The Sailendras Reconsidered

NALANDA-SRIWIJAYA CENTRE
WORKING PAPER SERIES NO. 12
THE AILENDRAS RECONSIDERED
Photo source: Gunkarta Gunawan Kartapranata, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sailendra_King_and_Queen,_Borobudur.jpg
Anton O. Zakharov
NALANDA-SRIWIJAYA CENTRE
WORKING PAPER SERIES NO. 12
(Aug 2012)
THE AILENDRAS RECONSIDERED
Anton O. Zakharov
Anton O. Zakharov obtained his PhD in History from the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of
Sciences, Moscow (2005). His PhD Thesis is entitled Problems of Political Organization of the Southeast Asian
Insular Societies in the Early Middle Ages (the 5th8th Centuries) As Evidenced by Inscriptions. Currently, he
is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences. He has published
extensively on early Southeast Asian history. Email: antonzkhrv@yahoo.com
The NSC Working Paper Series is published Citations of this electronic publication should be
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Zakharov:TheailendrasReconsidered NSCWorkingPaperNo. 12
TheailendrasReconsidered

AntonO.Zakharov

Abstract: The paper focuses on an aspect of the ancient history of Java, Sumatra and the Malay
Peninsula,namelytheroleoftheailendradynasty.Itanalysesthemainsourcesmentioningthisclan,
i.e.CentralJavaneseandIndianinscriptions,andcontemporarydebatesonthenumberofdynastieson
Central Java in the eighthtoninth centuries and the relations between the ailendras and Srivijaya.
There are three main questions: What role did the ailendras play in Central Java; what were their
relationswithSrivijaya;andwhatwastheoriginofthisdynasty?
ThepaperarguesthatthedynastyofailendraswasofJavaneseoriginandthefirstrulerwho
wasundoubtedlyaailendrawasPanankarana.Infact,therewasnodifferencebetweenthesocalled
Sajaya dynasty and the ailendras. The expansion of Panankaranas power reached the Malay
PeninsulawhereheleftthefamousinscriptionfromChaiya(alsoknownastheLigorstele).Therelatives
oftheailendrasalsoheldswayoverKedahinMalaysiainthelatertenthtoearlyeleventhcenturies.

Keywords:Sailendras,CentralJava,Sanjaya,Srivijaya,inscriptions

Introduction

Theailendras(lordsofmountains)isoneofthemostenigmaticdynastiesinworld
history.Theyappearinahandfulofsourcesinvariousplacesandtimesanddisappear
almost in amoment. The firstreference to them can be found in the famous Chaiya
inscription(alsoknownastheLigorStele)datedto775CEandthelastisintheSmall
Leiden Charter of the Chola king Kulottunga dated from 10891090 CE. The Chaiya
inscriptionalsomentionstheequallyfamouspolityofSrivijayathatraisesthequestion
ofrelationsbetweentheailendrasandthisrealm.Thispaperwillfocusonthethree
mainquestions:WhatroledidtheailendrasplayinCentralJavafromwhichmajority
of their inscriptions comes; what were their relations with Srivijaya; what was the
originofthedynasty?

