Ancient Indian Colonization in South-East Asia c9.34

c9.34

Bālaputradeva, at whose request king Devapāla of Bengal granted five villages for the upkeep of his monastery at Nālandā, was the son of Samarāgravīra and Tārā. Everything indicates that the Śailendras had increased their power and prestige during the three quarters of a century that intervened between him and his grand father. The title Lord of Suvarṇadvīpa may be taken as an evidence for his rule over the vast domains of Malay Archipelago, and the very fact that he maintained diplomatic relation with the distant ruler of Bengal is an equally clear indication of his enhanced power and prestige. But the most unambiguous and detailed evidence of the power and glory of the Śailendra empire is furnished by a long series of Arab writers. It is not possible to refer to all of them or give full details of their accounts, but it is necessary to quote a few passages in order to convey an adequate idea of the greatness and grandeur of the empire of the Mahārāja of Zābaj or Zābag, a geographical term by which they denoted Malay Peninsula and Malay Archipelago.