Printed and Published by M. C. Das 

PRABASI PRESS 
120-2, Upper Circular Road, Calcutta. 



FOREWORD 

In offering to the public this new and revised edition of 
the Greater India Society's Bulletin No. 5, an apology is 
needed for the unfortunate delay that has occurred in its 
publication. This has been largely due to the fact that both 
authors had to stay at a great distance from the Press 
where the work was printed. 

In the first part of the present work the author Dr. 
B. R. Chatterji has further availed himself of his knowledge 
of the Dutch sources to revise and bring up-to-date the 
subject matter of the first edition. 

The second part, which is altogether new, consists of 
a eorpua of Sanskrit inscriptions from Java, Sumatra and 
Borneo lands of originally alien tongues and peoples but 
afterwards completely transfused by contact with the 
superior culture of India. In this part while Dr. Chatterjee 
has with his usual industry collected all the inscriptions, 
the task of editing and translating them has been undertaken 
by Dr. N. P. Chakravarti to whom the Society conveys its 
warmest thanks. 

At the present w< time when India's fitness for undertaking 
the responsibilities of a complete national life is being judged 
at the bar of the world's opinion, it is to be hoped that 
this modest narrative of her cultural achievement in a remote 
corner of South-Eastern Asia in the past will not fail to 
awaken a wide and a keen interest. 

In conclusion, a word of acknowledgment is due to the 
Prabasi Press for the unfailing courtesy which it has 
extended to us at every stage of publication of the present 
work. 



Calcutta - 1 HorSecTeterT 

A ;i i QQQ r mm. secretary, 



rU. N. GHOSHAI,, 
Hon. Secretary, 
Greater India Society 



AtTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION 

In this Bulletin I have tried to give a general idea of 
tndian culture of Java and Sumatra in a popular way. In 
this connection I desire to express ray indebtedness to 
Dr. Otto Blagden, Dean of the School of Oriental Studies, 
London, who introduced me to the standard Dutch works 
on the subject, guided me in my studies on the history 
of Imulindia and read with me several important texts. I 
am specially thankful to Dr. Blagden for his help as 
regards the sections on Shrivijaya and the Javanese 
Ramayana. 

In the second edition I have added two more chapters. 
The first and second chapters have been revised according 
to the new information which Prof. Krom's Hindoe- 
Jamanschc Geschicdcnis has now made available. 

B. R. C. 



CONTENTS OF PART I 

PAGE 

AN OUTLINE OP INDO-JAVANESE HISTORY 1 
SHRIVIJAYA THE EMPIRE OF THE SHAILENDRA 

MONARCHS OF SUMATRA 14 

JAVA AND SUMATRA IN INDIAN LITERATURE 22 

THE RAMAYANA IN JAVA 29 

FALL OF THE LAST HINDU KINGDOM OF J*VA 42 

THE MAHABHARATA AND THE WAYANG IN JAVA 48 

TANTRISM IN CAMBODIA, SUMATRA AND JAVA 52 



AN OUTLINE OF INDO-JAVANESE HISTORY 

THE material on which Sir Stamford Baffles based his 
history of anciont Java, wX comparatively recent Javanese 
tradition, has but little historical value. We have to go 
back to the ancient inscriptions of the Malay Archipelago, 
contemporary notices in Chinese annals and Kavi chronicles, 
like the Nagarakrta-gama and the Pararaton, in order to 
reconstruct the Hindu-Buddhist period of Javanese history. 
Within the last thirty years Dutch scholars like Kern, 
Brandes and Krom have accomplished much in this 
direction. Indeed Dr. N. J Krom's Hindoe-Javwnsche 
Gcschiedenis will for a long time remain the standard work 
on this subject. 

The mention of Java in the Ramayana, whore Sugriva 
sends out searching parties in quest of Sita to the four 
cardinal points, is well-known. Professor Sylvain L6vi 
would ascribe to this passage a date not later than the first 
century A. D. Ptolemy, the astronomer of Alexandria who 
wrote his geography about the middle of the 2nd century 
A. D, refers to Java as Jabadieu (Yavadvipa) a name 
which he himself translates as the island of barley. Thus 
the Sanskrit name of the island was already known to 
foreigners. Chinese chronicles mention that about 132 A. D. 
Tiao Picn (Deva Varman ?), the king of Ye-tiao (Yavadvipa), 
sent an embassy to China. The Emperor presented to Tiao 
Pien a seal of gold and a violot ribbon. 

The earliest inscriptions hitherto discovered come not 
from Java but from eastern Borneo. They are not dated, but 
on palueographical grounds they have been assigned to the 
fourth century A. D. The script closely resembles that of the 
early Pallava inscriptions of South India and that of the 
earliest inscriptions of Champa and Kamboja. The Borneo 
inscriptions are, however, much earlier than the Pallava 
inscriptions and it is in this island that we first find this 
script The language is tolerably good Sanskrit. The 
inscriptions tell us of one Ashvavarraan, the founder of a 
noble race. Foremost among his sons was Mulavarman, the 
lord of kings, who had celebrated a bahitsuvarnaka sacrifice, 
for which ceremony stone yupas (sacrificial posts) had been 
prepared by Brahmans. Fragments of these stone posts have 
been discovered along with the inscription. 

The next series of inscriptions tell us of Purnavarman 
of Western Java. These, too, are not dated, but, on account 
of their archaic character, have been ascribed to the middle 



2 INDIA AND JAVA 

of the 5th. century A. D. The script is the same whteh 
later on became known as Pallava grantha and which is 
found in early "Borneo and in the Indo-Chinese epigraphy 
of Champa and Kamboja. Purnavarman calls himself the 
lord of Tartima-nagara (near Batavia), and one of the 
inscriptions refers to the construction of two canals, 
Chandrabhagft and Gomati. It is to be noted that both the 
names are those of rivers of North India. On two of the 
inscriptions the foot-prints of Purnavarraan himself are 
carved and compared with those of Vishnu, while on a third 
the footmarks of the king's elephant are cut into the 
stone. 

It might have been during the reign of Purnavarman 
or one of his immediate predecessors that the Chinese 
pilgrim Fa-hien reached West Java from Ceylon. Fa-hien 
writes that in this country there were many Brahmans but 
that the Buddhist religion here was not of sufficient 
importance to be worth mentioning. Then he mentions that 
after a short stay he sailed for Canton (in 413 A. D.) in a 
merchant vassel which had 200 Hindu traders on board. 

Buddhism was probably first preached in Java by 
Gunavarman, a prince of Kashmir, in 423 A. D. From Java 
Gunavarman proceeded to China in a ship belonging to a 
Hindu of the name of Nandi. 

The next mention of Java is also from a Chinese source. 
We learn from the history of the first Sung dynasty that, 
in the year 435 A. D , the king of Ja-va-da whose name was 
Sri-pa-da-do-a-la-pa-mo (Shripada Dharavarman ?) sent an 
envoy to the Chinese court to present a letter. 

Another Chinese chronicle, which covers the first half 
of the 6th century A. D., describes a kingdom of the name 
of Lan-ga-su on the N. W. coast of Java. "The people say 
that this kingdom was established more than 400 years 
ago. It once happened that a king of this country 
was very unsatisfactory in his rule. One of his relations 
was a clever man, and therefore the people began to turn 
towards him . . . The king drove him out of the realm, where- 
upon his kinsman went to India and there married the 
daughter of a ruler of that country. When the king of 
Lan-ga-su died, the exiled prince was called back by the 
nobles to be their king . . ." The son of this king sent a letter 
to the Chinese Emperor, which is characterised by a fervent 
Buddhist tone. 

It seems that towards the end of the 6th century, 
Western Java fell into decay and Central Java rose into 
prominence. The new history of the T'ang dynasty mentions 
a kingdom of the name of Kalinga in Central Java and 
describes embassies which came from this kingdom and from 
Bali in the period 637-649. 



INDIA AND JAVA O 

"In 674 A. D. the people of this realm took as their 
ruler a lady of the name of Sima. Her rule was most 
excellent, even things dropped on the road were not picked 
up. An Arab chief (an Arab colony existed on the Western 
coast of Sumatra from an early date) sent a bag of gold 
to be laid down within her frontiers. The people avoided 
it in walking, and it remained untouched for three years. 
Once the Crown-Prince stepped over that gold and Queen 
Sima was so angry with him that she wanted to have him 
executed. There was however a compromise, and the prince's 
toes, which had touched the bag of gold, were cut oft." 

We hear no more of this kingdom of Kalinga in Java. 
Our next source of information is the Janggal inscription 
of Central Java, of the Shaka year 654 (732 A. D.), the first 
dated record which we have got as yet from Java. The 
script (Pallava Grantha) and the language (Sanskrit) both 
closely resemble the characters and the style of the Han 
Chey inscription of Bhavavarman, the king who reigned in 
Kamboja about the middle of the 6th century. This Central 
Javanese inscription is a Shaiva document and refers to the 
reconstruction of a Shaiva temple on the model of a 
celebrated shrine in the holy land of Kunjara Kunja. 
Probably this Kunjara Kunja is to be identified with the 
ashrama of Agastya of that name in South India. Two 
kings of Central Java, Sannaha and Sanjaya (father and 
son), are mentioned here as having ruled long on this earth 
with justice like Manu. Perhaps the Shiva temples on the 
Dieng plateau should be ascribed to this period. A later 
Javanese chronicle describes extensive conquests of Sanjaya 
beyond the boundaries of Java. Princes of Sumatra, Bali 
and the Malay Peninsula are said to have yielded after 
severe fighting and acknowledged his supremacy. 

Another Shaiva inscription discovered at Dinaya in 
Eastern Java, dated 682 Shaka (760 A. D.), describes the 
construction of a black stone image of Agastya Eishi. This 
was done by the order of king Gajayana, the benefactar of 
Brahmans and the worshipper of Agastya, who had seen ail 
image of the Eishi constructed out of Devadaru wood by his 
ancestors. "In order to get rain, this image of Agastya 
Kumbhayoni was consecrated in kumblia-lagna by the strong- 
minded king in the fine Maliarshi-bhavana" 

It may be mentioned in this connection that Agastya is 
referred to again in another inscription which is dated a 
century later (785 S. 863 A. D.) and which is partly in 
Sanskrit verse and partly in Kavi. Kavi is a mixture of 
Sanskrit and a Polynesian dialect. There Agastya is also 
invoked under the Javanese name of Valaing. A temple 
of the name of Bhadraloka is mentioned in this inscription 
as having been built by Agastya himself, and in the conclud- 



4 INDIA AND JAVA 

ing lines there is a praver offered for the peace and pros- 
perity of tne descendants of the Maharshi who, it seems, had 
settled down in Java, Prof. Kron:, however, thinks that the 
name Agastya here might refer to some person living m 
the 9th century A. D. who bore the name of the great seer. 

In the meantime, however, important political changes 
had come over Central Java, which had passed, about the 
middle of the 8th century, from the hands of the Shaiva 
rulers into the control of a Mahayanist dynasty from Sumatra. 
Chinese records tell us that a Hinduised kingdom of 
Palembang existed in Sumatra in the 5th century A. D. 
A learned French savant, M. CrodGs, has made a most 
remarkable contribution to our knowledge of the ancient 
history of Further India by identifying Palembang with 
Shrivijaya, the San-fot-si of the Chinese. We now know that 
the Shailendra dynasty of Shrivijaya ruled over a mighty 
empire extending over the Malay Peninsula and Central Java 
besides Sumatra. In the 10th century a Buddhist temple 
was constructed at Negapatain (near Madras) at the expense 
of a king of this Sumatran dynasty with the permission of 
a Chola prince. A Nalanda copper plate of Devapala records 
the grant of some villages by the Pala sovereign of Bengal 
for the upkeep of a monastery at Nalanda which was built at 
the instance of Balaputradeva of the Shailendra dynasty of 
Suvarnadvipa (Sumatra) out of his devotion to Buddhism. 
Evidently therefore Shrivijaya or Palembang in Sumatra 
had become a stronghold of Mahayana Buddhism since the 
days of I-tsing, who towards the end of the 7th century 
described it as a great centre of Hinayana learning. 

To come back to Java, an inscription found near the lovely 
temple of Kalasan in Central Java and dated 700 Shaka, (778 
A. D.) tells us that this temple of Tara was built at the 
command of the Shailendra king of Shrivijaya in his own 
kingdom. Apparently the Javanese possessions were governed 
by viceroys on behalf of the Sumatran sovereign. A remark- 
able fact is that this inscription is not in the Pallava 
script of South India but in a North Indian alphabet 
In my work on ancient Cambodia I have tried to show 
that the introduction of Mahayana Buddhism and a North 
Indian script .in Cambodia should also be associated with 
the dominating influence of Shrivijaya. Moreover, this 
North Indian script of Java and Cambodia is obviously more 
akin to Bengali than to the Devanagari characters. This 
feature and the curious combination of Mahayana Buddhism 
with Trantric elements and Shaiva doctrines to be found 
henceforth in Java, Sumatra and Cambodia, have led me to 
suggest in the above-mentioned work that from the 8th 
century onwards, South Indian influence seems to be on the 
wane in Further India which, in religion and in art, comes 



INDIA AND JAVA 5 

more and more under the sway of Pala ^Bengal and Magadha. 
In this connection Prof. Krom states : "Indian Buddhism in 
this period had a recognised centre in the University of 
Nalanda which centre had a far-reaching influence on the 
whole of India as well as remote colonies as far away as 
as China. .Therefore for (the true source of) the Mahayanist 
finds in Java we must look first of all to Nalanda." 

Central Java did not languish under the rule of the 
Shrivijaya kings. This is the classic penod of Javanese 
architecture. Borobodur that epic in stone is also to bo 
ascribed to this period. The image of Avalokiteshvara in 
the Chandi Mendoot is one of the happiest efforts of Javanese 
sculpture and can stand comparison with the best specimens 
of the Gupta school. Again, by a Shailendra king, as a 
proof of the study of Sanskrit, was edited a Sanskrit glossary 
(Amaramahi) in Kavi (Old Javanese). About 863 A. I), 
the Sumatran period of Javanese history comes to an end 
as an inscription, bearing .the date 785 Shaka era (863 A. D.), 
has been discovered in Central Java which commemorates 
the cult of Agastya. 

About this period the Shaiva princes, who had been 
ousted from Central Java and who had settled down in the 
eastern portion of the island, appear to have won back their 
lost territory from the governors of the Shailendra kings of 
Shrivijaya. Thus was founded the Hindu kingdom of 
Mataram in Central Java which lasted apparently from 863 
A. D. to 915 A. D. Daksha (915 A. D.) seems to be the last 
ruler of Mataram and to be the builder of Prambanam. After 
his reign Central Java seems to have been ruled by governors 
appointed by East Javanese sovereigns. Wawa was one of 
these overlords of Mataram. It was during his reign 
that the 'Minto inseription' (924 A. D.) was written. It is 
so called because Sir S. Raffles sent this inscription to Lord 
Minto in Scotland during the period of the British occupation 
of Java. It is a grant for a temple. With Wawa's death 
Central Java drops out altogether from Javanese history. The 
great building activity continued in Central Java under 
these Mataram princes ; for to this period of Hindu revival 
belongs the famous Prambanam group of temples with its 
magnificent reliefs depicting scenes of the Eamayana. About 
828 A. D. (the close of Wawa's reign) occurred a great 
disaster, probably a volcanic eruption, and Central Java was 
abandoned. 

The scene now shifts to Eastern Java where rose a power- 
ful State under Mpoo Sindok who was at first a minister of 
Wawa. During Sindok's reign lived the Buddhist author of 
the Subhuti Tautra, a text which attained fame afterwards. 
His great-grand- daughter Mahendradatta ( *&*% Sfsrt ) was 



6 INDIA AND JAVA 

married to Udayana, the governor of Bali, which island had 
already come under the sway of the East Javanese princes. 
The offspring of this union, as we are told in an inscription, 
was the great Erlangga. While only 15 years of age, this 
prince had to fly from his enemies and take refuge in the 
forest of Vanagiri. He and his followers lived with the 
ascetics in the forest clad in the bark of trees and partaking 
of the same food as these hermits. He then made a vow 
that if he was ever restored to his throne, he would build 
an ashrama in the forest a vow, which the inscription tells 
us, he carried out on a magnificent scale. In the Shaka 
year 957 (1035 A. D.), after having overthrown his enemies 
in the cast and west and, like a fiery dragon, having burnt 
the andrya i non-Aryan) south, Erlangga was enthroned as 
the overlord of Javadvipa. It was during his reign that 
some of the most renowned Kavi (Old Javanese) poems were 
composed Arjuna-Vivaha, Virata-parva and a translation 
of the Mahabharata. The Ramayana may also have been 
translated into Kavi during this reign. 

In 1042 King Erlangga again took to a hermit's life 
after dividing his kingdom between his two sons. The 
partition was effected by a learned sage, Bharada, who had 
acquired 'siddhi? With a pitcher of water, which came 
down from the heavens by the magic power of the great 
master, the boundary line between the two kingdoms of 
Kediri and Jangala was marked out. 

Of Jangala little is known ; but Kediri or Daha has 
made itself illustrious by the contributions its poets have 
made to Kavi literature. As a Dutch scholar has written : 
**The Javanese of to-day still looks back on Kediri's golden 
age as the most perfect realisation of his romantic dreams*" 
About 1104 A. D. flourished at the court of king Varshajaya 
the poet Triguna, who was the author of the Kavi 
poems Sumanasantaka and Krishnayana. About 1120 A. D. 
reigned Kameshvara who has been identified with the 
famous hero Eaden Panji of the Panji romance, still so 
popular in Java. He was married to Chandra Kirana a 
princess of Jangala "with whom the king always sat on 
the golden lion-throne," and he was the hero of all sorts of 
adventures. His court-poet was Mpu Dharmaja, who 
composed the Smara-dahana ('the burning of the God of 
Love'). 

Between 1135 and 1155 A.D. Jayabaya, who is remember- 
ed to this day in Java, was on the Kediri throne. During 
his reign the poet Penoolooh wrote the Bharata Yuddha 
and the Harivamsa. Later on Mahabharata episodes were 
adapted in such a way that the scene of the great battle 
was shifted to Java and the heroes were transformed into 
Javanese princes and thus became the ancestors of noble 



INDIA AND JAVA 

Javanese families. King Jayabaya is described in the 1 
Yuddha as a great conqueror who succeeded in over* 
even the ruler of Sumatra. The tradition still exists ii 
that Jayabaya will come back and restore the goldei 
He was a Vaislmava prince. 

The rulers of Kediri also made their influence 
foreign relations. In 1129 A. D. Kmeshvara received 
the Chinese Emperor the title of king. We learn 
Arab sources that Javanese merchants traded up 
vicinity of Sophala (on the southeast coast of 
opposite Madagascar. There were numerous Negro 
at the court of the Javanese princes. Inded M. ( 
Ferrand has been led to the conclusion by linguistic e^ 
and by the accounts of Arab and early Portuguese tra 
that Madagascar was colonised in the first centu 
the Christian era by Hinduised emigrants from 81 
and Java. In the 10th century* he states, there was 
migration to Madagascar from the Malay Archipelago. 

Early in the 13th century Kediri had to submit t 
adventurer Ken Arok with whose romantic career we 
now to deal. We have ample material for the hist 
Java from the 13th century onwards, for both the N 
krfcagama and the Pararaton, the two most valuable 
chronicles which we possess, cover the Singasari ai 
Majapahit periods. The Pararaton continues its nai 
up to 1478 A. D., i. e the end of the Hindu peric 
Javanese history, while the Nagarakrtasatna stops 
year 1365 during the reign of Hyam Wuruk the ; 
Prapancha being the court-poet of that great monarch. 

The Pararaton begins with the story of Ken 1 
the ancestor of the rulers of the Singasari and Ma 
kingdoms. He is described as the issue of Brahn 
incarnation of Vistmu and a near relation of Shiva, 
thus a superman, he hesitated at nothing. He was 
of theft, murder, and of every conceivable crime. On 
while he sat in a gambling den, he met a Brahman wi 
come from India for the sole purpose of seeing him. 
Brahman had come to know from supernatural s 
in India that Vislmu had incarnated himself in Java 
person of Ken Arok. With the Brahman's help Ken 
got into the service of the prince of Singasari (or Tui 
a vassal chief of Kediri. Then he fell in love wi 
wife of the prince, Dedes the most beautiful won 
Java, of whom had been foretold that her husband 
be a Chakravarti monarch. After a series of disref 
adventures the Kediri prince was disposed of by mean 
dagger. Ken Arok ascended the throne of Singasari in 
married Queen Dedes and soon reduced the neighb 
principalities of Jangala and Kediri to submission. He as 



8 INDIA AND JAVA 

the title of Rajasa Sang Amurvabhumi and had succeeded in 
consolidating his conquests before he was murdered in 1227. 
The celebrated image of Prajna-paramita, perhaps the most 
exquisite specimen of the Indo-Javanese school of sculpture, 
is ascribed to his reign, and is said to represent the features 
of his queen Dedes. 

The reign of Krtanagara 1268-1293 A D.) the fourth 
ruler of Sangasari after Ken Arok, was full of events which 
formed a turning-point in Javanese history. Krtanagara, 
even in his life-time, was adored as Shiva-Buddha but in 
reality he was weak and frivolous and brought disasters 
on his State. Without taking care to make his position 
secure at home, he frittered away his resources in 
oxpoditions to Malay u 'in Sumatra), Bali, Bakulpura 
(in 8. W. Borneo), etc. His inordinate pride led him to 
insult the envoy of the Chinese Emperor Ivubilai Khan. 
Meanwhile a vassal of his, Jayakatong of Kediri (or 
Daha), rose in revolt against him. Krtanagara's son-in-law, 
Raden Vijaya, tried in vain to resist the rebel chief, 
who made his entry into Singasari. Krtanagara was slain, 
and Vijaya escaped to Madura (the island to the north of 
JavaX He came back again, however, entered the service 
of his former enemy Jayakatong and served him with a 
carefully feigned faithfulness. With that prince's permission 
Raden Vijaya founded a new town on a waste land which 
came to he known as Majapahit (Bilva-tikta) from a bad 
tree with bitter fruit found growing on the site. Vijaya 
was all the while biding his opportunity, which came in 
1293 A. D, with the arrival of the Chinese troops sent by 
Kubilai Khan to avenge the insult offered to his envoy. 
At the instigation of Raden Vijaya the Chinese generals 
moved against Jayakatong of Kediri, who perished in the 
conflict. His enemy being thus disposed of, Raden Vijaya 
then attacked the Chinese troops, who, astonished at this 
treachery, retreated to their ships and sailed away to China 
without having accomplished anything. Kubilai Khan was 
highly incensed at the failure of this expedition and 
condemned one of his generals, a Mongol, to receive 
seventeen lashes. 

.. B ; en Yi )aya, having got rid of all his foes, ascended 
the throno of Majapahit, in 1294 A. D., and, assuming 
the title of Krtarajasa Jayavardhana, made himself the 
overlord of East Java. A fine statute of this first sovereign 
of Ma]apahit, erected in the temple built over his ashes, 
represents him as Vishnu with all the sacred symbols. This 
practice of identifying deceased monarchs with the divinities 
they worshipped in their life-time was common in ancient 
tambodia as well as in Java. 

The son of Krtarajasa, who succeeded' him, was a 



INDIA AND JAVA 9 

worthless ruler. The third sovereign of Majapahit was 
the great queen Tribhuvanottungadevi Jayavislwuvardhani 
the eldest daughter of Krtarajasa. She shared her royal 
position with her mother Gayatri (a devout Buddhist) and 
her sister Rajadevi. Her husband, the Prince-Consort, was 
the chief justice ot the realm. It was, however, Gajamada, 
the prime-minister, who was the most masterful personality 
at her court. One day in a cabinet meeting he declared 
that he would not touch the income from his estate till 
West Java, Bali and the chain of islands to the east of it, 
Bakulpura in S.-W. Borneo, Palembang or Shrivijaya in 
Sumatra and Pahang and Singapura (Singapore) in the Malay 
Peninsula were conquered by Majapahit. This solemn 
vow was received with jeers and contemptuous laughter. 
Gajamada, keenly feeling the insult, laid his complaint 
before the queen. The scoffers had to clear out and 
Gajamada received the royal permission to carry out his 
policy. 

Bali was overrun in 134'J. The powerful prince of 
Badahulu in Bali was slain and as he was the over-lord 
of the chain of islands to th-j east of Java and of Madura 
and a portion of Celebes this was a great triumph for 
Majapahit. 

Probably the other conquests were achieved during the 
next reign, that of Hayam Wurnk, under whom Gajaraada 
continued to serve as prime-minister. 

To this period belong the curious inscriptions of 
Adityavarman a princo of Sumatra who was a relation 
and a vassal of the queen of Majapahit. The language 
of these inscriptions is very obsure but they clearly show 
the prevalence of Tantric doctrines in Sumatra and Java. 
De Heer Moens, in the Tijfacltrift van het Batanaaseh 
Gcnootschap, 1924 (3 and 4), thus interprets these stanzas, 
which were obviously meant to mystify the reader: 4 In 
1269 Shaka in the month of Jyaisthya, Prince Adityavarman 
received on ^ a cremation-ground the highest consecration, 
thereby gaining salvation, becoming a Kshetrajna, under the 
name of Vishesa Dharani,enthroned in solitary state (on 
a heap of corpses), laughing violently and drinking blood 
while his Mahaprasada (i.e. the human sacrifice) flamed up 
and spread all around an awful smell, which however to the 
initiate seemed like the perfume of a million flowers." After 
his death Adityavarman was supposed to be identified with 
Avalokiteshvara. 

In this connection may also be mentioned the Tantric 
practices ascribed to Krtanagara (the last King of Singasari) 
by Prapancha the author of the Nagarakrtagama who was 
nvmg at the court of Majapahit at this time. We have 
already mentioned that K>tanagnra was supposed to be an 



JO TNUJA AND JAVA 

incarnation of Shiva-Buddha. He also received^ consecration 
on a cremation-ground and thus became identified with the 
Jinn Akshobhya. The Nagarakrtagama also refers to the 
Tantric Chakra rites diligently carried put by Krtanagara, who 
was also an adept in still darker practices. 

The Sang Hyang Karnahayanikan, which belongs to this 
period and which calls itself a text of Mantrayana Mahayana, 
also bears the impress of Tantrism. A passage in it refers 
to Brahma, Vishwu and Shiva as the emanations of the 
Dhyani Buddha Yairochana. 

This digression on the prevalence of Tantric doctrines 
in Java and Sumatra would serve to show how the deca- 
dence of both Hinduism and Buddhism paved the way for 
the success of Islam in these islands. 

To return to Queen Jayavish//uvardhani, she withdrew 
from the affairs of state when her son Hyam Wuruk (a 
Javanese name meaning the "young cock") became of age 
in 1350 A. D. The reign of Hyam Wuruk (his royal title 
was Shri Rajasanagara) saw the great expansion of Majaphit. 
This was due mostly to the genius of Gajamada, who, till his 
death in 136-4, continued loyally to serve the king. Both the 
Nagjirakrtagama, and the Pararaton give us a list of the countries 
which, during this reie;n, belonged to Majapahit and this list 
is of a quite respectable length. According to it the empire 
of Majapahit included at this time all the islands between 
Java and New Guinea the south and western part of the 
last-mentioned island also acknowledging the sway of Majaphit. 
Moreover Borneo, South and West Celebes, Buton, Buru, 
Ceram (Ambon >, Bunda, Banggai, the W. Molucca Isles, Talaut, 
etc. are all included in this list of dependencies. Then we 
come to the petty inlets between Borneo and the Malay 
Peninsula. On the Malay Peninsula itself Kedah, Kelang, 
Singapore, Pahang, Kelantan, etc. belonged to Majapahit. 
Finally the great island of Sumatra, including Palembang or 
Shrivijaya, formed part of this , powerful empire. Thus was 
carried out the scheme of (iajamada on a larger scale than 
he had planned originally. A part at least of these extensive 
conquests was achieved by an admiral of the name of Nala 
during the reign of Hyam Wuruk 's mother. 

After enumerating the conquests, the Nagarakrtagama 
mentions the countries in alliance with Majapahit. Ayodhya 
and Bajapuri (both in Siam), Marutma (Martaban), Kambuja, 
Champa and Yavana (North Annam) were steadfast allies 
(mitra) of Majapahit. Madura, it should be noted, was not 
regarded as foreign territory it was reckoned as part of 
Java itself. 

These islands brought their tribute regularly to the court 
of Majapahit. Owing to the desire of H. M. Hyam Wuruk 
to further the general welfare, Mantrins and Bhujangas 



INDIA AND JAVA 



11 



(learned priestb) were sent out by royal command to look 
after State affairs in these distant possessions. Sbaiva 
Bhujangas, besides their political work, were allowed to 
introduce the Shaiva cult wherever they went, so that it 
might not dwindle away. For the Bhujaugas of the 
Buddhist faith the whole of the West of Java was a forbidden 
ground as in ancient times there were no Buddhists there. 
But as regards Eastern Java and the islands to the cast, the 
Buddhist Bhujangas wore permitted to visit them. Two 
eminent Buddhist monks, Bharada and Kutaran, established 
a system of land-tenure in Bali on the Majapahit model. 

The efforts of the Bhujangas, Prapancha tells us, met 
with great success. Whatever regions dare trangress the 
royal ordinances were attacked and severely punished by the 
admirals (Jaladhi-mantri) of Majapahit, several of whom 
won great renown. 

"Five is the number of the blameless ministers, 1 ' to quote 
the Nagarakrtagama u who protect the realm. " Members of 
the royal family ruled over many of the different parts of 
the kingdom but they appeared very often at the court of 
Majapahit to pay homage to the king. The principal Queen, 
with the title of Shri Parameshvari, was Sushumna Devi who 
is described by the poet Prapancha us an incarnation of Rati. 

The Nagarakrtagma gives a detailed account of the 
capital Majapahit (Bilra-tikta) with its deep tanks, avenues 
of Icsar and champak trees, public squares, bazaars 

palaces and the royal pavilion (the ftsH hall) where the 
prime-minister (the pati), the Aryas and the "trusted five" 
(the cabinet) approached the king of Tikta-shriphaJa (Mujapahit*. 
In the eastern part of the capital dwelt the Shaiva Brahmans, 
of whom the very reverend Brahmaiaja was the chief. 
In the southern part lived the Buddhists the head of the 
Sangha being the Sthavira Kengkannadi. In the western 
part there were the houses of the Kshatriyas, ministers, etc. 

As far as we can gather from contemporary sources, 
Buddhism flourished in aristocratic circles. That would 
explain the large number of fine Buddhist shrines which 
rose during this period. But it did not enter so much into 
the life of the people. Javanese literature is overwhelmingly 
Brahmanic. Even Buddhist poets wrote on episodes of the 
Hindu epics during the Majapahit period. 

Dr. Vogel states that at this time Javanese plastic art 
presents a type which is much more Polynesian than Indian. 
This is to be noted especially in the highly fantastic 
sculptured panels of Chandi Panataran in Eastern Java 
representing Eamayana scenes. Here we find strange figures 
of warriors, demons and monkeys mingled with decorative 
clouds in the quaintest possible way. But this Polynesian. 



12 INDIA AND JAVA 

style is confined to the exterior decoration of the temples 
of this period. The images inside the shrines are still of 
the genuine Indian type of Central Java, and many of these 
Images bear inscriptions denoting their names in North- 
Indian characters which, from the specimens I have seen, 
resemble Bengali more than Nagari. 

After the death of the great Hyam Wuruk in 1389 A. D. 
a rapid decline set in. A civil war between the son-in-law 
and the son of the deceased monarch proved disastrous 
for Majapahit. North Borneo, Indragiri in Sumatra and 
Malaka took this opportunity to shake oft the Javanese 
yoke. A terrible famine wrought havoc in Majapahit itself. 

Of the last rulers of Majapahit we know but little, as 
the Pararaton gives but the most meagre information. 
During the reign of Suhita, the grand-daughter of Hyam 
Wuruk, Kediri or Daha became independent under a rebel 
chief of the name of Bhre Daha. She was succeeded by her 
younger brother, KVtavjjaya, who married a princess of 
Champa. This queon favoured Islam which must have 
strengthened its foothold in Java during this reign. She 
died in 1448. 

According to the tradition still current in Java, the 
generosity of the last monarch of Majapahit, Bra Vijaya V, 
towards the Mahomedans met with ingratitude. The last 
words of the dying king, after he had seen the overthrow 
of his kingdom in H78, wore that foreigners would come 
some day from far over the seas and avenge him ; and 
the Dutch claim to have fulfilled the prophecy. 

But according to an inscription discovered by Dr. Krom, 
it was a Hindu prince, Ranavijaya, who dealt the death-blow 
to Mahapahit in 1478. Kanavijaya belonged to Kediri and 
was probably the son of Bhre Daha who revolted during 
the reign of Suhita. The city was not however destroyed, 
as in 1521 we find it still mentioned as an important place. 
But after 1478 Majapahit ceased to be the capital, and the 
more important families fled to Bali. Eanavijaya or his 
successors must have been swept away ere long by the 
rapidly rising tide of Islam. For the Muslim period of 
Java begins from the opening years of the 10th century. 

A few words on Bali would probably be not out of 
place here. The first copper-plates of Bali appear about 
896 A. D. The first Balinese king mentioned in an inscription 
(c. 922 A. D.) is of the name of Ugrasena. These inscriptions 
are in old Balinese which is different from Kavi. Hinduised 
Bali seems to have developed in this early period on 
independent lines. It was not much influenced by Java 
as yet. It was colonised directly from India. It was during 
the reign of Erlangga that the first close relations commenced 
with East Java. 



INDIA AND JAW 13 

According to the Javanese accounts, a number of Shaiva 
Brahmans came (probably from India) to Majapahit just 
before its fall in 1478 and then fled to Bali. The Balinese 
Brahmans trace their descent from Padanda (Pandit) Yahu 
Kavuh a name which means, "the newly auived." The 
fire existing subdivisions of Brahmans in Bali are supposed 
to be descended from him and his five wives. Buddhism 
still survives in Bali but Hinduism is in the ascendant. 
At great feasts a Buddhist priest is invited to join four 
Shaiva pandits. Ida is the title of Brahmans, Deva that 
of Kshatriyas, Gusti of Yaishyas, while the Shudras are 
given a name of courtesy Bape and Meme ( *WT, HT 
The Kshatriya princes of Bali trace their descent from Dev 
Agung- a Majapahit prince who settled down in Bali. 
For a long time the Balinese chiefs did not forget Java. 
Easternmost Java and Western Bali have been rendered 
desolate by continuous wars between Muslim Java and 
Bali. Unsuccessful in Java, the Balinese princes conquered 
some of the islands to the east, Lombok, etc. 

Only certain portions of the Yedas have survived in 
Bali. The Brahmanda Purana is probably complete. Under 
the heading of Tuturs we have a miscellaneous collection 
of Sanskrit texts on Hindu law and polity, Eajaniti, etc. 
This is almost all the Sanskrit literature Bali still possesses. 

The Eamayana (which has not got the Uttara Kanda) 
exists in Bali in the Kavi language. The Uttara Kanda 
forms a separate work by itself. The name of the 
Mahabharata is not known in Bali but six of its parvas 
exist in a complete form in Kavi. The rest are incomplete 

Then there are the chronicles or ballads^, g. the Usana 
Java and the Usana Bali. The last calls the island Balianka 
the lap of the strong and valiant thus fit]y expressing 
the bold, warlike spirit of the Balinese. 



SHRIVIJAYA THE EMPIRE OF THE SHAILENDRA 
MONARCHS OF SUMATRA 

The archaeologicl monuments of the Hindu period in 
Sumatra are of small importance compared with those of 
Java. Moreover, in the last two centuries of the Hindu 
period of Javanese history under the Majapahit dynasty 
(1294-1480), Java acquired a pre-eminent position in the 
Archipelago. Thus the other islands were quite thrown into 
the shade by Java which alone was considered to be 
important. But we must remember that Majapahit rose into 
importance only at the end of the 13th century A. D. and 
that both Java and Sumatra had been Hinduised more than 
a thousand years before that period. 

From Chinese sources we learn that a Hinduised kingdom 
of Palembang < formerly known as Shrivijaya) existed in 
Sumatra in the 5th century A.D. In the 10th century this 
kingdom' of Sanfotsi or Che-li-fo-chi (the Chinese rendering 
of Shrivijaya) ruled over 15 subject states. In the 10th 
century this Sumatran kingdom was conquered by Java but 
soon recovered its independence. Early in the 13th century 
we find again a list of the subject countries of Shrivijaya. 
In the Uth century it came under the sway of the Majapahit 
Kingdom oi Java. But till very recently Sumatra was never 
considered to be ^ery important in comparison \vith Java. 

M. Cicorges Cables has now given (in his Royaume do 
Shrivijaya, 1018) strong reasons fur reconsidering this opinion. 
He was the first to identify Palembang with Shrivijava. In 
the 7th century A.I), Shrivijaya included the isle of Bangka 
between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. In the 8th 
century it appearss as a sovereign power as far north in the 
Malay Peninsula as the Bay of Bandom. In the 9th century 
this Sumatran kingdom is mentioned in connection with a 
monastery at Nalanda in an inscription of Devapala of 
Bengal. In this inscription the King's title is given as Shailen- 
<lra-iwHsJtatilalo yarablniMipaJah. ! *** In the 10th century 
Chola inscriptions ascribe a Buddhist temple built at 
Ncgapalam (near Madras) to the Shailcndra kings of Shrivijaya, 
Shortly after that the Cholas of Southern India attacked 
Shrivijaya and conquered it for a short time. But it soon 
recovered its power. Chan. Ja-Kua, a Chinese author of the 
13th century, mentions many places in Sumatra, the Malay 
Peninsula, etc, as acknowledging its supremacy. 