1
Sources

InCentralJava,theailendrasarementionedinthefourinscriptions.Thefirstand,toa
certaindegree,mostinformativeisthestoneofKalasandatedfrom778CEandfound
on the plains of Prambanan. It is in Sanskrit and written in the early Ngar script.
Duetoitsimportance,Iciteitinitsentirety:
namobhagavatyairyatryai||
(1) y trayatyamitadukhabhavddhimagna loka vilokya
vidhivattrividhairu[2]payai|
svasurendranaralokavibhtisratrdiatvabhimatajagadekatr||
(2) varjyamahrjadypaca[3]paapaakaraa|
ailendrarjagurubhistrbhavanahikritarmat||
(3) gurvjayktajaistrdev[4]ktpitadbhavana|
vinayamahynavidbhavanacpyryabhikm||
(4) pangkuratavnatripa[5]nmabhirdeaastribhrja|
trbhavanakritamaidamapicpyryabhikm||
(5) rjyepravarddham[6]nerjaailendravaatilakasya|
ailendrarjagurubhistrbhavanaktaktibhi||
(6) akanpaklttai[7]rvaraataisaptabhirmmahrja|
akarodgurupjrthatrbhavanapaakaraa||
(7) grmaklasanm[8]dattasaghyasknaktv|
pangkuratavnatripadedhyaknmahpurun||
(8) bhurada[9]kineyamatuldattsaghyarjasihena|
ailendravaabhpairanupariplyryasantaty||
(9) [10]sangpangkurdibhisantavnakdibhi|
sangtripdibhipattibhcasdhubhi||apica||
(10) [11]sarvnevgminaprthivendrnbhyobhyoycaterjasiha|
smnyoyadharmmaseturna[12]rklekleplanyobhavadbhi||
(11) anenapuyenavihrajenaprattyajtrthavibhgavi[13]j|
bhavantusarvetribhavopapannjanjinnmanusanaj||
2
(12) kariynapaakaraar[14]mnabhiycatebhvinpn|
bhyobhyovidhivadvihrapariplanrthamiti||(Sarkar1971:356)
This can be translated as follows (Sarkar 1971: 378, with a few corrections given
below):
Salutation to the divine ryatr! (1) May she, who, seeing the world
immersedintheseaofexistence,dulydeliversitthroughthethreemeans,mayshe,
Tr,theonlyguidingstaroftheworld,grantyou(your)pleasure(consistingof)the
bestpartofthewealthofthecelestialandthemundaneworlds.(2)Afterpersuading
thegreatkingdyPacapaaPaakaraa,thesplendidtempleofTrwascaused
tobebuiltbythepreceptorsoftheailendraking.(3)Byexperts,atthecommandof
thepreceptors,weremade(theimageof)thegoddessTrandatempleforher;so
also was made an abode for the venerable monks who knew the Great Vehicle of
Discipline. (4) By the executors of orders (adeaastrin)1 of the king named pangkur,
tavn,andtrip,thistempleofTrasalso(theabode)ofthevenerablemonkswere
causedtobebuilt.(5)Asthekingdomofthekingwhoisanornamentoftheailendra
dynasty was flourishing, the Trtemple was constructed by the accomplished
preceptorsoftheailendraking.(6)Whensevencenturiesoftheeraoftheakaking
had elapsed, the great king Paakaraa2 built the Trtemple for the worship of
(his) preceptors.3 (7) The village named Klasa was bestowed on the congregation,
after calling as witnesses the notable persons such as pangkur, tavn, trip and the
chiefs of the country (dedhyakn).4 (8) By the lion of kings was also bestowed on
thecongregationthisincomparablegiftinamplemeasurewhichistobeprotectedby
kings of the ailendradynasty, by the nobility, (9) by pangkur and his followers, by
tavnandhisfollowers,tiripandhisfollowers,masters(pati)5andsages(sdhubhi).6
(10)Thelionofkingsagainandagainmakesthisrequesttoallthefuturekings,this
bridge of religion which is in common property of (all) men should be protected by
youatalltimes.(11)Throughthemeritaccruingfrom(theconstructionof)thevihra
mayallpeoplewhoaresubjecttothethreeformsofexistenceandwhoareproficient
intheteachingsoftheJinaobtaina(true)insightintothedivisionofthingsoriginating
fromthischainofcausation,forgoodrebirth(jtrtha).7(12)Theillustriouskariyna
Paakaraa again and again requests the future kings to maintain the vihra in a
properway.
3
The most debatable point in the interpretation of the Kalasan

