Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v2.c20.s3.55

v2.c20.s3.55

From a very early period the king imitated the grandeur and luxury of the Indian Court. According to an account of the sixth century A.D., the king of Lang-ya-su, “when he goes out, rides on an elephant, surrounded with flags of feathers, banners and drums, and covered by a white canopy.”¹ The history of the Sung dynasty (960-1279 A.D.) says of the king of Java: “The king has his hair in a knot upon the top of his head, he wears golden bells, a silk robe, and shoes of leather. He sits on a square couch and his functionaries who see him daily salute him three times on going away. When he goes out, he rides on an elephant or sits in a carriage, and from five to seven hundred soldiers follow him. When the people see the king, they squat down until he has passed.”² According to Chau Ju-kua, the ruler of San-fo-tsi was sheltered by a silk umbrella and guarded by men bearing golden lances.³ The royal procession in Po-li was marked by even greater splendour as is evident from the passage quoted above, in Bk. 1, ch. IX. An idea of the primitive and simple court-life may be formed from the account of Pu-ni where “the king sits on a couch made of cords, and when he goes out he sits on a large piece of cloth ( a hammock ) and is carried by a number of men.”⁴