The Shailendra, dynasty of the kingdom of Shrivijaya in 
Sumatra professed Mabayana Buddhism. Now there is a 



INDIA AND JAVA 15 

temple in Central Java, the shrine of Kalasan erected in 
honour of the Mahayana divinity Tara, which was constructed 
in 778 A.D., by the order of a Buddhist Xing of the Shailendra 
dynasty of Shrivijaya. As the Kalasan inscription mentions 
that the temple was in the King's own kingdom, we must 
conclude that Central Java was included in the empire of 
the Shailendra sovereigns in the second half of the 8th 
century. These Sumatran monarchs built on a grand scale 
in Java (Borobodur, etc.) and were represented in that island 
by their viceroys. * 

It was probably also in the 8th century that the Shrivijaya 
fleet ravaged the coast of Annam (Champa) and penetrated 
as far as the capital of Cambodia. A Champa inscription of 
787 A.D. states that the armies of 'Java' (spelt Java, not Yava) 
coming on board ships burnt the shrine of Shri 
Bhadradhipatishvara. Java here means Shrivijaya and not Java 
as both Java and Sumatra were called Java alike by 
foreigners Kamboja (Cambodia) also did not escape those 
inroads. It is from the narrative of an Arab traveller of 
the 9th century that we got a dramatic account of it. The 
Arab merchant Sulayman had travelled in India and China, 
and his accounts, written in 851 A.D., were commented upon 
by Abu Zayd Hassan about 916 A.D. In his description of 
the kingdom of Ziibaj (or Sribuza the Arab name for Shri- 
vijaya) occurs the following passagef : "The King (of Zabai) 
is known by the title of Maharaja . . . He rules over numerous 
islands. The islands of Sribuza, Rami (Kamini is another 
name for Sumatra obviously the Arab traveller does not 
know that Zabaj, Sribuja and Rami are all in Sumatra) 
belong to him. . . The maritime kingdom of Kalah (Kra) also 
acknowledges his sway . . . His own island is as fertile as a 
land can possibly be and the population is very dense and 
continuous". Then lie proceeds to describe a curious custom 
of the Maharajas. Every morning, we are told, the treasurer 
brought to the king an ingot of gold of the shape of a 
brick which in the king's presence he threw into a lake 
near the palace. During the life-time of the king no one 
would touch these golden bricks. When he would die his 
successor would have these ingots taken out. After being 
counted and weighed they would be distributed among the 
members of the royal family, the generals, the servants 
and the poor. The number of these golden bricks and their 
total weight wore then written in the official records and 
the prestige of a king would depend on the amount of gold 



* Prof. Krom De Sumantraansche periode der Javaansehe 
Geschiedenis 1919. 

t Relations des voyages et'textes geographiqnes Arabs pa 
Gabriel Ferrand, 1922. 



16 INDIA AND JAVA 

he would leave behind. Then the Arab traveller proceeds to 
describe Khmer (the indigenous name of Cambodia): 
"According to the annals of Zabaj there was once upon a 
time a king of Khmer. Khmer is the country from which 
the aloe Khmer is exported. It is not an island and 
there is no kingdom which possesses a larger population 

than Khmer (Cambodia) All fermented liquors and every 

kind of debauchery are forbidden there; in the cities and 
throughout the kingdom one would not be able to find a 
single person leading a dissolute life. . . Between Khmer 
and Zabaj the distance is from 10 to 20 days by sea 
according to the weather. It is narrated that there was 
once a king of Khmer who wa,s young and rash One 
day he was seated in his palace which holds a commanding 
position on the bank of a river resembling the Tigris (the 
distance between the palace and the sea being one day's 
journey) and he had his minister with him. He was 
discussing with his minister tho magnificence of the kingdom 
of the Maharaja of Zabaj, the number of islands it comprised, 
etc., when the king said that he had a desire which ho 
longed to satisfy. The minister, who was sincerely attached 
to him and who know how rash the king was in his 
decisions, asked him about his desire. The king replied : 
"I wish to see the head of the Maharaja of Zabaj before me 
on a plate/ 1 The minister understood that it was jealousy 
which had suggested the idea to his master and he replied :-- 
7 do not like to hear my sovereign express such a desire. 
. . . .The kingdom of Zabaj is a distant island and is not in 
our neighbourhood. It had never shown any intention of 
attacking Khmer ... No one should hear about this desire 
(expressed by the king) and the king should never mention 
it to anybody'. The king became displeased with his 
minister and disregarding the advice of his loyal counsellor 
he repeated his statement to tho generals and other courtiers 
who were present there. The news flew from mouth to 
mouth till it spread everywhere, and it came to the know- 
ledge of the Maharaja of Zabaj. He was an energetic 
sovereign, active and experienced. He called his minister, 
told him what he had heard and then added that he must 
take some steps in this matter after what the foolish king 
of Khmer had said in public. Then telling the minister to 
keep the matter secret, he bade him prepare a thousand 
ships and to man them with as many troops as possible. 
It was given out to the public that the Maharaja intended, 
to make a tour through the islands included in his kingdom 
. . . .The king of Khmer did not suspect anything till 
the Maharaja had reached the river leading to the capital 
and had landed his troops. The capital was taken by 
surprise and the king of Khmer was captured. The 



INDIA AND JAVA 1? 

people fled before the foreign conquerors. But the Maharaja 
had it proclaimed by public criers that nobody would be 
molested. Then he seated himself on the throne of Khmer 
and ordered the king of Khmer and his minister to be 
summoned before him. The Maharaja asked the king of 
Khmer what had made him express such a desire. The 
king did not reply. Then the Maharaja said : "You wished 
to see my head on a plate. If you had similarly desired to 
seize my kingdom or to ravage it, I would have done the 
same to your country. But as you only intended to see 
rny head cut off, I would confine myself to subjecting you 
to the same treatment and then I would return to my 
country without touching anything else in the kingdom 
of Khmer. . . . This would be a lesson to your successors 
so that no one would be tempted to undertake a task 
beyond his powers." So he had the king beheaded. Then 
he addressed the minister : "f know well the good advice 
you gave your master. What a pity that he did not 
heed it ! Now seek somebody who can be a good king 
after this mad man and put him on the throne." Then 
the 3Iaharaja returned to his own country without taking 
or allowing any one else to take anything from 
Khmer. When he reached the capital he sat down on 
the throne which faces the lake into which the golden 
bricks are thrown and had the head of the kiug of Khmer 
placed before him on a plate. Then he summoned the high 
functionaries of his state and told them why he had 
undertaken this expedition. . . . Then he had the head 
embalmed and sent it in a vase to the new king of Khmer 
along with a letter to the effect that the Maharaja had only 
been forced to act like that on account of the feelings of 
hatred which the late king of Khmer had expressed towards 
him and that this chastisement should serve as a lesson 
to any one who would imitate the deceased prince When 
this news reached the ears of the kings of India and China, 
the Maharaja of Zabaj rose in esteem in their eyes." 

That this is not merely an Arabian Nights, tale is 
proved by the fact that the important Cambodian inscrip- 
tion of Sdok Kak Thorn* mentions that on coming back from 
Java (early in the 9tb century) Jayavarman II (one of the 
greatest of the Cambodian monarchs) built three capitals 
in succession. All these capitals were embellished with 
images of Avalokiteshvara. Apparently Jayavarraan II had 
caught the spirit of the great building activity which the 
Mahay anist Kings of Shrivijaya were at this time sho wing- 
in Central Java. Another passage in this Sdok Kak Thorn 

* Finot, Notes d'Epigraphie p. 87-88 Bulletin de 1'ficole 
frangaise d Extreme Orient, Tome XV 1915. 



18 INDIA AND JAVA 

inscription suggests some close relation between the 
religioa followed at first by Jayavarman II of Cambodia 
and that of Java or Shrivijaya (which held Central Java 
under its sway at that time.) In this passage Jayavarman 
asks the Brahman Hirarcyadama, who came from Janapada, 
to draw up a ritual so that Kambuja-desha might no 
longer be dependent on Java. It seems that Jayavarman 
IF, at first a fervent Mahayanist (like the Shrivijaya kings 
of Sumatra and Java), adopted a Tantric form of Shaivism 
(for we hear of Hira^yadama teaching Tantric texts) 
to cut off all connection with Shrivijaya. 

The Shailendra monarchs of Shrivijaya were zealous patrons 
of Mahayana Buddhism. Prof Krom in his recent great 
work on Indo-Javanese history, mentions that in Sumatra 
itself gold plates have been discovered with mystic syllables 
and symbols. The Nagari characters leave no doubt that 
these plates should be ascribed to the Shrivijaya rulers. 
Prof, Kern states that Dharmapala, the famous gnrn of 
Nalanda, passed his last year in Sumatra. As this island- 
kingdom was in close touch with Magadha and Bengal, it 
must have derived its Mahayana Buddhism from these 
regions. Under the Pala Kings the Mahayana doctrines 
flourished in Bengal and Magadha as they did nowhere else 
in India. And it was a Mahayana tinged with Tantra-yana. 
We find exactly the same blend of Buddhist and Tantric 
doctrines in Sumatra, Java and to some extent in Cambodia. 
The earliest Mahayana inscriptions of the Shrivijaya Kings 
in Java are also written, not in tl South Indian Grantha 
characters (as is the case with the earlier Javanese 
epigraphy), but in a North Indian script almost exactly like 
that of 9th century inscriptions discovered at Nalanda. 
Indications from other sources, which need not be specified 
here in detail, point also to the same conclusion that if 
the early Shaiva cult in the Archipelago and Indo-China 
originated from South India, the later wave of Mahayana 
Buddhism should be traced to the influence of Magadha 
and Bengal. 

Central Java seems to have been recovered from 
Shrivijaya domination about 8(>3 A. D. by the Hindu- Javanese 
princes from East Java. In his new book, Hindoe-Javanscho 
Geschiedenis, Prof. Krom raises the interesting question as 
to why the Sumatran king in the Nalanda inscription refers 
to his grand-father as the ruler of Java which was only a 
dependency and which had been lost in 890 A. D. (the date 
of the Nalanda inscription). This ancestor then was probably 
not the ruler of Shrivijaya and Java, and Java and Shrivijaya 
may have been separate though allied states under members 
of the Shailendra dynasty. 

Antagonism between Sumatra and Javanese rulers (who bad 



INDIA AND JAVA 19 

shifted their headquarters to the eastern portion of the 
islands) continued, however, well on into the llth century. 
Indeed, Prof. Krom is of opinion that the restoration 
of Java really took place only after Shrivijaya had to yield 
to an invasion from South India by a Chola King (circa 
1031 A. D). After recovering her independence, Java, 
which had learnt a lesson, took care not to attack Palem- 
bang (Shrivijaya). The East Javanese inonarchs turned their 
attention eastwards to Bali, etc. Meanwhile the great power 
of the West (Shrivijaya) continued to flourish. Towards 
the end of the 12th century Java and Sanfotsi (Shrivijaya) 
are mentioned by Chinese authors as two most important 
commercial countries. The t\\o great monarchies stand side 
by side, independent of each other, and of equal power 
the one (Shrivijaya) ruling the western and the other (Java) 
the eastern part of the Archipelago.* 

Chau Ju-Kua, a Chinese customs officer who wrote on 
Chinese and Arab trade in the 13th century ,t devotes a 
chapter to Sanfotsi (Shrivijaya) : "Sanfotsi is situated between 
Cambodia and Java. . . When the King goes out, he sits in a 
boat and is sheltered by a silk umbrella and guarded by 
men bearing gold lances. The people live scattered about 
outside the city or on the water on rafts, and these (latter) 
are exempt from taxation. The people are skilled at fighting 
on land and water. . .In time of war they appoint the chiefs 
and commanders ; each furnishes his own military equipment 
and the necessary provisions. For terrifying the enemy and 
defying death they have no equals. They use chopped- off 
lumps of silver in their business transactions. . .In writing 
official documents they use foreign characters (the Chinese 
chronicle of the Sung dynasty quotes this paragraph but 
substitutes 'Sanskrit' for 'foreign characters'). The laws of 
this country are very severe. Persons guilty of adultery 
are condemned to death. When the king dies, the people 
observe mourning and shave their heads, while his personal 
followers choose voluntary death by leaping into the blazing 
pyre. This act is called 'living and dying together.' ^ There 
is in Sanfotsi a golden image of Buddha called the 'Hill of 
Gold.' Every new king, before ascending the throne, has a 
statue made of gold representing his person. The people 
offer vases of gold to these statues. These statues and vases 
bear inscriptions forbidding future generations to melt them. 
When a person is seriously ill, he distributes among the 
poor a sum equivalent to his weight in silver. . . .The king 
has the tittle of 'Long-tsing.' (M. Pelliot believes that 'Long- 
tsing signifies 'the seed of the dragon or the Naga'. This is 

* N. J. Krom De Sumatransche Periode der Javaansche 
Geschiedenis. 

t Translation by Friedrich Hirth and W. Eockhill, 1912. 



20 INDIA AND JAVA 

important, as it would ascribe a !Naga origin to the Shailendra 
rulers of Sumatra. In Cambodia also, a Nagi is the ancestress 
of the royal dynasty. M. Coeds thinks that these Naga 
traditions are of Pallava South Indian origin). The king 
may not eat grain but is fed on sago. Should he do otherwise, 
the year would be a dry one and grain dear. He bathes 
in rose-water should he use ordinary water, there would 
be a great flocd. . Besides the natural products of the country 
which include tortoise-shell, camphor, different varieties of 
aloe, cloves, sandal and cardamons, one can find here foreign 
products such as pearls, incense, rose-water, gardenia flowers 
civet, myrrh, assa-foetida, ivory, coral, cotton cloth, sword- 
blades, etc. Arabs and others who have settled in the 
country, and foreign merchants come to sell (their goods) ex- 
changing them for gold, silver, silk stuffs, sugar, rice, camphor, 
etc. This country, controlling the straits through which the 
foreigners' traffic must pass, keeps the pirates of other 
countries in check by using an iron chain as a barrier 
which can be raised or lowered at will by an ingenious 
device. . . If a merchant ship passes by without halting (at 
the port of Sanfotsi), the boats of this country attack that 
vessel. Therefore this country is a great shipping centre." 

Fifteen States are mentioned by Chau Ju-Kua as 
dependencies of Sanfotsi (Shrivijaya), among which arc 
Pahang, Kedah, Kelantan and some other localities in the 
Malaya Peninsula, and Sunda or "Western Java, and, curiously, 
the last name in this list of dependencies^ is Ceylon. 
Three hundred years before this Chinese work was written 
the Arab Masudi wrote in his 'Prairies of Gold' about the 
Maharaja who was the king of the island of Zabaj (Shrivijaya), 
of Kalah (Kra), of Siiandip (Ceylon), etc. * 

When the list of Chau Ju-Kua was being prepared 
(1225 A. D.), Java had just come under the Singasari 
dynasty which was going to make a breach in this balance 
of power maintained between the two powerful island 
kingdoms. In 1270 a Javanese expedition conquered 
Jambi in Sumatra and left some traces of Javanese supremacy 
in the heart of the island. A counter-attack by Shrivijaya 
followed. But tho Majapahit heirs of the Singasaris under- 
took systematically the conquest of the Archipelago. In 
1377 Palembang (Shrivijaya) also fell this time for good 
and all. A hundred years later the Majapahit power of 
Java also waned away. A period of seven centuries was 
thus closed which began with Palembang (Shrivijaya) as 
the dominant power, which was then followed by a balance 
of power between Java and Sumatra, and which ended in 
complete Javanese supremacy. 

* ^Empire sumatranais de Srivijaya par G. Ferrand., p. 14, 
note (o). 



INDIA AND JAVA 



21 



This subjection of Palembang (Sbrivijaya) by Majapahit 
was a sad end of Shrivijaya's greatness. The Javanese 
deliberately neglected the country in order to destroy a 
rival. They did not come in sufficient numbers them- 
selves to settle in Sumatra, and the local authority was 
put in the hands of the Chinese settlers. Palembang being 
an important trade-centre attracted Chinese merchants who 
met here Arab merchants from the west. The heads of 
this Chinese colony made piracy their chief business. 
The country, inspitc of its fertility, lay uncultivated, and 
really it was a time of general decay. 

We should compare this sad picture of Palembang 
under Javanese supremacy with the condition of Central 
Java under Sumatran influence in the 8th and 9th centuries. 
The beautiful temple of Kalasan and many other noble shrines 
were constructed in Java towards the end of the 8th century 
by order of the Shailendra Kings of Shrivijaya. A short 
time later rose Borobudtir the most wonderful Buddhist 
stupa in the world. In the galleries of Borobudur, orthodox 
Mahayana legends Vwe have already seen that the rulers of 
Shrivijaya were fervent Mahayanists) are combined in a 
harmonious whole, having the evident object of giving the 
faithful, as they are ascending the monument, the impres- 
sion that they are also ascending spiritually. The unadorn- 
ed and plain character of the upper terraces is in 
striking contrast to the rich decoration so la\ishly applied to 
the lower stories of the edifice.* The bas reliefs of 
Mahayanist Borobudur arc based on the Lalita Yistara, 
though the artists have given a local touch to the reliefs, 
for the back-ground is not Indian but Javanese. Accor- 
ding to Prof. Krom the stupa form of architecture was 
introduced into Java by Sumatran architects. For though 
Java is rich in antiquities, the stupa form is represented in 
Java only by Borobudur, whereas in Sumatra several stupas 
occur even in ancient monuments. 

Finally Prof. Krom states that the strikingly harmonious 
character of the distribution of the decorative parts, the 
wonderful care shown by the artists as to the fitting in of 
the details to the whole, which we find in Borobodur, do 
not survive in later Javanese architecture. In Sumatra 
those characteristics survived longer. Therefore, Sumatran 
artists must have introduced these features in the Buddhist 
temples of this Sumatran period in Central Java. Thus 
the view of the absolute superiority of Java in political 
power, art, and culture will now have to be given up. 

* N. J, Krom De Suniatransche Periode der Javaansche Geschie- 
denis. (The first and the last part of this paper are based 
mainly on this work). 



JAVA AND SUMATRA IN INDIAN LITERATURE 

The fourth Canto of the Ramaya?ia contains considerable 
geographical details. Sita lias been stolen away by Ravana. 
Sugriva, the monkey-king, who has become the ally of Rama, 
sends searching parties to the four cardinal points, and for 
each of them describes the itinerary to be followed. He 
begins with the eastern route. After describing the regions 
through which the Jumna? the Ganges and the Brahmaputra 
flow, he passes on to Indo-China. After the description of 
"the isle with the wall of gold 1 (Suvan?a-dvipa or Sumatra.) 
we come to the well-known passage "With all your efforts 
reach Yava-dvipa (the island of Java), adorned with seven 
kingdoms, the isle of gold and silver, adorned with mines of 
gold ; then beyond the isle of Yawi is the mountain Shishira 
whose peak touches the sky and which is the abode of gods 
and demons." 

Is this passage a later interpolation ? Prof. Sylvain L6vi 
in his "Pour 1'Histoirc du Ramayawa" (1918) gives reasons 
for ascribing an early date to it. The Buddhist Sanskrit 

work SaddharMa-snirilyitpastltCMa-sutra ( 



contains a passage which gives u description of Jambudvipa. 
This passage follows closely the Digvarmina ( f?5^u ) in the 

Ramayami. Countries, rivers, seas, etc. are mentioned 
in the same order. But Java is not mentioned here, though 
the isle with the wall of gold is to be found here too. Now 
this work was translated into Chinese in 539 A. D. by a. 
Brahman coming from Benares. According to Sharat Chandra 
Das, Ashvaghosha wrote a commentary on this sutra. This 
would takxj us to the period of Kanishka i.e. the end of the 
first century AD., or the beginning of the second century. 

Ptolemy refers to Java as labadioou' (Yava-dvipa). We do 
not know the exact date of the geography of Ptolemy. He 
was an astronomer of Alexandria who wrote his geography 
mainly with the object of drawing a map of the world with 
latitudes and longitudes, and incidentally he has briefly 
described the countries referred to in his work. He himself 
admits that he relies on descriptions given by travellers such 
as Marin of Tyre. His work can be assigned approximately 
to the middle of the second century A.D. 

Ptolemy thus describes Java : "labadiou, which means 
'the isle of barley' (so Ptolemy knew the meaning of the 
Sanskrit name Yava-dvipa of the island), is said to be of 
extraordinary fertility, and produces plenty of gold. The 
capital is Argyra (the city of silver) situated at its western 



INDIA AND JAVA 23 

extremity." Between India and Java Ptolemy places a series 
of islands inhabited by cannibals (the Purushadaka of the 
Eamayarai). 

Oderic de Pordenone (in 1316) follows the Ramaya^a 
more closely than Ptolemy in his description of Java. 
"Near Sumatra there is a large island. The king of this 
island has seven kingdoms under him." Oderic then men- 
tions the walls of the king's palace as being of gold. Is 
this a reminiscence (as Prof. Ltvi suggests) of *the isle with 
the wall of gold* ? 

In the fitudes Asiatiques published in 1925, on the 
occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Ecole Franchise 
de I'Extreme Orient, Prof. L6vi 1ms contributed an article 
'Ptolemee, le Niddesa et la Brhatkatha.' From the Niddesa, a 
commentary or. the Pali Buddhist Canon, Prof. L6vi cites a 
passage in which different kinds of torments are enumerat- 
ed : "Again, under the sway of passions which dominate 
the soul, in quest of enjoyments, he embarks on the great 
sea which is sometimes icy cold, sometimes burning hot, 
troubled with mosquitoes etc., suffering from hunger and 
thirst ; he goes to Gumba, Takkola, Takkasila, Kalamukha, 
Maranapara, Yesunga, Verapatha, Yava, Taraali, Yanga, 
Elavaddhana, Suvannakutfa, Suvannabhumi, Tambapanni, 
Suppara, Bharukaccha, Surattha, Anganeka, Oangana, Para- 
roagangana, Yona, Paramayona, Alasanda, Marukantara, 
Jannupatha, Ajapatha, Mendhapatha, Sankupatha, Chattapatlia, 
Vamsapatha, Sakunapatha, Musikapatha, Daripatha, Vettachara; 
and thus again he is tormented, very much tormented." The 
same series of places reappears in an identical form in 
another passage of the same work. By comparing it with 
similar lists in the Milinda Panho and in the Sloka-Samgraha 
(which is based on the much older Brhatkatha), Prof. L6vi 
comes to the conclusion that it is a stereotyped series giving 
the names of places a navigator might visit while sailing 
along the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, ie. sea-side 
localities in Burma, the Malay Peninsula, Java, and Sumatra, 
and then making for India via Ceylon (Tambapanni). We 
come then to the ports on the western coast of India : 
Suppara (Sopara), Bharukaccha (Broach), Surattha (Surat) and 
after some stages difficult to identify, we pass on to the 
Greek country (Yona), to Greater Greece (Parama Yona), to 
Alexandria (Alasanda). Takkola (the second name in the list) 
was situated on the western coast of the isthmus of Kra. 
Takkasila, which comes just after Takkola, is not Taxila, but 
the 4 Tokosonna' (near Kra) in Ptolemy's map of Transgangetic 
India. Yanga, which is mentioned soon after Java, is not 
Bengal, but the island of Banka between Sumatra and the 
Malay Peninsula. Suvannabhumi corresponds to the Chryse 
of the Greek and Roman writers. It is a comprehensive 



24 INDIA AND JAVA 

term for the countries situated to the east of the Bay of 
Bengal. This region was the El Dorado of Indian adventurers. 
Suvannakufa is probably identical with the Suvama-kudfyaka 
in Kautilya's 'Artha-Shastra.' In the chapter where Kautilya 
deals witli valuable objects Suvama-kurfyaka is described as 
a country of rare and precious products such as white 
sandal (the best variety of which is to be found in the 
Archipelago), tlukula, etc. Probably it is to be located some- 
where in Sumatra. The list of 'pathas' or paths is to be 
found also in the Sloka-Samgraha (which must have taken 
it from the Brhatkatha). Thus the Aja-patha means 'the path 
of goats' (where goats onlp can be used for carrying 
merchandise), Mendha-patha'the path of rams', Sanku-patha 
'the path of spikes' (the steep assents being climbed with the 
help of spikes), Chatta-patlm l the path of umbrellas' (where 
big umbrellas wore to be used as parachutes for getting 
down), and so on. 

In the Supriyavadana, Prof. Levi points out how before 
Supriya readies the land of gold, he has to scale mountains 
by driving iron spikes into the rock and sometimes he has 
to use a ladder .of canes (the Vettachara of our list ) * 

So these extraordinary 'pathas' were familiar to the 
adventurers who went to Suvarwabhunri in quest of gold. 

To sum up : Prof. Levi is of opinion that the passage 
referred to in the Niddesa (which cannot be later than the 
3rd century \.D.), corresponds closely with Ptolemy's map 
as regards this scries of places which were all on the sea- 
route from the Burmese coast, via Java, Ceylon and the 
western cost of India, to Alexandria Probably Suppara 
(Surparaka or Sopara) in the neighbourhood of Bombay was 
the great emporium from which the merchant vessels sailed 
both east and west along this route. 

Another mention of Java has been found by Prof. Sylvain 
L6vi in the 'Sutra of the Twelve Stages of Buddhahood,' 
translated into Chinese in 392 A.D. by the monk Kalodaka: 
"In the ocean there are 2500 kingdoms of which 180 
subsist on cereals and the rest on fish and turtles. The 
kingdom of the ruler of the first island is Sseu-li, this king- 
dom serves only the Buddha ; the fourth (island) is Cho-ye : 

it produces the long pepper (pipa) as well as ordinary 
pepper." Sseu-li, Prof. Levi is sure, is Ceylon, devotion 
to Buddha being one of the traditions of the island. Cho-ye, 
he thinks, is Jaya, which is meant for Java. The 'pipa j is 
'pippali' in Sanskrit. The Chou fan che (a Chinese work of 

* The episode of the 'Sakunapatha' or 'the path of birds' in the 
Brhatkatha may be the source from which the story of Sindbad and 
his adventure with the roc birds may have been derived. Some 
at least of the adventures of Sindbad the sailor have probably their 
basis in ancient Indian travellers' tales. 



TNDIV A\D -HYV 2o 

the 13th century) mentions pepper as one of the chief 
products of Java. 

In 423 A.D. Buddhism was preafiked in Java by the 
famous Gurcavarman. He was a Kshatriya prince belonging 
to the royal family of Kashmir.* When only 14 he con- 
vinced his mother that hunting wild animals was improper. 
When he was 30 years of age, the King of Kashmir died 
without issue and the ministers, knowing him to be the 
ablest member of the royal family, begged him to come out 
of his secluded religious life and accept the throne. To 
avoid their importunities Guttavarman left Kashmir. He 
reached Ceylon and was acknowledged there ns one who hod 
attained the highest stage of spiritual life. Then he went to 
Java. The night before his arrival the mother of the Icing 
of Java dreamt that a holy man, mounted on a flying cloud, 
was coming to her country. When Guj/avarman arrived tho 
next morning, the king's mother was converted by him to 
Buddhism. At her bidding, her son, the king of Java, also 
accepted the tenets of Buddhism. Shortly afterwards the 
kingdom was invaded by the army of a neighbouring prince. 
Uu;/avarman, on being asked by the king whether ho should 
resist the enemy by force of arms, ropliod that it was tho 
king's duty to defend his realm, but at tho same timo ho should 
not, harbour in his mind any cruel thoughts. Tho enemy 
tied in disorder without any lighting. A monastery was 
erected by the kin^ in honour of Guj/avarman who, however, 
in his ardent desire to propagate the truo faith, left for 
China soon afterwards in a ship belonging to Hindu 
merchant of tho name of JSfandi. 

Towards tho end of the fith century \. n., Aryabhatta, 
the astronomer of Ujjain, wroto : - <4 \Yiioii the sun aises in 
Ceylon, it is midday in Yavakoti and midnight in tho land 
of the Romans." 

In the Surya-Siddhanta (an astronomical work which can 
be dated back to the 5th century A.D., though the work in 
its present from dates from the llth century), we find the 
passage : "At quarter of the circumference of the earth, 
eastwards in the land of Bhadrashva (the Eastern Division of 
the earth), is the famous nngari Yavakoti with golden walls 
and gates.'' 

I-tsing, who stayed in Shrivijaya (modern Palembang in 
Sumatra) for seven years (688-695^ states that the king of 
Shrivijaya possessed ships sailing between India and his own 
kingdom. It was in a ship belonging to this king that the 
Chinese pilgrim left Sumatra for Tamralipti in India. He 
also describes Shrivijaya as a great centre of Sanskrit 

* Giwavarraan translated from the Chinese into French by 
Edouard Chavannes. 1'oung-pao, 1904. 



26 INDU 4ND JAVA 

learning. I-tsing mentions many other Chinese mopks as 
halting in this, kingdom to learn Sanskrit before visiting 
India.* 

From the Manjushriraulakalpa (written about the 8th 
century), Prof. Sylvain L6vi cites a passagef in which the 
islands of Karmaranga (near Ligor from which we have got 
the fruit Kamran*a), the isle of cocoanuts, Varusaka (Baros 
in Sumatra), and the isles of the Nude (Nicobar), Bali and 
Java are mentioned as places where the language is 
indistinct, rude and too full of the letter V/ 

Apart from Sanskrit works, Tamil texts also mention 
Java. The Tamil poem Manimegalai mentions a town 
Nagapuram in Savaka-nadu which is the Tamil name for 
Yavadwipa. Two kings of Nagapuram are mentioned - 
Bhumichandra and Punyaraja who claimed descent from 
Tndra. 

The name of Shrivijaya (in Sumatra) occurs several 
times in the inscriptions of the Chola dynasty of South 
India. In the reign ot Rajaraja I. (985- 1 012 A. D.), a 
Sanskrit inscription commemorates the donation of a village to a 
Buddhist temple of Nagapattana commenced by Chudamanivarman 
and finished by his son Maravijayottungavarman the last 
being described as Kiog of Kateha (Kedah in the Malay 
Peninsula) and Shrivijaya. To the north of Negapatam 
about 50 years ago were found traces of a Buddhist temple 
whicii might well be that built by order of the Sumatran 
king. 

Again in an inscription of Kajendra Chola I. (1012-1042 
A. D.), we have the following account of the Chola King's 
naval successes : u H<mng sent numerous ships into the 
midst of the moving ocean and having seized Sangramavijay- 
ottungavarman, King of Kadarara, together with his elephants 
he took also the treasure? which that king had accumu- 
lated . . . the prosperous Shrivijaya. . . the ancient Malayur 
(Jambi m Sumatra) with a fort situated on a high hill. . ." 

The conquest by the Chola King must have been a very 
temporary one. In 1068 another Chola King Virarajondra I 
says that after having conquered Kadaram (one of the 
feudatory states under Shrivijaya), he had to restore it to 
the vanquished King, "as it was too far off beyond the 
moving sea. A few years later it is Shrivijaya which 
claims suzerainty over the Cholas. At least its ambassadors 
say so at the Chinese Court. 

Coming to North Indian epigraphy we find Sumatra and 
Java mentioned m the 9th century copper-plate of Devapala 



f , E. Chavannes. """ 

n? P T re - Drav \ dl ^ dans L'Inde, 1923, Prof. 8. L6vi. 
Hmdop-Javaaasche Geschiedenis. p 231 



INDIA AND JAVA 27 

of the Pala dynasty of Bengal. This inscription, which * 
was discovered at Kalanda in 1921, states that Devapala 
being requested by the illustrious Maharaja Balaputradeva, 
King of Suvamadvipa (Sumatra), granted five villages for 
the upkeep of the monastery built at Nalanaa at the instance 
of the King of Suvamadvipa. The mother of Maharaja 
Balaputradeva, the inscription tells us, was Tara, the daughter 
of a King Dharmasetu of the lunar race and the queen of 
the mighty King who was the son of the renowned ruler 
of "Yavabhumi" the ornament of the Shailendra dynasty. 
"With the mind attracted by the manifold excellences of 
Xalanda and through devotion to the son of Shuddhodana 
he (the King of Suvamadvipa) built there (at Nalanda) a 
monastery which was the abode of the assembly of monks 
of various good qualities and was white with the series 
of stuccoed and lofty buildings. . . " 

The Tibetan work of Kalyiiua Mitra, Phyag-sorpa (written 
about the middle of the 13th century) mentions the visit to 
Suvamadvipa of the great Bengali monk Dipankara (Atisha 
980-1053 A. D.\ who established Buddhism on a firm footing 
in Tibet. The following extract is from the life of Atisha 
in the " Indian Pandits in Tibet" by Sarat Chandra Dass : 
"There is a country filled with precious minerals and stones 
called Suvamadvipa in the neighbourhood of Jambudvipa. 
Lama Gser glin-pa was born in the royal family of that 
country. With a view to acquire a thorough knowledge of 
the Dharma, he obtained leave from his father to go to 
Jambudvipa (India) for a pilgiirnage to Vajrasana (the Bodh 
Gaya temple). The great Acharya Maha Shri Ratna was at 
Vajrasana and the prince became attached to him. But the 
Acharya consented to instruct him in Dharma only when 
the prince vowed to give up imperial power and become a 
hermit. The Acharya gave him the name of Dharma-ktrti 
of Suvamadvipa. Then returning to Suvamadvipa he converted 
all who had been devoted to the Tirthika religion to 
Buddhism. Though he resided in Suvamadvipa his name 
became known everywhere abroad." 

"In the company of some merchants Dipankara (Atisha) 
embarked for Suvamadvipa in a large vessel. The voyage 
was long and tedious, extending over several months, during 
which the travellers were overtaken by terrible storms. At 
this time Suvamadvipa was the headquarters of Buddhism 
in the East and its High Priest Dharmakirti was considered 
to be the greatest scholar of his age. Dipankara (Atisha, 
resided there for a period of 12 years in order to master 
completely the pure teachings of Buddha of which the key 
was possessed by Dharmakirti alooe. He returned to India 
accompanied by some merchants in a sailing vessel visiting 
Tamradvipa (Ceylon) and the island of forests on his way." 



"28 INDIA AM) JAVA 

la a Nepalesc manuscript with miniatures* dating from 
about the llth century, the first miniature has the explanatory 
note, "Dipankara in Yavadvipa." Yavadvipa of ten meant Sumatra 
as well: as Java. Another miniature in this manuscript boars 
the title of "Lotcanatha at Shrivijayapura in Suvaraapura." So 
Sbrivijaya in Sumatra was known to the Nepalese artist of 
tho llth century. 

In the Kathasaritsagara of Somadeva, which, though be- 
longing to the 12th century, is based on the much older 
Brhatkatlm by (ju/tiidhya, Indian merchants arc represented 
as trading with Suvamadvipa and other islands of the name 
of Narikela, Karpura and Kafeha (KedalC 

In Tantra literature also we find some references. There 
were three regions each Avith its special group of Tantras. 
The Ashvakranta group (of Tantras) is allocated (by the 
Mahiteiddhisara Tantra) to the region extending from the 
Karatoya river (in the DinTtjpur District of Bengal) to Java. 

In the Kas Mala, the Hindu annals of Gujerat, there is 
mentioned a common saying of that part of the country : 
"Ho who leaves for Java never comes back. If he comes 
back by chance, he brings silver enough for two generations.'' 

Such is the literary evidence we possess of the inter- 
course between India and the islands of the Malay 
Archipelago for about a thousand years. 



ioa sur Piuonographie tauddhi^ue de llnde pp. 

loJ 



THE RAMAYANA IN JAVA 

There exist several recensions early, mediaeval and 
comparatively recentof the Ramaya^a in Java both in 
verse and in prose. Episodes of the Ramayawa survive to 
this day in the Javanese shadow plays (the Wayang) and 
stories which are still very popular with the people. The 
Kama literature in the Archipelago displays however such 
marked divergences from the epic of Yalmiki that until 
lately it was assumed that the Javanese had taken great 
liberties with the Ranlayav^a. But scholars are beginning to* 
think that the Javanese may have got their traditions of 
llama from other Indian versions of the hero's exploits 
besides Valmiki's poem.'" 1 

European scholars believe that the main distinction 
between the older and the later versions of Rama's career 
is that in the former Rama is the great hero, whereas in the 
latter he is an incarnation of Vuwu. In the third and latest 
stage, through which the Rama tradition has passed, Rama 
becomes the Supreme Divinity who has become man for his 
love of Humanity. When the Hindus reached Java the 
Rama tradition had not yet reached the third stage. 

The Rama tradition has followed in the wake of Indian 
colonising activities and lias spread all over south-eastern 
Asia. The deeds of the Indian hero are still represented in 
tho puppet shows of Burma. In Siam the king is an incar- 
nation of Rama. The last king was Rama VI. Rama's 
capital is localised as tho old capital Ayutbia lAyodhya) of 
Siam. Lopburi (Lavapuri) is one of the most ancient towns 
in Si;mi. The oldest Siamese inscription is that of Rama 
Kamheng who iounded the Siamese kingdom on the ruins 
of the Khmer empire. The writer has seen representations 
of scenes from the Ramaya?/a worked in silver on the gates 
of the principal Buddhisttemple (Vat Chetu Pon) of Bangkok. 

In a 6th century inscription of Cambodia we find the 
following passage : "With the Ramaya?za and the Pura??a 
he (the Brahman Somasharmanj gave the complete Maha- 
bharata and arranged for a daily recitation without inter- 
ruption... Whoever participates in this reading may a 
portion of the fruit of this great and virtuous act go to his 
credit "t 

* W.. Stutterheim , Bama Legenden uad Rama Reliefs in 
Indonesien. This paper is mainly based on Stutterheim's scholarly 
work, 

+ Inscription of Veal Kantel Inscriptions Sanscrites de Champa 
et du Camboage, p. 30. 



30 INDIA AND JAVA 

The princes of Kairibuja (Cambodia as distinguished 
from the older Kingdom of Funan) traced their descent from 
the solar dynasty. 

In an inscription* oi Yashovarman (889-909 A. D), the 
construction of the new capital Yashodharapura (Angkor 
Thorn) is thus referred to in words having a double 
meaning :- "He who defended Kambupuri (the capital of 
Kaabuja), impregnable Uyodhya), of terrifying aspect 
(Vibhittma), with the aid of good counsellors (with Sumantra 
as his inend) and with prosperity (Sita) as its ornament, 
like the descendant of Raghu." 

The 'Henaa-bhringa-giii', at present known as Ba Puon, 
was constructed by Jayavarman V. of Kambuja (968-J001 
A. D ) aud is one ot the finest pyramidal temples of 
Cambodia. Among the Kama reliefs, found on the walls 
of the highest gallay, may be mentioned the interview 
between Rama and L^kshmawa with Sugriva, the duel 
between Sugriva and Bali, Sita in the grove of Ashoka 
Trees handing the jewel to Hanumau, battle secnes in wlrch 
Hanuman ptays the chief pait, the ten-headed Rava^a in a 
chariot drawn by lions facing Rama who is carried by 
Han ii man, the ordeal of Sita, and Rama and Sita 
enthroned. 

Angkor Vat, the most iamous Vaishna\a temple of 
Cambodia, w^s built in the first half oi the 12th century. 
Among the innumeiable bas reliefs, which ^adorn its 
galleries arc several scenes from the Ramaya^a such as 
Rama pursuing ilaricha, the death of Kabandha, the alliance 
of Rama with Sugriva, the duel between Sugriva and Bali, 
Hanuman finding Sita in Lanka, the Lanka battle-field, etc, 
ending with the return of Rama and Sita in the aerial 
chariut Puspaka. 

