Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v1.c7.s10: Chapter X. War with Cambodge
Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champā; Vol. II: Suvarṇadvīpa) v1.c7.s10
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Chapter X. War with Cambodge
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Harivarman V seems to have left no heir and the next king known to us is Jaya Indravarman VI. The Myson Pillar inscription (No. 69) and Po Nagar Ins. (No. 71) give a succinct account of his life and ancestry. He was, we are told, an incarnation of Uroja, the mythical forefather of the kings of Champā, who was a descendant of Śiva himself, and is frequently referred to in the official inscriptions of that kingdom, (cf. e. g. No. 31). The theory of incarnation has been developed in an interesting way in the inscription No. 69. Uroja, after his death, was reborn as king Bhadravarman and again as king Jaya Siṃhavarman—both of whom, be it noted, are historical personages and kings of Champā. Then Uroja was again born as Jaya Indravarman himself and thus he had appeared on the earth altogether four times as king of Champā. This mythical ancestry seems to be a sure indication that Jaya Indravarman had no legitimate claim to the throne and that he wanted to legalise what he had acquired by other means, by tracing his relationship with the former kings of Champā. It is not impossible, of course, that he might have some remote relationship with Jaya Siṃhavarman II but it is not possible to decide the question one way or the other with the evidence available at present. It is equally uncertain whether he immediately succeeded Harivarman, or one or more kings intervened between the two. The latter hypothesis seems more probable.
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Jaya Indravarman VI was born in the year 1106 A. D. He became Devarāja in 1129 and Yuvarāja in 1133 A. D. Finally he ascended the throne in 1139 (No 69). This short account of his life shows that his father had also reigned before him whoever he may be.¹
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¹ Maspero supposes that Jaya Indravarman was adopted by Harivarman. This is a probable suggestion.
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The king's religious endowments are recorded in both his inscriptions. In 1140 he erected an image (or a temple) of Śrīśānabhadreśvara, and two years later, that of a Śiva-liṅga and the Śrīśāna-Viṣṇu. In 1138 while yet a Yuvarāja, he made gifts to Saddharma, apparently some god or institutions connected with Buddhism, and also to a Śiva-liṅga. With his usual propensity of looking back to the past history of Campā, he recalls, in connection with the latter, how, long ago, about 1, 780, 500 years ago, king Vicitra Sagara established the liṅga at Kauthāra.
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Unfortunately, Jaya Indravarman VI was involved in a quarrel with both his powerful neighbours. Sūryavarman, the bellicose king of Cambodge, ascended the throne in 1112 A. D. and began to harass the kingdom of Campā. Then in 1128 he sent an expedition, 20,000 strong, against the Annamite kingdom, and induced the king of Campā to join with him. This was probably not a difficult task, as Campā had many old scores to pay off, and was ever ready to seize any opportunity to recover the three northern districts ceded by Rudravarman. Unfortunately, the Cham army could not join the Cambodg'ans in time, and both armies were separately defeated. Baffled in his enterprise Sūryavarman despatched next year a navy of 700 vessels to harass the coast of Than Hoa. A similar attempt was again made in 1132 when Jaya Indravarman invaded Nghệ-An in concert with the army of Cambodge, but was easily defeated by the Annamites.² He then settled matters with them by paying off the tribute in 1136 and withdrawing from the offensive alliance he had lately formed with the king of Cambodge.
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² cf. B. E. F. vol. XVIII No. 3. p. 35.
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But this pusillanimous conduct did not save the unfortunate king. Unsuccessful in his expedition against the Annamite king, Sūryavarman now wanted to make amends for his loss by attacking his faithless ally, the king of Champā. In 1145 he invaded the kingdom and made himself master of Vijaya. Jaya Indravarman VI was either killed in the battle, or made a prisoner. In any case we do not hear of him any more.¹
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¹ T'oung Pao, 1911, pp. 293-295.
