Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v2.c14.t1: 1. Rise of Malayu
Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champā; Vol. II: Suvarṇadvīpa) v2.c14.t1
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1. Rise of Malayu
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The disintegration of the Śailendra empire loosened the bonds which united politically the petty states of Sumatra and Malay Peninsula. But there shortly arose a new power in Sumatra, which sought to rival the exploits of the decaying empire, and revive it on a new basis. This was Malayu, which is usually identified with Jambi in the eastern coast of Sumatra. The existence of this kingdom in the seventh century A.D., and its ultimate absorption by the neighbouring kingdom of Śrī-Vijaya, have already been noted above. Since then Malayu disappears as a separate political unit until the eleventh century A.D., when it sends two embassies to China in 1079 and 1088 A.D.¹ But in the thirteenth century it was conquered by the Javanese king Kṛtanagara. We have seen above how the tragic end of Kṛtanagara enabled Malayu to throw off the yoke of Java, and it soon felt powerful enough to enter into a contest with Siam for the possession of the petty states in the southern part of Malay Peninsula.
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¹ J.A., 11—XII, p. 65, f.n. (1). In B.E.F.E.O., Vol. IV, p. 346. Pelliot gives the date of the first embassy as 1179, evidently a misprint for 1079.
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This rivalry is reflected in the Chinese annals. Malayu had sent envoys to China in 1281 A.D.² and when in 1293
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² Pelliot, B.E.F.E.O., Vol. IV, p. 326. Ferrand thinks that ‘Malayu’, from the 13th century onward, refers to Malacca and not to Malayu or Jambi in Sumatra. (See chapter on Malacca ).
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Yi-k'o-mu-su, one of the leaders of the Chinese expedition against Java, sent envoys to king of Malayu, he sent his son (or younger brother) in token of his allegiance.¹ During the same period Siam had also sent several envoys to China to pay allegiance.² The Chinese annals say that Malayu and Siam had been fighting with each other for some time and so in 1295 the emperor sent an order to Siam to ‘desist from further hostilities, and to hold to its promise’.³ This remarkable evidence confirms the view, held above, that there was a rivalry between the two states over the possessions of San-fo-tsi in Malay Peninsula. In 1297 we hear of Malayu sending a mission to China.⁴ It may be noted that in 1299 envoys from Siam and Malayu met at the imperial court.⁵ A further embassy was sent from Malayu in 1301.⁶
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¹ Groeneveldt—Notes, p. 30., Pelliot, op. cit., p. 327. Perhaps another embassy was sent from Malayu in 1294. See below.
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² Pelliot, op. cit., p. 243.
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³ Ibid. This evidently shows that some time, anterior to 1295 A.D., Malayu had sought the protection of China, and the latter forced Siam to promise that it would abstain from further hostilities against Malayu.
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⁴ Rockhill, T'oung Pao, Ser. II, Vol. XV (1914), p. 443. fn.
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⁵ Pelliot, op. cit., p. 328.
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⁶ Ibid.
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Thus the end of the thirteenth century A.D. saw the decline of the Śailendras and the rise of the new kingdom of Malayu which sought to occupy the position so long held by the former. As we have seen above, the new kingdom owed its existence to Java, and for a long time there was a close attachment between the two states. When the Javanese army retired from Malayu after the death of Kṛtanagara, two princesses of Malayu accompanied it to Java. One of them Dara Peṭak was married to the Javanese king. The elder daughter, Dara Jingga, married one ‘Deva’ and had by him a son named Tuhan Janaka who afterwards became king of Malayu. He was also known as Śri Marmadeva and Haji Mantrolot. Thus Marmadeva may be regarded as the successor of Maulivarmadeva who was ruling in 1286 A.D. as a vassal of Kṛtanagara. The account of Marco Polo shows that in 1292 A.D. Malayu (Malaiur) was a flourishing kingdom and a prosperous centre of trade and commerce.
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The next king of Malayu known to us is Ādityavarmadeva. A beautiful image of Mañjuśrī, which once stood in the temple of Caṇḍi Jago, contains two Sanskrit inscriptions.¹ The one on the front says that the image was set up in A.D. 1343 in a Buddhist temple by Āryavangśādhirāja. The inscription on the back informs us that in the kingdom of Rājapatnī, the minister Ādityavarman, belonging to her family, built a beautiful temple at Jinālayapura in Java, in the year 1343 A.D., for securing the highest religious merit to his parents and relations.
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¹ For a full discussion, cf. Rouffaer, B.K.I., Vol. 77 ( 1921 ), pp. 194-201.
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The interpretation, specially the relation of the two inscriptions on the two sides of the image, has given rise to some difficulty. Kern held that Āryavangśādhirāja and Ādityavarman both refer to one and the same person, and identified him as the king of Malayu, known from other records. Kern held that the king of Malayu calls himself Adhirāja (suzerain) of the Ārya clan in respect of Malayu, and assumes the lower title of Mantrī in respect of Java. On the other hand, Bosch has shown that Āryavangśādhirāja was the title of a high official in the court of Majapahit, and he holds that the two inscriptions really belong to two different officials of the court. He traces the name of Vṛddhamantrī Ārya Devarāja Śrī Āditya in another record of the period and identifies him with Ādityavarman of the inscription, who subsequently became a king in Sumatra.
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Whatever that may be, Ādityavarman of the inscription is generally recognised to be the same as the king of Malayu of that name, and the identification of Bosch would prove that he was holding some high offices in Java before he occupied the throne in Malayu. Krom holds that he successfully filled the posts of Āryavaṅśādhirāja and Vṛddhamantri Ārya Devarāja and thus refers both the inscriptions to him¹.