T e old chronicles of the Annamites describe the people 
of Champa <Suth Amiam), who were their mortal enemies 
as descendants of monkeys and cite the following tradition 
to corroborate this f: "In ancient times, beyond the frontiers 
of Annam, there was a kingdom the king of which was 
known as the king of demons or as Dashanana. To the 
north of this realm was the country of Ho Ton Tinh where 
reisned the king Dashnratba. The son of this king, of the 
name of Chu'ng-Tu, had a wife the princess Bach-Tinh. 
She was a peerless beauty. The king of the demons became 
enamoured of her, invaded the kingdom of Ho Ton Tinh, 
seized the princess and carried her away. The prince 
Ch'ung-Tu, whose anger was roused, put himself at the head 



* Op. cit, stanza 21, p. 505. 

T U. Maspero Le Ro^aume de Champa, p. 63. 



JNDIA AND JAVA 31 

of an army of monkeys. The monkeys made a passage for 
themselves by bridging the sea with mountains which they 
tore off (from their positions). The kingdom of Dieunghiem 
was conquered and the king of demons slain. The princess 
Bach-Tin h was taken back to her country The people of 
Ho Ton Tinh were of the monkey race and the Chams (the 
people of Champa) are their descendants." 

M. Hubert, commenting on this passage cited, savs : 
"The Annamite writer supposes that the eve ts (of the 
Ramayawa) took place in Champa and this is a reason for 
believing that the story need not be traced back to the 
Dasharatha Jataka in the Chinese Buddhist canon ; it is 
probably the distant echo of tha* which was once the national 
epic of Champa and which is now lost/'* So he thinks that 
there was a Ramay<TOa in the Cham language. 

Hanuman is mentioned in Tibetan books. The Tibetans 
suppose themselves to be descended from monkeys and they 
say that they had tails for a long time. 

The story of Rama has penetrated into China with the 
Lankavatara sutra and the Dasharatha Jataka incorporated in 
the Buddhist scriptures, 

To come b^k to Java it was in 1889 that the monkey 
scenes in the Prambanan temple (in Central Java) bas-reliefs 
led to the identification of these representations with opsiodes 
of the Bamavana. Dr. Yogel, who was busy with these 
reliefs in 1921, came to the conclusion that a traditional 
story might have boon the source of tho^e representations 
rather than any definite text. Prof. Krom says that these 
reliefs have not yet been satisfactorily explained. The small 
deviations from the Sanskrit epic led Dr. Stutterheim to look 
for some other text which had yet to be discovered. Often 
these deviations have been explained as deformations of the 
text but Dr. Stutterheim is no believer in this theory. 

These divergences in the Prambanan reliefs however, 
are mostly in trifling details. The question now arises 
whether there had appeared in India similar divergences by 
the end of the 9th century -the period to which the 
Prambanan group of temples is assigned The account of 
Rama's career in the Mahabharata differs in some respects 
from the version of the Raraayawa. The Mahabharnta account 
does not concern itself with what happened after the return 
of Rama from Ceylon. There is also some difference in 
Havana's genealogy in the Raroayaraa and the Mahabharata 
versions. Again, in the Mahabharata there is nothing of 
Rama's journey to Mithila, breaking Hara's bow and Sita's 
Svayaravara. Dr. Stutterheim does not agree with Prof. 

* Hubert Le Lewnde du Riya-nawa en Annara, Bulletin de 
L'Ecole Francaise d Extreme Orient, Tome, V. 



30 LVPU AND -JAA'V 

Jacobi that the account in the Mahabharata is a hasty copy 
of Valraiki s epic. He tliinks that it is independent of the 
Ramayaraa and probably should be traced to some oral 
tradition From other versions of Rama's life (e. g. Bhava- 
bhuti's Mahaviracharita, some of the Pura??as, etc.) sufficient 
divergences can bo shown even in the classical period of 
Sanskrit literature. . 

In the old Javanese Ramaya?m hal-arm, the divergence^ 
nre neither numerous nor important. Moreover, the Kakavin 
is not complete. There is no definite information as to 
the date of this work. We can only judge from the 
language Prof. Kern would ascribe it to the Kediri period 
which was the golden age of Kavi literature. The author 
probably did not know Sanskrit. It lias n Vai/wova 
character and the Ivediri dynasty was also Vateftava. It 
was probably written about the same time as the Bhnrat 

Yiiddha i. ** about 110 A - n - ln . the Serat Ra . ma hy 
Jasadhipnra, a work much appreciated in Javanese literary 
circles, the early history of Ravaa is found which is not 
given 'in the ' Kakavin. Here too, there are not many 
divergences and the book is free from the distortions 
introduced later on, as we shall see, in tho later Javanese 
works on this subject and in the Malay Raraayaaa. The 
Javanese Uttarakanda (the 7th canto of the Ramayatin 
does not exist in the Kakavin), is a prose paraphrase of 
the Sanskrit Uttarakanda. This /7r.sV group (consisting of 
the Kakavin, the Serat Rama and the Uttarakanda), without 
following Valmiki rerltaliwi give on the whole the orthodox 
Indian version. 

The sewnd groitp is represented by the Kama Kling 
the Serat Kandas'and other less known works such as the 
Ramayana Sasak, Rama Nitis, etc. This group closely 
approaches the Malay version of tho Ramayana. The 
Malay Hikayat Seri Rama* is probably based on this 
second group of Javanese texts, In popular dramas still 
staged for the entertainment of the people, it is this second 
group and not the first which serves as the basis. These 
pieces for the theatre have been worked up on episodes ol 
the Javanese "Ramaya?&a such as the birth of Dashamukha 
(Ravaua), Dashamukha's abduction of a Vidyadhari (Indrajit 
is represented as the son of this Yidyadhari), Rama's 
marriage, etc. The old Javanese Ramayanas (the Kakavin, 
etc,) are sometimes quoted in these dramatical representa- 
tions, but nobody understands them. The influence of the 
first group has been superficial on the growth of the Rama 
tradition in Java. 

* Translated in No. 70 of the Journal of the Straits Branch of 
the Royal Asiatie Society, April, 1917. 



INDIA AND JAVA 33 

The Serat Kandas begins with Adam in Mecca with his 
sons Abil and Kabil and Satan. We get then a curious 
association of Noah and Uma ( OTT ). We come next to 
the account of the birtbs of Visrai and Vasuki and Muslim 
figures then disappear. The genealogy of early Javanese 
kings is worked into the story. The Ramaya^a begins with 
Canto 22 and only in Canto 46 is the birth of Rama given. 
In the Cantos 23 to 45 the ancestors of Kama and Bavaria 
are discussed some of whom are ancestors of Javanese 
princes. 

In this work Rama is called Bhargava, Laksmawa 
Murdhaka and Sita Sinta ; Janaka is Kola and Jatayu 
Jintaya, Hanuman (Anujnan), who is the son of Rama and 
Sita when both of them were temporarily metamorphosed 
into apes, loses his tail which he recovers in the sea of 
sand. 

Just at the point when the invasion of Lanka is going 
to begin, the author digresses into the story of the ParaZavas. 
In Canto 70 the story of Rama is again taken up. Then the 
sequel after Havana's death is related. Rava^a is buried 
under a mountain. Then follows the episode of the fan (with 
Ravarca's picture on it) which Sita unwittingly handles. This 
leads to estrangement between Rama and Sita. The couple 
are however reconciled at the hermitage of Kala (Janaka). 
Towards the end we have the marriage of the daughter of 
Indrajit with But-Lava (Lava). Dinjayapura is mentioned 
as the capital of Lava. Finally Sita consents to be cremated 
with Rama on condition that in the next life she would be 
his sister. 

The difference between the conclusion of the Serat Kandas 
and Yalmiki's Uttarakanda is so great that the former must 
be ascribed to a different source altogether. Dr. Stutterheim 
believes that other versions besides that of Valmiki may 
have been the basis for these Javanese divergences. The fame 
of Valmiki has made us forget that there were also other 
(formerly well-known) accounts of the life of Rama. 

In the Serat Kandas there is firstly a combination of 
Muhainmadan tales and of the deeds of Rama. In the third 
canto, Shiva is mentioned as a descendant of Adam. In the 
Malay version, as we shall see, the Muslim element is more 
conspicuous. Secondly, in the Serat Kandas, the story of 
Rama forms an organic whole with early legends of Javanese 
dynasties. These Javanese texts of the second group may 
be taken as Javanese Puranas working up local legends with 
the orthodox Indian traditions. 

As regards the Malay Ramayana, Dr. Brandes believes 
that a great part of it consists of old native legends which 
have nothing to do with the story of Rama. The best known 
manuscript of this work was written late in the 16th 



34 ' )TV *$n JAVA. 

century. It came into the possession of Archbishop Laud and 
was passed on to the Bodleian (Oxford) Library in 1633.* It is 
evidently based on the Javanese Kama legends of the second 
group. Rava^a is banished by his father, put on board a 
ship and finds himself at last in Serandip (Ceylon). He leads 
the rigorous life of an ascetic for twelve years at the end 
of which period Adam appears before him. Rava?&a requests 
Adam to intercede for him. Such is the beginning and then 
we go through what seems to us a strangely distorted 
account of the familiar story of Rama. 

The question arises how far these differences aro local in 
origin or whether they can be traced to different versions 
of the Rama tradition in India itself. In the Malay version 
Dasaratha's first wife is found in a bamboo thicket and 
according to the Serat Kandas the second wife is also found 
in a bamboo grove. But in Indian folk-lore also there are 
some instances like this and it may not be Indonesian in 
origin. The part which Balin Dari (Kaikeyi) plays is differ- 
ent from that which pho plavs in tlio Ramayawa. She held 
up with her hand Dasaratha's litter when it is breaking. 
In the Adhyatma Ramayana there is also a mention of the 
breaking of the litter in addition to Kaikeyi's healing the 
wounds of Dasharatha. In the Malay version Rama, when quite 
voung, teases a hunch-backed woman (Manthan\). In 
Ksemendra's Rmnayawa Katha Sarita Manjari, Rama's rough 
treatment of Manthara led to her action against him. 

Again in the Malay version and in the Serat Kandas 
Sita is apparently Havana's daughter by Mandodari (really 
in both of these works she is the daughter of Dasharatha 
and Mandodari). As soon as she is boru, she is put in a 
box and thrown into the sea Janaka (Kala in Javanese) 
finds the box while performing his morning ablutions, takes 
out Sita and brings her up. In the Adbhuta Ramaya;/a, 
Xarada curves Laks'iini tin 1 *' she is to be born as a Rakshasi. 
In the Siamese version also Sita is the daughter of Rava^a, 
In a Oylonf-'e tale Sita is lorn of the blood of ascetics 
collected by Ilu\a^at In the Uttarapura?/a of the Jamas, Sita 
is also the daughter of Kava//u. Nearest to the Mulav version 
is a folk-talc from Oujrat (Indian Antiquary, XX.II, p. 315), 
iii which a man's daughter is put in a box and 
floats down the sea to a -fisherman's hut and later on the 
father conies to win her hand in marriage. 

In the Malay version (the manuscript of Eysinga - not 
that of Laud) we find Laksmawa leading an ascetic life 

* See No. 70. Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic 
Society, April, 1917. 

t Indian Antiquary XLV. p. 84. This tale lias been hoard by 
the writer in the hills of the Kangra District. 



INDIA AND JAVA 35 

(without sleeping or partaking of any food) *for twelve years 
just as in the Bengali version of Krittibasa. 

In the Malay version Lakshma^a draws a line (a charmed 
circle) round Sita's dwelling-place before he leaves to help 
Kama who is supposed to be in distress. Krittibasa also 
describes the same procedure in his popular poem. 

The abduction of Kama into Piitala ( MW1W ) the under- 
ground world) occurs in the Malay version as well as in 
the Bengali and Gujrati popular Ramayanas. In a Punjab 
story Machandanath is the son of Ilauumun hy a fish-queen 
whom the monkey-chief weds on his visit to Fatala in quest 
of Rama. A son ot Ilanuman by a princess of the subter- 
ranean rigions is mentioned also in the Malay version. 

Most of the divergences m the Javanese and Malay 
accounts of the Lanka luwda can probably be deduced from 
Indian Sources. In the Malay version Ravawa falls when 
Rama shoots of his small head (ho had ten heads) behind his 
right ear. Then again Ruva;?a is immortal and cannot die. 
"VYe find this also m popular Bengali accounts. 

The episode of Sita and the fan with Havana's picture, 
which we have already referred to the Serat Kandas, occurs 
in the Bengali tale of Chandravali where the same story is 
told of Kaikeyi's daughter Kukua (Dineshch:indra Sen's 
Lectures on the Ramaya^a p. 197 and sqq). 

Kusha is in the Coyloncso as well r*s in tho Malay 
version cieated out of Kusha gr<%s bv Yulmiki when the 
real child is found to be missing. Tho account of tho 
righting which takes place between Kama and h<s sons 
(without their knowing each other" 1 is to he found in Bengal 
as well as in the Malay Archipelago. 

In what relation do these variations (most of which can 
be traced to India) stand to Valmikfs epic ? Some of these 
stories may be older than the epic itself and certainly they 
are cruder.* e. g. iu some of the earlier versions Sita is 
Havana's real daughter. In the Malay Hikayat Sori Rama 
and the Serat Kandas she is only apparently Ravaua's 
daughter. In Valmiki's epic there is no relationship between 
Ravaua and Sita. Sita's story has been adapted, according 
to Dr. Stutterheim, to the stage of civilisation of the period 
to which the story belongs. Therefore, he thinks that instead 
of accusing the Javanese of having tampered with the Rama 
tradition to suit their own outlook on life tho same charge 
may be levelled against Yalmiki himself for having given us 
a refined version of earlier and cruder accounts. 

At first it was supposed by some of the Dutch scholars 
that the Tamil Ramaya^a might be the basis of the Javanese 
and Malay versions. But the Tamil Ramaya?&a of Kambar 

* Cp. D. C. Sen, op. nt. 



36 INDIA AND JAVA 

follows Valmiki closely. The popular tales in the Indonesian 
(Javanese, Malay, etc.) versions approach closely some of 
those popular editions current in Gujrat, Punjab, and Bengal. 
A tradition still existing in Java ascribes the colonisation 
of the island by emigrants from Gujrat. This was probably 
due to the fact that from the 13th century the Gujratis 
were in Java as merchants, mullahs and sailors. Epigraphical 
evidence does not support the tradition of any Gujrati 
influence in earlier times. Nor, as regards the divergences 
in the Indonesian Kamayarais, can any monopoly be attri- 
buted to the influence of the Gujrati versions. 

Dr. Stutterheim thus sums up this question. No single 
definite recension has yet been found in India from which 
the Indonesian (Javanese and Malay) versions could have been 
derived. There has been a very mixed influence princially 
of oral traditions some of which have come down from very 
ancient times. Valmiki's work, according to Dr. Stutterheim, 
represents a later and more refined civilisation. The Javanese 
and Malay versions, having preserved some of the more 
primitive traditions, shoud be more interesting from the 
anthropological point of view than the literary and polished 
Ramayawa of the orthodox school. 

The Rama tradition is still a living force in the Java of 
to-day. u The Javanese have so completely assimilated the 
famous legends that even their foreign origin has been 
forgotten. For the great mass of the population, Rama and 
the Pamlavas are truly national heroes, born and bred in 
the Isle of Java ! The extreme favour which those Indian 
stories have found and retained until now among all classes 
of society, is not so much due to their having been sung in 
famous Old Javanese poems, as to that most popular of 
entertainments the Way an g or shadow-show. Indians 
familiar with their Mahabharata and Rarnayana would be 
surprised to see Arjuna, Krishna and Rama appear here in the 
quaint garb of Wayang puppets, which, in their strangely 
fantastical, yet unmistakably artistic character, are the true 
children of Indonesian art. Stranger still are clowns who 
invariably accompany the hero, be it Arjuna or Rama, and 
who contribute not a little to the delight of the audience 
by their good-humoured, though not always delicate, jokes. 
These clowns or 'panakawans' Semar, the father, and 
his two sons, Petruk and Nalagareng are undoubtedly as 
Indonesian in origin as they are in name/'* 

The principal river of Central Java is still known as the 
Serayu (i.e. Sarayu on the bank of which was situated the 
capital of Rama). 



* Dr. Yogel The Relation between the Art of India and Java 
(The Influences of Indian Art, p. 40). 



INDIA AND JAVA 37 

Next to the Borobudur the most striking ancient monu- 
ment in Java is the Prambanan group of Hindu temples. 
The ruins of Prambanan are part of a still bigger group of 
dilapidated shrines known as Chandi (Javanese word for 
temple) Laura Jongrong. The princess Laura Jongrong is 
well-known in Javanese folk-lore. It was to win her hand, 
so says the popular story, that the thousand temples of 
Chandi Sewu (in the vicinity of Prambanan) were built in 
a single night by a suitor according to a wager ; he was 
however frustrated in his purpose by an unusually early 
dawn. These Hindu shrines are situated in the plain 
dominated by the volcano Merapi. The archaeological society 
of Jogyakarta (the nearest important town) commenced in 
1885 the task of clearing up the tropical vegetation and 
the lava deposits under which the shrines had been buried 
for centuries. This work of restoration had an unexpected 
result. The Javanese, converted to Islam three centuries 
ago, thronged to visit the temple with offerings of incense 
and flowers. The French traveller Jules Leclercq, who saw 
(L'ile de Java, p. 147) even Hajis joining in the worship 
of the ancient Hindu images, remarks that the advent of the 
Muslim faith has not yet alienated the minds of the Javanese 
from their old beliefs. 

The Laura Jongrong group of temples is surrounded on 
all sides by Buddhist shrines. There are eight main temples 
in this group and those dedicated to Shiva, Yis^u and 
Brahma are in the middle. The general plan is grand in its 
simplicity. The eight large main shrines are built on a 
square terrace in the centre, round which are 160 small 
shrines arranged in three succesive squares. The small 
shrines are now in an advanced state of decay. The main 
temples have resisted better the ravages of time. 

Inscriptions of the Buddhist Shailendra Kings cease to 
appear in Central Java after the middle of the 9th century. 
After 915 A.D. we do not hear any more of Central Javanese 
rulers (this region being abandoned at that time). So the 
Prambanan group must have been constructed in the second 
half of the 9th century by a prince of the name of Daksa. 
An inscription of Prambanan mentions this name. 

On the inner side of the balustrade of the Shiva temple 
are the farmous Ravarca reliefs. From the outside, one 
cannot see anything of these splendid representations. The 
reliefs in the Shiva temple stop abruptly with the scene of 
bridging the sea. Probably the story was continued along 
the balustrade of the adjoining Brahma temple, some scattered 
remnants of which have been discovered. There are Krishwa 
reliefs on the parapet of the Viswu temple. 

The first relief of the Ramayarai series begins at the 
starting-point of the pradaksiwa round Shiva's shrine. Here 



38 - INDIA AXD JAVA 

we have GarutZa with the blue lotus, Vis/m reclining on the 
Shesa JSfaga and drifting on the sea which is full of crabs 
and fishes, and to 'the right a group of seated figures headed 
by an ascetic who offers something to Visnu. Dr. Yogel 
says about this first relief : "It is interesting that this 
opening scene of the Rama story difters from the version 
both of the Sanskrit and the Old Javanese Ramaya^a (the 
Kakavin), but agrees in a remarkable way with the corres- 
ponding passage in Kalidasa's Raghuvamsham. In the 10th 
canto of Raghuvamsham, the gods led by the rishi Bhrigu, 
invoke Vi.swu in the midst of the waters of the ocean." 

In the following scenes arc depicted the visit of Vishva- 
mitra to the court of Dusharatha, Taraka and another giantess 
being shot down with arrows by Rama, the interview with 
Janaka, Sita's Svayamvara, the breaking of the bow, Parashu- 
rama wearing SRWTOT facing Rama and Sita, Kaikeyi talking 
to Dasharatha about the festive preparations (there are green 
cocoartuts and ^W ^Sra in the back-ground), a woman 
dancing a war dance, with a sword and a shield in her 
hands, before two princes, and Dasharatha in a melancholy 
attitude with KaushaJyfi behind him. 

Then we have a forest scene with three crowned figures 
in a four-wheeled chariot drawn by a pair of horses (Rama, 
81 ta and Lak,s > ma?za leaving for the forest). In the next we 
find a group of workmen. One of them is putting a richly 
ornamented chest on an altar Other servants (all with 
wooly hair like negroes) arc apparently busy with some 
preparations A lady is sitting with three money-bags in 
ivont of her. Is this the Shradh ceremony after Dasharatha's 
death ? 

Then we have Rama handing over his sandals to Bharatu, 
his combat with Yiradha and another Raksasa (with a house 
on a wooden pile in the back-ground), Rama punishing the 
crow for vexing Sita, the visit of Surpanakha, Rama shooting 
the golden deer, Sita being abducted by Havana disguised as 
a Brahman, Havana's struggle with Jaayu (Havana and Sita 
arc here carried on a platform which a winged demon 
bears on his head), Sita giving a ring to the wounded 
3 a/ay u, Ja/ayu handing over the ring to Laksmaua, Rama 
shooting Kabandha (who has got a head on his shoulders 
besides a second head in his belly), and Kabandha going to 
heaven seated on a lotus. 

The next relief represents a prince shooting an arrow at 
a crocodile in a tank and a lady on the bank in the attitude 
of prayer. Is this the Shabari episode on the bank of the 
Pampa lake ? 

After that takes place the meeting with Hanuman. This 
was the first relief discovered and led to the whole series 
being identified with the Ramayawa. 



INDIA AND JAVA 39 

In the next, Sugriva is seen weeping on a tree. His tears 
are flowing into Laksma^a's quiver. In the. Malay version 
Laksmaraa brings water for Rama in his quiver. The water 
tastes like tears and this leads to the discovery of Sugriva. 

Then we have the interview with Sugriva, Rama shooting 
his arrow through seven trees to show his prowess to 
Sugriva, the first fight between Bali and Sugriva, with Rama 
standing in a hesitating attitude (a cockatoo on a tree in the 
back-ground), the second fight and death of Bali (Sugriva 
with a wreath of leaves round his waist), the wedding of 
Tara and Sugriva, Rama, Sugriva, etc., holding a consultation, 
the chief monkey warriors being presented to Rama, Hanuman 
jumping over to Lanka and Hanuman discovering Sita (a 
servant with wooly hair in the back-ground). It should be 
noted that the servants in all the scenes in which they appear 
have wooly hair. Negro slaves must already have been 
familiar figures iu the Javanese courts. 

The concluding scenes are : the burning of Lanka by 
Hanuman with his flaming tail (here the artist has with a 
fine sense of humour introduced into this scone of cofusion 
the figure of an ascetic taking away treasures from a 
burning house), Hanuman reporting his exploits to Rama, 
Rama on the sea-shore bow in hand, and tho sea-god rising 
from the waters, the building of the bridge and fishes 
swallowing up the stones. This last episode (of the swallow- 
ing of stones) is to be met with in the Malay Hikayat Seri 
Rama. 

There are minor details where the Prambauau reliefs 
differ from the Ramaya^a of Vzilmiki such as for example ' 
the introduction of a second RAkshasi in the Taraka episode 
and a second Rak,vhasa in the combat with Viraclha, the 
punishment of the ciow, Sita's giving a ring to Ja/uyu 
and Ja/fiyu handing over the ring to Laksmawa, Havana being 
carried by a Hying demon, the two heads of ivabandha, the 
different version of the first meeting with Sugriva, Rama 
desisting from shooting his arrow into the sea, the fishes 
swallowing up the stones used for making the bridge, etc. 
It is curious, as Dr. Stutterheim points out, that as regards 
these variations, the reliefs, instead of following the contemporary 
Old Javanese Kakavin, seem to approach more closely the 
second (later) group of Javanese Rama stories and the 
Malay version. 

We may now leave Prambanan with the remark that 
nowhere else, whether in India, Cambodia or Siam, are the 
exploits of Rama carved in stone in such a detailed and 
at the same time truly artistic way. 

Four hundred years passed after the construction of 
Prambanan before there rose in East Java the temple of 
Panataran with its Rama reliefs in an Indonesian style far 



40 INDIA AND JAVA 

removed from the orthodox Indian style of the earlier shrine 
(Prambanan). There is another point of difference as Kama 
and Krishna reliefs are both found in Panataran in the same 
temple, as there is only one shrine here. 

Several dated inscriptions have been discovered in 
Panataran. The last date, corresponding to 1347 A. D., 
would bring us to the reign of the great queen of Majapahit, 
Jaya-vimu-vardhani, the mother of Hyam Vuruk. Probably 
the temple, which was begun by her predecessors, was finished 
during her reign. Panataran was also known as Pala in the 
Majapahit period. In the Nagarkrtagama Hyam Wuruk, the 
most famous of the Javanese monarchs, is mentioned as 
visting Pala several times to worship Shiva. So it is a 
Shaiva temple and it is also the largest ancient building in 
East Java. 

Hanuman's exploits in the Lanka Kanda are represented 
in the Panataran reliefs. We may note among them, 
Hanuraan reaching Lanka, Ravana and two of his queens 
seated in his treasury (which looks like a three-storeyed 
pagoda), Ravawa in the Ashoka grove, Sita with Trijatfa and 
Hanuman coming down from a tree to meet Sita. Then we 
have spirited battle scenes between Hanuman and Raksasas, 
trees uprooted, detachments of Bhutas marching in martial 
array to meet Hanuman, heaps of dead and dying Raksasas, 
etc. We are then introducted to Ravawa's court, we see 
messengers kneeling before the King and we get a glimpse 
of a Raksasa plucking out the hairs of his beard with pincers. 
In the following scenes we find Hanuman breaking the arm 
of Aksa (Ravawa's son), the monkey warrior taking a sea- 
bath after all this toil and trouble and then hurrying back 
to the fight in the garden of celestial trees. Indrajit then 
appears mounted on a horse (with naga heads) with a snake 
arrow in his bow. Hanuman is bound in the coils of the 
naga-pasha ( *W1W ) and is led a captive to Havana's 
presence. After that Hanuman bursts the bonds and with 
his flaming tail sets the palace on fire. We see women 
fleeing and Ravarai with his queen seeking refuge in his 
water-palace. Hanuman then leaves Lanka after again visting 
Sita. In the final scenes are represented the construction of 
the bridge, monkeys bearing elaborate standards reconnoiter- 
ing the battle-field, the beginning of the great fight, Hanuman 
killing a Raksasa with a vajra and the death of Kumbhakaraa. 

The human faces are done badly in this series but the 
monkeys and demons are quite artistic. 

The story, as depicted in the Panataran reliefs, follows 
very closely the Old Javanese version of the Ramayawa 
the Kakavin. It is very strange, as Dr. Stutterheim points 
out, that some of the 9th century Prambanan reliefs should 
be best explained by the much later Javanese 'Ramayawas of 



INDIA AND JAVA 41 

the second group (the Serat Kandas, etc.) and the Malay 
version based on them, while the 14th century Panataran 
scenes should agree closely with the earlier Kakavin (of the 
first group) which follows Yalmiki pretty accurately. Is it 
because that in the later Javanese versions some of the 
older (and cruder) Indian traditions have been preserved 
which do not find a place in the Kakavin which follows the 
literary and polished text of Valmiki ? Some of these 
unorthodox traditions are of the pre- Valmiki period which 
the great sage rejected as too crude for his own immortal 
version of the story (cp. D. C. Sen's Ramava^a), 

Finally the technique of the .Panataran reliefs is pure 
Javanese (or Indonesian) as distinguished from the purely 
Indian style of Prambanan. Here too there is a revival of 
older indigenous traditions. The back-ground in the Panataran 
pictures is full of magical symbols which must be survivals 
of very old Malay-Polynesian superstitions. 

It is the art of Panataran which leads to the Wayang 
(the popular puppet shows of modern Java) and which still 
survives in the style of art which we find to-day in the 
island of Bali. 



FALL OF THE LAST HINDU KINGDOM OF JAVA 

The last Hindu kingdom of Java was Majapahit a name 
which its poet and historian Prapancha translates into 
Sanskrit as Bilva-tikta. This principality in East Java rose 
to the height of its power under King Hyam Wuruk (1350- 
1389 A. D.). Hyam Wuruk (a Javanese name meaning the 
young cock) is also known by his title of Sri Rajasanagara 
in Prapancha's chronicle Nagarakritagama. This king and 
his pati or minister Gajamada brought the whole Archipelago 
under the sway of Majapahit. This maritime empire stretch- 
ed as far as New Guinea to the east and the Philippine 
Islands to the north. Many names given in the long list 
of its dependencies cannot now be identified some of these 
may have been places on the north-west coast of Australia. 
Considerable portions of the Malaya Peninsula also acknow- 
ledged the suzerainty of Majapahit. But after the death 
of this great king MajapahiYs foreign possessions rapidly 
fell away. Majapahit itself had to fight for its existence 
against enemies among which the most formidable wns the 
rising power of Islam. 

Before we commence the history of its decline and 
downfall we might turn for a moment to a bright picture 
drawn of the great capital city by Prapancha in his Nagara- 
kritagama. Prapancha was a contemporary of Hyam "Wuruk 
and followed the king during the royal tours. "The capital 
Majapahit (Bilva Tikta or Tikta Shriphala) is encircled by a 
wall, a wall of red brick thick and high. On the west there 
is a great open space surrounding a deep artificial lake. 
Brahmasthana trees, each with a bodhi terrace at its foot, 
stand in rows, and here are posted the guards who keep 
watch by turn in this public square. In the north there is 
a Gopura with iron gates. Towards the east (here is a 
high cupola the ground-floor of which is laid with rajra 
(cement). From the north to the south runs the market 
square exceedingly long and very fine with buildings all 
around. In every Chaitra the army meets here. In the 
south there is a fine cross-road and a wide and spacious 
open space. North of this square there is an audience-hall 
where the learned and the ministers sit together. East of it 
is a place where the Shaiva and the Buddhist priests speak and 
argue about their doctrines. There is also accommodation here 
for making offerings during the eclipse of the moon for the 
good of the whole country. Here also are the homakundas 
in groups of three. In the centre is a lofty Shiva temple and 
and to the south of it dwell the vipras in a building of many 



INDIA AND JAVA 43 

storeys. Near an open space in the vicinity the Buddhist 
clergy dwell in a building of three storeys adorned with 
pinnacles and fine sculpture, All this is bestrewn with 
flowers when the king comes there or when there is a sacred 
festival. To the south is the grand stand for the public 
where the king gives his public audiences. The road which 
runs towards the west has got beautiful buildings on both 
sides and in the middle of the road there are everywhere 
mimusapana trees in flower. At a certain distance in this 
direction there is a cupola round which the army marches 
on State occasions. Then in the middle of an open space 
we find and ample pavilion where innumerable birds are 
always chirping. Here again is the audience hall which 
communicates with the second entry of the palace. These 
buildings have solid walls and pillars and there are galleries 
connecting them together. Here, i. e., in the open square 
in front of the audience-hall ivory cocoanuts and betels, 
conches and excellent elephants are offered to the royal 
ladies by people who have come from the forest districts and 
by sailors from distant seas. The officers of the royal array 
have quarters to the north of this second entrance of the 
palace. To the south are the quarters of the bhujangas 
the learned people. Toward the west are many buildings 

occupied by the ministers on duty Entering by this 

second gate one comes to a lovely square with many beauti- 
ful covered seats. Here those who went to pay their homage 
to the king, have to wait. To the east is the magnificent 
pavilion, incomparable in beauty, where His Majesty gives 

audience to those who humbly approach him The 

Prime Minister, the Aryas, and the 'Trusted Five' 

(this is the cabinet of Majapahit) these are the highest who 
apporach the throne. The Kshatriyas and Bhujangas, the 
Rishis and Brahmans stand in the shadow of' the Ashoka tree 
near the royal vitana. The two Chief Judges with their five 
assessors who in their behaviour are so arya as to deserve 
imitation, also approach the vitana hall to have audience 
with H. M. Sri Eajasanagara." 

Thus Prapancha goes on to describe the other palaces 
of the relations of the king most of whom held important 
administrative posts in the realm situated in squares full 
of Mimusapana, Keshara and Champaka flowering trees. 

The court religion of this period appears from the 
Nagarakritagama to be a curious mixture of Mahayana and 
Shaiva doctrines both strongly imbued with Tantric influence. 
Tantrayana texts like the Kamaliayanikan were composed 
about this period. Gross Tantric rites in aristocratic circles 
prepared the way for the progress of Islam in Java. 

The art of this period was reverting to Polynesian 



44 INDIA AND JAVA 

influence e.g., in the fantastic but still artistic Eamayana 
reliefs of the Chandi Panataran. 

Such was the capital city of Majapahit in it its palmiest 
days of glory. Just after the death of Hyam Wuruk (or 
Rajasanagara) in 1389 A. D. there was a partition of the 
kingdom. Virabbumi, the son of the late king and 
his selir (concubine), had been ruled out of the 
succession, but he took possession of Eastern Java by 
force while Majapahit itself with the rest of the kingdom 
fell to the share of Hyam Wuruk's son-in-law Vikramavar- 
dhana who had married the crown princess. Vikramavar- 
dhana and his queen had a daughter Suhita on whom the 
throne of Majapahit was conferred by her father excluding 
his sons who were the issues of his sells (concubines). There 
was civil war, famine, and great disorder. The foreign 
possessions of Majapahit could not be kept together any 
more. In Java itself a certain Bhra Daha made himself 
independent at Daha. His descendants were to be the mortal 
enemies of Majapahit. Queen Suhita was succeeded by her 
younger brother Kritavijaya. Muhammadan chronicles mention 
that Kritavijaya's Queen was a princess of Champa who 
favoured Islam. If the story be true then this princess 
would be the sister of Jayasimhavarman V of Champa who 
with the help of the Emperor of China won back the 
northern provinces of Champa from the Annamities. Another 
sister of this Champa princess is said to have married an Arab 
priest Sheikh Ibrahim. Her son Raden Rahmat, it is said, 
came to Java to visit his royal aunt, and in Islamic 
chronicles be is celebrated as the first apostle of the new 
faith in Java. He assumed the title of Susuhunan and 'is 
believed to have constructed the first mosque built on 
Javanese soil. Sir Stamford Raffles however dismisses the 
whole episode as meie fiction. 

The successor of Kritavijaya was Rajasavardhana who 
reigned only from 1451 to 1453. How he was related to his 
predecessor is not known, nor is it clear why he left 
Majapahit and resided at Keling, 

After him for three years there was an interregnum Then 
two princes followed one another on the throne of Majapahit, 
Both of them had short reigns and the last left the capital. 

The king, who is usually called Bhra Vijaya V, reigned 
from 1468-1478 and died in his capital. Such are the 
unconnected facts which we know about the last years of 
Majapahit. 

It is generally accepted that Majapahit fell in 1478. 
Sir Stamford Raffles gives the popular Muhammadan version 
of the story. Among the wives of Browijoyo was a Chinese 
lady. She was repudiated by the Javanese monarch, when 
pregnant of Raden Fatah, She had to seek shelter with 



INDIA AND JAVA 

Arya Damar, the chief of Palembang (the old Shrivijaya in 
Sumatra), who was a relation of Browijyo. Eaden Patah, 
when he grew up, accompanied by Raden Husen, a real son 
of Arya Damar, came to Java from Sumatra after becoming 
converts to the Muhammadan religion of which Palembang 
was the most important centre. Eaden Patah, who was really 
the son of Browijoyo, become a devotee, while his step-brother 
Eaden Husen sought temporal advantages and soon became 
the commander-in-chief of the Majapahit army. Eaden Patah 
began to intrigue for the subversion of the Hindu religion. 
Having at last formed a considerable party and mustered 
a respectable force, he gave the command to a Javanese for 
he himself was not a military leader. This is said to have 
happened in 1468 A. D. The Muhammadan force was defeated 
by the Hindu army under the command of Husen. Eaden 
Patah was however, not discouraged by this defeat at the 
hands of his step-brother. He obtained succour from the 
faithful at Palembang and was soon able to assemble a fresh 
Muslim army. Husen, still the commander of the Hindu 
army of Majapahit, was now in his turn defeated. Majapahit 
fell and was destroyed. And this triumph of Islam took place 
in 1400 Saka i. <?., 1478 A. D. 

This version however is refuted by an inscription dated 
1408 Saka (1486 A. D.) found engraved on a rock in the 
south-east of Surabaya. Prof. Krom in his new book on the 
Indo-Javanese period Indo-Javaansche Geschiedenis gives all 
the facts bearing on this matter brought to light by recent 
research work. In this inscription a Brahman, Brahmaraja, versed 
in the four Yedas, is mentioned as the recipient of gifts from 
a Hindu ruler. This Brahman is represented as having ins- 
pired this king with ambitious ideas which led the prince 
to a position of overlordship. This prince is mentioned in 
the inscription as living at Jinggan "where the battle was 
fought against Majapahit." The name of this king is given 
as Eanavijaya Girindravardhana aild it is he who may have 
seized Majapahit in 1478 A.D. 

The coast-line of Java was however already Islamized, but 
the Muslim rulers of these places still recognized a Hindu 
suzerain ruling inland. 

Barros, a Portuguese writer, writes about 1498 A.D. that 
in the East (he means thereby the Archipelago and the Malay 
Peninsula) the Hindus ruled but Malaka, a part of the 
Sumatran coast and some sea-ports in Java were in Muham- 
madan occupation. Barros refers to the influence of Islam 
as a pest which spread from Malaka along trade channels. 

Malaka, in the second half of the 15th century, had be- 
come a great emporium of trade between East and West 
(i. #., China and Java on one side and India and Arabia on 



46 1NDI4 AND JAVA 

i 

the other). In India Gujrat was the province which had 
most frequent trade relations with Malaka. 

Thus at the end of the 15th century the suzerain power 
was still Hindu though places on the sea-coast were fast 
becoming Muhammadan. In 1509 Malaka itself, the strong- 
hold of Islam, was afraid of an attack by the Javanese Hindu 
king. In the same year the first Portuguese ships appeared 
before Malaka. In 1511 came Albuquerque himself from 
Cochin capturing Gujrati ships wherever he could find them. 

There was a Hindu settlement in Malaka which was a 
discordant element in a Muhammadan atmosphere. The leader 
of the Hindus, Timut Raja, entered into secret negotiations 
with the Portuguese. The Javanese Hindu king himself sent 
an ambassador with presents to Albuquerque for he was 
not on friendly terms with the Sultan of Malaka who oppress- 
ed his Hindu subjects. The Sultan was driven out by the 
Portuguese. 

In 1513 Albuquerque wrote to the king of Portugal 
referring to the Hindu overlord of Java as seeking the 
alliance of the Portuguese. Albuquerque adds : "The other 
towns, which are in his territory, will necessarily be on 
friendly terms with us or we shall send a small fleet to 
the help of the Javanese king." 

