Ayodhya
historically known as Saketa which was an important city during 6th Century in civilized
India. Indeed, during Buddha's time, Saketa was ruled by Prasenadi whose capital was
Sravasti.

Prior to Ayutthaya's traditional founding date, archaeological and written evidence has
revealed that Ayutthaya may have existed as early as the late 13th century as a water-borne
port town. Further evidence of this can be seen with Wat Phanan Choeng, which was founded
in 1324, 27 years before Ayutthaya's official foundation.Ayutthaya was officially founded in
135 by King U Thong, who went there to escape a smallpox outbreak in Lopburi and
proclaimed it the capital of his kingdom, often referred to as the Ayutthaya Kingdom or
Siam. It is named after the ancient Indian city of Ayodhya, synonymous with Rama, the 7th
incarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu. Ayutthaya became the second Siamese capital
after Sukhothai. It is estimated that Ayutthaya by the year 1600 had a population of about
300,000, with the population perhaps reaching 1,000,000 around 1700, making it one of the
world's largest cities at that time, when it was sometimes known as the "Venice of the
East".In 1767, the city was destroyed by the Burmese army, resulting in the collapse of the
kingdom. The ruins of the old city are preserved in the Ayutthaya historical park, which is
recognised internationally as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ruins, characterised by
the prang (reliquary towers) and gigantic monasteries, give an idea of the city's past
splendour. Modern Ayutthaya was refounded a few kilometres to the east. Once an important
center of global diplomacy and commerce, Ayutthaya is now an archaeological ruin,
characterized by the remains of tall prang (reliquary towers) and Buddhist monasteries of
monumental proportions, which give an idea of the city's past size and the splendor of its
architecture. All kings in the current Chakri dynasty of Thailand are often referred to as King
Rama in the English speaking world. The name Rama was adopted from the name of the
Hindu God Rama, an avatar of Vishnu.
Ayutthaya, around 70 kilometres north of Bangkok, became the most important city and
capital of the kingdom of Siam. The word Ayutthaya has its roots in Ayodhya, the birthplace
of Lord Ram. Ayutthaya indicates the influence of Hinduism in the region and is associated
with 'Ramakien', the Thai version of The Ramayan

46
Notable cultural sites

Name Picture Built Sponsor(s) Notes

Wat Yai One of the most

King Ramathibo
Chai 1357 famous temples
di I
Mongkhon in Ayutthaya

Wat King Borommar

1374
Mahathat acha I

Wat Chai One of the most

King Prasat
Watthanara 1630 famous temples
Thong
m in Ayutthaya

Wat Phanan
1324
Choeng

Wat Phra Si King Ramathibo

1350
Sanphet di I

47
Name Picture Built Sponsor(s) Notes

Restored once or
c. 1637 twice in the 18th
(restored c. century. Reduced
Wihan Phra King Chairacha
1742/20th to ruins after
Mongkhon King Borommak
century, on the Fall of
Bophit ot
multiple Ayutthaya in
occasions) 1767. Restored in
the 20th century.

One of the best

preserved
temples to
survive after
Wat Na King Ramathibo the Fall of
1503
Phra Men di II Ayutthaya in
1767. Restored
during the reign
of Rama
III (r. 1824–51).

Wat
King Borommar
Ratchabura 1424
achathirat II
na

Under royal King Uthumphon

patronage from entered the
King Songtham monkhood at this
Wat Pradu
(r. 1611–28) temple following
Songtham
until the fall of his forced
Ayutthaya in abdication in
1767 1758

48
Name Picture Built Sponsor(s) Notes

Wat Lokaya
1452 King Intharacha
Sutharam

Wat Phra
1369 King Ramesuan
Ram

Wat Built before

Before King Ramathibo
Phutthaisaw Ayutthaya was
1350 di I
an founded

Built to
King (then- commemorate a
c. 1569,
Chedi Prince) Naresua battle victory
1587
Phukhao n following
(rebuilt in
Thong King Borommak Ayutthaya's
1744)
ot[ liberation from
Burma in 1584

49
Name Picture Built Sponsor(s) Notes

Wat Built before

Before
Thammikar King of Lavo Ayutthaya was
1350
at founded

A good example
Prince, later of 18th-century
Wat Kudi 1711 or
King Borommak Late Ayutthaya
Dao earlier
ot wat architecture.
Partially restored.

