Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v2.c14.t4.54

v2.c14.t4.54

Nobody need take seriously this kind of popular explanation of the origin of the name of a city which afterwards became so distinguished¹. We must also take due note of the mass psychology which seeks to ascribe the foundation of a city to the ruler under whom or whose family it came to achieve greatness or distinction. The case of Lengkasuka furnishes an exact analogy in both these respects. Here, again, the native Malay tradition, recorded in the Hikayat Maroṅ Mahāvaṃśa, ascribes to him the foundation of the city, and gives a popular etymology of the name. As Cœdès has pointed out, the inscription of Rājendra Cola and the discovery of the old ruins in the neighbourhood, reaching back to the fifth century A.D., completely falsify the popular legends².