The last trustworthy Portuguese account of Hindu Java 
is of the year 1514. The Governor de Brito writes to King 
Manuel of Portugal in January, 1514 : "Java is a great 
island. There are two Kafir (i. <?., non-Muslim) kings one 
is called the King of Sunda (W. Java) and the other of Java. 
The rulers on the coast are Muhammadan and some of them 
are very powerful. They have many ships and great 
influence." 

The Italian Pigafetta, who travelled in these regions in 
1522 with the great Magellan, writes : "The greatest towns in 
Java are these : Majapahit, the king of which place when 
he lived, was the greatest prince of all the islands and was 
called Raja Pati TJnus ; and then Sunda, Daha, Demak, 
Gajamada, etc. . ." 

Now we know from earlier Portuguese accounts that Pati 
Unus was a warlike Muhammadan prince of Japara (in W. 
Java). He had fought naval action with the Portuguese 
admiral d'Andrade in 1513 in which he was beaten only 
with great difficulty by the Portuguese. After this Pati 
Unus is mentioned as the conqueror of Sunda (westernmost 
part of Java.) Did he also win for Islam the great eastern 
kingdom of Majapahit ? The last Hindu ruler of Java must 
then have fallen before the victorious arms of Pati Unus 
between 1513 and 1522. 

Later Javanese tradition, as recorded by Sir Stamford 
Raffles, points to another person as the champion of Islam, 



INDIA AND JAVA 47 

This Muslim apostle was the Sultan of Cheribon (in W. Java) 
still revered as Sheikh Maulana. He was an Arab by birth 
and he and his two sons are said to have conquered and 
converted the whole of West Java towards the close of the 
15th century. The ruling Muhammadan princes in West 
Java still look on Sheikh Maulana as their common ancestor. 

Thus the Arab traders who first came to Sumatra and 
Java as early as the end of the 7th century to carry on 
trade and commerce with the Farther East succeeded by the 
beginning of the 16th century in winning political supremacy 
and propagating their religion throughout the Archipelago 
and the Malay Peninsula. But already enterprising mariners 
from Portugal and Spain had made their appearance in the 
arena and the Dutch were soon to follow. Political 
supremacy was to be wrested soon from the Muslim princes 
but the religious supremacy of Islam is still unquestioned 
in these regions. 



THE MAHABHARATA AND THE WAYANG IN JAVA* 

The Javanese puppet shows, known as the Vayang/ have 
preserved the old Hindu traditions even now, when Java has 
been a Muharamadan country for more than five centuries. 
The performer, who is called the 'dalang,' manipulates by 
means of strings the movements of the puppets and makes 
their shadows fall on a screen. The performance is 
accompanied by the Javanese orchestra which is known by 
the name of the l gamelan.' The puppets represent the 
figures of the heroes and the heroines of the Indian epics. 
Convention has fixed the size, the appearance, the colour and 
the ornaments of each of the figures. 

Already about 1000 A. D. the Vayang' was so popular 
ID Java that poets borrowed their similes from these 
shadow-plays and spectators followed the representations 
with the liveliest interest. In the beginning of the nineteenth 
century Sir Stamford Baffles speaks thus of the Vayang' : 
"The interest excited by such spectacles, connected with 
national recollections, is almost inconceivable. The eager 
multitude will sit listening with rapturous delight and 
profound attention for whole nights to these dramas/' 

And to-day too the Vayang 1 is indispensable on important 
occasions in the household so highly is it esteemed both 
by the rich and the poor, the old and the young. 

When the Hindus came to Java they brought their 
sacred texts along with them. Of these the Mahabharata 
soon became the most popular among the Javanese. Its 
eighteen cantos were rapidly dramatized. Some of these 
renderings, which were composed in prose during the reign 
of the great Erlangga in the eleventh century A. D., have 
been recently re-discovered and published by the Dutch 
scholars. In the Malay literature these adaptations from 
the great epic are known as the Hikayat Pandawa limn. 
Portions of the Mahabharata were also rendered into old 
Javanese or Kavi poetry during the reign of Jayabaya of 
Kediri by his court poet Penoolooh. This work 'is known 
as the Bharata Yuddha (Brata Yuda in modern Javanese). 
Persons and places referred to in the epic became so familiar 
to the Javanese that in the course of time the episodes of 
the Mahabharata were supposed to have taken place in 
Java itself and Javanese princes claimed lineal descent from 
the Pandava and the Yadava heroes. 



This paper is based on Kats' Javaamche Toonel 



INDIA AND JAVA 49 

tfrom the very beginning however old Malay-Polynesian 
myths mingled with the Indian traditions. And during the 
period 1500 to 1758, when the Muhammadan conquest was 
followed by devastating wars the old Hindu associations 
receded into the background. When, therefore, about the 
middle of the eighteenth century there was a Javanese 
renaissance, interest in the old times revived and energetic 
attempts were made to recover the Hindu literature. But 
the Kavi or old Javanese language could be read but 
imperfectly at this time. Thus strange mistakes crept into the 
texts which were written in this period though they were based 
on old Javanese texts which were still available in the 
eighteenth century. Lastly the 'dalang' (the performer of the 
shadow-plays) himself introduced changes as he was continu- 
ously adapting the old stories to the environments of the 
day in order to make his representations more popular. 

The l dalang,' while performing the show, generally looks 
to lakons' or short dramatic sketches to refresh his memory. 
He also improvises on the spur of the moment to suit the 
taste of the audience. There are some larger texts besides 
these lakons.' 

These short dramas are divided by M. Kats into four 
groups : (1) Stories of gods, giants and the origin of heroes 
generally taken from the Adiparra of the Mahabharata. In 
these stories there is mingled a considerable element of 
Malay-Polynesian legends. (2) The Arjuna Sahana Bahu 
group. ^3) The lakons' based 011 the Ramayana. (4) The last 
and the most important group deals with adventures of the 
Pandavas and the Yadavas. 

About L r >0 'lakons' are ba^ed on the Mahabharata. Eight 
of them, the Yishnu Krama, Bam bang Kalinga, Palasara Babi, 
etc,, describe the ancestors of the Pandavas. From these 
may be summed up the following genealogical outline. 



INDIA AND JATA 



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INDIA AND JAVA 51 

In the Mahabharata the wanderings of the Pandavas begin 
after the Jatugriha adventure. Then Yudhisthira is crowned 
king at Indraprastha. After that comes the game of dice 
followed by further wanderings and then the Pandavas live 
in disguise at the court of king Virata. Hostilities commence 
at Kurukshetra with the reappearance of the Pandavas in 
public. 

The Javanese lakons do not always follow the original. 
According to their version a game of chess is played in the 
Jatugriha itself, and during the game the Pandava brothers 
are given poisoned drinks. Bhima (Brata Sena in Javanese) 
alone retains his senses and removes his brothers from the 
burning house. Then after long wanderings the brothers 
reach the country called Wirata. When they make them- 
selves known at last to king Matsapati of Wirata they 
receive as a present from their host the realm of JSTgamarta 
(Indraprastha). Draupadi's svayamrara takes place at this 
period. 

Meanwhile, Sujudana (Duryodhana) becomes very powerful 
at Ngastina (Hastina). The Pandavas are driven out of 
their capital by him. They seek refuge at the court of 
King Matsyapati of Wirata. Even Krishna has to abandon 
his capital Dvaravati. Then follows the Brata Yuda (Bharata 
Tuddha). 

Arjuna is the greatest favourite of the Javanese audience. 
He plays the leading role in at least fifty lakons. At the 
outset of his career, however, by a disreputable trick he 
gets rid of his rival Palgu Nadi who is also a brilliant 
pupil of Drona. His wooing of Subhadra and his combats 
with other aspirants to her hand are narrated in several 
lakons. Numerous are his other adventures and love affairs. 
His Javanese names are also numerous : Permade, Endralaya, 
Parta Kusuma, Chakra Nagara, etc. In some lakons Sikandi 
is represented as one of the wives of Arjuna. Two of his 
sons are married to two daughters of Krishna. On the other 
band, Arjuna's daughter Sugatavati is given in marriage to 
Krishna's son Samba. These (and other) descendants of 
Krishna and Arjuna are supposed to have founded some of 
;he princely houses of Java. 

Punta-deva Tudhisthira, Wrekodara or Brata Sena, Dewi 
irimbi and her son Gatotkacha, Sujudana (Duryodhana an 
ncarnation of Dasamukha) are all familiar names in Muslim 
Fava. Indeed, custom prescribes that such and such a lakon 
)f the Mahabharata should be played on such and such an 
occasion ip the family. 



TANTRISM IN CAMBODIA, SUMATRA AND JAVA 

Tantrism flourished in Java in the thirteenth and 
fourteenth centuries of the Christian era. We have no 
precise information as to when it was introduced into this 
island. But we know that in Cambodia Tantric texts are 
mentioned in the ninth century A. D. 

A Cambodian inscription relates how a Brahman, of the 
name of Hiranyadama, came from Janapada to the court 
of Jayavarman II (802-869 A. D.I. This Brahman recited 
the Vinashika, the Nayottara, the Sammoha and the 
Shirashcheda from beginning to end, so that they could be 
written down and then he taught the Royal High Priest 
these texts. It is mentioned also that these four texts 
constituted the four faces of the Tumburu. 

Now there are three regions each with its special Tantras, 
and among the Tantras of the Yishnukranta region (which 
includes Bengal and extends to Chittagong) there are two 
works, Sammohana and Niruttara Tantras, the titles of ^ which 
approach very closely to the names by which two r of the 
texts (Sammoha and Nayottara) are mentioned in this 
Cambodian inscription. Again 'Tumburu' is the name of a 
Gandharva and there is a Gandharva Tantra in the Yishnu- 
kranta group. It is interesting to note that another group of 
Tantras is mentioned, the Ashvakranta group, to which is 
allocated the region extending from the Karatoya river (in 
Bengal) to Java. There are other references in Cambodian 
inscriptions as to how several kings were initiated into the 
Vrah Guhya 'the Great Secret) by their Brahman gums : 
Cambodian Buddhism was probably much more free 
from Tantric influence than Javanese Buddhism of the 
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. But there is reference 
in an eleventh century inscription to the "Tantras of the 
Paramis." Also images of He-vajra, a Tantric Buddhist 
divinity, have been recently discovered at Angkor Thorn, the 
ancient capital of Cambodia. 

In Java Tantrism seems to have attained greater 
importance. Kritanagara (1268-1292 A. D.), the last ruler of 
the kingdom of Singasari (in East Java\ who was adored in 
his lifetime as Shiva-Buddha, was an adept in Tantric 
practices. Prapancha, the author of the important Kavi (old- 
Javanese) chronicle Nagarakritagama, says that Kritanagara 
had gone through the ten ceremonies of purification and 
the eight processes of initiation and that he diligently carried 
out the pancha makaras "free from all sensual delusion." He 
goes on to say, " After Kritanagara's 'jina initiation,' his name 



INDIA AND JAVA 53 

was everywhere known as Shri Jnana-bajreshvara." We 
know also from the inscription engraved on the pedestal of 
the statue of this king dressed as a monk that after his 
4 jina initiation' on a cremation ground, Kritanagara was 
supposed to be identified with Mahaksobhya. His funeral 
monument was adorned with two images, both of them 
described as exquisitely beautiful, one of Shiva and the other 
of Aksobhya. 

Then we come to the Tan trie inscriptions of Adityavarman, 
a prince of Sumatra (c. 1343-1378 A. D.). An inscription of 
this prince dated 1269 Shaka era (1347 A. D.) describes the 
consecration of a Buddhist sculptural group of Amoghapasha- 
Gaganaganja with his companions and in this connection 
speaks of the virtuous practices to be observed by the 
Buddhist community, and then goes on to praise the practices 
of Toga of the Mahayana. At the same time it glorifiies a 
god and goddess Matanganisha and his Tara. Prof. Kern 
remarks that Matanganisha and Tara must be Amoghapasha 
and his Shakti and presumably they are Buddhistically fitted 
aspects of Shiva and Durga. In this inscription Mataoganisha 
is represented as drunken and amorous executing a mystic 
dance with his Tara in a locality resounding with the notes 
of birds, perfumed with the sweet scent of jasmine, full of 
the humming of bees and the cries of rutting elephants, and 
the merry shouts of sportive Gandharvas. Probably 
Adityavarman 'himself is to be identified with Matanganisha 
and his queen with Tara and the inscription commemorates 
some Tantric rite performed by the royal pair. Adityavarman 
is supposed to be an incarnation of Kama-raja-adhimukti- 
sadasmrtijna, i. e., Kama whose endeavours are continuously 
directed towards mukti. This fitts in well with the scene 
depicted here where the royal couple carry on their amorous 
dance (in the aspect of Matanganisha and Matangini in the 
fragrant groves, echoing with the lovely songs of nymphs, 
where lovers, with their locks of hair adorned with mandara 
blossoms, seek out trysting places where they disport them- 
selves with their beloved. Is the whole scene the description 
of some chakra ceremony ? 

Another inscription of Adityavarman dated 1297 Shaka 
era (1375 A. D.) narrates that on Tuesday, in the month of 
Jyaisthya of that year, king Adityavarman was made a 
Kshetrajna with the title of Vishera Dharani. Then it goes 
on : "fceated on a high seat, eating delicacies, lord of 
Suravasa drinking, laughing with myriads of flowers spreading 
on all sides their perfume....The perfume of Adityavarman's 
offerings is indeed indescribable." The sentences are 
disconnected and the meaning can only be guessed at. But 
we may be sure that this obscure passage does not refer 
to a royal picnic. As Herr I. J. L. Moens has tried to 



54 INDIA AND JAVA 

explain (Tijd. Batav. Genoot,, 1924) all this may mean that 
king Adityavarman became a Kshetrajna in a cremation 
ground (like king ^Kritanagara) enthroned on a heap of 
corpses, laughing like a maniac, drinking blood, while his 
mahaprashada (his human sacrifice) flamed up and spread 
all around a dreadful smell. 

Finally, we came to the Mantrayana text the Kamaliaya- 
nikan, a Kavi (old- Javanese) work which has been recently 
edited (in Dutch) by M. Kats. This text, we may conclude 
from the internal evidence gleaned from its pages, dates from 
the Majapahit period (14th and loth centuries A. D.) i. e., 
during the rule of the last Hindu kingdom of Java. It 
commences with Sanskrit slokas extolling in very high terms 
this particular way to salvation. The Sanskrit verses are 
accompanied by a Kavi (old Javanese) commentary which is 
extremely obscure as in addition to the difficulties presented 
by the Kavi language it abounds with Tantric technical terms. 
Some of the introductory stanzas may be construed as 
follows: "Come, Oh child, I shall teach you fully the method 
of Mantra-charya-nayam of Mahayana as you are worthy 
of receiving this great lesson. The Buddhas who have gone 
and those who have not yet arrived (in this world) and 
those who are still existing for the welfare of the universe 
all of them have attained omniscience through the know- 
ledge of this supreme Yajra Mantra system You should 

practise this noble Yana which is beyond positive and nega- 
tive, clear as the sky, solemn, indisputable, stainless beyond 
all illusion, which is manifested only by its own manifesta- 
tions, which is free from all action, beyond the duality of 
truth and falsehood the greatest, noblest path. . . , One 
should n"ot speak of vajra, ghanta and mudra to those who 
are not in the mandala and only the faithful, who is in the 
circle, may laugh (i.e., think himself fortunate)." 

Then comes the sloka: "There is nothing which is prohi- 
bited for him who has attained the highest wisdom. He 
should enjoy at all times* without any hesitation, the pancha 
Kamas (the pancha makaras ?)." In another passage we find : 
"Vajra, ghanta, and mudra are never to be abandoned, 
the acharya is never to be despised, he is equal 
to all the Buddhas. Therefore, never insult ihe Vajra- 
charya mahaguru even if you can see no good in him." In 
the concluding stanzas we get : "To-day your lives have 
fulfilled their purpose, today, well-versed in this (doctrine), 
you have become the equal of the gods. . . .to-day without 
the slightest doubt, after having overcome Mara, you have 
reached the supreme goal and have attained Buddha-hood."* 

* I have to express my thanks to Pandit Krishnanand Pant, M, A. 
for helping me with the Sanskrit text. 



INblA AND JAVA 65 

In the Kavi (old-Javanese) text, which follows the Sanskrit 
slokas, occurs the following passage : "The ten paramitas 
(dana, shila, kranti, etc.) have for tatva (essence) five Devis. 
Shri Vajradhatishyari Devi, of peerless wisdom and beauty, 
is the tatva of six paramitas. The tatva of Lochana is 
maitri, of Mamaki karuna, of Pandaravasini mudita, of Tara 
upeksa. In this way the ten paramitas have five Devis as tatva." 

After the pararaitas the Mahaguhya (the Great Secret) 
is mentioned which is the means of meeting the Lord and 
consists of Yoga and Bhavana. Yoga, the heritage (as is 
given in the text) transmitted (to us) by the illustrious 
Dignaga, is of four kinds : Mula Yoga which makes us realize 
the Lord of Akasha, Madhya Yoga which acquaints us with 
the Lord who is in (our) bodies, Vasana Yoga which intro- 
duces us to the Lord of Prithivi-mandala and Anta Yoga by 
which we know that there is a Lord in the Shunyatamandala. 

This reference to Dignaga is interesting. In this connec- 
tion we may recall the tradition that Dharmapala, the disciple 
of Dignaga, after having adorned for thirty years the Univer- 
sity of Nalanda, spent the last years of his life in Suvarna- 
dvipa (Sumatra ?). 

Enough has been said about the Kamaliayanikan to show 
that is well worth the careful study of scholars who have 
specialized in the Tantras. The last part of the Kavi text 
is very obscure and I shall end here by giving a curious 
genealogical table from this interesting Tantric work." 

Advaya 

Advaya-jnana 

Divarupa 

Bbatara Buddha 

I 
Shakyamuni 



I I I 

Lokeshvara Vairochana Yajrapani 



Aksobhya Eatnasambhava I Amitabha Amoghasiddhi 

i r i 

Ishvara Brahma Vishnu 

i i i 

atmosphere earth and water fire and wind 



The three worlds 



GREATER INDIA SOCIETY BULLETIN No. 5 

INDIA AND JAVA 

(Second edition, revised and enlarged) 

PART II 

(INSCRIPTIONS) 



BY 

BIJAN RAJ CHATTERJEE 

M. A. (CaL), PH. D. (Lond.) 

Professor \ Meeruf College 
AND 

NIRANJAN PRASAD CHAKRAVARTI 
M. A. (Cal.)> PH. D. (Cantab.) 

Assistant Epigraphist to the Government of India 



CALCUTTA 

1933 



PREFACE 

The second part of this Bulletin contains the Sanskrit 
Inscriptions from the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Java and 
Sumatra. In offering this little work to the public, I have 
to tender my apology for its various shortcomings. It is 
not a pretension to scholarship, and I had to face consider- 
able difficulties in seeing the book through the Press. After 
1 had left Calcutta I had hardly any access to the books of 
reference needed for such a publication and I had mainly 
to depend on notes taken at Calcutta The same has been 
the case with Dr. Chatterji. Under these circumstances 
it is just possible that some inscriptions may have been 
left out but I do not think there has been any important 
omission. No proper impressions of the epigraphs were 
available and I had to depend, in many cases, on imperfect 
facsimiles. Sometimes even such help was not forthcoming. 
I am responsible for the texts and translations of the 
inscriptions but the introductions are mainly the joint work 
of the authors. I regret to state that it has not been possible 
to indicate the diacritical marks in a satisfactory fashion. 
Many printing errors have also remained uncorrected. 

In conclusion, I have to acknowledge my gratitude to 
Dr. U. N. Ghoshal, the Secretary of the Greater India Society, 
who has been in so many ways helpful to me. 



N. P. C 



CONTENTS OF PART II 

PAGE 

1. INTRODUCTORY 1 

2. THE INSCRIPTIONS 5 

I INSCRIPTIONS PROM MALAY PENINSULA 6 

1. Keddah Inscription 7 

2. Inscription from N. Wellesley Province 7 

INSCRIPTIONS PROM BORNEO 

1. The Yupa inscriptions of King 

Mulavarman from Kutei (E. Borneo) 8 

III INSCRIPTIONS FROM WEST JAVA 20 

1. The Ci-Aruton Rock Inscription 23 

2. The Jambu rock Inscription 24 

3. The Kebon Kopi Rock Inscription 25 

4. The Tugu (Bekasih) Rock Inscription 26 

INSCRIPTIONS FROM CENTRAL JAVA 28 

1. Tuk-mas Inscription 28 

2. Inscription from Canggal (Kedu) of 

S. E. 654 29 

3. Dinaya Inscription (3aka Year 182) 35 

4. The Inscription of Viengsa (Saka Year 697) 40 

5. Kalasan Inscription of the riaka Year 700 44 

6. The Minto stone inscription of the 

Saka Year 876 48 
7a Extracts from the Nalanda Copper-plate of 

Devapaladeva 49 

7b Leyden copper plate of Rajaraja Chola 53 

Appendix 57 

Kclurak Inscription (Saka Year 704) 60 



PAGE 

V INSCRIPTIONS FROM EASTERN JAVA 63 

1. Inscription of Erlangga from Penang 
Gungen (Surabaya) 63 

2. The Sanskrit Inscription on the image of 
Mahakshobhya at Simpang (Surabaya) 

Saka, 1211 75 

VI INSCRIPTIONS FROM SUMATRA 

1. Inscription on the back of the statue 
of Amoghapasa (at Padang Chandi in 
middle Sumatra) Saka Year 1269 79 

2. Two Buddhist Inscriptions from Sumatra 85 

(i) The Rock Inscription at Pasir Panjang 
(ii) The Gunung Tua Statue inscription 

3. The Kubur Raja Inscription of Adityavarman 86 
Appendix: The Sanskrit portion of the 

Pering Inscription 87 



Introductory* 



A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HINDU-BUDDHIST 
PERIOD OF JAVANESE HISTORY. 

Tavadvipa (Java) is mentioned in the Ramayaua where 
Sugriva sends out searching parties in quest of Sita. 
Ptolemy, who wrote his geography about 150 A. i>., refers 
to Java as Jabadieu a name which he himself translates 
as the island of barley. 

The earliest inscriptions discovered in these distant 
islands come from Borneo. The language is Sanskrit and 
the script closely resembles that of the early Pallava inscrip- 
tions of South India and of the earliest epigraphy of 
Champa (Annam) and Kambuja (Cambodia). The Borneo 
inscriptions are, however, much earlier than the Pallava 
inscriptions. Indeed we may say that it is in this remote 
island that we first find the script which became known 
later on by the name of Pallava Grantha. These Borneo 
records describe a yajna (sacrifice) performed by Brahraans 
for King Mulavarman. On palaeographical grounds these 
inscriptions (as they bear no dates) have been assigned by 
archaeologists to the 4th century A. D. 

The next series of epigraphic records refer to King 
Purnavarman of Taruma-nagara which has been located 
near modern Batavia in West Java. The script is the same 
as that found in Borneo and on palaeographical grounds 
this series (which also bear no dates) have been assigned to 
c. 450 A. D. Purnavarman apparently was an illustrious 
monarch whose footprints have been carved on the stiles 
(of the inscriptions) and have been compared with Vishnu- 
pada-padma. 

A little before this period (in 413 A. D) Fa-hien reached 
Java on his way from Ceylon to China. He says that in 
this island there many Brahmans and but few Buddhists. 

Buddhism is said to have been first preached in Java 
by a Kashmir prince, Gunavarman, in 423 A. D. From 
Java the ascetic prince passed on to China. 

For three centuries we get no more inscriptions. But 
Chinese annals fill up the gap to some extent. They tell 
us of a kingdom of the name of Lan-ga-su in K-W. Java 
and of another called Kalinga in Central Java. West Java 
now falls into the background. 

It is in Central Java that we get the first dated record 
which has been as yet discovered in this island. This is 



2 INDIA AND JAVA 

the Janggal inscription of the Shaka year 654 (732 A, D). 
The script is still Pallava Giantha and the language highly 
ornate Sanskrit. It is a Shaiva record and contains a reference 
to Kunjara Kunja Agastya's asrama in South India. Another 
inscription discovered at Dinaya a place further to the 
east and dated 682 Shaka era (760 A. o) describes the 
consecration of an image of Maharshi Agastya, Apparently 
during this period the cult of Agastya was prevalent in 
Java. The Dinaya inscription is the first to be written in 
the Kavi script which gradually replaces Pallava Grantha 
in Java The language, however, is still Sanskrit. 

In the last quarter of the 8th century Central Java was 
won from its Shaiva rulers by the Mahayanist monarchs 
of the powerful maritime kingdom of Srivijaya in Sumatra. 
An inscription unearthed near the beautiful temple of 
Tara at Kalasan (in Central Java) informs us that this 
Mahayanist shrine was constructed at the command of the 
Srivijaya ruler of the Sailendra dynasty. Apparently the 
Javanese possessions wore administered by governors on 
behalf of the Sumatran sovereign. The script of this as 
well as of other Srivijaya inscriptions brought to light in 
Java and Sumatra is North Indian, closely akin to the Pala 
inscriptions of Nalanda. Indeed there were cordial relations 
between the Pala Magadha and the Sumatran kingdom of 
Srivijaya. South-eastern Sumatra (where Srivijaya was 
situated) became in this period a far-famed centre ot learning 
and of commerce. The magnificent stupa of Borobodur as 
well as other lovely shrines and fine sculptures of this 
period in Central Java testify to the artistic taste of the 
Sumatran overlords. 

About 863 A. D. Central Java seems to have been won 
back from its Mahayanist overlords by Hindu princes who 
were fervent devotees of Agastya. This appears from an 
inscription bearing the date 785 Shaka era (803 A. D), 
written not in Sanskrit but in Kavi 'Old-Javanese a 
mixture of Sanskrit and a Polynesian dialect). It refers to 
descendants of Agastya as having settled in this island. 

Of these Hindu kings of Central Javathe names of 
Daksha and of Wawa have come down to us. It was probably 
Uaksha who built the famous Prambanam group of temples 
with its artistic reliefs depicting scenes from the Ramayana. 
Wawa's headquarter was in East Java and Central Java 
was administered by a governor on his behalf. Indeed from 
the close of Wawa's reign (828 A. D.) we -hear very little 
of Central Java. An inscription of Wawa was sent by 
Sir S. Raffles to Lord Minto during the short period of the 
British occupation of Java. It is known as the Minto 
stone and is now in Scotland. It contains a giant of a 
rent-free holding for the Bhatara of a temple. 



INDIA AND -JAVA 6 

The scene now shifts to East Java where under a 
minister of Wawa, of the name of Mpoo Sindok, there was 
established a powerful kingdom. The great Erlangga was 
the issue of a princess of this dynasty and Udayana, the 
Governor of Bali. After many romantic adventures, which 
have been narrated at some length in an inscription, the 
most interesting epigraphic record which has been found in 
Java, Erlangga was enthroned as the Chakravarti sovereign 
of Yavadvipa (1035 A. u.) Ho was a great patron of Kavi 
literature. The Mahabharata and probably the Ramayana 
also were rendered into Kavi verse during his reign. 

There was a partition of his kingdom after his death. 
The principalitv of Kcdiri (a part of Erlangga's kingdom) 
has become famous in Javanese history on account of its 
illustrious poets. The bards who adorned the court of Kediri, 
during the reigns of Varshajaya, Kamesvara and Jayabaya 
(1100-1155), composed the Kavi works Sumanasantaka, 
Krishnavana, Smara-dahana, Bhanila Yuddha, Harivamsa, 
etc. Trade flourished as well as literature. Javanese ships 
touched Madagascar on the West and the Chinese coast 
on the east. 

Early in the 13th century Kediri fell before the 
conquering adventurer Ken Arok. This remarkable person, 
the super-man of the Javanese chronicles, who is represented 
as the offspring of the Gods, committed every conceivable 
crime to win a throne and the hand of the peerless beauty 
Queen Dedes of Singasari (a vassal principality of Kediri). 
With the help of a Brahman, who had come from India to 
assist him in his pre-destined career of glory, Ken 
Arok made himself master of Singasari (1220 A.D.) and made 
that kingdom the most powerful State in Java. The charming 
image of Prajnaparamita, which belongs to his reign, is 
said to represent the features of his queen Dedes. 

Krtanagara (1268-1292 A.D.), the fourth in descent from 
Ken Arok, was an adept in Tan trie practices. He attempted 
the conquest of principalities in the neighbouring islands 
of Bali, Borneo and Sumatra but was killed in battle by 
a rebel vassal of his the chief of Kediri. Before his death 
he had also in his pride insulted the envoy of the great 
Kubilai Khan of China. Shortly after his death Chinese 
troops landed in Java (1293 A.D.) to avenge this insult. 
The son-in-law of Krtanagara, Kaden Vijaya, was a master 
of crafty diplomacy. At his instigation the Chinese troops 
marched on the rebellious realm of Kediri and subjugated 
it. Vijaya now made a surprise attack on the Chinese host 
and drove them to their ships. Having 'thus disposed of all 
his enemies he founded the kingdom of Majapahit (1294), 
Majapahit was the name of a city which he himself had 
founded sometime ago and the city got this name from a 



4 INDIA AND JAVA 

bael (*ta ) tree with bitter fruit (in Javanese Majapahit) 
which grew on its site. 

His daughter, the great queen Jayavishnuvardhani, began 
the conquest of the Archipelago (1343 A,D.) with the help 
of her famous minister Gajamada. Tantrism was the 
cult in the aristocratic circles of this period. The 
Kamahayanikam, a Mantrayana text, and the inscriptions 
of Adityavarman, a Sumatran prince, are typical examples 
of the prevailing Tantrism of this period. 

This illustrious queen was succeeded in 1350 A. D. by 
her son Hyam Wuruk (a Javanese name which means the 
young cock). The reign of this monarch saw the greatest 
expansion of Majapabit. The Nagarakrtagama and the 
Pararaton, the two most valuable Kavi chronicles which 
we possess, give a long list of the territorial possessions 
of Majapahit. The whole Archipelago was brought under 
its sway. To the east it extended to New Guinea to the 
north to the Philippine Islands. Srivijaya in Sumatra as 
well as Kedah, Singapore, eta, in the Malay Peninsula were 
all included in this list of dependencies. Mantris and 
Bhujangas (learned priests) were sent out by royal command 
to look after State affairs in the distant isles. The admirals 
(Jaladhi-mantri) of Majapahit always held themselves ready 
to crush any rebellion which might break out in any 
remote corner of this mighty maritime empire. 

In the Nagarakrtagama, composed by Prapancha the 
court-poet of Hyam Wuruk we have a glowing description 
of the capital Majapahit. Buddhism and Hinduism both 
shared the royal favour. The Javanese art of this period 
(best studied in the temple of Panataran) was coming more 
and more under Polynesian influence. 

Eapid decay set in after Hyam Wuruk's death (1389). 
A princess of Champa, who was married to Krtavijaya (one 
of the last rulers of Majapahit), is said to have favoured 
Islam which strengthened its foothold in Java during this 
reign (C. 1448). The coast-line of Sumatra, Java, and the Malay 
Peninsula was being rapidly 'Islamised' during this period. 

According to tradition Yijaya V, the last monarch of 
Majapahit, fell fighting the Muslim conquerors in 1478 A. D. 
But recent researches seem to indicate that it was a Hindu 
prince, Eanavijaya of Kediri, who dealt the death-blow to 
Majapahit in 1478. Prom Porturguese sources we learn that 
at the end of the 15th century the central authority in Java 
was still Hindu. In 1513 Albuquerque wrote to the King of 
Portugal referring to the Hindu suzerain of Java as seeking 
the Portuguese alliance. The last Hindu ruler of Java must 
have bBen swept away by the rising tide of Muslim conquest 
sometime between 1513 and 1522. In the latter year Majapahit 
was still considered to be the most important place in Java. 



The Inscriptions. 



The earliest indications of the appearance of Hinduism in 
the Malay Archipelago are the inscriptions of Borneo and 
West Java. These epigraphic records continue, in an 
almost unbroken series, down to the end of the Indo- 
Javanese period in the beginning of the 16th century. But 
the number of Sanskrit inscriptions found in these islands is 
much smaller than that of similar records discovered in 
Kambuja (Cambodia) and Champa (Annam). Again the 
historical matter which we obtain from these inscriptions is 
comparatively small. For almost without exception they 
commemorate occasions of building of temples or of pious 
donations. Hence we generally find in these records informa- 
tion as to when and by whom the building or the donation 
of temple or monastery or sacred image, took place. If it is 
a gift of land one finds the boundaries fixed ; if privileges 
have been bestowed these are carefully written down. Thus 
we get the regnal years of various sovereigns : we learn 
something about their high officials and incidentally adminis- 
trative and political information in addition to religious 
matters. Generally we do not get in such records definite 
statements of historical facts. Mentions of such facts are 
just passing references in connection with religious 
ceremonials. 

The inscriptions are engraved either on stone stiles or 
on copper plates. A few gold and silver plates have also 
been discovered. Some are copies of older inscriptions. 
The language of the earliest inscriptions (which are not dated) 
is Sanskrit. The first appearance of a date and another language 
(Old Malay) is to be found in Sumatra. Up to the middle 
of the 8th century A. D. the Pallava Grantha script is 
invariably used. Only in Srivijaya epigraphy we get the 
Nagari script In the Dinaya inscription (760 A. D.) we first 
come across the Kavi script. This is, as Dr. Krom states, not a 
script freshly imported from India (Brandes thought that it 
had been borrowed from Gujarat), but only a later development 
in Java itself of the earlier Pallava script. Later inscrip- 
tions are all in Kavi characters. About the same period 
the Kavi language, a mixture of Sanskrit and a Polynesian 
dialect, replaces Sanskrit in the inscriptions. The Kavi inscrip- 
tions are more numerous than those in Sanskrit. The last Kavi 
inscription is dated 1408 Saka era (1486 A. D.). Finally we must 
note that for the reconstruction of the Indo-Javanese period of 
the history of the Archipelago we have not only these 
inscriptions but also the Kavi chronicles and references to 
these islands in the Chinese Annals. The Arab records 
also give valuable information for some periods. 

Note This portion is based on the introduction to 
Dr. Krom's Hindoe-Javaansche Oeschiedenis. 



I. INSCRIPTIONS FROM MALAY PENINSULA 

In the ruin of an ancient brick building near Bnkit 
Meriam in Kcdah, a small building some 10 feet square, 
Col. James Low found a slab, a kind of slate, inscribed 
with the formula of the Buddhist creed. Probably the small 
building where the slab was discovered was the hut of a 
disciple of Buddha. Kern, who deciphered the Sanscrit 
inscription would not say if it were older than another inscrip- 
tion unearthed by Low "while excavating some old ruins on 
a sandy side in the northern district of Province AYellesley." 
The inscribed stone seems to have boon the upper part of 
a column. On a copy of it can be soon the representation 
of a stupa. On either side is a lino of writing, containing 
the same couplet as on the Kcdah slab. Along the edge 
of the pillar is another broken inscription which shows that 
the monument was a gift to a temple of a pious Buddhist 
sea-trader Buddhaguptn, who lived at a place called 
'Rfd Earth.'* The Southern Indian stvlc of writing agrees 
exactly with the type known as Pallava and in Champa 
in W. Java and enabled Kern to give .\. D. 400 as its 
approxinato dat*. Col. Low also went on an elephant 
to transcribe a group of seven inscriptions on the sloping 
side of a granite rock at Cherok Tokum which lies 
near the centre of Province "VYollesly. They are too small and 
indistinct to be more than contributions to palaeography. 
One is written in nearly the same type as Buddhagupta's 
inscription. The characters of another Kern considered to 
be not older than the 6th century and similar to those 
at Pattadakal in W. Deccan and to those of the oldest 
Cambodian inscriptions of Bhavavarman. Some fragmentary 
clay tablets were found 9 ft. below the floor of a cave in 
Kcdah bearing undecipherable inscriptions in North Indian 
Nagari script of the 10th or perhaps the 7th century A. i*. 
Five votive tablets from Trang have been identified as 
relics of Mahayana Buddhism belonging to the western 
group of the llth century \ D. and resembling the characters 
of the Benares grant of Karnadeva and the grants of the 
Rathors of Kanauj ; on the obverse are Buddhas and 
Bodhisattvas. 

* This place called 'Rakta-mrttika' may be identified with the 
'Rakta-mrtHka vihara' in Karnasuvarna (Murshidabad) mentioned 
by Hsuan Tsan^ as Lo-to-mo-chih, wrobgly translated by Wattors 
as raktarnrta. See Walters, If. p. 192 and Chatterji Indian Cultural 
Influence in Cambobia. 



INDIA AND JAVA 7 

At the mouth of the Singapur river was discovered a 
large rock inscribed with some undecipherable lettering. ~ 
The stone was blasted later by the P. W. D. Several 
fragments of it were sent to Calcutta. All that has been 
so far ascertained is that it is in a script used in Majapahit 
about the middle of the 14th century. 

As these later inscriptions cannot be traced at present 
the texts cannot be given here. 

All these inscriptions have been found on the west 
coast of the Malay Peninsula, But about the 4th century 
\.D. appear alsc/ epigraphical remains on the cast coast. 
(Fmot, Bui Com. Arch 11)10 pp 152-151). 

1. KT:J)I)AO INSCRIPTION 

r^? ;ii 
[u] 



TO wwi LG 

[ll] 



"The Laws which arise out of a cause, Tathagata told 
about lliat, and v r hat is theii suppression has thus boon 
told by the great Sramana. 

Karma (//'. action) accumulates through lack of know lodge. 
Karma is the cause oi (ro-birth.) Through knowledge no 
Karma is effected (and) through absence of Karma (0110) is 
not born (againj. v 

Of the two verses the former is the well-known 
Buddhist creed. 

2. IxscuirrioN FROM X. WKLLESLEV PROVINCI:. 

Tins inscription repeats the Keddah inscription with 
the following addition at the end : 



"[The gift] of Buddh.igupla, the great sailor, whose abode 
was at linktamrttika. 



II. INSCRIPTIONS FROM BORNEO 

1. THE YUPA INSCRIPTIONS OF KING MULAVARMAN 
FROM KUTEI (E. BORNEO) 

In 1879 K. F. Holle drew attention to several inscribec" 
stones existing in the Native State of Kotei (East Borneo).'* 
In 1880 the Sultan of Kutei presented four inscribed stones 
to the Batavian Society. In the same year Prof. Kern gave 
a transcript and translation of the inscriptions. 

Since then our knowledge of epigraphy has much 
improved (see especially Buhler Indische PalaographieEng. 
transl. by Dr. Fleet, 1904, Appendix to the Indian Antiquary, 
Vol. XXXIII). And we also know more of South Indian 
history, especially the Pallavas. 