 A Thailand-themed town named "Ayothaya" appears in the personal

computer MMORPG Ragnarok Online.
 Ayutthaya is a stage in Soul Calibur II.
 The temples in Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Wat Ratchaburana from Ayutthaya appear
in Street Fighter II, Kickboxer (as "Stone City"), Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat
Annihilation, and throughout Mortal Kombat Conquest.
 The lying Buddha statue from the Ayutthaya ruins appears in Sagat's stage in most of
the Street Fighter games.
 It was featured in the 2005 movie "The King Maker".
 The 1630 destruction of the Japanese quarter of Ayutthaya at the orders of Prasat
Thong and its consequences is central to one of the stories in the 1632
series anthology Ring of Fire III, "All God's Children in the Burning East" by Garrett W.
Vance.
 In the 2010 Nintendo DS game Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, the main characters visit the
city of 'Ayuthay', which draws heavily on Thai culture and architecture.
 A Thailand-themed map named "Ayutthaya" appears in the video game Overwatch.
 Ayutthaya was featured in the 2016 video game Civilization VI as a non-playable city-
state, boosting culture point generation in whichever civilization it is currently allied
with.

50
 Wat Phra Si Sanphet/Mahathat, Ayutthaya historical park/Thammikarat temple

ABOUT DR UDAY DOKRAS

© Dr. Uday Dokras-

DEAN
INDO NORDIC AUTHORS’ COLLECTIVE
Institute of International Historiography
B.Sc., B.A. (managerial economics) LL.B. Nagpur University, INDIA
Graduate Studies, Queen’s University,Kingston, CANADA
Graduate Diploma in Law & PhD, Stockholm University, SWEDEN
Vedic Architecture, Vaastu and Astrology Consultant
Holder of the WORLD RECORDS7
Highest number of research Papers and Books written
Hindu Temples
Buddhism
Vaastu

51
 2 - Worldwide Book of Records

#1 7 x
2 - Unique World Record
1-INDIA Book of RECORDS
1-Kalam Book of Records
1 Institute of International Historiography
780- BOOKS & 2500 RESEARCH PAPERS- in academia.edu.
3 million Readers as on 1 June, 2024.
Dr.Uday Dokras, a leading historiographer, is Ranked as #1 in the world in SIX categories
for having written the highest number of books and research papers on-Vedic Architecture,
Dhamma, (including Borobudur Buddhism), Angkor Wat (Vrah Vishnuloka), Shivagriha at
Prambanan, Design elements of the ancient Kingdoms of Dvaravati and Vandan in Indo
China.

A senior management professional in HR domain prior to his retirement, he was Group Vice -
President of MZI Group in New Delhi and has anchored Human Relations in Go Air ( Go
Airlines India Pvt Ltd-Mumbai) , Hotel Holiday Inn; Lata Mangeshkar Hospital and Medical
College- amongst other corporate entities. Resident of Sweden for 12 years, where he studied
and worked, he anchored HR in Stadbolaget RENIA, SSSB.

He has studied in Nagpur for B. Sc. B.A. (Economics) and LLB.

He has done his Graduate Studies from Canada at the Queen's University, Kingston
He has a PhD, Stockholm University, Sweden.
Apart from that he has done a Management Training Program in Singapore.
A scholar of the Swedish Institute for 5 years, he has been an Edvard Cassel Fund and
Wineroth Fund Awardee.

In 1984 he was involved with the Comparative Labor Law Project of the University of
California, Los Angeles, U.S.A. He was also visiting lecturer there.
In 1985 he was invited by the President of Seychelles to do a study of the efficacy of the
labor laws of Seychelles.

