Ancient Indian Colonization in South-East Asia c8.59

c8.59

In the neighbouring island of Sumatra flourished the kingdom of Śrī-Vijaya. Some scholars find a reference to it in the Chinese translation of a Buddhist *sūtra*. As this translation was made in A.D. 392, this view, if accepted, would vouch for the existence of Śrī-Vijaya in the fourth century A.D. But it is not till seventh century A.D. that Śrī-Vijaya came into prominence and its history will be treated later. There were probably other Hindu kingdoms in Sumatra before this period but we do not know anything definite about them. A Buddha image of the Amarāvatī style has been found on the rock called Seguntang at Palembang. There was also a Hindu kingdom in the island of Bali to the east of Java.¹⁴ The *History of the Liang Dynasty* (A.D. 502-556) says that the king's family name is Kauṇḍinya and it was claimed that the wife of Śuddhodana was a daughter of a king of this country. According to the *History of the Sui Dynasty* (A.D. 581-617), the king's family name is Ch'a-ri-ya-ka, the first two characters of which are a common Chinese transcription of the word Kṣatriya. Evidently, the kings of Bali claimed to belong to the Kṣatriya caste. The kingdom sent embassies to China in A.D. 518, 523, 616 and 630.