Mr. Venkayya (in the Archaeological Survey of India, 
Annual Report, 1906-07) points out that the Pallavas derive 
the origin of their race from Asvatthaman, the son of Drona 
of the gotra of Bharadvaja. In a genealogy (found in some 
of the later documents of the Pallavas,) it is said that 
Asvatthaman had a son, named Pallava, by a divine nyrnph 
Madani. Pallava got his name from his bed of Wtf in the 
abode of hermits where he was born. 

The Tamil poem Manimegalai contains a Igend which 
relates that the first 'Tondaiman' ( i. e. Pallava) was the 
son of a Cola king by a Nagi. This Tamil poem also 
mentions a town Nagapuram in Savakanadu (Tamil for the 
island of Java). Two kings of Nagapuram are mentioned 
Bhumicandra and Punyaraja who claimed to be descended 
frem Indra. 

Prakrit characters of the first half of the 4th century A. D. 
acquaint us with King Sivaskandavarman whose dominions 
included not only Kanchi but also the Telugu country as far 
north as theKrisna. 

For Pallava history in the 5th and 6th centuries we 
have Sanskrit title-deeds which give the names of several 
Pallava princes. These are described as Bhagavatas (worshippers 
of Visnu). The names end with Varman. 

Foi the 7th and first half of the 8th centuries, when the 
Pallava power rose to its culminating point and then 
declined, archaeological materials are more abundant. There 
are numerous inscriptions on stone as well as copper-plate 

* This introduction is a summary of Dr Vogel's article in the 
BMragen tot-de Taal-Land en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsche- 
Indie, 1918. 



INDIA AND JAVA 9 

charters. Vikramaditya n (Calukya) gave the death-blow to the 
Pallava power. It is during the period of Pallava ascendency 
that we meet with the first epigraphical monuments of 
Hindu influence in the Archipelago, In the history of the 
spread of Indian civilisation the Coromandel coast played 
an important part although the Indian emigrants did not 
come exclusively from that part of India. That during the 
4th to 7th centuries A. D., there, must have been a lively 
intercourse between India, Indo-China and the islands of the 
Archipelago is evident from the accounts of Chinese pilgrims. 

Fa Hian sailed along the coast from Tamralipti to Ceylon 
and then went to Java where Brahmans flourish. 

In Hiuen Tsang's life, described by two contemporaneous 
authors, it is stated that Kanchipura, the capital of Dravida, 
was the "sea-port of South-India for Ceylon. Apparently it 
then held the position now held by Madras. May we not 
assume that then existed a direct intercourse between 
Kanchi and the Archipelago ? (Kanchi is about 40 miles 
from the mouth of the Palar river. But Tamralipti, Broach 
etc. were also inland. Moreover the river Palar has changed 
its course). 

I-tsing describes Srivijaya, Malaya and Kicthcha (Kedah ?) 
Xicobar Islands as halting stations on the way to Tamralipti. 

Probably there were other intermediate ports from Sri- 
vijaya to Tamralipti. We must remember the pillar inscrip- 
tion of the Buddhist sea-captain Buddhagupta of Eaktamrttika 
in the Wellesley province (near Penan g), which may be 
assigned to 400 A. D. The character is very similar to 
that of the early inscriptions of Java. 

I-tsing has given us short biographies of Go eminent 
Chinese pilgrims who had visited India in his days. 
Chavannes in the introduction to his French translation of 
that work ( Voyages des pelerins bouddhistes, Memoirs compose 
par I-tsing, E. Chavannes, Paris, 1894) thinks that there were 
many more pilgrims of whom wo do not know anything, 
and that the actual number of these pious palmers must 
have amounted to several hundreds. 

If we admit that the study of the Pallava inscriptions of 
Coromandel is important for the right understanding of the 
beginnings of Hindu civilisation in the Archipelago, the 
same may be said with greater justice of the early records 
of the two ancient kingdoms of Champa and Cambodia. Hero 
too we find Brahmanical civilisation grafted anew on two 
nations, the Cam and the Khmer. These peoples reshaped 
that civilisation in accordance with their own national 
genius, as is evident from those grand monuments which 
still excite admiration. 

It is particularly the ancient kingdom of the Cam which 
has placed an important part in the spread of Hindu 



10 INDIA AND JAVA 

civilisation in the Far-Bast and which, owing to its situation on 
the east coast of .Further India, formed a natural link between 
China and Java. The name Cam was bound to remind the 
emigrants of the ancient city of Champa on the Ganges, and 
no doubt thus the name of Champa was given to the Cam 
country. 

The oldest epigraphical document of Champa and of the 
whole of Indo-China the rock inscription of A r o-Canh (partly 
illegible) may be ascribed to the third or perhaps the second 
century A. D. The existence of a Sanskrit inscription of so 
early a date in far-off Campa is remarkable. 

Then come 3 inscriptions of Bhadravarman (not dated but 
probably of the 4th century A.D.) which are Saiva in character. 
The king's title in one of them is Dharmmamaharaja, a 
title also borne by a Pallava prince (Sivaskandavarman) in 
the 4th century. Another of these inscriptions gives the site 
of the sanctuary of Siva Bhadresvara who is invoked in 
the two other inscriptions. 

Stele 111 of 657 A. D. of Mi-son gives the names of 
princes who must have come after Bhadravarman. These 
princes trace their origin back to a king Gangaraja. Is 
there any connection with the Ganga-Pallavas ? 

The earliest dated inscription of Cambodia (604 Saka.) is 
Saiva in character. 

Two points deserve special notice with regard to the 
early epigraphical records of Indo-China: the prevalence 
of the worship of Siva and the exclusive use of the Saka era 
(which is decidedly the era of S. India), whereas in Northern 
India it was the Yikrama (or Malava) era which was preferably 
used. Here, again, therefore, we have a peculiarity which 
points to the southern origin of that particular form of Indian 
civilization which is found in the Far East. 

It is certainly astonishing that in the inscriptions of the 
Pallavas and other Southern dynasties no reference is made 
to the relations which in those days must have existed 
between Coromandel and the Far East The explanation 
probably is that those relations of which the accounts of 
the Chinese pilgrims have left such a valuable record, were 
of a perfectly peaceful nature. We are perhaps justified 
in concluding that the penetration of Hindu culture in the 
Far East took place along the peaceful lines of trade and 
traffic. Fa Hian found Brahmans settled in Ye-po-ti (Tava- 
dvipa). The merchants on the vessel which brought the 
pilgrim home from his long voyage were partly at least- 
he says so explicitly-Brahmans. It was no doubt through 
the Brahraans in the first place that Brahmanical 
civilization, together with their religion, their sacred lore, 
and their ancient language was carried across the eastern 
ocean. 



INDIA AND JAVA 11 

In the records of Campa on the other hand as well as 
in those of Java there is likewise a remarkable paucity of 
direct references to the homeland of that Indo-Aryan 
civilization, of whose greatness those very records are so 
eloquent witnesses. Indirect testimonies however are not 
altogether wanting. 

We have seen that Pallava was believed to have been borne 
by a heavenly nymph (named either Madani or Menaka) 
to Drona's son Asvatthaman. According to another legend 
the first Pallava prince had sprung from the union of 
Asvatthaman and a Nagi, whereas in Tamil poetry it is a 
Chola King who married the daughter of the Serpent-lord. 
Now the Sanskrit inscription in Stele III from Mi-son 
contains a curious passage which accounts for the origin of 
the kings of Cambodia in the following terms : 

"It was there that Kaundinya, the greatest of Brahmans, 
planted the javelin which he had received from the eminent 
Brahman Asvatthaman the son of Drona. There was a 
daughter of the Naga king who founded on this earth the 
race which bore the name of Soma. The great Brahman 
Kaundinya married her for the accomplishment of the rites." 
(Finot\s translation). 

In whatever way we look at it, the Cambodian legend 
brings us back to the Pallava court. This fact is more 
worthy of attention as the legend is associated in Indo-China 
with the name of Kaundinya who can be fairly called the 
'Indianiser' of Cambodia. 

Another point which may be mentioned here is the 
nomenclature of Hindu (or rather Hinduised) Rajas in the 
Far East. M. Bergaigue was one of the first to draw 
attention to the fact that in the Sanskrit inscriptions of 
Indo-China with the only exception of the Vo-canh rock 
inscription which is the earliest of all we meet with royal 
names ending exclusively in Varman. 

"We will not find a single royal name which has not 
got this termination, which was also exclusively used in 
Cambodia from the period of the earliest inscriptions, as it 
has been also in the Archipelago, and above all among 
several dynasties of South India, Kings of Vengi, Pallavas, 
Kadambas, from the 5th or even the 4th century." 

If we remember that for a long period the Pallavas 
stood foremost in political importance, may we not assume 
that their royal house set a fashion which was followed first 
by their feudatories and neighbours and subsequently also by 
the Hinduised princes of the Far East. 

The Javanese inscriptions do not mention the Pallavas, 
but Kancipura, the Pallava capital, is mentioned in the old 
Javanese chronicle Nagarkrtagama. This work was composed 
by the poet Prapanca in honour of Hayam Wuruk, the 



12 INDIA AND JAVA 

King of Majapahit, in Saka 1287. In the 93rd canto of his 
poem the chronicler says, no doubt with some exaggeration, 
that all pandits * in other countries composed eulogies in 
honour of his patron, King Hayam Wuruk. Among them 
he makes special mention of "the illustrious bhiksu Buddha- 
ditya who lived inJambudvipa (India) in the town of Kancipura 
with its six viharas." 

Again the Simbiring tribe (belonging to the Karo-Bataks 
of West Sumatra) is subdivided into five subdivisions Colia 
(Cola), Pandiya (Pandya) Meliyala (Malayalam), Depari and 
Pelawi (Pallava?), So we can recognize well-known ethnic 
names from the Dravida country which clearly points 
to the South-Indian origin of the tribe. 

In the Kotei inscriptions (one of the earliest documents 
of Indian civilization in the Archipelago) we meet with two 
royal names (Mulavarman the ruling prince and Asvavarman, 
his father) ending in Varman. The name of the grandfather 
of the King Kundunga has got a 'barbarous' sound. 
Kern concluded that it was possibly under Kundunga that 
Indian civilisation had been introduced in Eastern Borneo. 
Kern seems to imply that Kundunga was a native of 
Borneo and that the personages to which these inscriptions 
refer were Hinduised rather than Hindu princes. Krom 
however points out that the name Kundukara occurs in a 
Pallava inscription. We find a parallel in Indian history. 
The Kushan kings have foreign names Kanishka, Vasiska, 
Huviska but after Huviska there comes a king who bears 
the purely Indo- Aryan name of Vasudeva. This inference 
agrees with our assumption regarding the peaceful penetra- 
tion of Hinduism in the Archipelago. 

It is a point of considerable interest that the Kotei stones 
are described in the inscription as Yupa-(sacrificial posts 
generally made of wood). In India only three instances of 
s one Tupas have been found. The earliest was set up by a 
Brahman near Mathura in the reign of Vasiska and we may 
assign it to 102 A. D. (It is one of the earliest inscriptions 
in pure Sanskrit found in India). The stone yupa is an 
exact copy in stone of the actual sacrificial posts used in 
ancient India (corresponding to the description of the 
Satapatha-Brahmana). The second stone Yupa of Bijaigarh 
(Biana) does not seem to be an imitation of the wooden 
post in actual use at a sacrifice. It may be dated 372 A. D. 
There is a third stone Yupa in Mysore. It is not dated. 
The Kotei Yupas are not copies of the wooden Yupa 
of the Vedic ritual. They are four roughly dressed stones 
of irregular shape. 

That the Kotei stones do represent sacrificial posts is 
definitely stated in the inscriptions. This alone would 
be sufficient to establish the Brahmanical character of 



INDIA AND JAVA 13 

these monuments, for Buddhists reject the animal 
sacrifice. 

Besides, the inscriptions mention that the creation of 
these Tupas was due to the assembled 'twice-born' priests 
on whom King Mulavarman had bestowed rich gifts in 
gold, cattle and land. Here again therefore we meet with 
those Brahmans who had carried their ancient civilization 
to Borneo as well as to Java and Sumatra. 

The word Vaprakesvara (in inscription C) must be a proper 
namethe name of a spot sacred to Siva. Krom points out 
that Vaprakesvara is mentioned in a later Javanese 
inscription : "Ye gods at Vaprakesvara." The Hindu 
images which have come to light in various localities 
of Borneo appear largely to belong to the Saiva 
pantheon. 

Two other objectsa gold Vishnu statuette and a gold 
tortoise were found at the same spot but earlier. The 
Sultan of Moera Kaman used to wear both these objects 
round his neck on State occasions. 

Moera Kaman in Kotei where these inscriptions come 
from, must be an ancient site of some importance. There are 
other sites in Kotei which still await a detailed survey by 
an archaeologist. In the first place there are the caves of 
Goenoeng Kombeng which contain a collection of Hindu 
images one of which is Ganesa. 

We must note the very fine execution of the Yupa 
inscriptions The letters are large-sized and clearly cut. The 
lettering of inscription D is defaced. The four inscriptions are 
all composed in Sanskrit poetry A in Arya the rest in 
anustubh. The verses are arranged on the stone so that 
each pada occupies a line. Generally in Indian inscriptions 
the lines are arranged without any reference to the verses. 
In this respect the Kotei inscriptions are similar to the 
cave inscription of the Pallava King Mahendravarman I at 
Mahendravadi. 

Although the Kotei inscriptions are extremely simple 
records they betray a very fair knowledge of Sanskrit. 
In this respect they are decidedly superior to the nearly 
contemporaneous epigraphs of Bhadravaman I of Campa. 
This bears testimony to a considerable degree of Hindu 
culture in East Borneo at this period. 

The term 'Vengi character' was adopted by Kern to 
designate the peculiar script from South India which we 
find employed in the early Sanskrit inscriptions of the 
Archipelago. Later writers on South Indian epigraphy, 
however, never use the term. (The Vengi country comprised 
the tract between the mouths of the Godavari and 
Kistna rivers). In the 5th century the Vengi country made 
part of the Pallava empire and remained in Pallava 



14 INDIA AND JAVA 

possession till the beginning of the 7th century (up to the 
war with Pulakesin). 

In the opinion of Vogel it is advisable entirely to 
discard the term 'Vengi alphabet' from the terminology 
used by writers on Javanese epigraphy and to substitute 
for it the expression 'Pallava alphabet'. For, of all ancient 
scripts of South India it is the character employed in the 
early records of the Pallava rulers that shows the nearest 
approach to that of the Kotei and contemporaneous 
Javanese epigraphs. Dr. Burnell had arrived at the same 
conclusion (though he used for the Pallava character the 
not very appropriate term 4 Eastern Chera' as he assumed 
that this alphabet had been introduced into Tondainadu 
from the Cera country). 

Prof. Biihler applies the term 'Grantha' to the script 
used in the Sanskrit records of the Pallava dynasty. The 
Grantha is the peculiar alphabet employed in South India 
up to modern times for literary works composed in Sanskrit, 
in contradistinction from the alphabets in which the various 
Dravidian vernaculars are rendered. What Btihler's use 
of the word really implies is that that the Grantha, viz. 
the literary alphabet of South India, is derived from the 
ancient character found in the Pallava records. Biihler 
recognizes three successive stages in the development of 
this ancient 'Grantha' which be indicates as the archaic, 
the middle, and the transitional variety. To the archaic 
types he reckons all Pallava Sanskrit inscriptions, including 
those of Narasimhavarman I ; but from the Kuram copper- 
plate charter of Narasimha's son, Paramesvaravarman I, 
his middle variety commences. He further states that the 
archaic variety is also met with in the rock inscription 
from Jambu in Java. 

During the earlier period of Pallava rule their docu- 
ments are restricted to copperplate charters. It is only by 
the commencement of the 7th century that the 
first stone inscriptions (according to Vogel) make 
their appearance. There are therefore no lithic records 
from Coromandel which may be supposed to be contem- 
poraneous with the Kotei inscriptions. The copper-plates, 
which serve the purely practical purpose of recording a 
donation of land, are engraved in a much simpler style of 
writing than the stone inscriptions which were meant to be 
public memorials. The Kotei inscriptions are distinguished 
by their careful workmanship and highly ornamental 
character. 

On the other hand, the absence of stone inscriptions of 
so early an epoch in Coromandel imparts the Kotei inscriptions 
a peculiar interest for the history of South Indian 
epigraphy. It is in the distant lands of the Indian 



IKDIA AND JAVA 15 

Archipelago and on the coasts of Lido-China that we thus 
find the prototypes of that remarkable group of lithic 
records which Coromandel owes to the Pallava Kings of the 
7th century. We may say that the Archipelago and Campa 
have preserved the earliest examples of archaic Grantha 
carved in stone. 

We shall now examine the chief palaeographical 
characteristics of the Kotei inscriptions. They are the 
following : 

(1) The heads of the letters are marked by means of 
small, deeply cut squares which are found at the head of 
practically every aksara. Biihler notes the same peculiarity 
with regard to the early script of Central India in its more 
developed form. He further notes that this 'Box-head' 
characteristic occurs also in two Kadamba inscriptions of the 
5th century and the copper-plate grant of Simhavarman 
Pallava which has been assigned to the same period. 
'Box-heads' are also peculiar to the inscriptions of 
Bhadravarman of Campa. 

(2) Another feature of the Kotei inscriptions (it is 
mentioned by Biihler among the characteristics which 
distinguish the Southern alphabets from those of Northern 
India) is the little hook attached on the left to the foot of 
the long verticals. 

It is interesting that similar little hooks are found in the 
Pallava Prakrit grants of the 4th century, whereas in 
Sinhavarman's characters of the 5th century those excrescences 
are usually prolonged so as to reach up to almost half the 
length of the vertical. A still further development is 
noticeable in the later Pallava inscriptions of the 7th century, 
which, to use Biihler's terminology, exhibit the middle variety 
of the lithic grantha alphabet. Here the upward stroke is 
prolonged up to the top of the aksara so as to form a 
second vertical (Seven Pagodas). 

It is noteworthy that in the Campa inscriptions of 
Bhadravarman which otherwise betray so close a palaeographi- 
cal affinity to those of Kotei the long verticals (*, *, f etc.) 
show no trace of the little hook. In this respect they 
represent an earlier stage of writing than the Kotei 
inscription. In the Carunten and Jambu inscriptions (West 
Java) we notice a more advanced stage, as here the hooks 
are prolonged. 

(3) In the aksaras sr, q, *, ft and ( the left-hand 
stroke bulges outward. Here again the alphabets of South 
India, Indo-China and the Archipelago exhibit a parallel 
development (beginning with a notch and ending with the 
tendency to make the lines wavy). 

(4) Another feature of the Kotei inscription is the little 
hook which we find attached to the right stroke of the 



16 INDIA AND JAVA 

letters H, *, V, and *. This feature is peculiar to the 
alphabet of the Pallava inscriptions and is unknown in other 
scripts. This hook replaces the usual cross-bar in other 
scripts. 

In the inscriptions of Bhadravarman of Campa only * 
is treated in a similar fashion. 

(5) One of the most remarkable features of the Kotei 
inscriptions is the looped form of the 3 letters ft, !, *ff. 
The tl and 1, are so similar in appearance that they could 
easily be mixed up. In the case of S the loop extends 
further upwards and the vertical is shortened. 

In the Pallava script the 1 is not provided with a loop, 
while 3 is often looped. In the inscription of Bhadravarmau 
of Campa, however, we do find these forms. 

In the Carunten rock inscription the three aksaras a, 1, 
*[ appear in exactly the same shape as in the Kotei 
inscriptions. 

(6) The absence of the vowel is not expressed by the 
virama as in the Nagari of North India. In the Kotei 
inscriptions this vowelless letter (1 and *) is about half 
the size of the ordinary aksara and is written beneath the 
line.* 

Burnell says : "The Java character has the peculiar 
small m used for a final m, and we find this also in the 
Vengi and Pallava characters and in them only." But it 
is found in Gupta inscriptions. In the Bhadravarman 
inscription of Campa we come across the same 
practice. 

(7) In the Kotei inscriptions we find the medial f 
expressed in the ancient fashion by a single superscribed 
curve to the left, but always open except in the aksara ft 
when a closed curve is found. This closed curve, which 
assumes the appearance of a superscribed circle, becomes the 
regular manner of expressing medial ? in later alphabets. The 
primitive form is found in the inscription of Bhadravarraan 
and in the Carunten inscription. 

In the Kotei inscription medial] I is expressed in the 
ancient fashion followed in the early Gupta inscription by a 
double curve over the aksara. In the Bhadravarman inscrip- 
tions the f in *ft is written exactly as in the Kotei inscriptions. 
In later inscriptions both in Campa-Cambodia and in 
Java the double curve has become closed so as to assume 
the appearance of a circle similar to that marking the 
short ?. 

* The same feature is noticed in the Central Asian manuscripts 
written in both the'Central Asian varieties of Indian scripts commonly 
knovra as the 'slanting' and the 'upright' Gupta scripts, as well 
as the fragments written in Kushana and Gupta characters. N. P. C. 



INDIA AND JAVA 1? 

(8) Finally attention may be drawn to the sign for 
medial 1 consisting of a little curve which is attached on the 
left-hand side to the top of the consonant. 

Medial ^ is expressed by a double 1 stroke. In this 
respect again the Koetei script approaches the Pallava 
character very closely. 

Conclusion : It is undoubtedly the archaic type of the 
ancient Grantha character used by the early Pallava rulers 
which appears to be most closely allied to the character of 
the Koetei inscriptions. The Koetei inscriptions are the 
earliest specimens of the Grantha used in stone records. 

We have also noted the very near affinity existing 
between the Koetei inscriptions and those of Bhadravarmau 
of Champa. In certain respects the inscriptions of Bhadra- 
varman appear to represent a somewhat earlier stage of 
writing. On the contrary, the Charunten rock insertion of 
Purnavarman (West Java) exhibits a more advanced 
style of writing, so that we arrive at the chronological 
succession : Bhadravarman, Mulavarman, Purnavarman. The 
intervening period in each case may be roughly estimated 
at half a century. 

Neither in India nor in Indo-China the early records 
bear any date. As on the basis of palaeographical 
evidence only an approximate date can be assigned to these 
documents, it follows that we stand on no very firm ground. 
Prof, Kern hesitated between the 4th and 5th centuries, and 
finally proposed 400 A. D. as the approximate date to assign 
to the Koetei inscription. Vogel accepts this view. Then the 
Bhadravarman inscription would belonglto the middle of the 4th 
century, a somewhat earlier date than that proposed by 
M. Finot who has assigned them to approximately 400 A. D. 
The Charunten inscription then should be attributed to 450 
A. D M a conclusion agreeing with that arrived at by Kern. 

The facsimiles of the Borneo Inscriptions as published 
by Mr. Vogel were not available to me, The following 
readings are based entirely on the plates given by Kern. 

A 

L (1) WUffenrflv (2) TOF [ 5" ] *ft 
(3) *Wf<^ fW3CT(T): (4) ^ ' 
(5) WMfllmUBt (6) 



(7 {NltgVHUIMMl (8) Wht W(4<ft fw? [ll] 1 



u Let the foremost amongst the Brahmins and whatsoever 
other pious men (there are) hear of the meritorious deed 
of King Mulavarman, of illustrious and resplendent fame 
(of his) various gifts, gift of animals, together with (the gift 



18 INDIA AND JAVA 

of) a wish-yielding tree and gift of land. For those 
multitudes of pious deeds this sacrificial post has been set up 
by the Brahmins." 

1 Though Kern reods *T at the end, it is not visible on the eye- 
copy in both tire places. 

2 Metre; Wjf. 

I am not sure about the meaning of TOPq^T here. 
It usually denotes one of the trees heaven which is supposed 
to grant all desires, or it may also mean a tree of lasting till 
the end of the *W. What appears possible in this 
connection is that perhaps the king performed a sacrifice 
in which he granted the desires of all the supplicants and 
in memory of which a certain tree was planted, The term 
WW$ stands in the figurative sense of a very generous 
person. We also find in popular stories that certain kings 
became W<W$ on certain occasions i. e. they promised 
to fulfil the wish of everybody. The word must have been 
used in some such sense here. Kern's suggestion of taking 
it as a cherry-tree is not correct. 

B 
L. (1 *tow: *Rft>itHI (2) 

(3) spftww? 2 fe*rm: (4) 

(5) 3CT 3*r JWcflTf: (6) saw* FTTTTO: II] 
(7 * o^nwi mii*iHi (8) *rfwsivul rc ici ( II J 
(9 



"The illustrious Kundanga, the noble lord of men had 
a famous sou Asvavarman, who like unto the sun was the 
founder of a race. He had three noble sons, resembling 
the three (sacrificial) fires. The foremost of those three, the 
illustrious Mulavarraan, the lord of princes, endowed with 
the strength of austerity and self-restraint, having sacrificed 
a Bahusuvarnafca (sacrifice^ this sacrificial post of that 
sacrifice has been set up by the best of the twice-born. 

1. Kern reads f*S. But to me it appears to be 

t In this inscription, the vertical strokes of V, <1, ?, 
etc. are not found bent to the left. 

2. Read TOtf I Kern reads SFR but lit is certain 
on the plate* 

3. Kern reads *nfaf but fT^ffr is clear in the plate. 

4. Kern reads l&l but 1^?IT is clear and certain. 



INDIA AND JAVA 19 

The three fires referred to are the three well-known 
sacrificial fires, *fl[fa?f *n*^ft4 and OTW I 



seems to be the name of a sacrifice, 
in which, evidently, much gold was distributed. Kern points 

out ijfWW as the name of a tfte sacrifice and suggests 
as synonymous with the former. 



(1) *forat s'jgwCT (2) 
(3) ?m 1 s^^f %* 2 (4) 

(5) ftlirfippqtfsiWWf: 3 (6) 

(7) w* sflwi *nftm (8) se 



"The gift of twenty thousand kine of the illustrious and 
foremost of the rulers of men, the king Mulavarman, which 
was given at the most sacred place of Vaprakesvara to the 
twice-borns resembling fire for that meritorious deed this 
sacrificial post has been erected by Brahma ns who had 
come hither." 

1. Kern reads 5TT(?,8, but the facsimile shows clearly 
*TO*l 

2. Kern reads ini" but %?f is clear on the facsimile. 

3. Kern reads *^c<-i erroneously. 

4. No visarga is visible on the facsimile. Metre 

D 
(1) WRW wr *r$n (2) 

(3) 

"As Bhagiratha was born of the king Sagara, 
Mulavarman (was born of the king Asvavarman)." 

1. This inscription is not found in Kern's T. G. Vol 
VII. The metre is TOte and the second line may be re 
constructed us : 



Ill INSCRIPTIONS FKOM WEST JAVA 

It is a remarkable fact that whereas the glorious 
monuments of Indo-Javanese architecture are found in Central 
Java, the earliest documents testifying to Indian influence 
belong to the Western part of the island. They consist of 
four rock-inscriptions all composed - in Sanskrit verse and 
eulogise a ruler of the name of Purnavarman, who if we 
may trust palaeographical evidence (for none of the 
inscriptions is dated, must have flourished about the middle 
of the fifth century A. D. These four rock-inscriptions are all 
found within the boundaries of the province of Batavia. 
There is a 5th inscription of the same series, mentioned by 
Krom in Hiadoe-Javaansche Geschiedenis at a place called 
Mocara Jianten, which is as yet undeciphered. 

It is significant that those earliest records of Hindu 
settlement are found exactly in that part of the island where 
the Dutch traders first established their factories. The 
geographical position of the Batavian coast with regard to 
India and the special advantages which its figuration offers 
to shipping and trade are circumstances which will easily 
account for a coincidence that is certainly not due to 
mere chance. 

There is no reason to doubt that king Purnavarman 
mentioned in three of these inscriptions is one and the same 
person. 

Kerti assumed (while dealing with the Tugu inscription) 
that in Purnavarman we have an ancient hero and sage of 
Indian origin whose worship had been introduced in West 
Java. But why should Purnavarman be regarded as a 
legendary personage ? His name ending in Varman (like 
that of Muluvarman, the ruler of East Borneo, whose 
historical existence has never been doubted) in imitation of 
the royal nomenclature then in vogue both in India in 
Further India, suggests a historical person. The Tugu 
inscription mentions the 22nd year of bis reign. It is true 
that in India the symbol of the foot-print indicates a divine 
person. But it is nothing but a conjecture that the foot* 
prints of Purnavarman (in the Ci-aruton and Jambu inscription 
rocks, served a similar purpose. In the case of the Kebon 
Kopi inscribed rock which shows the footprints of Purnavar- 
man's elephant, it is certainly unlikely that they were 
presented for adoration by the king's subjects. In the 
inscriptions themselves there is nothing to support Kern's 
supposition.* 

* In Jaina inscriptions, even in those of a much later date, we 
find however foot-prints given for the adoration of worshippers. 



INDIA AND JAVA 21 

Nothing is said in the inscriptions regarding the king's 
ineage. From the circumstance that in the Ci-aruton 
inscription the king is compared to Visnu it has been 
somewhat rashly concluded that Puranavarman must have 
been a Vaisnava. The Tugu inscription however speaks of 
Purnavarman's gift of a thousand cows to the Brahmans. 
We may assume therefore that Purnavarman was an adherent 
of the Brahmanical and not of the Buddhist religion. This 
agrees with the almost contemporaneous statements of Fa-Men 
"The law of Buddha is not much kuown here." 

In the history of the Sung Dynasty (420-478) there is th e 
following statement : "In 435 (A. D.) the king of the country 
Ja-va-da whose name was Sri Pa-do-a-la-pa-mo, sent an 
envoy." It has been suggested that the king mentioned here 
is Sri-pada Purnavarman. (Prof. L6vi however does not 
accept this identification.) 

The few facts these inscriptions give us may be summed 
up thus: Purnavarman probably lived about the middle of 
the 5th century A. D. He must have had a fairly long reign, 
the Tugu inscription being dated in his 22nd regnal year, 
His capital was Taruma a name which is preserved in the 
name of the Tarum. (Tarum is a Javanese word meaning 
'indigo' which grows in abundance in this region). 

In three of the inscriptions in each case the -inscription 
is accompanied by a pair of foot-prints and these symbols 
constitute the raison d'etre of the epigraphs. In two of the 
inscriptions (Ci-aruton and Jambu) the foot-prints are stated to 
be those of Purnavarman himself and in the third one (Kebon 
Kopi) it is the footmarks of the King's elephant which arc 
carved on both sides of the legend. 

We can only surmise that Purnavarman mast have been 
a ruler of such renown that it was thought necessary 
to record in stone certain places which bad been hallowed, 
as it were, by his presence. 

The Ci-aruton rock-inscription may possibly mark the 
spot of the King's cremation. This would account for the 
curious position of the inscribed stone in the bed of the 
Ci-aruton torrent. From the wording of the Jambu inscrip- 
tion it appears that it was put up after Purnavarman's death. 
If we take the text literally it would follow that the foot- 
prints (of the deceased king) were credited with a magical 
power to protect his followers and to hurt his enemies. 

It is difficult to explain the meaning of the curious 
carvings found about the inscription. First of all, we have 
the two so-called 'spiders' (to follow the usual explanation of 
these symbols) which are shown in front of the foot-prints 
and seem to be attached to them by means of a thread. 



22 INDIA AND JAVA 

Kern suggests that they possibly referred to the doctrine 
of ahimsa which prescribes that care should be taken not to 
tread on any living creature. 

Perhaps these are meant for TTTa i.e. tokens of good luck. 
In two early rock inscriptions of the Kangra valley at the 
end of the , legend we find a <<ifw* together with 
what might be a foot-print. 

According to Pinot the soul is represented among the 
Austronesians, in the Archipelago as in Indo-China, in the 
form of insects and especially of spiders, The feet and the 
spiders might then represent respectively the physical person 
and the psychic person ('IWCTj of the king. 

Another puzzle is presented by a line of cursive writing 
which is written over the inscription proper but in a different 
direction and which cannot be deciphered. 

It would seem as if the Jambu inscription was an epitaph 
incised after the king's death. 

In the Kebon Kopi inscription a very large portion of 
the surface of the rock (on which the inscription is incised.) 
is taken up by two enormous elephants' foot-prints between 
which the record has been engraved. 

In the Tugu inscription we should note the names of two 
ruins of north India. The inscription begins by stating 
that formerly a river of the name of Candrabhaga had been 
regulated by means of a canal. (The name Candrabhaga may 
have been applied to the canal itself). Apparently the 
canal served as an outlet into the ocean. The river (on the 
canal) flowed by the Puri, but it is not clear whether the 
work in question had been executed by Purnavarman himself 
or by his father ( 35) In another Javanese inscription 
the deceased king is designated as 'Bhatara Guru' 1 ). 

In the 22nd year of the reign of Purnavarman himself, 
that king had a canal dug to which apparently the name of 
Gomati is applied and which measured 6122 'dbanus' in 
length. The conclusion is obsure. Who is the grandfather 
and the royal sage ? Probablythe grandfather of the king. 
The last time refers to a ^fir^T. of a thousand cows to 
the Brahmans. 

Dr. Krom says that there are several inscriptions which 
relate to engineering operations carried eut for the drainage 
of a river. 

In a Kavi (old Javanese) inscription of 932 Saka era from 
Soerbaya, we hear of a water-course which has been caused 
to be made by the Bhatara Guru (His Late Majesty) who 
may have been Er-langga. Another Kavi (old Javanese) 

1 Bhatara guru corresponds to Sanskrit 



INDIA AND JAVA 23 



inscription of the middle of the ^lOth century Saka era 
(Kelagan inscription See Brandes and] Korra, Oud-Javaansehe 
Oorkonden vol. Lx (1913) p. 81, no. XLIV) describes a 
disastrous floed of the Brantas river which had overtaken 
the country and caused much damage. In consequence 
Erlangga caused an embankment to be made at Waringin 
Sapta (959 Saka era). 

Another inscription in the province of Soerbaya dated 
856 Saka records the construction of dikes for regulating the 
course of the river. 

Purnavarman's inscriptions bear ample testimony to a 
high degree of civilisation in West Java during the 5th 
century A. D. a civilisation which is strongly marked by 
Indo- Aryan influence. Those who carved the inscription 
must have possessed considerable skill and artistic feeling. 
And the pandits, the authors of the inscription, were well 
acquainted with the sacred langnage. The inscriptions on 
the whole, are grammatically correct. 

The characters employed in Puruavarrnan's inscriptions 
aie almost identical with the script of Mulavarraan's inscriptions. 

Here too the letters are 'Box headed/ 

A palaeographic study of these inscriptions confirms the 
conclusions arrived at as regards the close afBinity between 
the script usod in these earliest epigraphical records of the 
Archipelago and the *F*1 alphabet of the Pallava dynasty, 

In certain respects the script of Mulavarman's inscription 
is more archaic than that of Purnavarrnan's records. If we 
ascribe the former to 400 A. D., the approximate date of 
Purnavarrnan's inscription would be the middle of the f>th 
century. 

Of the following four inscriptions the first three, viz. 
thoso of Ci-aruton, Jambu and Kebon Kopi are at close pro- 
ximity to ecach other in the hilly country round Buitenzorg, 
a place of Dutch origin, best known as the residence 
of the Governor-General. The fourth now preserved in the 
Batavia Museum, was originally found at Tugu *near the 
sea-coast to the east of Tondjong Priok, the port of Batavia/ 
All the four inscriptions have recently been edited with 
excellent facsimiles by Dr. J. Ph. Vogel (The earliest Sanskrit 
Inscriptions of Java, 1925) in Publications of the Archaeological 
Survey of Netherlands' India. 

1. THE CI-ARUTON ROCK INSCRIPTION. 
(SEE VOGEL, p. 22 AND PLATER 28, 29) 

This inscription was first brought to notice by the Rev. 
Brumund in 1868 and edited by Dr. A. B. Cohen in 1875 



24 INDIA AND JAVA 

(Bijdr. Kon Inst. 3rd Series, Vol. X pp. 163ff.) and reprodu- 
ced by Kera (in V. G. Vol. VII, 1917, p. 4, note 1 and 
facsimile). 

The inscription proper does not offer any difficulty but 
a great uncertainty is attached to the decipherment of the 
curious carving, looking like some highly cursive writing, 
above the inscription and to the interpretation of the two 
symbols, the so-called spidery which are found attached by 
means of a thread to the heels of Purnavarman's foot-prints. 
Kern suggested that possibly they referred to the doctrine of 
vfifCIT of the Jains, forbidding not to tread on any living 
creature. Dr. Rouffaer thought that the spiders represent 
'enemies attached to a thread on which the king has placed 
his foot.' Dr. D. Van Hinloopen Labberton (Z. IX M. G. 
Vol. LXVIt 1912 pp. 60 Iff) in his article on the symbo- 
lism of spider in Indian Literature, says that the spider 
denotes, the divine soul.' Mr. B. de Hann explains them as 
IM KM or turnings of the hair, 'to which people both in 
India and Indonesia attach a prognostic significance.' This 
view is endorsed also by Dr. Vogel, though not without 
some doubt. Finot also takes it as representing the soul. 
(see also above). 

As for the cursive writing Dr. Brandes is said to have 
read as : Sri ji aroe ? eun vasa, which was translated, by him 
as c tho blessed lord of the Jiaroe ? eun, and by Dr. Kern as 
'jpr^-W*, 'the foot print of Purnavarmau,' both of which, 
as can be seen from the photo, are equally conjec- 
tural. Dr. Vogel seems to think, from the difference of 
script as well as the direction in which the line is placed, 
that it has no bearing on the inscription under consideration. 

Transcript 
(1) I*H*IHM4I4FW& (2i *ft*W: 'C 



(3) OTMW\*4W (4) fwftfi* TOW II 2 

"Of the valiant lord of the earth the illustrious Purna- 
varman, the lord of the city of Taruma, (this is) the pair 
of foot (prints) like unto Visnu's." 

1. Vogel reads vhl: but the W is clear on the plate. 

2. Metre Wte I 

2. THE JAMBU ROCK-INSCRIPTION 

(VOftEL P. 25, PLATES 30, 31.) 

This inscription was discovered in 1854 by Mr. Jonathan 
Rigg and first deciphered by Kern in 1875 (V. G. VII. p. 6.) 



itffcil ABD JiVl 25 

this inscription is not preserved quite perfectly and here 
too we find a pair of foot-prints, evidently of the king, as 
the inscription says, but they are partly broken off. (Also 
see above.) 



Transcript 
(1) sftaFsrar * fjcc^fr wftwift $ 3*r [rfjvrar c ft 2 



8 1 



(2) 9M VH i<* fwiai^+i R^ i w*4 i ? 



"Illustrious, munificent, correct in conduct (was) the un* 
equalled king who in the past (ruled) in Taruma by name 
the illustrious Purnavarman, whose armour was famous 
for being impenetrable by the numerous arrows of his 
enemies his is this pair of foot-prints, always skilled in 
destroying enemy- cities which is salutary to princes devoted 
(to him, but) turns like a dart to (his) enemies." 