Author of thousands of research papers and almost 640 + books, his brief life sketch is part of
the English study text book of 7 th Class Students in Sweden -“Studying English-
SPOTLIGHT 7”- and 8th Class students in Iceland - SPOTLIGHT 8- and Lausnir.

His books adorn many International Libraries and the US Library of Congress has awarded
him a copyright. A prolific writer and decipherer of ancient mysteries. Is currently Consultant
in Vedic Architecture and Dean of the Indo Nordic Authors’ Collective, Stockholm,
SWEDEN and President of the International Institute of Historiography, Tampare ,
FINLAND.
Dr Dokras has his family in Gurugram, India-Australia and New Jersey, USA.

2700 Research Papers and 780 BOOKS written by DR UDAY DOKRAS

52
Referred to in more than 200+ research papers and theses .Contributor to various magazines and
literary Fora.

53
54
55
56
57
World#1 Honorifics by following Agencies & other titles
Largest Number of Religious Research papers written by an individual-world-
record
https://www.worldwideworldrecords.com/post/largest-number-of-religious-
research-papers-written-by-an-individual-world-record-by-uday-dokras
MOST ARTICLES ON DHAMMA
https://www.uniqueworldrecords.com/records/posts/most-articles-on-
dhamma

Maximum number of books written on Hindu Temples by an Individual

https://www.worldwideworldrecords.com/post/maximum-number-of-books-
written-on-hindu-temples-by-an-individual-world-record-by-dr-uday-
dokras#:~:text=The%20World%20Record%20For%20Maximum,The
%20Worldwide%20Book%20Of%20Records.

Highest number of articles and books written on Hindu Buddhist Temples

of Indonesia( Including Borobudur and Prambanan)

Highest number of Research Papers/ Books (Literary endeavours) published

by an Individual- UNIQUE Book of world records

Maximum sociocultural research papers uploaded by an

individual on a single website INDIA BOOK of RECORDS
recordsmanagement@indiabookofrecords.in

Award and honor Bahujan Hitai Sangh award for writing

highest number of books and Research on BOROBUDUR

https://www.academia.edu/110112500/
Bahujan_Hitai_Sangh_Fetes_dr_Uday_for_highest_number_of
_Books_and_Research_papers_written_on_BOROBUDUR
The Jain Foundation presented the Jaina Achiever Trophy to Dr Uday Dokras
for his prolific writings on historiography of Jainism and Jain religious
structures and contributing erudite articles to numerous Jain Journals such as
Nagabharana: Recent Trends in Jainism Studies and SWASTIKA: Epigraphy,
Numismatics, Religion and Philosophy
https://www.academia.edu/110112203/
Jaina_award_to_Dr_Uday_Dokras
Economic Times (20 July 2022) mentions and acknowledges contribution of
Dr. Uday to design elements of New Parliament House of India vis-a-vis
Dwarpals or door guardians.
https://www.academia.edu/109139672/
Design_components_of_the_new_Parliament_complex_of_INDIA_inspired_by
_the_author_Dr_Uday_Dokras_work

58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
 https://
drive.google.com/file/d/1rr86sEWr4SVN4pdIMHkS-lqmKF6jl5nR/view?usp=sharing

66
67
68
69
70
 World Record Holders 2023
Maximum Number of Research Papers
Completed by an Individual Person
Dr Uday Dokras
71
From the Newspaper Times of India March 24, 2018

72
Iceland & Sweden- both countries use the English Text book
SPOTLIGHT-one of the lessons in which is about Dr Uday Dokras
https://mms.is/sites/mms.is/files/atoms/files/
7057_spotlight_8_nem.pdf (page 44)

Prof. S.Deshpande,Past President of the Indian Institute of

Architects, New Delhi INDIA releasing the book of Dr Dokras
HINDU TEMPLES on the web in CARONA times ( May 2020)

73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86