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When the kingdom of Champā lay prostrate under the victorious army of Cambodge, a scion of the old ruling family, a descendant of king Paramabodhisattva, proclaimed himself king and took refuge in the southern district of Pāṇḍuraṅga. His name was Rudravarman Parama-Brahmaloka, and he was the son of an eminent king, whose name, so far as it could be recovered, is Śrī Rudraloka...Mūrti. It is just possible that this Rudra-loka was the successor of Harivarman V. In that case Rudravarman Parama-Brahmaloka must be regarded as the legitimate owner of the throne which was successfully usurped by Jaya Indravarman VI or his father. Rudravarman Parama-Brahmaloka was formally consecrated to the throne, but he did not enjoy a long reign and died in 1147 A. D.²
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² Maspero's account of the events of this period is vitiated by his adopting the wrong reading of a large number of dates which have since been corrected by Finot. Maspero, for example, believed that Rudravarman did not practically rule at all, having died immediately after his coronation. But we now know that he ruled for at least two years This disposes of his argument concerning the use of the title Uroja by his son (T'oung Pao, 1911, p. 295. fn. 6.).
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On the death of the king, the people of Pāṇḍuraṅga invited his son Ratnabhūmivijaya to be the king of Champā, and he ascended the throne in 1147 A. D., under the name Śrī Jaya Harivarmadeva VI, prince Śivānandana.¹
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¹ Batau Tablah Inscription No. 75.
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Seven inscriptions of this king have reached us (Nos. 72-78), and they enable us to reconstruct a detailed account of his life and reign, such as we do not possess of any other king of Champā before or since. The early life of Harivarmā was far from being pleasant. "Having quitted his own country he spent a long time in foreign lands amid joys and sorrows. Then he came back to Champā."² This apparently refers to the period when Jaya Indravarman VI had usurped the throne and Rudravarman fled from the country with his son.
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² Myson Inscription. No. 74.
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Harivarman VI ascended the throne at a very critical moment. The greater part of the kingdom was under a foreign foe who was now extending his aggressions to the south, and the Annamites as well as the Kirātas and other semi-barbarous tribes on its frontier took advantage of the situation to carry on plundering raids into its very heart. But Harivarman was equal to the task that faced him, and steered the vessel of state safely through these shoals, amid heavy storms, back to the harbour.
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Scarcely had the king ascended the throne when the king of Cambodge commanded Śaṅkara, the foremost among his generals, to go and fight him in the plain of Rājapura. Śaṅkara was aided by a large number of troops from Vijaya i. e. the portion of Champā subject to Cambodge. Harivarman met the hostile army at Chaklyan (probably the village of Chakling in the southern part of the valley of Phanrang, in the neighbourhood of the rock of Batau Tablah which contains an inscription describing the battle) and gained a great victory. As the Myson inscription tells us: "Jaya Harivarman fought against the general Śaṅkara and all the other Cambodian generals with their troops. They died.........in the field of battle" (No. 72). This happened in 1147 A. D. (No. 75). Next year "the king of Cambodge sent an army thousand times stronger than the previous one to fight in the plain of Virapura" (No. 72). Harivarman met them at the field of Kayev and completely defeated them (No. 75).
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Having defeated the two armies sent against him, Harivarman now felt himself powerful enough to take the offensive. The King of Cambodge did not underrate the danger. He hastily consecrated Harideva, the younger brother of his first queen, as king of Vijaya, and "commanded various generals to lead the Cambodian troops and protect prince Harideva until he became king in the city of Vijaya." Jaya Harivarman also marched towards that city and probably re-took it before the arrival of Harideva. In any case the two hostile armies met at the plain of Mahi'a (No. 72), "to the east of the temple of Guheśvara on the river Yāmi" (No. 74), and Harideva was defeated and killed. "Jaya Harivarman destroyed the king Harideva with all his Cham and Cambodian generals and the Cham and Cambodian troops; they all perished" (No. 72). Then the victorious king, duly consecrated, ascended the throne of his forefathers with due pomp and ceremony (1149 A. D.) and reigned as supreme king from this time.¹ But the difficulties of Harivarman were far from being over yet. The king of Cambodge, thrice baffled, now hit upon a different plan. He incited the barbarous mountain tribes of Champā against their king.² The Rade, the Mada and other barbarous tribes,
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1. The detailed account of the military campaigns is given in Myson Inscription (No. 72). The dates are supplied by the Batau Tablah Ins. (No. 75).