1. In the plate 5 is clear but in the photo it looks like 
1. Keru reads <nflT. 

2. Vogel HNjWmi, ; but IT is clear both on the photo 
and the estampage. 

3. Read w! . 4. Read q&VIl > 5. Metre W{^T . 
SflSf : I would take in the literal sense S*t *nllf& V Us i.e. 
he who knows his duty. Vogel connects *T3* with f^3 but I 
would prefer to take it as an adjective to R^ik. It is pre- 

ferable to take *FW in the sense of a 4 dart^ here than 
'thorn' as Vogel translated it. 

3. THE KEBON KOPI ROCK-INSCRIPTION 

(VOGEL P. 27, PLATES, 32, 33.) 

This inscription was first brought to public notice by the 
Rev. Brumund and was first deciphered by Kern in 1885 
who also published a revised reading in 1910. (See V. G M 
Vol. VII. p. 136). The writing on the stone is badly pre- 
served but interest lies in the fact of the rock containing 
two elephant's foot prints of enormous size, carved on both 
sides of the inscription. 



i (u) 



26 INDIA Ata> 

"Here shines the pair of foot (prints) of the Airavata-like 
elephant of the lord of Taruma, great in victory. 

1. Kern read JflftW: but tho correct reading is given 
by Vogel. 

2. Kern first read ftw^ R^ 'RS^ and then SCT 

Metre 



4. THE TUGU (BBKASIH) ROCK-INSCRIPTION. 
(VOGEL, p. 32, PLATE 27). 

This inscription was first edited by Kern in 1885 and 
again in 1917 (cf. V. G. Vol. VII pp. 129 ff.), with a facsimile 
of part of the inscription. The verses are all written in 
Hfffa metre and there is a figure at the beginning which 
looks like a burning torch. Vogel has shown from the 
two tithis given in the inscription that the months as 
used in the calendar in those days in Western Java were 
SM^IT^fl as we find in South -India and not lpu.*nrl as 
prevalent in the North. This may be due to South Indian 
influence. Vogel also adds that "whereas the Vikrama era 

is generally associated with the ifSpTT^f scheme (except 

in Gujarat ), the Saka era has the wn*ci month, especially 
in Southern India, which is the real home of that era. It 
is a well-knewn fact that it was the Saka reckoning' which 
was introduced both in Further India and in the Archipelago." 

TRANSCRIPT 
(1) Sfcf ^W' wi^W JPW * 



2 srw (2) 



* (3) fl+u ^-mq+^pmn 1 u 

5 iftfa ^n^ ^'^ft^ 6 



(4) 

<n*iai m 



(5) 

tt Formerly, the Candrabhaga, dug by the overlord of kings, 
the strong-armed father, after having reached the famous city, 
went to the ocean. In the twenty-second year of his 



INDIA AND JAVA 27 

augmenting (reign), by illustrious Purnavarman, the banner 
(i. e. topmost) of the tings, shining forth through his 
prosperous qualities, was dug the charming river Qomati of 
pure water, in length six thousand, one-hundred and twenty 
dhanus, having commenced it on the 8th day of the dark 
fortnight of the month of Phalguna and completed it in 
twenty-one days, on the 13th day of the bright fortnight of 
Caitra. (This river) after having passed through the camping 
ground of the grandfather, the sage-like king, (now) flows 
by, along with (?) the Brahmanas, who have been presented 
with a gift of a thousand kine." 

Vogel is doubtful about rendering JJ5 by 'father' but 
53: ffar g^fwfr jj^Nsdffs* i t*i$fi 5^: srh& *ps ft^nft" 

WR$! . II y^lT^fMT is translated by Vogel as 'who shineth 

forth by prosperity and virtue.' I have translated it 
literally as "by the Instre of qualities.' One dhanus 
4 hastas or 2 yds., so the canal was 6120 dhanus 
or almost 7 miles in length. Evidently the inscription 
first refers to a canal known as Candrabhaga dug by 
the father of Purnavarman and then again to another canal 
Gomati dug by Purnavarmau himself, 

1. Yogel reads IT but iff is certain. 

2. Though Vogel reads *T3WH it is not visible on the 
plate. 

3. Bead\ 

4. Vogel reads *J%^ and corrects it to *Jnt but the 

second letter may bo easily read as 8 ; cf e. g. HT 
in 11. 2 and 3. 

5. Bead <R13jj% 

6. VogePs reading fJsJUTOUft seems to be an error in 

printing. The reading ^ is quite clear on the plate. 

7. ^ is not visible to me. 

8. Bead WsT^t 

9. Bead ?%$* I Vogel reads 5%nft. What he reads 

as the sign of W may simply be a sign for 
however grammatically incorrect 



INSCRIPTIONS FROM CENTRAL JAVA 

(1) TUK-MAS INSCRIPTION 
(Residency Kedu) 

This is the earliest inscription of Central Java, a descrip- 
tion of which first appeared in Not Bat. Gen., 1888. 1 
There is a deep depression and out of a stony wall in 
various places water springs out. The largest is known as 
Tuk-mas (Golden spring). The inscription is found on a 
large detached stone. Besides this inscription there are a 
great number of symbols (on the same stone). Most of 
these figures are recognisable* fl^ *UB, *l'?T> TO. The 
letters at the beginning and the end are not distinct. 

From this inscription, taken together with the symbols, 
it seems that this water was considered holy. The date 
cannot be determined exactly, it should be approximately 
500 A. D. on palaeographic grounds. 



Transcript. 2 
5 ( *5 ) 

si i^l^ipPi l*HI\iM I I J 

9 ifpr [ u ] 

This (spring ? ), sprung from pure white lotuses, in some 
parts oozing out of stones and sand and in others spreading 
with clear and cool water is flowing (? extended) as 
the Ganga. 

Metre, *V^qi. The eye-copy given by Kern is not 
satisfactory. Three letters at the beginning are missing. 
Above the inscription there is a number of symbols. To 
the right there are four lotuses and a vajraf?) and to the 
left the Sarikha (conch shell), Cakra and Oada (mace.) 

Kern reads sruta but I find no sign of u. If the spring 
is compared to the Ganges Samprasrta, 'extended' would 
give a better sense than samprasuta meaning *oozing out/) 

1 See Kern, V. G., YII pp. 201-203. 
1 See Kern, Ibid., p. 204, 



INDIA AND JAVA 29 

(2) INSCRIFTION FROM CANGGAL (KEDU), OF S. E. 654 

The discovery of this inscription (found at Canggal 
or Janggal in Central Java) was announced at the Eoyal 
Academy, Amsterdam, in its session of 10th March 1884. l 
The record is composed of 25 lines of writing and is the 
earliest dated Sanskrit inscription of Java. The script is 
closely connected with that found in South Indian inscrip- 
tions from the 5th to the 10th centuries. It is more 
closely related to the Han~Chei inscription of Cambodia 
belonging to the 6th century. The language is pure Sanskrit 
though not elegant. The style is artificial and pompous. 
The inscription is a Saiva document and refers to the 
conseceration of a liwga in the Saka year 654 by order of 
the king Sanjaya. It precedes the Kalasan inscription and 
therefore belongs to a period before the Srivijaya conquest 
of Central Java. In v. 7 of this inscription we find a 
description of Java. Kern compares with this the verses 
referring to Java which are found in the Eamayana e.g. 



(Kamayanam, Bombay Edn., IV, 40, 30.) 
A temple in Kunjara-Kunja (South India ?) is cited as 
the model of the present shrine. "There was a miraculous 
shrine of Siva tending to the salvation of the world and 
brought over (the image ? ) by tho family settled in the 
holy land of Kunjara-Kunja." 2 In the Harivamsa Kunjara 
is said to be hill on which the auspicious abode of Agastya 
was situated and very likely this is to be placed in South 
India. 

From the verses which follow we get the following 
account : 

"In Java, which is a noble island, there was a king of 
very high birth, who through the use of peaceful methods, 

1 See Kern, Ibid. pp. 117-128. 

2 Krom however, differs from Kern and interprets the verse 

thus : There is a miraculous temple of Sambhu for the welfare 

of the world, as it were, brought over by the family settled in 
the blessed land of KuSjara-Kunja." This according to Krom 
does not mean that a temple was brought directly from Kunjara- 
Kuiija, but that a temple very much like that could be found in 
Java. The Brhatsamhita mentions KuSjara, the hermitage of 
Agastya, as lying between Kach and Tamraparm. Krom places 
it on the border of Travancore and Tinnevelley. 



30 INDIA AND JAVA 

gained renown both far and near. Ruling his subjects 
lovingly as a father rules his children, he, by name Sanna 
(probably predecessor of Sanjaya), having overthrown his 
enemies ruled very long on this earth with justice like 
Manu.-- After swaying the destinies of his royal kingdom, 
Sanna in course of time entered heavenly bliss and the 
world was cast down with sorrow. He being dead, he, who 
rose after him, rich with qualities like Manu, the son of 
Sannaha the eminent, who is honoured by Pandits as an 
expert in the subtle meaning of books, distinguished for 
courage, who like Kaghu has conquered various feudatories, 
was King Sanjaya. 

TEXT 

[Metres : Sardulavikridita, Vv. 1, 2, 4-7, 12 ; Sragdhara 
Vv. 3, 8, 11 ; Vasantatilaka, v. 9 ; Prthvi, v. 10|. 



2. 

3. n^Tf^fw^l^Jidsic (+u w il"<yf 1*1 Nl" 

4. 



*W [ll 1 U] 4 



2 ||] 



1 One .would ordinarily expect Sakebde or Sakabde. Kern 
connects Sakendre with vatsare and translates : "when the year 
of tke Saka king had passed." Perhaps atigate vatsqre is to be 
taken in the sense of 'expired year? cf. also 1. 26 of Yieng-sa inser. 
below. 

2 Kern corrects as ankifyle. There is a dot after vatsara 
which is most probably a mark of punctuation. 

3 Grammatically trayodasi but the metre would require a short 
syllable here. 

4 Metre of this and the following verses is 

5 Kern reads Parpti but there is no mark of anusvara above 
pa and if so read it will spoil the metre. Moreover the word is 
pamkti and not pamti as Kern reads it. The reading is clearly 
paii. 

6 Kern puts the visarga within brackets but the sign is clearly 
visible on the plate. 

7 Note that the virama is expressed by a semi-circular stroke 
above the onsonant. 



iNttA Atfe JAVA Si 



5. *4 

: [I] 



fa tf tf (ti*'ifiK f iH'Nt s7)ti i H P^l !* *y *i I 
x*w i KWW*F* ITOIVI i i*i^9Tplt ]T [1] ft I 2 

Kl (8) ^RRt * ftwt *ilPi*ii^ [I] 



ft ste (11) 3^fv3 ^t ftf: *OT(I) g : 11(511] 



r^ (12) *i?F*2TW ffqror [f] ^ L'] fwr ft%: u 

: u [611] 



'=] 7 (15) 



HI 
f-1 8 (15) eHlil^nl^l^ 

[711 



[l] 



Kern reads kesara but a long syllable is required in ra. 

Kern reads bhuta(nan-ri)idhi. 

Rd. Subaddha. 

Rd. fo'm&a. 

Rd. setembu. 

Kern reads tridasais-stutas. 

Portions within square brackets are not clear on the plate. 

Kern reads nihita but the last syllable should be long. 

9 The third letter from the beginnfng should be long. Perhaps 
we have to read 

10 Rd. samyak. 



32 INDIA A&D JAVA 

I-] (17) 



(U8ll) 



(18) 



i "*!** IT^I 

[ sst TOT-] $ [*ft-] (19) 



ki rf^dWKfrii*!' 1 ^ U 19HJ 



[T-] (20) 



2 (21) a^wrd^ft 1 wt ^^5 [ion] 



-] (23) 



-] (24) 



[I] 

(25) fSrarac 5 n^i^v^Hf^^iw i?: 
^f?wt (?)if 6 -[W mil] [1211] 

TRANSLATION. 

(v. 1) When the years marked by rasas, organs and 
Vedas (i. e. 654) in (the era of) the lord of Sakas had elapsed, 
in the month of Kartika, on Monday, on the thirteenth day 
of the bright half, in the Bhadra (naksatra\ inkumbha lagna, 
which is known as sthiranga (with a firm body), the king, the 
illustrious Sanjaya for (attaining) tranquility, established on 
the hill, a linga with (all) the auspicious marks. 

Reading appears to be prthvi on the plate. 

Kern's suggestion about the reading of prabhuta cannot be 
correct. The metre would require the second syllable to be long 
and the third should be short, 

Rd., riman-yo. cf. Kern p. 120, note 1. 

Rd. rna. 

Kern reads-^Vto. 

Kern 



INDIA AKD JAVA 33 

(V. 2) May Siva, the sun to the darkness of the world, 

who has for his crest jewel the moon on his matted locks, 

coloured by the high waves of the Ganges, who has the 

lustre of the neck-lace in shape of the lord of snakes 

having on its body the splendour of the lord of luminaries 

(i. e. the sun), who is praised by the gods with the soft 
paltns (of their hands) folded in the form of a vessel grant 
you most perfect bliss. 

(Y. 3) May the two irreproachable lotuses which are the 
feet of the three-eyed (Siva) which are repeatedly praised 
by the lords of sages bending in respect for their salvation 
in heaven, which are kissed by the gods, such as Indra and 
others vvith their bent crowns like the bees (kissing the lotus), 
which are slighty coloured at the end by the rays (issuing) 
from the toe-nails which are like the glittering filaments (of 
a lotus) and in which (feet) the toes are like the slightly 
copper-coloured leaves (of a lotus) grant you perpetual 
welfare. 

(V. 4) May the three-eyed (Siva), the Lord of beings 
who has his matted locks decorated with the crescent-moon, 
who is the store-house of great and wonderful (things) 
being himself the source of an excess of greatness, who 
being solely given to resignation always causes wonder of 
the yoking, who nourishes the world through his eight-fold 
bodies* out of pity and not selfishness protect you. 

(V. 5) May the self-born Lord (Siva) and the teacher of 
the world who bears a golden body and the matted locks 
which are like the fire burning his own defects, who has 
made the Law of the world fixed in the posts of the Yedas, 
who is the source of religion, worldly prosperity and desire, 
who has his lotus-like feet worshipped by the gods, who is 
the Lord of the yogins and who is honoured by the sages 
give you success. 

(V. 6) May the lord of Sri (ic. Vishnu) who is regarded 
from a distance by the angry goddess of wealth (Sri) with a 
frowning look, who lies on the watery bed with his eyes 
(comparable to) lotus petals rod through (abstract) meditation 
and who is praised by the god * for their protection grant 
you prosperity. 

(V. 7) There was an oxrjellent island called Tava 
incomparable (to others), which contained an abundance of 

* Siva's eight-fold bodies consist usually of the 5 elements, mind, 
<H?otism and Prakriti (matter) but according to the opening verse of 
Kalidasa's Sakuntala the last three are the sun the moon and the 
Yajamana or the sacrificing priest, 



34 INDIA AND JAVA 

grains such as rice and others, which was possessed of gold 
mines and which was acquired. ..by the gods. There 
was the wonderful and most excellent place (i.e. temple) of 
Siva tending to the welfare of the world, which was supplied 
as it were from the family settled in the illustrious land of 
Kunjarakunja.* 

(V. 8) In that noble island called Tava which became 
the great characteristic of ... of mer, there was the foremost 
of kings of exalted birth whose name was Sanna, who 
was of great fame and who, out of attachment to his subjects, 
ruled in a proper way through (the peaceful methods of) 
conciliation and gift, like a father (ruling) the child from 
his very birth and who, with his foes subdued, protects the 
earth for a long time with justice like Manu. 

(V. 9) Under these circumstances, while the (king) 
named Sanna was ruling over the goddess of royalty, he, in 
course of time, and in the due order, went to enjoy 
happiness accumulated by his family (?). (Then) the earth, 
separated (from him), roamed in grief being bereft of her 
lord. 

(V. 10) He, who rose after him, was possessed of mastery 
and richness in merits and was like the (mount) Meru. He 
was of colour bright like the molten gold or glaring fire 
(as the Meru is of white colour) ; he had long arms, big 
thighs and high and upraised head (as the Meru has big 
base and middle and high summit); who on this earth has 
greater position and loftiness than other existing rulers who 
are like principal mountains (kulacala) (as the Meru has a 
greater position and height than other principal mountains, 
the bearers of the earth). 

(V. 11) The son of (the king) named Sannaha is the king 
the illustrious Sanjaya who is respected by the assembly of the 
learneft, who knows the subtle meaning of treatises (Sastras), 
who is possessed of qualities such as valour etc., who like 
like Raghu, has conqured the circle of many feudatories, 
who is like the sun in fame and whose splendour is 
well-known in all the quarters and who . . . . is now ruling 
the kingdom with justice. 

(V. 12) While he is luling the earth who has for her 
girdle the waves of the seas and for her breasts the 
mountains, people can sleep on the road-side without being 
frightened by thieves or other fears; men, rich in fame, have 
always acquired in plenty (the three aims of life) 
religion, wordly prosperity and objects of desire certainly 
the kali (age) is always crying because nothing remains of itf 

* I have translateda ccording to the reading suggested by me. N.P.C. 
T The idea is that during the rule of this king no crime is 
committed which should be predominant in the Kali age 



(3) DINAYA INSCRIPTION 
(SAKA YEAR 682) 

The first mention of this inscription is by Dr. Brandes 
in the Report of the Archaeological Commission (Rapport 
van de Oudheidkundige Commissie,) 1904, (p. 9). It is the 
earliest inscription in old Javanese (Kavi) characters. Dr. 
Brandes supposed that the Kavi script was imported into 
Java by immigrants from Gujarat as he believed that there 
was a similarity between the Girnar script and that of the 
Dinaya inscription. But Professor Krom, in his Hindoe- 
Javaansche Geschiedenis, states that this alleged similarity 
disappears on closer investigation. The Kavi script, according 
to Professor Krom, was not introduced from India 
into Central Java in the 8th century (A. D.) it was a 
local and later development of the earlier Pallava script. 
And Professor Krom is right. All subsequent inscriptions 
(excluding Srivijaya epigraphy which is in Nagari characters) 
are in the Kavi script. 

The slab of the Dinaya inscription is broken into three 
fragments. The middle (and the largest) piece was found 
first and has been discussed in the Tijd. Bat. Gen., 57, 1916. 
The two remaining fragments were discovered later and are 
described in the Tijd. Bat. Gen., 64, 1924. So now the 
inscription is quite complete. 

Dinaya is situated to the east of Central Java. It seems 
that about this period the Hindu princes were being 
gradually pushed out of Central Java by the Buddhist 
princes of Srivijaya (in Sumatra). 

Several kings are mentioned in this inscription ; Devasimha, 
the devotee of the god Putikesvara; Limva, his son, also 
known as Gajayana; King Jananiya, etc.* "King Gajayana, 
the benefactors of Brahraans, the worshipper of Agastya, 
with the help of ascetics and his nobles, caused to be 

constructed the lovely Maharsibhavana, When the 

high-minded king, the lover of renown, had seen the image 
(of Agastya) made by his ancestors of Devadaru wood, he 
readily gave a sculptor the order and, (being) farsighted, caused 
to be made a wonderful image of black stone. 7 ' This image of 
Agastya Kumbhayoui was consecrated in the Saka 
year 682 (760 A. D.),. 

The sage Agastya is referred to again in the inscription of 

* For another possible interpretation see Translation v. 3, note 
2 below-N. P, C. 



36 INDIA AND JAVA 

Pareng in Central Java (785, Saka) which ^is partly 
in Sanskrit verse and partly in Kavi prose. 4k As long 
as the sun and the moon are in heaven ; as long 
as the earth is encircled by the four oceans; 
as long as the ten directions are full of airso 
long there is faith towards Valaing" Valaing is the 
Polynesian name of the star Canopus (Agastya). 

In the same inscription there is a passage which seems 
to refer to Agastya as having built a temple named 
Bhadraloka (in Java?) and the concluding lines of the 
Pareng inscription shower blessings on the descendants 
of Agastya (living in Java?)* 

So there was an Agastya cult in Java in the 7th and 
8th centuries. Dr. Bosch points out that in Champa, 
Kambuja as well as in Java we find a tradition tracing 
a close connection between a Siva-linga, a famous 
Brahman and the ruling dynasty. In Kambuja it is 
king Jayavarman II and the Brahman Hiranyadaman 
whom we find introducing the cult of Deva- 
raja (Siva). In Champa the traditional ancestor of 
the royal dynasty, Uroja, is also the introducer of the 
Siva linga cult. In Java we have the tradition of Agastya. 
Dr. Bosch thinks that there is a common origin for all this 
in the Devadaru Mahatmya in the Skanda Purana. 



TEXT 

[Metres ; Anushubh, V. 1-3 ; Yasantatilaka, V. 3-5, 8, 9 ; Sragdhara, 
V. 6, 7] 



(1) 

(2) 



38* qfrnft <tfs^K4) wrftm n [luj 

: Slfif Wtt flPR 4 *1*MW (5) jfif <F*Z*tt [I] 

nW xti ear? g^r^ ** 5 (6) u [211] 



2 Ed. Wlftu 

* Rd. JflJ:*" qrfanor g3T'"<ITfiKlT' In q^wfe the second syllable 

is lengthened metri causa. 
4 Rd. (W4-^tfMHWWH4. 
6 Perhaps we have to read ^ur^T^^I^CT^ The reading of 

Bosch must be wrong as it goes aganist the metre. 



INDIA AND JAVA 37 



(9) *nn 



[I] 
3^51 (7)1T ffa 1 *rfpft 3W*ft HW sftro: II [311] 

wraftr inw^r 3 

[I] 



3 wpwftn (ID 



; u [411] 

[I] 

ft 7 

5 II [511] 

i 
[i] 



1 M16) 

(is) 



[I] 



1 Rd. 

2 Rd. 

3 Rd. 



6 Bosch reads 
6 Rd. ^r. 



. ^r. 

7 Bosch reads SJ^i which would convey the wrong meaning. 
The first letter is to be read us ^ and not $j 

8 Rd. ^rfgsra'nc. 

9 Grammatically yRiMl^^ but here oftra^ is rcciuired for the. 
sake of metre. 

10 Bosch suggests Dhruvese but I am not sure of its meaning. 
Have we to read dhruve eha ? 

11 Rd 



12 Perhaps CTuft: cf. 1. 9. Bosch suggests x.^,-... 

13 Rd. g^nysar and -gftnt Bosch reads 31%. 



38 INDIA AND JAVA 



; ^ (22) 



[811] 



(25) ?V?3 U5n^ [ vfe^T ] 1<lft: TOT qVC II [911] 



TRANSLATION 

Hail ! (In) the Saka year 682 having elapsed : 

(v. 1) There was the wise and mighty king Devasimha, 

protected by whom shines all ronnd (the shrine) purified 

by Putikesvara. 8 



Bosch is doubtful about the reading 
r. Metre regimes a long syllable in . I would prefer to 
read ^JETJr!^-. 
2 Bosch reads 9TfuRlHT4^ 3 Bosch reads tBfcqf and corrects it as 

TO but the reading fl^TT is certain. 
4 In this verse rd. JPfclcfT ^OTW, -rt , - PiTi i r^filH I and 



* Perhaps we have to read qtf 5^^ or 5W9TOI The second 
sylable in Jim should be short, 



In verse 9 read 4TOT, ^f^yi, 5Tnf^g^"j rftefT and 
ftt^d^. Bosch wrongly reads 4*fcki| for 



8 The meaning of the last quarter of the verse is uncertain. 
The word Isvara at the end shows that an image of Siva might 
have been intended here, The reading Putakesvara would give us 
some sense, but neither this nor Putikesvara is found amongst the 
1008 names of Mahadeva mentioned in the Anusasana Parva of 
the Mahabharata or elsewhere. A probable explanation of 
Putikesvara may however be found in the following : Puti in 
Sanskrit besides meaning a putrid smell may also denote a 
devqdfiru tree. It is quite likely that the image was called 
Putikesvara because of its being originally made of devaMru wood 



INDtA AND JAVA 3JJ 

(v. 2) His son, the great Limva, known as Gajayana, 
also protected (the people as if they were his own sons), 
when his father had gone to heaven. 

(v. 3) Limva had a daughter born unto him who was 
the consort of the wise king Jananiya (?), the son of Prada 
and was known by the name of Dttejana. 1 

(v. 4) That one of the name of Gajajana, who was 
devoted and did good to the twice-born (Brahmans), who 
was (?) ...... to Lord Agastya, born of a pitcher 

(Kalasd) had with (the help of) his ministers and leaders 
of army (?) caused to be built the charming abode (i. e. 
temple) of the sage ..... 2 

(v. 5) The high-minded and foresighted (king), the lover 
of fame, having seen the established image, founded by his 
ancestors, to be made of devadaru wood, ordered the 
sculptor and had a wonderful image of black marble 
prepared. 3 

as we find in verse 5. I am not sure of the meaning of pavitft 
either. Grammar would not allow its being connected with guptafy. 
Mr. Bosch thus translates the jsecond half of the verse, "Under 
whose protection the flame of Putikesvara diffused its light all 
arouud. But pavita in the sense of 'flame* is not found in Sanskrit. 
It appears to be derived from the root pu l to purify' and has been 
used in a causative sense. Thus pavita seems to me to be an error 
for pawtdfy. In that case Putikesvara pavitah could refer to a place 
which is purified by Putikesvara and most probably to the shrine 
which contained the image of Putikesvara. 

1 This verse may also be translated thus: Limva had a 
daughter born unto him; the mother of the wise (king i e. Limva) 
was Uttejana, the chief queen of the king (t. e. Devasimha), the 
son of Prada. But the difficulty, of this explanation is, 'that the 
inscription opens with the Devasiinha and not with Prada, which 
according to this interpretation would be the name of the father 
of Devasimha. 

2 Bosch connects bhaktafo with Agastye and translates as 
'devoted to Agastya.' But it appears that the .word at the begining 
of the verse, the reading of which is not certain, is to be connected 
with the locative in the first pada. moreover Bosch reads maunaify 
and thinks that it has been used by the poet for munibhify or 
maunibhih. But the reading is maulaify. Maula is used in the 

sense of hereditary servants or ministers of the king ( 



. 

Nay oka I have taken in the sense of Seriapati. I can not explain 
the wood Balahajiri, It may be a Javanese word and I do not 
know if it has any connection with Balayin, which is the Javanese 
name for Agastya. . , 

8 Bosch is not certain of the reading of talaqata which he has 
taken in the sense of 'crumbling.' Thus according to him the 
King had the image of stone made when he found that the wooden 
image was crumbling to pieces. But the root tal is found in the 
sense of 'foundation' or establishment of some sacred object. 
Again, Bosch takes warp, in the sense of 'forthwith.' I have preferred 
to connect it with cakara. Aram-kr is used in Sanskrit in the 
sense of 'to prepare.' 



40 INDIA AND JAVA 

(v. 6) In the Saka year 682, i a the nuath of 
on Friday, in Ardra (naksatra), on the first day of the 
of the bright fortnight, at the juncture of the (two) Pakshas 
(fortnights), in the Dhruva (yoga) and in Kumbha lagna 
was established by the king, of firm intellect, (the image of) 
Agastya, whose source was a pitcher, with (the assistance 
of) the officiating priests, versed in the Vedas, together 
with the best of ascetics, architects, ministers and experts. 

(Y. 7) Land, cows decorated with flowers, together with 
herds of buffaloes and preceded by male and female servants 
(all these) were given by the king to provide for objects 
like caru (oblation of boiled rice), havis (oblation of melted 
butter), ablutions and others, as well as a house for the 
twice-born and further, a wonderful abode for the accomoda- 
tion of guests, well furnished with beds (*. 6. mattresses) made 
of barley straw and together with other paraphernalia 
(literally, covers). 1 

(V. 8) The (future) relations and sons of kings, together 
with their chief ministers, if they shall be opposed to this 
gift of the king, may these, perverted by thp sin of 
non-believing, fall into hell and neither in this world 
nor in the next may they attain the best course. 

(V. 9) In case the descendants of the king are inclined to 
the augmentation of the gift, may they with their intellect 

purified by faith and accustomed to meritorious 

deeds like (making) gifts, (performance of) sacrifices and 
study (of the sacred taxts) protect the whole kingdom in 
the same way as the (present) king. 



(4) THE INSCRIPTION OF VIBNO SA 
(SAKA YKAR 697) 

This inscription does not belong to Java but as it deals 
with the Srivijaya kings (of Sumatra), who were at this 
time ruling in Central Java, we have included it in our 
collection. Vieng-Sa is in the Malay Penisula south of the 
Bay of Bandon. M. Finot first gave an account of it in the 
Bulletin de la Commission Archeologique de Tlndo-chine 
(1910, p. 153). But he was not quite clear about Srivijaya. 
In the Bulletin d'Ecole Franchise d'Extreme Orient, 1918 
(no. 6), M. Coodes pointed out for the first time that 
Srivijaya was the name of a powerful maritime kingdom in 
south-east Sumatra (the place is now called Palembang). In 



i Bosv translates Yavayavika etc.. as ^hatched with straw 
of barley. ' 



tou AN!) JIVA 4l 

the 2nd half of the 8th century A. D- the kings of the 
Sailendra dynasty of Srivijaya ruled not only over the greater 
part of Sumatra but also in Central Java, portions of the 
Malay Peninsula, and in numerous islands of the Archipelago. 
There is a tradition (mentioned by Arab travellers) of their 
over-running Cambodia. They maintained friendly relations 
with the Pala kings of Bengal and with the Chola kings of 
South India. As the rulers of Srivijaya were devout 
Mahayanists, they constructed a Buddhist monastery at 
Nalanda with the permission of Devapala of Bengal and a 
Buddhist temple at Negapatan with the consent of Bajaraja 
Chola. Later on there was war between the two maritime 
powers Chola and Srivijaya.* 

The inscription of Vieng Sa is fully dealt with in the 
B. E. F. E. 0., 1918, by M. Coedes. 

TEXT 

[Metres: Sikharipl, vv. 1,2; Harinl, v. 3; Pushpitg5r5, v. 4; 
Upendravajra, v. 5 ; Arya, vv, 8, 9 ; Sragdhara, v. 10.1 

A 
(1) iroifaWf 3pte*rf WWWHHWOTII- 

[l] 



[ (4) aff'fTfiftfe ir 1 ^ u [in] 

f m K"(5) 'SSTrW^F 

i; [i] 



(7) 'ffii'WiTfd^i^iwiKfWi*^"iifir 'K^ftir^ u [2n] 

f8) ^f'lftfWfti i ** 15^4 IQI i4kfa) Rd Wi i 

T: [i] 



[3ti] 



* Sec below nos. la and 7b. 

i Read. ^3T. Evidently *T has been written instead of $ due to the 
fault of the engraver. 

2 Coedes reads ; nitya kov-panna. But the third letter looks 
more like to than ko and the next letter is certainly shya (cf . sh of 
shmn in H. 1. 3). The fifth letter is not certain, but it must be a 
short syllable and I have suggested pra. The sixth letter may 
either be pa or sa with the hook missing. I have preferred to 
read prasmna as it would give a better sense than prapanna* 

3 Coedes reads sevyum, but sevijam is certain. 

6 



INDIA AND JAVi 



(13) 

C: U [411] 



(15) 

(16) 

-( 1 7 ) " 

faw W: [I] 
(18) WTWcl Hre^Wt^WHd- 

[on] 



(22) Sw^ vrf<4 i ^'!i*n TTH^Iwt $! t4m<jTn: [l] 



: [I] 

[9u] 

5 [I] 
- -IllOU 



j Rd. 

2 Coedes reads tigmasanasrlh but that would make ti long and 
the metre would be faulty, 1 however, find no sign of medial 
in t and what is read as gma is sa partially obliterated (cf 
$a in saka, I 26). 

3 Perhaps we have to read 

4 Rd. iUcfa 

8 Should we read 



INDIA AND JAVA 43 

TRANSLATION 

(v. 1) By the splendour of whose spreading fame, which 
is the imperishable abode of (qualities like) policy, decipline, 
valour, learning, tranquility, forbearance, patience, liberality, 
beauty, intelligence, mercy, etc., has been highly surpassed 
the rays given out by the fame of the rulers of the earth 
as the rays of moon surpass in splendour those of 
the stars. 

(v. 2) Who by his splendour surpassing the summit of 
the snowy mountains (i. e. the Himalayas) is in this world the 
receptacle of (all the good) qualities of men with high fame 
and rich in virtues, who wards off evil (like) many 
gems, who is great like the sea and who is the gem of 
snakes whose heads are encircled with -a lustrous glow. 

(v. 3) Those who take resort to him with their hopes 
destroyed by the flames of the fire of disaster (lit. loss of 
wealth) find in him the best property (also lord). As the 
elephants coming to a lake always (full of) pleasant, clear 
and good water, reddish with pollens of lotuses find it 
congenial while the sun is shining on (them). 

(v. 4) Coming into contract with him, who bears all the 
(good) qualities and is like Manu, men rich in virtues ... shine 
with a greater lustre as the lords of trees like the mango, 
Bakula and others look more beautiful coining into contact 
with the spring season. 

(v. 5) Victory be to this king of Srivijaya, the glory of 
whose rule is worshipped by the neighbouring rulers, and 
who has been created by the creator of the universe as if 
intent on making firm the best of religions. 

(v. 6) The king, the lord of Srivijaya, who has virtues 
fit to be acquired (by others) and who alone is the best of 
all the neighbouring kings, who exist on the face of this 
firm earth, built with brick this group of three excellent 
houses which are the abode of tho wielder of thunderbolt, 
(vajra), the conqueror of Mara And the producer of joy. 1 

(v. 7) This wonderful chaitya house belonging to the 
three ages (?) 2 , which was given to all the excellent Jinas 
dwelling in the ten quarters, is the best thunderbolt (for 
cleaving) the mountain of sin of the whole world, is the giver 
of the most excellent splendour of the three worlds and is 
the place (giving) immortality. 

'v. 8) And again, Jayanta the sthavira of the King (was) 
well appointed by the ruler of men (saying) 'construct (ye) 



1 The Vajrapani Bodhisattva is supposed to be the wielder of the 
thunderbolt but here the reference seems to be to the Buddha himself. 
Kajalcara I have taken in the sense of 'producing joy. 

2 I am not certain about the meaning of 



44 INDIA AND JAVA 

also three stupas* Thus (following the order) he did the same. 

(v. 9) When he went to heaven, his pupil Adhimukti by 
name, became the stfiavira. He built two chaityas of brick 
in the vicinity of the three chaityas, (already built). 

(v. 10) When the king of the Sakas had grown to 697 
years, on the eleventh day of the bright half of the month 
of Chaitra, in karJcata lagna on an auspicious Friday, by the 
lord of Srivijaya, who is the best of all the kings, who is 
like the lord of devas (i.e. Indra) and who has the glory of 
the sun was established the . . .stupas of (one) who has the 
body (made of) the wish-giving stone the best in the three 
worlds, 



(5) KALASAN INSCRIPTION OF THE SAKA TEAR 700. 

The following inscription, found in a temple in Central 
Java, is the earliest Javanese Inscription written in a North- 
Indian Script. It was published by Dr. Brandes (without 
plate) in Tijdschrift voor Indische .Taal-Land-en-Yolkenkunde, 
Deel XXXI (1886) pp. 245 ff. and by Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar 
in JBBRAS 1889 pp. 1 ff. Dr. Bhandarkar made use of a 
photograph copy sent to him from Batavia by Mr. Baum 
Garten. 

The record opens with salutations to the Buddhist goddess 

Tara. Then we are told that the fl^Trags caused a 
splendid temple of Tara to be constructed in the flourishing 
kingdom of the king of the Sailendra dynasty. The temple 
was built out of respqct for the guru after 7oo years of the 
era of the Saka king had elapsed. This temple and also a 
monastery for the mendicant priests of the Mahayana school 
were erected after a royal mandate had been issued in the 
names of Pankura, Tavana and Tirisha who were the 
desadhyalcshys oar local governors. 

Bhandarkar however, mistook Sailendra as the name of a 
king. Now we know that there was a Sailendra dynasty 
which originally belonged to the Srivijaya kingdom of 
Sumatra but about this period they had also conquered 
Central Java. 

According to Bhandarkar the characters of this inscription 
resemble those of the North-Indian inscriptions of the period 
between the 8th and llth centuries ; while the execution is 
almost exactly like that of an inscription found at Ghosravan, 
near the old city of Nalanda in Magadha which can be 
relegated to the middle of the 9th century. "The Hindu 



INDIA AND JAVA 45 

settlements of Java" continues Dr. Bhandarkar, "were not 
made once for all; but there must have been a constant 
communication between the island and India. Fa-Hian tells 
us that in Yavadvipa Brahmans flourished but the Law of 
Buddha is not known. The Buddhists referred to in our 
inscription must have emigrated in large numbers later on. 
..... The "Tavadvipa adorned with the seven kingdoms'* 
and Suvarnadvipa (Sumatra) have been mentioned in the 
Kiskindhya kanda of the Ramayana ; and in the Katbasarit- 
sagara Indian merchants are represented as trading with 
Suvarnadvipa and other islands of the name of Narikela, 
Karpura and Kataha (Kedu, near Penang). The Kathasarit- 
sagara is professedly a translation of or a compilation based 
on Gunadhya's Brihatkatha which has not yet been recovered 
and which must have been composed in the first or second 
centnry A.D. Thus the connection of India with these 
islands must have begun very early." 

The traditional accounts of the Javanese refer the founda- 
tion of the first Indian colony to a person whom they call 
Adisaka the founder of the Saka era which is used in Java. 
Dr. Bhandarkar thought that this tradition means that some 
princes of the Saka race (which had established itself in 
Western India about the beginning of the Saka era and had 
adopted Indian civilization, as is evident from the coins and 
inscriptions of the Satraps of Ujjayini and Kathiawar) esta- 
blished the first Indian colony in Java a short time after the 
foundation of the era in India. Contemporary evidence 
from the early Javanese inscriptions do not, however, bear 
out this theory. The early colonists must have come from 
South India. Later on, as in this inscription, Magadha 
influence seems to have been predominant. This North- 
Indian influence is to be specially noticed in the Mahayana. 
inscriptions of Srivijaya rulers in Java as well as in Sumatra 
Indeed the first appearance of Mahayana doctrines in the 
Archipelago and the use of a North-Indian script go hand in 
hand. Both appear to have come from the Palas of Bengal 
and Magadha. (vide Indian Cultural Influence in Cambodia, by 
Dr. B. R. Chatterji pp. 253 ft). 

TEXT.I 

[Metres ; Vasantatilaka, v. 1 : Udglti, y. 2 ; Arya, Yv. 3-8, 12 ; 
SalinI, v. 10 ; and Upendrav^ra, v. 11.] 