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¹ Krom—Geschiedenis, p. 389.
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A difficulty, no doubt, arises from the fact that Ādityavarman claims to be descended from the family of Rājapatni (tadbangśajaḥ). We have no evidence in support of this. It is true that one of the Malayu princesses was mother of the Javanese king Jayanagara, and Ādityavarman, for all we know, might have been the son of the other princess. But even this does not give him any claim to be descended from the family of Rājapatni. We may, therefore, take the expression to mean no more than that he was a member of the Javanese royal family, unless, of course, there was some relationship by marriage which is not yet known to us.²
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² Cf. B.K.I. (1931), pp. 32-35.
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We now turn to the inscriptions of Ādityavarman in Sumatra itself. In 1347 A.D. he engraved an inscription on the back of the image of Amoghapāśa, which was set up at Dharmāśraya by the Javanese king Kṛtanagara in 1286 A.D. (see ante, p. 299). The pedestal of the image, which contained the inscription of Kṛtanagara, was left where it was, but the image itself was removed by Ādityavarman and re-consecrated in a new temple with a new inscription. The image now stands at Rambahan near Lubuk Bulan in the Batanghari district, and possibly the temple of Ādityavarman was also erected there. The inscription³, written in corrupt Sanskrit, refers to the king as Śrīmat Śri Udayādityavarman (var. Ādityavarmmodaya) Pratāpaparākramarājendra Maulimālīvarmmadeva Mahārājādhirāja who set up the image of Amoghapāśa for the welfare of Malayapura⁴. The title Mahārājādhirāja indicates the rank of the king to be higher than that of Maulivarman in 1286 A.D.
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³ V.G., Vol. VII (1917), pp. 163-175.
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⁴ ‘Malayapura’ is the reading of Kern, but Krom thinks it is Malayu° (Geschiedenis, p. 390 f.n. 3).
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An inscribed stone, originally found at Kapala Bukit Gombak and now lying at Pagarrujung, near Fort V. D.
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Capellen, in upper Padang, gives the date 1347¹. Several inscriptions of Ādityavarman have been found in the neighbourhood. All these prove this locality, the heart of the later kingdom of Menangkabau, to have been the centre of Ādityavarman’s kingdom. One of these inscriptions, the large inscription of Pagarrujung² (originally of Bukit Gambak) dated in the year 1356, refers to the erection of a Vihāra by Mahārājādhirāja Ādityavarman Pratāpaparākrama Rājendramaulimaṇivarmmadeva. In another inscription at Kubu Raja³ the king is styled Kanakamedinīndra *i.e.* lord of Kanakamedinī (Golden land), a synonym of Suvarṇabhūmi. His father’s name is given as Advayavarman and his family is said to be descended from Indra (Kuliśadhara) while he is regarded as an incarnation of Lokeśvara. In the Pagarrujung inscription he is said to be Dharmarāja-kula-tilaka *i.e.* the ornament of Dharmarāja’s family.
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¹ Kern, V.G., Vol. VI (1917), pp. 249-257 ; O.V., 1912, pp. 34. ff.
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² Kern, V.G., Vol. VI (1917), pp. 261-275 ; O. V. 1912, pp. 51. ff
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³ Kern, V.G., Vol. VII (1917), pp. 215-221. The name of the place is Kuburaja and not Kubur raja as Kern thought (O.V, 1930, p. 150).
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Another inscription found at Suroasa⁴ is dated in the year 1375 A.D. Ādityavarman is here styled Surāvāśa-vān *i.e.* lord of Surāvāśa, and there is hardly any doubt that the name of the place has been preserved in modern Suroasa.
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⁴ Kern, V.G. Vol. VI (1917), pp. 252-261 ; O.V., 1912, p. 52.
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The name Śrī Suravāsa occurs in another inscription⁵ of Ādityavarman near Bandar Bapahat. This record is written in two scripts. On the left we find the usual script of the king’s records, *viz.*, the Kavi script with some local variations, while on the right the same thing was repeated in South Indian Grantha alphabet. This shows that South Indians formed a fairly large element of the local population.
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⁵ O.V., 1912, p. 46. Only a portion of the record, written in South Indian Grantha alphabet, was read by Mr. Krishna Sastri. But this agrees with the other portion.
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Among other inscriptions¹ of Ādityavarman, one refers to the crown prince ( Yuvarāja ) Anangavarman, ², one to a high official called tumanggung³, and two others refer to his Mahāsenapati Pamanan. Another inscription, with a date read tentatively as 1371 A.D., is perhaps to be ascribed to his reign.⁴
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¹ Inventaris—O.V., 1912, Nos. 20, 24, 29, 30, 41, 42,
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² Versl. Med. Kon. Ak. V. Wet. Afd. Lett., 5 : 2 (1917), p. 338.
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³ O.V., 1912, No. 28.
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⁴ Par., p. 122 ; O.V., 1914, p. 108.
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We may conclude from all these inscriptions that king Ādityavarman was a Tāntrik Buddhist, and that he ruled for at least 28 years (1347-1375 A.D.) over a fairly extensive kingdom, which comprised the central portion of Sumatra, and extended from the eastern to the western coast. According to the Javanese chronicle, Nāgara-Kṛtāgama, this kingdom of Malayu acknowledged the supremacy of the Javanese king. If that were so, it would really mean a sort of nominal allegiance. It is interesting to note that Nag. Kr. refers to Sumatra by the general name of Malayu, and thus gives an indirect evidence of the supreme position of that kingdom in Sumatra⁵.
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⁵ A comprehensive historical account of Sumatra, based upon both traditions and historical facts, is given by L.C. Westenenk in Congres I, pp. 1-39.