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2. The Myson inscription (No. 72), so far as it has been deciphered, does not directly convey the impression that the king of Cambodge had incited the tribes, but that seems to be a collectively known by the general appellation of the “Kirāṭa”, now invaded the plain in the neighbourhood of Vijaya. A battle took place near the village of Slāy, and the Kirāṭas were defeated (No. 72). Unfortunately, Harivarman VI had not to fear his external enemies alone; his own relatives betrayed him. The brother of his wife called Vanśarāja now joined his enemies. “The Kirāṭa kings proclaimed his brother-in-law Vanśarāja, brother of his wife, as king in the city of Madhyamagrāma.” The undaunted king bravely met this new danger. Jaya Harivarman VI led his army, defeated Vanśarāja, captured the Kirāṭa army, and defeated them all” (No. 72).
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The Kirāṭa difficulty was over, but Vanśarāja remained. He took refuge in the Annamese court and asked the Emperor for military assistance in order to place him on the throne of Champā. The Annamese Emperor acceded to his request and declared him king of Champā. The inscription proceeds. “The king of Yavanas, learning that the king of Cambodge had created difficulties in the way of Jaya Harivarman, proclaimed Vanśarāja a citizen of Champā, as king. He gave him several Yavana generals together with hundred thousand valorous Yavana soldiers.........Then Jaya Harivarman conducted all the troops of Vijaya. The two parties were engaged in a terrible combat. Jaya Harivarman defeated Vanśarāja.........and large number of Yavana troops lay dead on the field.” (1150 A. D.)¹
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¹ The detailed account is supplied partly by the Myson Ins. (No. 72) and partly by the Annamese documents (T'oung Pao 1911, p. 299). In the Myson Inscription the enemies are
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After having thus quelled the external enemies Jaya Harivarman probably hoped to reign in peace. But that was not to be. Civil war broke out, first at Amarāvatī (1151) and legitimate inference from the few broken sentences that have been preserved.
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then at Pāṇḍuraṅga (1155). Harivarman successfully put them down, but the embers of conflict were not finally extinguished till 1160 A. D. An inscription dated in that year sums up his military success as follows:
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“King Śrī Jaya Harivarman, prince Śivānandana, has triumphed over all his enemies, to wit, the Cambodgians the Annamites, Vijaya, Amarāvatī, and all the countries of the north; Pāṇḍuraṅga and the countries of the south; the Rade, the Mada and other barbarous tribes in the regions of the west.”¹
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¹ Batau Tablah Ins [No. 75]; Po-Nagar Ins. [No. 76].
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Having secured the throne of Champā Jaya Harivarman had to turn his attention to the restoration of temples and the repair of damages. The inscriptions give a long list of his pious works. He installed a *Liṅga* on the Mahiṣaparvata, and erected two temples there in memory of his father and mother.² In accordance with a former vow he restored the temple of Śrīśānabhadreśvara on the Vugvan Mount which was destroyed by the enemy, and installed several images there, including a Śivalinga. “The fire in the temple of Śrīśānabhadreśvara”, says the king, “was extinguished by the enemies. Having killed those destroyers in battle, I have built it again.” “The temple was re-established in its old beauty,” and as it had been plundered by the enemy, the king gave all the necessary
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² Myson Ins. No. 72.
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called “Yavanas” which might ordinarily be taken to imply the people of Java. But the agreement of the epigraphic account with what we learn from Annamite documents constrains us to interpret it as Annamites. Besides, in the Batau Tablah (No. 75) and Po Nagar Inscriptions (No. 76), which contain a list of the tribes with which Jaya Harivarman was at war, mention is made of the Annamites but not of the “Yavanas”.
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things to the god. Elsewhere we are told that "in accordance with his former vows, he first destroyed the soldiers of Cambodge and the Yavana soldiers (i. e. Annamites), and then re-erected the temple of Śiva which they had destroyed."¹
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¹ Myson Ins. [Nos. 72, 73, 74].
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In the year 1157 A. D. the king installed a god, called after him Harivarmeśvara, and granted a number of fields for his worship². About 1160, he made donations to the god Jaya Hariliṅgeśvara³ as well as to the tutelary deity of the kingdom, the goddess of Po-Nagara.⁴ The king also restored a temple at Myson.⁵
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² Myson Ins. No. 74].
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³ Batau Tablah Ins. [No. 75].
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⁴ Po-Nagar Ins. [No. 76],
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⁵ Myson Ins. [No.78].
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Like Jaya Indravarman, king Harivarman also believed that he was an incarnation of Uroja. In order to substantiate his claim, he referred to a treatise called 'Purāṇārtha' which was apparently regarded as a holy religious text and is described as a "mine of useful information in this world" (No. 74).