(1) i+it **iirq < 5Ni<-mmi*i U 






(2) 



1. As no facsimile of this inscription has been published I have 
mostly followed Bhandarkar's reading of the text. 



46 INDIA AND JAVA 

i (3) *&i l 



U Ml 
^t (4) ^ift d**4*m I 

[3U] 



3 (5) 



sptferfi??Brfq ^p^ncqf^isrt II [411 ) 



CT5^ OT^TTT (6) % ^T^: SDT 



; u [511] 



(?) 



f^tui: II [611] 
OT: 

n [7ii] 

H I 

n fsu] 

fil: I 
: || [911] 



(11) 



(13) ^r: 

: II fllll] 

(14) 



rfe i [i 1211] 



1. Brandes reads 

2. These are Javanese names. 

3. Bhandarkar reads 

4. Bhandarkar reads 



5. Brandes reads Wff.Bhandarkar is wrong in connecting it with 
Skt. Sat. It is equivalent to the old Javanese title sang. 

6. Perhaps we have to read 
7* Brandes reads 



INDIA AND JAVA 4? 

TRANSIATION. 

Salutations to the divine and venerable Tara. 

(V. 1.) May Tara, the only saviour of the Universe, who, 
seeing the world sunk in the sea of existence full of 
immeasurable misery, duly delivers it through the three means 1 , 
grant you the desire consisting of the essence of the glory 
of the worlds of men and the Lord of the gods. 

(V. 2) Having prevailed over the Maharaja Panamkarana, 2 
the . . . ., a splendid temple of Tara was caused to be built 
by the preceptor of the Sailendra kings. 3 

(V. 3) At the command of the guru by the grateful ones 
was made (an image of) the goddess Tara as well as a 
temple for her and also a dwelling place (i.e. raonastey) for 
the venerable bhikshus, knowing the great vehicle of discipline. 

(T. 4) By the king's mandate (?) issued in the names 
of Pankura, Tavana and Tirisha, the temple of Tara as well 
as the house for the venerable bhikshus were caused to be 
built. 

(V. 5) In the prosperous reign of the king, the best 
(tilaka) of the Sailendra dynasty, 4 the temple of Tara was 
constructed by the pious guru of the Sailendra kings. 

(V, (i) When seven centuries in the era of the Saka king 
had elapsed the Maharaja Panamkarana built the temple of 
Tara in honour of his guru. 

(V. 7) He also granted to the community the village 
Kalasana by name after making the eminent Pankura, Tavana 
and Tirisha, the heads of the province, as the witnesses. 5 

(V. 8-9) By the lion of kings was also granted to the 
community, an incomparable gift of land which should be 
protected by future noble kings of the Sailendra dynasty and 
also by the noble heroic sang Pankura, sang Tavana and 
sang Tirisha. 

(V. 10) The lion among kings begs again and again of 
all the future kings that this bridge of religion, which is 
common to all men, should be protected by you at all times- 

(V. 11) Through the merit resulting from (the construe. 
tion of) this monastery, may all people following the Law of 
the Jin? (i.e. Buddha) have a knowledge of the division and 

I. The three upayas mentioned in the Dharmasanyraha CXI 
(Ancedota Oxoniensia, Aryan Series, Vol. I-Pt.v) are: 
and 



2. Brandes takes Panamkarana as an epithet of the king viz. 
'one who has taken a vow.' 

3. Bhandarkar wrongly took Sailendra to be the name of the 
king, 

4. Bhandarkar translates 'the son of Saiiendravarman'. 

5. "The eminent men and leaders of the country" Bhandarkar. 



48 IflDIA AtfD JAVA 

meaning of the causal chain of causation 1 and be endowed 
with prosperity. 

(V. 12) The illustrions Kariyana 2 Panamkarana here 
begs again and again of future kings for the preservation of 
the monastery in a proper way. 



(6) THE MINTO-STONE INSCRIPTON OF THE 
SAKA TEAR 876. 3 

The following couplet in Sanskrit forms the opening 
verse of the Kavi inscription on the Minto stone which was 
found in Java-Pasuruhan. It is so called because it was 
sent by Raffles, who was the governor of Java, during the 
temporary British possesion of that island, as a present to 
Lord Minto in Scotland. This record is a royal order to the 
village Sangguram which was to be fenced off into a rent 
free holding for the Bhatara (ie High priest) of the Kabha- 
ktyan temple. 

It is the most important inscription which we have got 
of King Vava of Central and East Java. In this inscription 
Mpu Sindok, the successor of Vava, is mentioned as Mahapati 
(minister ?). With King Vava the history of Central Java 
comes to an end. 

TEXT. 

Jjr"T5 [l] 

: [n] 6 



(I) ^iWiWW'S H fifa*te$i TO3ITO: If T5TOIT *WT! (2) 
TO [ * ] (II) 



1. The reference here is to the Hdl^Nj^MK or the doctrine 
of cause and effect of the Baddliists. They are twelve in number 
each subsequent one being produced by the preceding one, viz. 
(ignorance), *fcw (predisposition), ft^H (consciousness), 
(mind and body), ^333 (6 organs of sense), STO (contact), 
(feeling), 5^mr (cravincr). ?<T(^R (attachment), *|ar (action), 
(rebirth) and WTTCQl w* ^o and death). 

2, See Yogel's note on this word. 

3, See Kern, V, G. Vol. VII, p, 225, 

4. Readf^Bi: 

5. Rd. w*?g 

6. An inscription of King Daksha (circa 915 A. D.) from Singasari 
which is now preserved in the Batavia museum, has a similar 
beginning (See Brandes in Oud-Java ansche Oorkonde, XXX): 



7a EXTRACTS FROM THE NALANDA COPPER-PLATE 
OF DEVAPALADEVA 

This copper-plate was unearthed by Dr. Hirananda Shastri 
at the well-known Buddhist site at Nalanda in 1921. 1 The 
charter was issued by the Paramasaugata P. M. P. Sriman 
Devapaladeva, the son and successor of the Paramasaugata 
P. M. P. sri-Dharmapaladeva both belonging to the well known 
Pala dynasty of Bengal and Magadha. The document is 
dated on the 21st day of Kartika of the (regnal) year 39 of 
Devapala and records that this ruler, at the request of sri- 
Balaputradeva, the ruler of Suvarnnadvipa (modern Sumatra), 
conveyed through an ambassador, granted five villages, "for 
the increase of merit and fame of his parents and himself, 
for the sake of income towards the blessed Lord Buddha, 
for various comforts of the revered bhikshus of the four 
quarters and for writing the dharma-ratnas and for the 
upkeep of the monastery built at Nalanda at the instance of 
the said king of Suvarnadvipa." 2 The villages granted were 
Nandivanaka, Manivataka, Natika, Hastigrama and Palamaka, 
the first four of which were situated in the Rajagriha 

1. This inscription has been fully dealt with by Dr. H. Shastri 
in Ep Ind. Vol. XVII pp 310ff. 

2. The original passage in the inscription runs thus : 

Ll. 33-36 ...... feRtarca *fwm q^Rfftfrti*trci*f(Hi 

TOftflfPwiWm I *ifipdMKiN I i|fe*rait I 
<nV1!WYT!fT: ...... *WT 

L. 37. 
L. 34 



TT*f ci i l^ 
L. 39 



L. 40 

i It:*] 



Dr. Shastri explains dharma-ratna as Buddhist texts (i. e. for the 
three jewels) hut the proper meaning is jewel of doctrine* i. e. texts 
containing Buddhist doctrine and has no reference to the 'three 
Jewels.' 



50 INDIA AND JAVA 

(Rajgir) and the fifth in the Gaya vishaya (district) of the 
sri-Nagarabhukti (Patna division). 

The importance of this inscription lies not only in the 
fact that it records the construction of a monastery at 
Nalanda by a king of Java but also because it gives some 
new information about the rulers of the Sailendra dynasty. 
Thus from the latter part of the inscription, which 
has been quoted in the foot-note, we know that there 
was a ruler of Yavabhumi (Java), who was the ornament 
ef -the Sailendra dynasty and whose 'name was 
conformable to the illustrious crusher of his brave 
enemies' (Sri-vira-vairi-mathana). He had a son whose 
name is not mentioned but whose queen consort was 
Tara, the daughter of the illustrious king Dharmasetu, born 
in the lunar family. From her was born sri-Balaputradeva, 
the overlord of Suvarnadvipa who was the donor of a 
monastery at Nalanda. 



EXTRACTS FROM THE TEXT 

[Metres : Vasantatilaka vv. 24, 25, 27, 28 ; Praharshini, 
v. 26 ; Anushtubh. v. 29 ; Sardulavikridita, v. 30-33 ; Sragdhara, 
v. 34]. 

L.52. WW^WWWNdMWlfaHWWW 

i: n [24u] 




[12811] 



INDIA AND JAVA Dl 



v 3?w*^cH i foivHci ivralMviitKi*^ 11 [29U] 

NIW*!! ! WU 



II [3011 1 



^^i i I ^a^ci^*q^<i J 



1 (62) M 



*U I **^1 H^HW ItlWW^I 1 1*^^!^* ^vl II 1. 96 II J 

( 63) Sf w+i wusiGil 



'Whf W (64) 






(65) r% 

'tfijiiiiMiO 

n [34]n 



TKANSLATION* 

(V. 24) 'There was a King of Tavabhumi (or Ja?a), 
who was the ornament of the Sailendra dynesty, whose 
lotus-feet bloomed by the lustre of the jewels in the row 
of trembling diadems on the heads of all the princes, and 
whose name was conformable to the illustrious tormentor 

of brave foes (vira-vairi-mathana}. ___^_ 

' See Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XYHpp. 326-27 



52 INDIA AND JAVA 

(V. 25) "His fame, incarnate as it were, by setting 
its foot on the regions of (white) palaces, in white water- 
lilies, in lotus plants, conches, moon, jasmine and snow and, 
being incessantly sung in all the quarters, pervaded the 
whole universe. 

(V. 26) "At the time when that king frowned in anger, 
the fortunes of the enemies also broke down simultaneously 
with their hearts. Indeed the crooked ones in the world 
have got ways of moving which are very ingenious in 
striking others* 

(V. 27). "He had a son, who possessed prudence, 
prowess, and good conduct, whose two feet fondled too 
much with hundreds of diadems of mighty kings (bowing 
down). He was the foremost warrior in battle-fields and 
his fame was equal to that earned by Yudhishthira, Parasara, 
Bhimasena, and Arjuna. 

(V. 28). "The multitude of the dust of the earth, raised 
by the feet of his army, moving in the field of battle, was 
first blown up to the sky by the wind, produced by the 
(moving) ears of the elephants, and, then slowely settled 
down on the earth (again) by the ichor, poured forth 
from the cheeks of the elephants. 

(V. 29). "By the continuous existence of whose fame 
the world was altogether "without the dark fortnight, just 
like the family of the lord of the daityas (demous) was 
without the partisanship of Krishna. 

(V. 30), "As Paulomi was was known to be (the wife 
of) the lord of the suras (i. e, Indra), Eati the wife of the 
mind-born fCupid), the daughter of the mountain (Parvati) 
of the enemy of Cupid (*. e. Siva) and Lakshmi of the 
enemy of Mura (i. e. Vishnu) so Tara was the queen consort 
of that king, and was the daughter of the great ruler 
Dharmasetu of the lunar race and resembled Tara (the 
Buddhist goddess of this name) herself. 

(V. 31). "As the son of Suddhodana (f, e the Buddha), 
the conqueror of Kamadeva, was born of Maya and 
Skanda, who delighted the heart of the host of gods, was born 
of Uma by Siva, so was born of her by that king, the 
illustrious Balaputra, who was expert in crushing the 
pride of all the rulers of the world, and before whose 
foot-stool (the seat where his lotus-feet rested) the groups 
of princes bowed. 

(V. 32). "With the mind attracted by the manifold 
excellences of Nalanda and through devotion to the son of 
Suddhodana (i, e. the Buddha) and having realised that 
riches are fickle like the waves of a mountain stream, he 
whose fame was like that of Sangharthamitra, built there 
(at Nalanda) a monastery which was the abode of the 



sembly of monks of various good qualities and was 
lite with the series of stuccoed and lofty dwellings. 
(V. 33). "Having requested, King Devapaladeva, 
10 was the preceptor for initiating into widowhood 
3 wives of all the enemies, through envoys, very 
spectfully and out of devotion and issuing a charter, (he) 
anted these five villages, whose purpose has been noticed 
ove for the welfare of himself, his parents and the world. 

(V. 34). "As long as there is the continuance of the 
ican, or the Ganges has her limbs (the currents of water) 
itated by the extensive plaited hair of Hara (Siva), as 
ng as the immovable king of snakes (Sesha) lightly bears 
e heavy and extensive earth every day and as long as 
ie (Udaya) Eastern and (Asia) Western mountains have 
leir crest jewels scratched by the hoofs of the horses 
: the Sun so long may this meritorious act, setting up 
rtues over thd world, endure." 



6, LEYDEN COPPER-PLATES OP RAJARAJA CHOLA* 

This grant in twenty-one copper-plates, the first five of 

rhich are written in Sanskrit and the remaining sixteen 
i Tamil, is now preserved in the Leyden Mnseura in 
lolland. The Sanskrit portion records the grant, in the 21st 
ear of the reign of the Chola king Rajaraja-Rajakesari- 
arman (985-1013 A. D.), of the village of Anaimangalam 
o the Buddhist vihara of Chudamanivarman in Nagpattana 
Negapatam). This vihara as the inscription informs us, 
ras caused to be built by the Illustrious Maravijayottunga- 
'arrnan of the Sailendra dynasty and the Lord of 
Srivishaya (i. e. Srivijaya) and was endowed by the Chola 
ring Rajaraja which was confirmed by his son Rajendra 
3hola. The grant was executed by order of the prime- 
minister (mahadhikarin) Tillayali alias Rajarajamuvendavelan. 
The prasasti was composed by a Brahman named Nanda- 
narayana and it was engraved by five engravers of Kanchipura 
viz. Krishna- Vasudeva alias Rajarajavairacharya, Krishna- 
Tiruvarangam, Krishna-Damodara, Vasudeva-Krishna and 
Aravamirtu-Purushottama. Thus the Leyden plates not only 
furnish us with an exact parallel to the facts mentioned in 
the Nalanda grantf but also show the friendly relation 

* Text and translation published in Burgess and Natesa Sastri 
in Arch. Surv. of Southern India YoL JF. pp. 207 ff* 

t Examples of foreign Buddhist rulers and even laymen 
burning monasteries at important Buddhist centres for the use of 



*** INDIA AND JAVA 

that the Sailendra king had with the Chola kings at the time 
of Rajaraja. But for some reason or other this relation 
must have been estranged at the time of Rajendrachola 
for in several of his inscriptions 1 we find that he led an 
expedition against Samgramavijayot tungavarman, the king 
of Kadarara. As the inscriptions are in Tamil I am giving 
below for the interest of general readers the English 
translation of the extract under reference from the Tirukkalar 
inscription : 

He i. e. Rajendrachola "having despatched many ships 
in the midst of the rolling sea and having caught Samgrama- 
vijayottungavarraan, the king of Kadararn, along with (his) 
rutting elephants which put up rare fight and brought vic- 
tory, (took) the large heap of treasures, which (that king) 
had rightfully accumulated, the (arch called) Vidyadhara- 
torana put up at the *gate' of his wide inland city provided 
with accoutrements of war ; the 'jewel gate' adorned with 
great splendour ; the 4 gate of large jewels' the prosperous 
Sri-Vishaya ; Pannai with a ghat of (bathing) water; the 
ancient Malaiyur (with) a fort situated on a fine hill ; 
Mayirudingam, surrounded by the deep sea (as) a moat ; 
Ilangasogam (i. e. Laikasoka) undaunted (in) fierce battles; 
Mappappalam having abundant high waters as defence ; 
Mevilimbangam, having fine walls as defence ; Valaippanduru, 
possessing (both) cultivated land (?) and jungle; the principal 
city of Takkolam, praised by great men (versed in) the 
sciences ; the island of Madam alin gam, of strong battlements ; 
Ilamuri-desam, provided with scientifically ripe excessive 
strength ; the great Nakkovaram, whose gardens (abounded 
in) flowers dribbling honey ; and Kadarara of fierce strength, 
protected by foot-soldiers weaving kalal. 2 " 

their own people and others are found at a time much earlier 
than this and the Nalanda grants. It is well known that king 
Meghavanna of Ceylon had a splendid monastery built at Bodh-Gajra 
with the permission of Sailendra Gupta. A similar instance is 
found in one inscription from Nagarjunikonda (Ep. Ind. XX 
pp. 21 f.) where a female lay-worshipper (Upasika) Bodhisiri 
by name and particulars about whom are wanting in the inscription 
built during the reign of a king Mathariputa (probably Siri- 
Virapurisadata) of the Ikkhaku dynasty, a shrine which was 
dedicated to the fraternities of monks from Ceylon. 

i See the following inscriptions of Rajendrachola (1) : (1) Copper 
Plates belonging to the Parijatavanesvara temple of Tirukkalar in 
the Tanjore district of the 18th "regnal year South Indian Inscrip- 
tions, vol. III. pt IV PP. 466 if. (2) Tanjore temple inscription of 
the 19th regnal year Ibid. Vol. II pp. 105 if. No, 20. (3) Sutturu 
(Somesvara temple) Kanarese inscription of the 31st (actually 21st) 
year ##. Cam. Vol. Ill p, 208, No. 164. Tiruvalangadu Plates, & I. I. 
Vol. Ill Pt. Ill, 

> Among the places mentioned in this campaign Sri-Vishaya is 
the same as Sri-Viiaya, identified by M. Coedes with 'the residency 
of Palambang in Sumatra* Nakkavaram Hand Pappalam have been 



INDIA AND JAVA 55 

Usually this account of the conquest of Kataha is found 
only in Tamil inscriptions of the 16th and later years of 
Bajendrachola I. The Tirumalai inscription dated in the 
13th regnal year of tKe king does not mention this conquest. 
It may be concluded therefrom that Rajendrachola must 
have led his naval expedition some time between the 13th 
and 16th year of his reign. 1 Samgramavijayottungavarman, 
the king of Kataha with whom Rajendrachola fought is 
presumed to be the successor of Maravijayottungavarman of 
the Sailendra dynasty who is mentioned in the Ley den 
grant. We do not know the reason which led to the 
expedition and how far the Sailendra king submitted to the 
Chola king. But there is nothing to show that the Sailendra 
kings were feudatories to the Cholas, at least before the 
above mentioned expedition, as Mr. Yenkayya appears to 
have thought. 2 

Besides the above Leyden grant there is another 
grant written in Tamil which also is now preserved in the 
Leyden museum. 8 It was issued in the 20th year of 
Kaviraja Kesarivarman Sri Kullottunga-chola and records an 
exemption of certain taxes in connection with the villages 
granted to the Sri Sailendra-chudamani Vihara. This 
exemption was allowed at the request of the king of Kidara, 
conveyed through the latter's messengers Rajavidyadhara 
Samanta and Abhimanottunga Samanta. 



EXTRACTS FROM THE TEXT 



LI. 73-76. tffanH' ..... 3l*KI3t ns&flft (76) 
hiw 



(Valanadu)*fTf9 *Tfffl stinqft^ iigwfcf (Pattanakkarra)- 



identified respectively with the Nicobar islands and a port of that 
name in Burma. Takkolam is taken to be the same as Takopa on 
the western part of the Malay Peninsula. Kadaram has been 
located tin lower Burma by Mr. Venkayya (Annual Report on 
Epigraphy for 1898-99 p. 17 ; cf. S. I L Vol. Ill p.l94f.) but perhaps 
it should be identified with Kedu or Kidap in the Malay Peninsula. 

1 Though the Sanskrit Dortion of the Tiruvalangadu plates which 
like the Tamil portion is dated in the 5th year of Rajendrachola's 
reign, mentions his conquest of Kataha Mr. Venkayya is of 
opinion that the Sanskrit portion was subsequently composed and 
added to the Tamil document (see Annual Report on Epigrahpy 
for 1905-06 p. 66) 

2 See Arch. Survey Report, 1911-12 p. 175. 

See Arch. Surv. of Southern India Vol. IV. pp. 224/f. 



56 INDIA AND JAVA 



Pattanakknrra 



[Ij 



(87) 



[l] 



(88) 



: [f] 



"He ..... Rajaraja Rajakesarivarman, the crest jewel of 
Kshatriyas in the twenty-first year of his own universal rule, 
in the great country named Valanadu, thickly inhabited and 
shining as an ornament to the whole world in the division of 
Pattanakkurru, in the town resplendent with many temples, 
choultries, water-places, and groves, and shining with 
manifold rows of mansions Nagapattana : by Sri Maravijayo- 
ttungavarman, son of Chudamanivarman, possessed of the 
entire science of royal polity, who, by virtue of his own 
wisdom, was a guru to the gods, who was the ray-gar- 
landed (sun) to the lotus groves of the wise and a kalpavriksha 
to the needy, sprung from the Sailendra family and the lord 
of the Srivishaya country, who possessed of the Makaradhvaja, 
assumed the lordship over Kataha (by Maravijayottunga), 
he (the king) gave to the Buddha dwelling in the exceedingly 
beautiful Chudamanivarman vihara, so named, after his own 
father, whose greatness and loftiness surpasses Kanakagiri 
(Meru) the village Anaimangalam, in that same populous 
district named Pattanakkurru, whose four boundaries were 
clearly traced by the circuit of a female elephant. 

"To the village thus givenlby his majesty the emperor 
(cakravartin) his father, he of great glory having gone to 



INDtA AND JAVA 5? 

divine glory, his son, the wise king Mathurantaka, having 
ascended his throne, and having caused a perpetual grant 
to be made, thus ordered: so long as Sesha, the king of all 
the serpents, holds the entire earth, so long may [this "Vihara 
stand with power on the earth. This same lord of the 
Kataha country, the abode of virtues and of renowned power, 
thus represents the kings yet to come: Protect ye for ever 
this edict of mine." 



APPENDIX 

Did Java and Srivijaya get the Mahayana cult from 
Pala Bengal ? 

(A) Comments on the inscriptions of Canggal, Kedu, 
Kalasan and Kalanda by Dr. Stutterheim in the Tijdscrift, 
1927, and in 'A Javanese period in Sumatran History,' 1929. 

A Kavi inscription found at Kedu (in Central Java) 
gives us a list of the kings of Mataram (Central Java) 
beginning with Sanjaya the hero of the Canggal inscription, 
The immediate successor of Sanjaya, according to this list, 
is Maharaja Panangkaran whom Dr. Stutterheim identifies 
with the Maharaja Panankaran of the inscription of Kalasan. 

But Panankaran of the Kalasan inscription is a 
Sailendra i. e. a prince supposed to belong to the royal 
family of Srivijaya (in Sumatra). We know nothing 
however as to how the Sailendras got a footing in Java. 
There is nothing to suggest conquest by force of arms. 

Stutterheim's theory is that Sanjaya of Mataram (in 
Central Java), whose panegyric we read in the Canggal 
inscription, was himself a Sailendra. This dynasty then, 
according to Stutterheim, originated not in .Srivijaya but 
but in Java. Stutterheim quotes a Kavi Work Carita 
Parahyangan in which Sanjaya is described as having 
won victories in Khmer, Malayu, Keling and in the country 
last named Sang Srivijaya is defeated by him. Probably 
these conquests took place after the dedication of the 
linga mentioned in the Canggala inscription (732 A. D.). 
Dr. Stutterheim then proceeds to interpret the Nalanda 
inscription (c. 850 A. D.) in a daring manner in the new 
light thrown on it by the Kedu list of kings. Maharaja 
Balaputra of Sumatra, the donor of the monastery at 
Nalanda, refers to his grandfather, a king of Java, not by 

name but by the meaning of his name which is w 
8 



(he who has crushed the valiant enemy). Then Balaputra's 
father is described as witiv (foremost in war) and his 
(Balaputra's) mother is mentioned by the name of Tara. 
Tara is said to be the daughter of a king Dharmasetu. 
Now Stutterheim proposes to identify Sanjaya, a famous 
conqueror, with the grandfather of Balaputra. In this 
case Sanjaya's successor Panangkaran would be the 
father of Balaputra and Tara would be the queen of 
Panangkaran. This seems to receive some confirmation 
from the Kalasan inscription (778 A. D.) in which we find 
Panangkaran dedicating a temple to Tara. The queen 
on her death might have been identified with the goddess 
Tara and the Kalasan temple might have been built to 
commemorate her memory. Again in the inscriptions of 
Kalasan and Kelurak (782 A. D.) we come across the word 
Dharmasetu and in the Nalanda inscription Dharmasetu 
is mentioned as a king whose daughter is Tara the 
mother of Balaputra. Dr. Stutterheim is bold enough to 
identify Dharmasetu with Dharmapala the famous Pala 
ruler of Bengal. So his theory is that it was after the 
marriage of Dharmapala's daughter Tara, a Bengali princess, 
with king Panangkaran of Java that Mahayana elements 
began to be mixed up with the Saiva doctrines already 
existing in Java. Dharmapala, according to Stutterheim, 
was the guru as well as the father-in-law of Panang 
karan. 

Finally Dr. Stutterheim points out that there was no 
embassy from Srivijaya to China during the period 
750-904 A. D. It was after 904 A. D. that ambassadors 
from Srivijaya began to visit again the Chinese Court. 
Therefore Dr. Stutterheim believes that Javanese rule over 
Sumatra ended in 904 A. D. Thus by supposing that the 
Sailendra monarchs belongod to Mataram (Central Java) 
and not to Srivijaya, Dr. Stutterheim rejects the hitherto 
accepted designation of the period (750-904 A. D.) as a 
Sumatran period of Javanese history and would replace 
it by a new designation a Javanese period of Sumatran 
history. 

(B) The Inscription of Kelurak and the visit to Java 
of the Mahayanist Kaja-guru from Bengal (From the article 
by Dr. Bosch in the Tijdscrift voor Indische Taal-Laand en 
Volkenkunde, LXVIII, 1928). 

This inscription of Kelurak (near Prambanan in Central 
Java) is in the Nagari script like some other Mahayana 
records, as for e. g. that of Kalasan, which bear the names 
of the Sailendra monarchs. It is dated 704 (Saka era i. e. 
782 A. D.). Portions of it are badly damaged. Just as in 
the Kalasan inscription (778 A. D.) we are told that it 
was due to the persuasion of the guru that the temple 



INDIA AND JAVA 59 

and image of Tara were constructed by the Sailendra 
monarch similarly in the Kelurak inscription it is the 
Bajaguru, coming from Gaudidvipa (Bengal) to 'purify 
with the holy dust of his feet' the Sailendra 
ruler of Central Java, who consecrates the image of Manjusri. 
Dr. Stutterheim believes that the guru mentioned in the 
Kalasan inscription was no other than Dharmmapala, the 
celebrated Pala ruler of Bengal. In the Kelurak inscription 
the name of the Kaja-guru seems to be Kumaraghosa. He is 
then not the king of Bengal but a very holy personage who 
has come all the way from Bengal to teach Mahayana 
doctrines in Java. There must have been many such visitors 
from overseas. Dr. Bosch quotes the Nagarakritagama 
(83,4) ; "Continuously people of all kinds came by sea to Java, 
numerous merchants, monks and distinguished Brahmans." 

Another passage in the Kelurak inscription raises some 
interesting points. We have seen that in the Nalanda 
inscription the Sailendra monarch Balaputra (the donor of 
the monastery at Nalandra mentioned in the inscription) 
refers to his grandfather a king of Java (not Sumatra), not 
by name but by the meaning of his name which is 



Now, the king of the Kelurak inscription is extolled as 
famt and therefore it wonld not be unreasonable to identify 
him with the grandfather of Balaputra. Balaputra, a 
contemporary of Devapala of Bengal, may be assigned a 
a date c. 850 A.D. and the date of the Kelurak inscription is 
782 A.D. 

Dr. Bosch agrees with Dr. Stutterheim in accepting 
Panangkaran, the second prince of the list of Kedu, 
as the same person as the Maharaja Panankaran of 
the Kalasan inscriptson. But further than this they do not 
agree at all. Dr. Bosch believes thnt Panangkaran did not 
belong to an indigenous dynasty of Java, but was one of 
the younger Sailendra princes of Sumatra, who, by his 
marriage with a Javanese princess, became the legitimate 
successor of Sanjaya. The restoration of the Javanese 
dynasty might also have taken place by another marriage 
c. 904 A. D. So Dr. Bosch sticks to the older theory of the 
Sumatran period of Javanese history, through in a recent 
lecture delivered by him at the Societe Asiatique, Paris, he 
seems to appreciate the importance of the points raised by 
Dr. Stutterheim. 

To sum up, Dr. Stutterheim's identification of Dharraapala 
(of Bengal) with Dharmasetu, whom he supposes to be the 
father-in-law of king Panangkaran, is far-fetched. Prof. 
Coedes shows us from an old Malay inscription of Srivijaya 
dated 606 saka eraHi- e. 684 A. D.) that the Vajrayana 
was already known in Sumatra at that early date. The 
far reaching influence of Nalanda is also well known. In 



the Kelurak inscription we actually find a Mahay an is t 
guru from Bengal visiting Java. Thus, without dragging fin 
Dharmapala, we can point to Bengal as the source of 
the Mahayana and Tantrayana cults in Java and Sumatra. 
In my Indian Cultural Influence in Cambodia' (vide the 
conclusion) written in 1926 I had tried to show that Pala 
Bengal might well be given the credit for having spread 
Mahayana a&d Tantrayana teachings in Indo-China and 
Insulindia. Now this point is well established. 

Text of the Kelurak 
Inscription (dated 704 saka era) 

This inscription is in Nagari script and was found near 
Prambanan in Central Java. It is badly damaged but 
luckily the important portions are decipherable. 



l^ill''! WfMI I'8R!I < GW&*1^1 




II (k) 



^^ I 



- ...... 



fwu (;) 
() 

fc . * 
THVf I I 



WTO: 



() 



O O fatNl qawflHfiimfefii; II () 

^-^ 

v) 



Summary : After the invocation to Lokesvara there begins 
the eulogy of the king one of whose qualifications is that 
of *fwrfhTOTO[l . Then comes the important passage 
(7th stanza-lst line) "his (the king's) head purified with 
the dust of the lotus-like feet of the guru from Gaudi- 
dvipa (Bengal)." The rest of the stanza is unhappily 
badly damaged. In the 8th stanza we read that the image 
of Manjusri has been consecrated by the Bajaguru. In 
the llth stanza we get the date of the inscription- 704 
saka era and we are told that in that year Kumaraghosa 
(probably the name of the Rajaguru) has consecrated the 
image of Manjusri. In the 15th stanza we find Manjusri 
identified with Brahma, Visnu and Mahesvara. 

B.RC. 



INSCRIPTION Ofl ESLANGGA fcROM PENAM- 
GUNGEN (SURABAYA) 

(SAKA TEAR 963) 

This inscription which was formerly preserved in the 
Indian Museum, 1 Calcutta, was found on a stone inscribed 
on both sides. It must have been taken to Calcutta from 
Java in Sir Stamford Raffle's time. 2 As it was written in 
an old Javanese script it had been neglected in the Calcutta 
Museum. No one suspected that the language of one of 
these inscriptions was pure Sanskrit while the other was in 
Kavi. When K. F. Halle heard of the stone he got estam- 
pages of both the inscriptions and sent them to 
Prof. Kern. On decipherment the latter found that on account 
of the person celebrated in it, the Sanskrit inscription was 
a very important historical record. The middle portion of 
the inscription has been partly effaced by the action of the 
weather and the characters are too indistinct. 

There is a remarkable peculiarity that between the lines 
there are faint traces visible of something like letters. 
There are examples in India where new inscriptions have 
been engraved on old ones. But for a record of this kind 
in honour of the king Erlangga one would not expect an 
old inscribed stone to be used. 

The height of the stone is 1'24 metres, and breadth 
0.95 at the top and 0'86 at the bottom. The inscription 
consists of 37 lines of writing. With the exception of the 
word Svasti at the beginning the whole is in Sanskrit verse 
and contains 34 stanzas of different metres. The letters 
which betray a skilled hand, are the usual old Javanese 
(Kavi). The consonants are sometimes doubled after and 
sometimes not (e, g. kirti or kirtU : purva or purvva). 
There is no anusvara visible on the stone and the same 
sign has been used for the medial o and ay. 

In judging the quite creditable verses found in this 
inscription we should remember that their author was 
composing a panegyric on Er-langga and not writing a 
chronicle. He recounts the king's deeds in a manner which 
is quite sufficient to remind his contemporaries of facts 

1 I do not know where the inscription is now preserved. On 
enquiry from the Museum authorities I was told that the stone was 
sent back to Java (?) at the request of the Dutch Government. 

2 We know that the Minto stone was sent by Baffles as a 
present to Lord Minto* In a letter, dated 23 June, 1813 Lord Minto, 
writes "I am very grateful for the great stone from the interior 
of your island. I shall be very much tempted to mount this Java 
rock upon our Minto crags that it may tell Eastern tales of us, long 
after our heads are under smoother stones." 

9 



64 INDIA AND JAVA 

which they knew but which is not enough for later 
generations, The events of Er-langga's reign remain obscure 
for us. But it is still extremely important and it is not 
surpassed in value by any other record we possess. 

The memory of Er-langga has long since been effaced 
among the Javanese. There is not a single chronicle which 
mentions him/ But the Balinese have still a tradition that 
Er-langga ruled in Kediri and that under him Kavi literature 
blossomed out. Some of the most renowned Kavi poems 
Arjuna-vivaha, Smaradahana, Sumanasantaka were composed 
during his reign. The old Javanese translation of the 
Mahabharata should also be assigned to the same epoch. 
The Virataparvan was written in the Saka era 918 during 
the reign of Dharmavarnsa Anantavikraraa (a predecessor of 
Er-langga). 

The period of Er-langga was already known from one of 
his grants dated in 945 of the Saka era. This date falls 
between the two dates found in our inscription. There are 
also other grants of this king which have not yet been 
published. 

Neither of the two inscriptions tells us how far the 
kingdom of Er-langga extended. But they do not contradict 
the Balinese tradition that he was the ruler of Kediri. The 
Sanskrit inscription mentions that he was highly honoured 
by the king of East Java. After he had punished his 
enemies in the East, South and West, he was enthroned as 
the overlord of Yavadvipa in the Saka year 957 (1035 A.D.). 
To commemorate this event he constructed a hermitage for 
monks near mount Pugavat which on account of its 
magnificent design became so renowned that people came 
from distant places to admire it. 

From pur inscription we find that Er-langga was descen- 
ded on his mother's side from Sri-Isanatunga, a Javanese 
ruler and that Er-langga's mother was Mahendradatta, the 
daughter of king Sri-Makuta-vamsa-vardhana whose mother 
was the daughter of Sri Isana-tunga, In Mpu Sindok we then 
recognise the great-great-grand-father of Er-langga. Saka 
year 913 is now accepted as the date of birth of Er-langga. 
In the year 957 of the saoie era he reached the pinnacle of 
power and of fame. 

The royal adventures are rather indicated in the inscrip- 
tion than told in detail. There are descriptive passages 
but the descriptions are concerned with matters of no 
particular importance. Important matters are only hinted at. 
Then the author of the inscription seems to avoid Javanese 
words. Even the name of Er-langga is sometimes Sanskri 
tised as Jala-langga or Nira-langga. 1 

1 J3r is the Javanese word for water and langga means 'to sip 1 . 



INDU 1ND JAVA 85 

Er-langga was foe son of Udayana and Mahendradatta. 
He was treated with great distinction by Sri Dharmavamsa, 
prince of East Java and obtained much hononr when he 
visited the latter. Not much later his capital was burnt 
(according to Krom it was not the capital of Er-langga but 
that of Dharmavamsa). With some faithful retainers he 
sought refuge in jungle. In the Suka year 932 in the 
month of Magha, he was implored by the Brahmins to 
reduce the whole country to submission. He made wars 
with the neighbouring princes and in the Saka year 954 he 
slew a queen who was like a giantess in strength. From 
the South he returned laden with booty. He overthrew the 
king of the West whose name was Yijaya, in the month of 
Bhadra of the Saka year 957. Vijaya was treacherously 
murdered by his own troops, and in the month of Kartika of 
the same year Er-langga assumed the title of the overlord 
of Java. In the fulness of success he decided to construct a 
magnificent hermitage near mount Pugavat which was equal 
in splendour to Indra's palace. The poem ends with the 
prayer that the King's reign may continue to be prosperous. 

On the other side of the stone is the Kavi rendering 
which gives us a few additional points. 



TEXT 1 

[Metres : vv. 1-3 and 9 Arya ; vv, 4, 5, 8, 15, 17-19, 
21, 28, 32 and 34 - Sardulavikridita ; vv. 6, 7, 10-13, 16, 20, 
22-27 and 31 Vasantatilaka ; v. 14 Manjubhashini ; vv. 
29 and 30 Malini ; v. 33 Sragdhara.] 

u wfeni 

fewr wt snA [t*] 



i* 

*l 8$T [Wj 



But pr in Sanskrit also means Vater'. The name Iralangga then 
would mean he who drinks water i e. he who drinks up the sea 
Ca,n it be possible that it is reminiscent of the tradition of Agastya 
sipping up the sea? N. P. C. ,,.,,, T r .11 

1 This inscription which was published by Kern as far back as 
1885 was not attended by a complete facsimile. The inscription 
having been removed from the Indian Museum, Calcutta, it was not 
possible to examine the original stone* In the present text, therefore. 
1 have depended on Kern's reading in general, excepting the portion 
of which a facsimile has been published. The verses are not 
numbered, but there is a mark after each verse to denote its end. 
Portion of the inscription is badly damaged and the syllables restored 
have been put within brackets. N. P* C. 

2 Kern reads Vllfewi^ but fcf is clear on the plate. 



66 INDIA AND JAVA 



fan WFIT 

is M fillW^HJ M ff\ [Ift] 
JUtUtflntn ^^I^I^GIMI ^pt d *fwsi 

w^i>*Mfft gw^r flwu^yimi w n [4n] 

V I M I Im^^Ki *u vjj' f.* i^.i *ijiW^j|w^C* 



WW^lmWHi: II [7M] 




m: UM^jflll^LQ [811ft] 

^ ^* C* 

: [ift] 



1 The plate shows-mra as Kern reads bat this reading would 
spoil the metre. 

2 The plate shows up to tsr only. 

3 Kern reads nwft but I prefer to read im^as adjective to 
. This is common in Sanskrit literature and gives a better 



. Cf* Kirata XL 12. 

4 Kern reads vradubut this reading gives no meaning and 
renders the metre faulty. 



INDU AND JAVA 67 



mfaMM^imft n [I0ti$] 




1 Kern reads fafefcl and ORRTfift which do not give the 
proper meaning. 

2 Kern reads girt fa* (?), which is not only grammatically 
wrong but does not give any sense either. 

3 Kern remarks that the letter in the gap looks like a n or V 
and thinks that it was originally 3 on the stone. 

4 Kern leaves a gap here. 

5 Kern reads mCtflH!llH, which does not gave any sense. 



68 



INDIA AND JAVA 



J^H i ^5* w i w^ wi wi^^w 



^al l* JJ 'vlVl^^^t^^^^S^'fll^^l *f I* 1 5^T < *f* 




TO** fWT^fvft 
mnm^fa ovoT rawar nfhi* fffit- 

^vTSxRHM ^l^Sl V*|M!^I f%ll ^iiv 




1 Kern reads 

2 Kern reads (a) nububhujas which is grammatically incorrect. 

3 Kern reads 

4 Kern reads 

5 Should we read HP* f 



ANt) JAVA 



[22H*] 

fft SW 51ft UffWT [I*] 




: u [28ii$] 



1 Restore as J(4<lfcfti* 

2 Kern reads fiff. 

3 Kern reads jgTOI which is grammatically incorrect. 

4 Kern reads 9$ and corrects as *fft 

5 Kern reads fa which is evidently an error for fc| 



70 IN&IA AND JAVA 



farrorar irfiiwt *nmq&ii [29i] 



1 WI54WN ^MOT* m^^^AMI 




IW^Hm^J^lllfl ^l^J^IHMI^" 



fiw*nft<M t' W W [32U] 

IftHil'^ll "I^Til*HW#ftf^!l*H'ff*CW^1|%||'HVI" 

fl f *fcW^fl r ^* t fc 

** i m I^H i HWM ^itf^m 



1 According to Kern's reading the inscription has 9f$ which 
does not give any sense. Kern also suggests g* as the probable 
reading. ^ 

2 Kern reads ymy^|4.^ but the ablative does not give the 
proper sense. Evidently we have to read as WJ qualifying fnjj 

3 Kern reads *4JMlm4(NraTfT ; but IfT^Ni^ is grammatically 
incorrect and the correction would spoil the metre. 



TRANSLATION 

Hail! 

Verse 1. May honour be always given to the Creator 
who in his creation and preservation, is endowed with all 
the three qualities (gwias\ but is without any (aguna) at the 
time of destruction. 

V. 2. Honour be also to Him who is well known in the 
world as Trivikrama (Vishnu) and who is at all times saluted 
by the lord of the Devas (i, e. Indra) who is great on account 
of his immense prowess. 

V. 3. Honour to Siva who (in bounty) surpasses the 
wish-giving tree, who though called StJmnu (lit. motionless) 
moves with great speed and who through his qualities 
satisfies the desires of the living beings. 

V, 4. Victory be to king Erlanga who through his 
perfectly good reputation, intellect and merciful disposition 
follows the womankind, who through grasping the bow has 
got a deep stain in his hand, and who though a hero in 
battle is guilty of cowardice in that he turns his back to 
immorality and in that way only is his virtue modified. 

V. 5. There was a king who was the crest-jewel of the 
protectors of the earth (i. e. kings), who had overcome a 
great number of kings and was renowned in the three 
worlds, who was likened to a lion in great courage, 
supported by whom for a long time the earth produced in 
immeasurable quantity and (thus) got a fast hold of the 
goddess of wealth who is transient (by nature) he was the 
ruler of Yava (Java) endowed with splendour, renown and 
power and bore the name of the illustrious Isanatunga. 

V. 6. His daughter, lovely an account of the purity of 
her mind and devoted to Sugata (Buddha) like unto a female 
swan which is lovely through its dwelling in the pure 
Manasa lake and possesses beautiful wings, was the princess 
Sri Isanatunga-vijaya who increased the joy of the king as 
the female swan does to the male swan. 

V: 7. Then king Sri Lokapala who was an excellent 
prince and was a delight to the eyes, whose mind displayed 
(only) pure qualities made her, who equalled him in spendour, 
his beloved (queen) even as the milk-ocean (Kshirasamudra} 
made Mandakini equalling in splendour its beloved. 

V. 8. From him there sprang a son excelling in power 
and (destined to be) an ornament of the earth. He for the 
welfare of the people filled the earth with splendour with 
his mind directed to the meditation of Bhava. He was like 
Vishnu in incomparable brilliance, was fearless, and rising 



72 INDIA AND JAVA 

like the son was ever ready to smash the foreheads of the 
elephants of his enemies as if they were (merely) earthen 
pitchers, and was the lord of kings. 

Y. 9. This incomparable lord of men was known by the 
name of Sri Makutavardhana, who was the sun of the 
family of Sri Isana and shone out brightly in valour. 

V. 10. The very charming daughter of this prince, who 
through her excellence was like the Fortune incarnate of the 
ruler of Yava, received from her illustrious father the name 
of (?) Guna-priya-dharma-vatni (lit. the lawful wife of one 
to whom virtue is dear) which name was known even 
beyond this island. 1 

V. 11. There was one Udayana born of an exceedingly 
pure race and sprung from a renowned royal family. It was 
he who lawfully married the illustrious princess Mahendra- 
datta. 

V. 12. From them there sprang as Kama sprang from 
Dasaratha a beautiful son whose name was Erlangadeva. He 
was the best of all the peo le, was graceful in the practice 
of fine arts, and like Rama p surpassing Dasaratha was greater 
(than his father) through his excellent qualities and whose 
brilliant future was imagined by sages through his greatness. 

V. 13. He being respectfully invited by his kinsman Sri 
Dharmavamsa, the lord of East Java, who was anxious to 
hear of his various virtues, was given in marriage to his 
(Dharmavamsa's) own daughter. Thus forthwith the high- 
souled one became famous in every way. 

V. 14 Soon after that his (Dharmavamsa's) capital, where 
so long joyousness had ruled (?) even as in Indra's kingdom, 
was burnt to ashes. Then accompanied by a small band of 
horsemen (?) and best of servants he betook himself to the 
forest. 

V. 15. Then in the great year 932 according to (the era 
of) the lord of Sakas, in the month of Magha on the thirteenth 
day of the bright half on Monday, there came to the 
monarch Erlanga the subjects and principal Brahmins and 
bowing respectfully addressed this prayer to him: 'Rule (ye) 
the earth to the extreme borders/ 

Y. 16. When his numerous opponents heard that this 
prince who had been anointed as the (future) emperor, had 
by his might, overcome the hosts of enemies, they also being 
frightened of the grasp of his serpent-like arms, display 
even to this date, an irresolute spirit which was formerly 
unknown to them. 

V. 17. Numerous princes of Java enjoyed the earth 
because they were suppliants of their (?) rival and by virtue 

1 The sense of this verse is not Quite clear to me* Does 
dripfintara here refer to Jamvudvipa ? 



INDIA AND JAVA 73 

of their royal birth their sons enjoyed (succession ?). But 
the prince Erlanga, born of a good family, and a leader among 
the potentates, while roaming about on this earth bears in 
his body only a couple of bitter enemies (which are the 
opposite conditions such as heat and cold, joy and sorrow, 
etc.). 

V. 18. Installed on his throne with his feet placed on the 
head of his vassals, consulted daily by his ministers who 
were devoted to the aftairs of the state, he often takes his 
seat (in the court) with the ladies and surrounded by heroes 
(with) shining (arms). Even when a cause was lost it was 
always regarded as being won through his lustre (i. e. clear 
insight). 

V. 19. The widow of his enemy thus laments : My 
husband has, all on a sudden, abandoned my children and 
myself, though he loved us dearly, in order to visit the 
nymphs of heaven. . .obedient to your order. You are re- 
nowned in the world and are of pitying heart, how could 
you then act so differently ? Oh king! where is your 
mercy ? 

V. 20. Some great enemy (of this king) being desirous 
of emancipation. . . in order to obtain (?) the dirt of riches 
. . . Another having obtained from this best of kings charm 
(or counsel) which should secure the happiness of heaven 
for himself, became as it were his (i. e. the king's) disciple. 

V. 21 

What is the use of ardent desire for 

sexual passion ? His high mind is praised and (his) glory 
which causes purification and which is pure is always held 
in honour. 

V. 22. (He was) like Indra among the gods, was bold (?) 

among the was the giver of fortune to his servants, 

was like Kubera to the hosts of supplicants and in killing was 
like Yama. Verily the Creator chose him as one who had 
in himself (the qualities of all) the guardians of the quarters. 

V. 23. There was a king His noble son was called 

Bhishmaprabhava. . . . 

Y. 24 And another of the name of Adhamapanuda who 
like Ravana possessed good many feet (?). . . 

V. 25. Then the king (Erlanga) desirous of overcoming 
this prince suddenly burnt his capital so that nothing 
remained of it Then again when 953 years in the Saka era 
had passed, this excellent monarch burnt over and again 
many of his cities. 

Y. 26. There was also in this country a woman of great 
power like a demoness. Undismayed he (i. e. Erlanga) drew 
near her perilous country. It was in the Saka year 954 that 
this king of great fame, pierced this target. 

Y. 27. Like a fiery serpent frequently darting out its 



74 INDIA AND JAVA 

tongue, he, through Kis ability, burnt the utterly uncivilised 
southern region. After having obtained much booty and 
distributed it among his servants, he only took away the 
glory for himself in the midst of the best of Brahmins and 
ascetics. 

V. 28. Thereafter imbued with ambition, when the year 
954 of the Saka era had passed, in the month of Bhadra, 
on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight on an auspici- 
ous Wednesday, this prince who is honoured in the world, 
departed westwards with a vast army of heroic men who 
were ready for the fight and gained a complete victory 
over a prince named Vijaya. 

V. 29. There in the Saka year 957 on the eighth day of 
the dark half of Kartika on Thursday, the king Vijaya was 
seized by his own troops through the application of the 
means (of statecraft) as taught by Yishnugupta (Canakya) and 
died soon afterwards. 

V. 30. In the year 959, of (the era of) the lord of the 
Sakas, on the new moon day of Kartika on Thursday, the 
noble and illustrious king of the island of Yava set himself 
on bis jewelled throne with his feet placed on the heads of 
his enemies, and is now rejoicing in his victory. 

V. 31. And now the Royal Fortune unable to find 
anybody else, pressing with her fair armies, deeply embraces 
Erlangadeva, who has conquered all the directions, East 
and others, who has destroyed all his enemies, and who has 
now become the paramount ruler of the whole earth. 

V. 32. Then having subdued his enemies who were rich 
in valour by means of his prowess and statecraft, the king 
Erlanga, a great ruler by birth, in order to take pleasure in 
the worship of gods has now caused to be built through his 
devotion or (to give an exhibition of his) unimpaired power, 
a holy hermitage on the slope of the excellent hill Pugayat. 

Y. 33. Hearing of this incomparable royal hermitage 
which was almost like the pleasure garden of Indra, men 
vied with one another in going there without ceasing and 
looking with eyes expanded with wonder. They brought 
garlands, etc,, as friendly presents and their mouths were 
full of praise. They considered this king as the foremost 
of all the princes deserving honour and as honourable as 
Manu through his eminenca 

Y* 34. May the community of citizens wander along the 
path of the virtuous. May the course of the ministers be 
just. May the ascetics strive after the good of all beings. 
With regard to the king this is the prayer : since all these 
(mentioned above) are possible when the king has * Hong) 
life and governs the earth with justice. Therefore, may it** 
king, the illustrious Erlan&adeva. live loner. 



2. THE SANSKRIT INSCRIPTION ON THE IMAGE OF 
MAHAKSHOBTA AT SIHPANG (SURABAYA) : 

SAKA, 1211. 
(Kern, V GK, Yol. YH pp. 190ft) 

The present inscription which has been fully discussed 
by Brandos in Notulen Bat. Gen. (1898) and in some of his 
other papers, begins with a salutation to Tathagata, Then in 
verse 3 we find a reference to the sage Bharadi who finding 
two princes bent on hostility for the kingdom, divided the 
kingdom of Java into two parts by means of kumbha, vajra 
and udaki. The Nagarakritagama also mentions the division 
of Java by Bharad, a contemporary of Erlanga, with the 
water-pot, vajra and water. Verses 8 and 9 inform us that 
when Sri-Jaya-Yishnuvardhana was the ruler of Jangala, he 
re-united the country to the joy of the people. We 
know from the P raraton and the Nagarakritagama that in 
1144 S*ka Ken Arok (alias E^jasa) conquered Eediii (to 
the west) and united it to Jangrala (which was to the east) 
and thus founded the Singasari Kingdom. We are not sure 
if we find an allusion to this fact here but Vishnuvardhana or 
Harivardhana is sufficiently known from the Pararaton. When 
the poet refers to him as uniting the country it can not be 
reconciled with former statements. He had, however, to 
fight against a certain Lingapati. With verse 10 begins 
the panegyric of Kritanagara who is named here as 
Sri-Jnana-Sivavajra, the son of Harivardhana and Jaya- 
vardhani. From the subsequent verses it appears that Nadajna, 
the minister in charge of religious endowments, established 
an image of the king in the form of Mahakshobhya. We 
know from the Nagarakritagama that king Kritansgara 
(1268-1292 A. D.) was an adept in Tantric practices and as 
the present inscription is engraved on the pedestal of a statue 
of Kritanagara in the garb of a monk it is likely that the king 
received divine honours even in his life-time. We doubt 
if this honour was merited at all 

The date of the establishment of the statue as given in 
verse 14 is Wednesday the 5th day of the bright half of the 
month of A&vina of the Saka vear 1211 which according to 
Swamikannu Pillai's Indian Ephemeres regularly corresponds 
to Wednesday, the 2 1st September, 1289 JLD. when the 
Nakshatra was Anuradha. 



76 INDIA AND JAVA 

TEXT. 



\\ \ \\ 



: U (I) 



u % u 



fiiRi^^m44u^^^^ V u 



u u 



HI l*i^ l < l* t ^*l^$rtMl I ^J 1 ^^*' IHM 



iWHrntQ 411 1 f*^ I IHWlfV*IIH f lll ^ II 5. U 



fir: u to 



'w^ y t ? y 



M3J Kim 14^41 1 fl ^fl*^i 1 1 1 ^ i HI vi U 
lci^i^ ^^if^IWI If! I Wi I 



1 There is a mark of punctuation after each pftda which is m 
necessary, 

2 The metre of this verse and the re4 is Anushtrih. 

S Krom reads ktntu yasmllt. The second is certainly a conjun 
letter. 



INDIA AND JAVA 



1^|^ |t|9l 4| 5**^*^^^^ 



t i^irM^i'Ni^^n^im^ II 



TRANSLATION, 

(v. 1.) First of all I revere the Tathagata, the omniscient 
and the embodiment of all knowledge, who lies hidden in all 
the elements (skandhas) and who is devoid of association 
with things existing or non-existent. 

(v. 2.) Next do I honour, respectfully, the universal 
success and shall (then) narrate (the following history 
connected with) the Saka era describing the glory of kings. 

(v. 3.) The venerable Bharad, the lord amongst sages 
and the best of learned men, who, in ancient times, through 
his experience, obtained (perfection in) knowledge and thus 
acquired the supernatural faculties (abhijnd)* 

(v. 4) Who was the lord of the great yogtns, calm and 
compassionate towards living beings, who was a Siddha 
teacher, a great hero and who was devoid of the stains of 
attachment, eta 

(vv. 5-6) Who devided into two the land of Java which 
was as extensive as the sea, by means of the water pot 

1 This is the reading I can make out from the facsimile. Kern 
reads sakakftlasambwdhn vofrofnonnsiva and suggests the restoration 
Sakakfilas samharidheyam vajrajnana&v&srayafa But acco/ding 
to this reading the metre would b faulty in the 3r i pHda. 

2 AbhifiM is the supernatural faculty of a Buddha of which 
five are mentioned : (l) taking any form at will, (2) hearing to 
any distance, (3) seeing to any distance (4) penetrating men's 
thoughts and (5) knowing their state and antecedents. 



78 INDIA AND JAVA 

(kumbha), vajra and water M?) whieb hd the power of 
breaking up the earth and (gave them to) the two princes 
who out of hostility, were bent on strife therefore this 
Jangala is known as the Pamjalu vishaya. 

(vv. 7-9) But, hereafter the lord Jayasrivisnuvardhana who 
had as bis spouse Sri Jayavardhani, who was the best among 
the rulers of the earth, who was pure in body from his (very) 
birth, who was compassionate and exclusively devoted to the 
Law, who caused delight to (other) rulers through his pure 
fame and valouragain united this land to the delight 
of the people in order to maintain the Law and to 
establish his ancestors 9 and ruled it (with justice). 

(vv. 10-12) The sage of a king named Sri Jnanasivavajra, 
the son of Sri Harivardhana and Sri Jayavardhani, was the 
lord of the four islands, was full of boundless knowledge, was 
the best of those knowing the Law and was the instiuctor 
in the code of laws, whose mind was his jewel-ornament and 
who was eager to do the work of repairing (religious institu- 
tions), whose body was purified by the rays of wisdom and 
who was fully versed in the knowledge of sambodhi was 
like Indra among the rulers of the earth. 

(vv. 13-17) Having set up with due devotion the statue 
of him (i.e., the king ?) who was already consecrated (as 
such ?) in the shape of Mahakshobhya, in the year 1211 of 
the Saka era in the month of Asuji (ASvina), on the day 
known as Pa-ka-bu, the 5th day of the bright half (of the 
month), in the parvan named Sinta and the Tarawa vishft, when 
the nakshatra Anuradha was in the orb of Indra, during 
Saubhagya yoga and Saumya muhurta and in Tula rdsi for 
the good of all beings, and foremost of all, for that of the 
king with his wife, son and grandson owing to his bringing 
about the union of the kingdom. 

(vv. 18-19) I his (i. e. king's) humble servant, who is 
known by the name of Nadajna, and though ignorant, devoid of 
learning and little inclined to pious deeds, was made through 
hi? grace alone the superintendent of religious rites, have 
prepared this description by order of Vsjrajnanat?) 8 

1 This point is not quite clear to me. Kern takes vajra in tne 
sense of 'diam* nd.' But vajra is also a kind of kusa grass. Does 
it mean that the sage divided the land with a sacred libation of 
water and darlha which is in keeping wi h the Dharmasas ias ? 

2 / thdpana may mean erect tg (an image etc.). Is this a 
reference to the custom of establishing images of ancestors and 
preceptors as found in the Pratin a Nataka of Bh&sa and the 
Matbura pillar inscription of Ciandragupta II ? Kern suggests 
th* correction into mitrfidi and translates as 'to establish his 
Mends (in security).' 



3 The translation of the last pftda is only conjectural, Kern 
translates 1 have prepared this poem in honour el Vajrajnana&m' 



VI. INSCRIPTIONS FROM SUMATRA 

1. INSCBIPTION ON THE BACK OF THE STATUE^OF AMOGHAPISA 
(at Padang Ohandi in middle Sumatra) Saka year 1268 
(Kern V. a. VoL YIL pp. 163 ff.) 

Prof. Blagden thinks that the letters of this inscription 
are Tery similar to those in Burmese inscriptions. The 
language is an impossible sort of Sanskrit and the meaning 
has to be guessed in many places. Amoghapft&a is here 
represented with his 13 male and female followers. The 
poet has no regard for rules of Sanskrit grammar and 
syntax. His spelling is often incorrect though metrically 
the verses are all right The inscription consists of 27 lines 
of writing and is partly in verse and partly in prose. There 
are altogether 12 verses. 

The principal point in connection with this inscription 
is however clear. It celebrates the establishment of the 
statue of Amoghap&Sa by the fahdrya DharmaSekhara at the 
instance of Adityavarman, the same Sumatran prince who, 
in the inscription of Batu Beragung, presents a statue of 
Manju6ri to Java. Kern thinks that most probably the 
poet and author of the Batu Beragung inscription is 
identical with that of the present inscription as same kind 
of Sanskrit appears in both. But we should not lose sight 
of the fact that the same kind of barbarous Sanskrit is 
found often in India also in some works of the Buddhist 
Tn trie literature. A note on this inscription by Dr. B. B. 
Chatterji is appended herewith. 

[The Tantric character of these inscriptions has already been 
referred to in my article 'Tantrism in Cambodia, Sumatra an<i Java' 1 
in Fart I. There are tour inscriptions of Adityavarman of Sumatra* 
From the first (Mafijusrl statue inst ription of Ij65saka era T. L. en 
V. Ned. Ind. 19^1 p, 199-200) we 1* arn that Idityavarman's Buddhism 
was not of the orthodox type. The ManjusrI statue was consecrated 
by a priest belonging to the Bh- rava sect which worshn ped 
Manjusil as the peaceful aspect of Bhairava. The secor d inscription 
(dated i269a e.-Ktrn V. G. VII. p. 165) describes the consecrattn 
of a group of Amoghapasa with his companions and at the same 
time g orifies ,a g d MataftgiDlsa and a goddess Tara. Here again 
we are in a Siva-Buddha environment. The third inscnptin (of 
Buket Qombak dated 1278 s. e Kern Transcriptic in Oudh. V*rsl., 
1912, p. 51-2) contains a namabhisheka of the prince, suta'bagata 
Vbjr*diiairya the noble Buddh* of the unswerving steadfastness. 

1 First published in the Modern Review, January. 1930. 



80 INDIA AND JAVA 

Further on Prince Idityavarman is also styled ekingavlra (hero 
with one aim) which refers to the same steadfastness. Then again 
the Print -e is styled Kainaraja-adhimukti-sadasmritijna (Kama whose 
endeav -UTS are continuously directed towards mukti) and Agamajna 
pancha-shadabhijaa-eupurijayatra (known of the agamas, known of the 

pancha-makaras and the six transcendental knnowledges and 
whose conduct is perfect. In this inscription is mentioned the dance 
of the conquest ot wisdom). Here al&o we are not on the familiar 
ground of orthodox Buddhism* The fourth inscription (of 
Suruwaso dated 1297 s e. Kern V. G. VL p 257) describes 
the Bbairava consecrat on of the prince. The fifth * nd the last 
{Kubur Raja inscription of 1300 . e. Kern V. G- VI p 257) 
is a funeral inscription. It sums up the Buddhistic virtues and 
makes the prince the incarnation of Lokesvara. 

No one will question that as in the case of Kritanagara here, too, we 
have to do w th * prince whose Buddhism could have been no otner 
than KSlachakra Buddhismthe only school which paves the way for 
a syncretism with Saivism in its Bhairava aspect. 

Coming ba k a^in to the Matanginlsa inscription (of 1263 B. e.) it 
must be, as Kern remarks, th*t MatanginiSa and Tara are 
Amoghapasa and. his Sakti and presumably they are BuddhisticaUy 
fitted aspects of Siva and Durga. 

MStanginI occurs in the Tantras as one of the Dasa-maha-vidyas. 
This word also means a gin of low caste who acts as Yopinl in the 
ehakra. idityavarman's queen was thejiaughter of a tribal headman. 
As M Moens supposes, it is probably Adityavarman's queen who is 

the MatanginI of this inscription and Adityavarman the Matafiginlsa 
and the amorous scene depicted in such glowing terms may be a 
Tantric ehakra ceremony. 

In several Tantras, and even in Buddhist Tantras (as shown by 
M. Blonay in his Materianx pour server a Thistoire de Tara), we 
come across such voluptuous dancing scenes. 

We now pass on to a really horrible scene. The Suruwaso inscrip- 
tion (1297 I. e.) at first sight seems to be merely the description of a 
picnic in which the Prince is represented as "seated on a high seat, 
eating,dr nking, laughing " with an indescribable perfume rising 
all around him. But, as M* Moens interprets, there is much hidden 
behind these appaiently inn* cent words, If we read this inscription 
in the light of the 'Guhya-samajatantra' (a Kalachakra work) or of 
the career of Padmasambhaba in Tibet, the 'high seat' would be 
corpses piled up high, 'eating' wou d be eating of human flesh, 
'drinking' would be dnnkipg blood and the 'perfume' would 
represent the smell of burning funeral pyres in the smasana. 
The whole scene would be then the Bhairava consecration of 
idityavarman. 

In my book Indian Cultutural Influence in Cambodia* (pp. 258-263) 
I have said that , it was only in Pala Bengal that such a blend of 
Buddhism and Saivism took place in the melting pot of Taotrism 
and it must have been from Bengal that such rites were imported 
into the Java of Kritanagara and the Sumatra of Adityavarman. 1 
B.R.C. 

1 This 'introduction to the inscription of Adityavarman' is based 
nponM. Moens article in Tijd. Bat. Gen., LXIY, 1924 



tKDIA AfcD JAVA 81 

TEXT 

[Metres iSdrd&bmkwttta TV. 1,5,8,9 ; Mdlini, vv, 2,7,11. 
Anushtubh w. 3.4,10 : Upajati, v. 6, DrutavHamvtta. 
v. 12J 



(2 <n gr WTT gfeg g)^q^f fltrtm 
m^M ftrf?^ 



(10) ^rsrr ^ TOI^R 



*3*] II 

;^ f 7) wmrt(irt) 

13*] 



[4*) | 



"I ' xTM* I M l 1 ^" 1*1 Ml trW *PI Vi,H*J\H^lxT ^ 

*i^ ii kf Rf : II f5*J II 



1 There is an additional mark of punctuation here as well as at 
the end of each pdda. 
% Kern reads mauli-mUU 



INDIA Jt#D JAVA 



6ii* 



ft(fy I 

(w:) u [ 7*11 J 



20 

H^^lHiiHWiTiros 

w] 



U [ 9U* ] 
s [10*] 



mrfer: u [IT] u 



* 



12 

TRANSLATION. 1 

Let there be prosperity ! 

T. 1. Great is the rise of (kind Adityavarman which 
has set at naught the enemy which is darkness in shape 



1 Th sanRft i* very obscure iu many places, hence the transla- 
tion IB only tentative. 



INDIA AND JAVA 83 

of attachment (mdyd) Adityavarnaan, who is versed in the 
true faith, who possesses the increasing glory of his own 
self, who is fortunate, virtuous and acquainted with the 
scriptures, who by a series of very pure yoga exercises 
exists in increased splendour, who in beauty. . . . 

V. 2. Endowed with an abundance of virtues, versed 
in the use of weapons and sciences, an ocean of the laws 
proclaimed by Jina (i.e. Buddha), knowing how to begin a 
work, with body free from sensual pleasures, reaching 
perfection 1 in universal success and acquiring an abundance 
of gold and wealth is the minister (patih) Deve Tuhan 2 . 

Y. 2. This consecration of the (statue of) Buddha under 
the name of Gaganaganja 3 is performed by the dchdrya 
t)harma6ekhara, who is, as it were, a Mafijusrt in friendliness. 

V. 4. This statue of Araoghapa&t which is conducive 
to the welfare of all beings has been consecrated by the 
devas for the well being of Adityavarman. 

V. 5. In the auspicious Saka year 1269 4 when the sun 
was in the Karkata (rasi\ on a fullmoon day when the 
position of the stars was towards the north, in Siddhi 
yoga, K&runya ghatikd and Svarat muhurta (?) repairs were 
made by people who wanted the path of enlightenment (?) 

LI. 12-16. Hail! He who is the gold (filling up) the 
space of the entire earth, who is expert in social anP 
ascetic life, who takes delight m thoroughly understanding 
the yoga of the boundless Mabayana (philosophy) Again, 
who is the source of a dramatic rendering of two jewels (?) 
gained by the collection of a million jewels trom the large 
mass of diadems of the enemy kings the illustrious 
Udayadityavarman, the gem in tho crowns of the best 
of kings, a maharajadhiraja. Ho gives this order to be 
known. 

V. 6. In the golden residence adorned (lakhita) 
by the heavenly damsels, in tho midst of dcvadaru trees 
having the scent of lotus (kautara), rendered beautiful with 

1 T have taken atijata in the sense of atyanta. 

2 Devd is the title used in Bali for Kshatnyas. Patw is a Javanese 
and MaUya word while tnlian is the Malaya word for master. It 
may be assumed that the minister whose panegyric follows that 
of the prince, presided at the function of the consecration of the 
statae at the instance of the prince while the actual ritual was 
performed by tho Acharya. f t . T 

3 Gagaaaganja is a special epithet of Amoghapasa. 10 borne 
books it is given as the name of a Bodtnsattva, not of a Dhyanl 

4 This verse is bewildering. I have taken 2Vando-9, patanga* 
(bee) charana-6, dvau**2< and mftla (source fl-l, 

B 



84 itfDIA AND JAVA 

the pastimes of birds and elephants, while Matanginisa* 
was (sporting) in the divine lake. 

V. 7. Matanginisa, who is the lord of all the sons of 
Diti (i. e. Daityas\ gods and Vidyadharas and also that 
of the heavenly damsels* enjoying dancing to the 
to the accompaniment of the humming of bees, is in the 
enjoyment of particular exerberance of spirits (?) and moves 
gracefully. 

V. 8. He, who removes the loneliness of Matangini, who 
keeps the company of (gandharvas like) Haha, Huhu, who 
in beauty, prosperity and goodness of heart is like full-moon, 
has, after putting off the form of Jina, come down on this 
earth for (the benefit of) fehe world under the name of 
Udayavarmagupta, 8 the leader of all the rulers on this 
earth. 

V. 9. May the protector (? pdtra) 4 of Matangini 
preserve us and the earth from ruin, may he enjoy the 
treasures which he collected for those who followed the 
conduct of an enemy kshatriya^ (?), may he, who is born of 
a noble lineage and is radiant [in force of forbearance, show 
his superiority 5 in restraining those who have displayed 
wickedness and in protecting the good (?) he is the Pati 
(Prime minister). 

V. 10. The charming statue established inside the diamond 
wall of the abode of Jina(?) is (that of) the lord Amoghapasa 
Udayasundara. 

Y. 11. H>, who puts his hand on the heavenly tree, 
whose speech is verily like music, who has acquired fame 
(by conquering) the enemy kings, whose form is like that 
of the god of love, who is able to perform all deeds, who 
is bent on the welfare of Malayapura and who excels in a 
great number of virtues (?) is the minister Dcva 
Tuhan. 

V. 12. Whose beauty adorns the Udaya mountain, who is 
the leader (minister?) of the prosperous ruler (?), who 
disdains the prosperity of the rising enemy (?) -fine is the 
glory of Udaya on this earth. 

1 This is according to Kern the demonaic form of Amoghapasa. 

2 A-ita is the name of an apsaras. 

3 This may be another name of idityavarman. 

4 Patra may mean also a 'Minister.' 

5 K>rn suggest palaSonnati _ According to him the prince is 
represented as an incarnation of Matanginisa. Cases of such deification 
are not rare in Java and Kamboj* In the Nagarakjitayamq Hayam 
Wuruk is represented as identical with Siva-Buddha. This stanza 
seems to be a ranegyric of the minister. 



2, TWO BUDDHMT INSCRIPTIONS FrtOM SUHATRA. 
(Kern! V. G. Vol. VII pp. 139 ff.) 

(i) ^The Rock Inscription at Pasir Panjang ?m 900 A. 1). 
This inscription was found on a rock at Pasir Panjang 
in the island of the great Karimun. It consists of three lines 
of writing in very big Nagari letters of the 9th or 10th 
century A. D. It was in 1873 that K. F. Holle heard of 
this inscription. Brandes (in Notulen, 1887) gave the follow- 
ing reading : 

1 



o 

3 

and translated as 'The brilliant feet of the gloiious 
Gautama, the Mahay anist, were a Uolayantra here/ 1 Kern 
thinks that Jautania was regarded by the Mahayana school 
in the Golayantra (the universe ?). Golayantra, however, is 
an astronomical instrument and I would prefer to translate 
the text as "The venerable Sri Gautamasri, the Mahayanist 
(who was) a mechanist." In that case, however, one would 
expect the reading Qolayantrika. But as there is no 
facsimile given by Kern, I can not say if there is any 
error in reading. Kern's objection that the name Gautama 
is very unusual for a Buddhist is not well founded. In the 
Pali Canon we find Gautami as the name of a nun, but 
here probably the name was Gautamasri. 

(ii) The Gunung Tua statue inscription Saka year 940. 

This inscription is incised on the base of a bronze 
statue of Avalokitesvara, represented with four arms and 
standing between two Saktis. It was originally kept in the 
house of the Raja of Gunung Tua (East Tapanuli) and is at 
present preserved in the Batavia Muscusm. 

Brandes first deciphered it in Notulen Bat Gen. 1887, 
It runs as follows : 

i* ] OTswfefa ^ ^wm-ft 



I J 5*ii l*f 3?^^ l i? 

Cw) i^^TJn ( ' ) awwawfoft 



86 INDIA AND JAVA 

The three underlined words are Malay words. The 
inscription may be translated thus : Hail ! In the Saka year 
946 on Friday, the third day of the bright half of the month 
of Chaitra at this date Surya the master-smith constructed 
the lord Lokanatha. Through making these good works the 
common property of all creatures 1 become ripe for the 
highest perfect wisdom. 

The latter part of the incription forms the regular 
invocation of a Bodhisatva. We may compare with this the 
usual Mahayanist formula found inscribed on statues dedica- 

ted by Buddhists, rh. 

n^niHif iihr jnq i 



The date given in the inscription is not regular. 
According to Swamikannu Pillai's Indian Ephemeras the 
third day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra in Saka 946 
(AD. 1224) fell on a Sunday (15th March.) In Saka 947 
(A.D. 1025) however Chaitra sudi 3 fell on a Friday. 

3. TIIK Kui3UR RJU\ INSCRIPTION OF ADITYAVARMAN 

CIRCA SAKA 1300 
Kern Y. G., Vol. YIJ, pp. 217 ff.) 

The following inscription belongs to the well-known prince 
Adityavarman of Sumatra. The text is written in a sort 
of barbarous Sanskrit and the sense is not always very 
clear. The inscription has suffered a little towards the 
end of the first six lines and also at the end. The text 
as given by Kern is the following : 



(1) * *fa ftWRi- (2) *T-SWW (3) 

(4) Jrf^ftl- (5) stetem UTifar (6) 

(7) II H II Sto(8)VW8%^ 

() (10) ^*)wqTO5 r L <?] (H) **&F* ii i vft Hi) 
(13) R^pir 11 5? (14) fas 



1 The last letter is uncertain. 

2 This letter here and elsewhere below may simply be a raark 
of punctuation. 



APPENDIX 

THE SANSKRIT PORTION OK THE PERENO STONK INSCRIPTION 
(Kern, V. 0., Vol. IV, pp. 27tt fl) 

This inscription to which we have referred on p. 36th II 
consists of 22 lines of writing and contains five Sanskrit 
verses in Arya metre. The text of these verses which cover 
11. 1*6 and 11. 17--0 are given below. It will be observed 
that this is a Saiva inscription and refers to Agastya under 
the name of Valaing. It is dated 785 Saka. 



2 cr^r H*ft *wwft fww ftrwn^ gt n [i*] 

3 

4 
5 



6 ST^pfftfir ^3IWRPrftvWW: I! [3*] 

17 



18 CCTTI S^'H^IT: TO'S ^^CTpft^TJ II [4 31 ] 



19 * ii si'rat firro^g ?T iftf^sf^sjt TOT 

20 ^fiwfaSTWFjrf W?g 5fl?lfefT^lf : II 15*] 



AIMS AND OBJECTS 

. 1. To organise . the study of Indian culture in Greater India, 
i. e., (1) Senndia or Central Asia: (2) India Minor (Afghanistan, 
etc.): (3) Indo- China or Burma, Siam, Laos, Cambodia, Champa; 
(4) Imulindia or Sumatra, Java, Bali, Madura and the Islands of the 
Malay Archipelago ; in China, Korea, Japan, and in other countries 
of Asia. 

. 2. To arrange for the publication of the results of researches 
into the history of India's spiritual and cultural relations with the 
outside world, and gradually to arrange for the issuing of a 
regular organ of the Society. 

3. To create an interest in the history of Greater India and 
connected problems among the students in the schools, colleges and 
universities of India by instituting systematic study of these 
subjects, and to take proper steps to stimulate the same. 

4. To popularise the knowledge of Greater India by organising 
mass meetings, lantern lectures, exhibitions and conferences. 

5. To form branch-centres in different parts of India and to 
encourage systematic collection of books, pictures, models, lantern- 
si ides, periodicals, monographs, statistics, etc., forming the nucleus 
of a Greater India Library and Museum. 

. 6. To institute endowments and prizes to encourage research 
into the history of Indian cultural expansion. 

7. To induce the public to provide scholarships and stipends for 
sending Indian teachers and students to Ceylon, Burma, Siam, 
Cambodia, Champa, Java, Bali, and to China Japan, Korea, Central 
Asia, Tibet, Nepal and other countries, to enaole them to study 
locally the relics of the culture inspired by India as well as the 
history, ethnology, linguistics, literature and art of the peoples who 
have adopted entirely or partly the culture and thought of India 
and further, to establish relations of fellowship and amity between 
those peoples and the people of India. 

8. To stimulate Hindu cultural missions to Greater India and 
other countries, to establish once more direct contact with the 
peoples of Indian culture and with peoples in sympathy with Indian 
civilisation. 

9. To study the distribution of the Indians in the different 
countries of the p world as sojpurners or settlers, to make enquires 
into their conditions of life with a view to aid them in bettering 
these conditions and to help such overseas Indians, while remaining 
good citizens of their adopted countries, to be in intimate touch 
with their Motherland, its language and thought, culture and religion. 

10 To publish bulletins, studies, articles and statistics, conveying 
information about India and this New Greater In<Jia for mutual 
service, 



KNOW THYSEI 

GREATER INDIA 

PRESIDENT Sir P. C. Ray Kt. CI.E. Ph. n. D. 
HON-SECRETABY Prof. IT. N. Qhoshal M. A. 
JOINT-SECRETARY -Dr. KaMas Nag M. A. (Cal.) D/ 

PATRONSMaharaja of Pithapuram. Sir J. C. Bose, F.R.S. Pandit 
Madan Mohan Malaviya, M. L. A., Sreejut Jugal Kishore Rirla, 
Sir R. N. Mukhenee, Raja Reshee Case Lw, Sir B. L Mitter 
Mr. Profullanath Ta^ore, Ku-nir Smtkunmr Roy of Dighapatia' 
etc. etc. 

MANAGiNa COMMITTEE Rii Bih'idnr Rimaprasad Chanda. Dr, 
Suaiti Kumar Cliatterjee. M.A, DLITT. (London), Dr. Prabodhchandra 
Bag-'Jii, MA. DTATT (Paris) Dr. Nalinaksa Dutt M.A. PIT D. (Gal.) 
DLITT. (Lond) Mr. Jitendra Nath Banerji MA, (Cal), Mr. Nanigopal 
Majumd*r MA. (Cal.) etc. 

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