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"Four times I have been incarnated as Uroja; lest I be not born again, I re-install this Śiva in fulfilment of the promise I made before.
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"The god of gods Śrīśanabhadreśvara, and the god of gods established on the Vugvan mountain—both will be enriched by that king who is a portion of myself longing for the glory of a Śaiva.
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"Such is the Purāṇārtha, description of Uroja, which the world must know." (No. 74)
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Further, it is curious to note, that like Jaya Indravarman, Harivarman also regarded himself as the fourth incarnation of Uroja; in other words, Harivarman did not admit the claim of Jaya Indravarman to be regarded as an incarnation of Uroja, probably another evidence of the usurpation of the latter.
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Harivarman kept on friendly relations with the Chinese court. He demanded from the Imperial court the same dignity which his predecessors had enjoyed, and this was accorded to him in 1155 A. D.¹ After the war with the Annamite Emperor was over (1150), he maintained friendly relations with that court also. In 1152 he sent rich presents to the Emperor, and two years later, when the relations between the two countries again became rather strained on account of the repeated incursions of the Chams against Annamite territory, he pacified the Emperor by presenting him with some women. He also sent tribute to the Annamese court in 1155 and 1160. King Harivarman died shortly after 1162,² and was succeeded by his son Jaya Harivarman VII. We do not know anything of his reign, not even if he actually reigned at all. He is referred to as king by his son in inscriptions Nos. 94 and 95, and might have been merely a pretender to the throne for all we know.
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¹ T'oung Pao 1911, p, 302.
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² Ibid p. 305.
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Certain it is, that within a year of the death of king Harivarman VI, the throne of Champā was occupied by Pu Ciy Anāk Śrī Jaya Indravarman VII, an inhabitant of Grāmapura Vijaya.³ It does not appear that he was related in any way to Jaya Harivarman VI or VII. On the other hand we know that the latter had at least two sons who had afterwards ruled in Champā. There is, therefore, hardly any doubt that Jaya Indravarman was an usurper.
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³ T'oung Pao 1911, p. 303.
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Jaya Indravarman must have ascended the throne of Champā as early as 1163 A. D., when he gave a Kośa to Śrīśā-nabhadreśvara, for which 232 golden paṇas, 82 precious stones, 67 groups of pearls, and 200 *panas* of silver were required.¹ Next year, as well as the year following, he made costly donations and erected an inner chamber with sandalwood, silver and gold.² He sent tributes to the Annamite Court in 1164 and 1165.
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¹ Myson Ins. [Nos. 79, 81].
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² Myson Ins. No. 81.
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The ambassador whom he sent in 1166 for the same purpose performed his duties in a somewhat strange fashion. He led an army and plundered the Annamite population on the sea-coast. The Annamese court could hardly be expected to brook this insult. An Annamese force entered Champā and the leader of the expedition wrote a strong letter to the king recalling the damages done by his troops. Jaya Indravarman VII hastened to pacify him and sent a noble of his court with a large quantity of precious stones and other valuable presents. The matter was then amicably settled, and the Annamese troops retreated to their country.³
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³ T'oung pao 1911, p. 203.
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Jaya Indravarman was formally consecrated to the throne about 1165 A. D. Immediately after his consecration, he sent an ambassador to China asking for investiture from the Imperial court. The presents which the ambassador took to China had been plundered from Arab merchants. The amount of tribute appeared to the Chinese emperor to be so very large, that he was at first inclined to accept only one tenth of it; but when he came to know of the source from which these articles had come, by the complaints of the Arab merchants themselves, he refused to take anything at all, and ordered a letter to be written to Jaya Indravarman explaining the cause of his refusal. Moreover, the council of ministers decided that it would not be prudent to invest the king of Champā with the customary honorary titles till the commotion caused by the incident had subsided.
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Jaya Indravarman now turned his attention to the conquest of Cambodge. He assured the neutrality of the Annamese Emperor by payment of rich presents and sending an ambassador to pay the usual homage. Being secure in the north, he attacked the kingdom of Cambodge (1170). That kingdom was then ruled over by king Dharaṇīndravarman II.
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Both the opposing forces were equally matched and the war went on for a long time without any decisive result. At this time a Chinese officer, shipwrecked on the coast of Champa, taught the king a new cavalry manoeuvre, and the art of throwing arrows from the back of a horse (1171 A. D.). Jaya Indravarman now asked the Chinese officer to buy horses for him in his own country. With the help of these horses he was enabled to secure some advantage against the enemy, and this induced him to look for more horses. In 1172 he sent a large number of men to Kiong Tcheou, in the island of Hai Nan, with the object of purchasing as many horses as possible. They were ill received there, and therefore retaliated by plundering a number of inhabitants they came across. The terrified people then allowed them to make their purchases. But the affair came to the knowledge of the Chinese Emperor, and in 1175 he issued an order prohibiting the export of horses outside the empire. Jaya Indravarman, desiring to have the horses at any cost, repatriated to Hai Nan the people captured by his soldiers in 1172, and sent an ambassador to the Imperial court, asking permission to buy horses at that island. The Emperor replied that it was forbidden to export those animals of the empire, and that the rule specially applied to the island of Hai Nan (1176 A. D.).
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Jaya Indravarman now gave up the idea of invading Cambodge by land. He equipped a fleet and sent a naval expedition in 1177. Proceeding along the coast, the fleet, guided by a shipwrecked Chinese, reached the mouth of the Grand River (Mekong). Then going up the river it reached the capital city. Jaya Indravarman plundered the capital and then retired, carrying an immense booty with him.¹
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¹ T’oung Pao 1911, pp. 305–308.
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The glorious victory of Jaya Indravarman VII indicates the revival of the old prosperous days of Champā. This was further shown by the rich donations of the king to various temples. We have already referred to his rich donations to Śrīśānabhadreśvara in 1163 A. D. The Myson inscription (No. 81) describes in detail how he continued these rich endowments, year after year, in 1167, 1168, and 1170 A. D. Further, he “installed Buddha Lokeśvara, Jaya Indra Lokeśvara and Bhagavatī Śrī Jaya Indreśvarī in the district of Buddha, and Bhagavatī Śrī Indra Gaurīśvarī in that of Śrī Vināyaka.”²
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² Myson Ins. [No. 81].
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The king also made rich donations to the goddess Bhagavatī Kauthāreśvarī of Po Nagar temple. “Part of these was made when the king went to conquer Cambodge”. The gift was jointly made by the king, the queens Parameśvarī and Rayā, princess Bhāgyavatī, princess Sumitrā, princess Sudakṣiṇā and Māu s’i Ai Grāmapura Vijaya (the prince?).³
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³ Po Nagar Inscription [No. 90].
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There is some difficulty in fixing the date of Jaya Indravarman’s invasion of Cambodge. Maspero, apparently on Chinese and Annamese authority, fixes it at 1170 A. D. But the Po Nagar Inscription [No. 80] which refers to the king’s campaign against Cambodge is dated 1167 A. D. (This date was formerly read as 1105 Saka but Finot has corrected it to 1089 Saka). In that case the campaign against Cambodge must have begun 3 years earlier.
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An inscription at An Thuan (No. 82) has preserved relics of something like a military feudalism that prevailed at the time. Three dignitaries of the kingdom named Taval Vīra Siṁha on Vayāk, Taval Śurādhika varmma, and Taval Vikrānta Siṁha on Dhuṅ took an oath of allegiance to the king which contained, among other promises, an undertaking to the effect that they and their children will fight for their lord in case of war as long as they live.
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The last known date of Jaya Indravarman VII is 1177 A. D.¹ How long he lived after that, and whether he could leave the kingdom he had usurped to his legitimate successors, are yet unknown.²
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¹ cf. the Chinese account of the king's expedition against Cambodge. The last known date from epigraphic records is 1170 A. D. (Myson Ins. No. 81).
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² Maspero's account of this period is now proved to be hopelessly wrong in the light of new inscriptions or new interpretation of old inscriptions. I have not made any attempt to point out the difference between his version and mine as the two are almost radically different.
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KINGS REFERRED TO IN CHAPTER X
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| 1. | Jaya Indravarman VI | (1139—1145 A. D.) |
| 2. | Rudravarman Parama- | |
| | Brahmaloka | (1145—1147 A. D.) |
| 3. | Jaya Harivarmadeva VI | (1147—1162 A. D.) |
| | (Son of No. 2) | |
| 4. | Jaya Harivarman VII | (1162—1163 A. D.)? |
| | (Son of No. 3) | |
| 5. | Jaya Indravarman VII | (1163 c. 1180 A.D.) |