inscriptionisthenumberofkingsitmentions.WasPaakaraaamemberof
theailendradynasty,ornot?NicolaasKromandK.A.NilakantaSastribelieved
thathewas,whereasJeanPhilippeVogelandFritsHermanVanNaerssenheld
thathewasnot(Krom1931:144;NilakantaSastri1949:556;Vogel1919:634;
VanNaerssen1947).VogelandVanNaerssensupposedthatthetextmentions
two kings, one of whom was a ailendra and suzerain, while another was his
vassalandwasnamedPaakaraa.SuchscholarsasGeorgesCdsandRoy
E. Jordaan share this opinion (Cds 1968: 89; Jordaan 1999: 401). But the
hypothesis of two kings seems unfounded: first, why is the suzerain called
simply king (rjan) while his vassal claims to be great king (mahrja);
second,whydoesthenameofthesuzerainnotoccuraswellasthelineageof
hisvassal?UsingOckhamsprinciple,thesimplestansweristhattherewasonly
one king who was called dy Pacapaa Paakaraa, ornament of the
ailendradynasty(ailendravaatilaka),greatking(maharaja),lionofkings
(rjasiha), and kariyna (see the text above). I shall return to the
Paakaraaquestionlater.
ThesecondmentionoftheailendradynastyoccursintheSanskritinscription
of 782 CE from Klurak to the north of cai Loro Jonggrang of Prambanan (Sarkar
1971: 41). It is also engraved in the early Ngar script. According to the text, the
royalpreceptorofGaudvpanamedKumraghoaestablishedanimageofMajur
who embodies Buddha, Dharma, Sagha (the Buddhist community), Brahma, Vishnu
andSiva(underthenameMahevara)atoneandthesametime.Thefifthstanzacalls
the king an ornament of the ailendra dynasty (ailendravaatilakena) while the
twentiethversegiveshisnamerSanggrmadhanajaya.Oneoftheroyalepithets
isverysignificant:theforthstanzacallshimdestroyerofthebestheroesofenemies
(vairivaravramardana). However, Himanshu Bhushan Sarkar suggests that the kings
namewasIndraorDharandravarman,asF.D.K.Boschsupposedearlier(Sarkar1971:
41, 45, 46, fn. 9; Bosch 1928: 245). This interpretation is based on the phrase
dharandranmn from the fifth stanza. It may be translated as of the name of
4
Dharandraor,connectingitwithpreviouswordsrjdht,astheearthisheld
by the king named Indra. But as Cdes wrote, as for his name of Dharandra,
accordingtoacommunicationbyJohannesGijsbertusdeCasparis,thisistheresultof
an incorrect reading: instead of Dharandranmn, the Kelurak inscription should
readDharadharea,whichsimplymeansking.(Cds1959:48;Cds&Damais
1992: 110) As I cannot verify De Casparis new reading de visu, I cannot judge how
reliableitis.ButIshouldsaythatthephrasedharandranmnmaymean(whois)
called the king on the earth because the word indra has this meaning (Monier
Williams1899:166).
For a third time, the ailendra dynasty is mentioned in the Ratu Boko, or
Abhayagirivihra, inscription of 792793 CE. The six fragments of this Sanskrit
inscription written in the early Ngar script are known, but there is no complete
edition. Sarkar did not include the last fragment found in his catalogue whereas De
Casparis who published this, discussed only the two verses: XV and XII (De Casparis
1950:1124;1961:2418;1981:734;Sarkar1971:48(ivii)).Thelattersaysthatthe
AbhayagiriVihra,i.e.aBuddhistcommunityandcloister,wasestablishedbynatives
of Ceylon (abhayagirivihra krita sihalnm) (De Casparis 1961: 242; cf.: Sarkar
1971:48(iv)).
ThenameofthekingwhoissuedtheAbhayagirivihrainscriptionisapuzzle.De
Casparis at first suggested Dharmmatuga but later preferred Samaratuga without
substantiation (De Casparis 1950: 212; 1961: 245). Sarkar assigned it to the former
whileJeffreySundberghaschosenthelatter(Sarkar1971:48(iv);Sundberg2006b:20,
n.29;2009:337,347)8.Unfortunately,Ihavehadnoaccesstotheinscriptionitselfand
cannotjudgethelikelyissuer.IftherulersnamewasSamaratuga,heappearsintwo
records(seebelow),butifthenamewasDharmmatuga,heismentionedonlyinthis
text.
Thefourthandlastreferencetotheailendraslooksratherdoubtful.Thestone
inscription of Kayumvungan was obtained from the village of Karangtngah in the
TemanggungdivisionoftheresidencyofKdu(Sarkar1971:64).Itisdatedto824CE
andconsistsoffivefragments.ItsfirstpartiswritteninSanskritwhilethesecondisin
5
OldJavanese.Theendoftheninthlinecontainsthesyllableaiwhichiscompleted
by some scholars to form ai(lendravaatilaka), i.e. an ornament of the ailendra
dynasty(DeCasparis1950:38;Sarkar1971:66).Theeighthstanzagivesthenameof
the king (kitndra) Samaratuga whose daughter was called Prmodavarddhan,
accordingtothetenth stanza(Sarkar1971: 667).Thetextsnotesthattheimageof
rghanantha (probably, Buddha) and the temple of Buddha were established. But
theOldJavanesetextmentionsneitherSamaratuganorPrmodavarddhan.Itrefers
totherakaraynofPatapnnamedPuPalarwhogaveawayirrigatedfieldssawaas
immunity, and the witnesses of this generous deed. That Pu Palar and Samaratuga
referred to one and the same person requires definite proof. Unfortunately, there is
noevidenceforthisidentification.
ThesearetheentiretyofthedataontheailendradynastyfromancientJava.
All of these texts appear in a Buddhist and Sanskrit context. The direct evidence
concerns avery narrow historical period from 778 to 793 CE as the reference of the
Kayumvunganinscriptionisproblematic.
ThetermailendraoccursinthefamousChaiya,orLigor,stelewhosefindplace
isquestionable(Cds1918:2930,pl.12).Theonlyfactthatcanbeassertedisthat
it was found in the ThaiMalay Peninsula (JacqHergoualch 2002: 2417; Jordaan &
Colless 2009: 438, 557). It is in sandstone and engraved on both sides. The
conventionallydesignated sides A and B consist of 29 and 4 lines of Sanskrit text
respectively. Side A gives the date of 697th year in the aka era, i.e. 775 CE. Side A
mentionstherulerofSrivijaya.SideBreferstotheailendradynasty.RameshChandra
Majumdarsupposedthatthetwosidescomprisetwodistinctinscriptions.(Majumdar
1933:122).BoschsuggestedthatthetextshouldbereadfromsideB(Bosch1941:26
38).CdsatfirstthoughtitisoneinscriptionbutlateracceptedMajumdarsthesis
(Cds1918:23;1959:428;Cds&Damais1992:10311).Hepointedoutthat
the royal titles differ on the two sides: side A calls the ruler king (npa, npati,
bhpati,indrarja)and,perhaps,kingofkings(varabhpati)whilesideBsignifies
the ailendra ruler as great king and king of kings (mahrja, rjdhirja). But
MajumdarsandCdshypothesisdoesnotaccountfortheopeningwordsofboth
6
sides.9SideBbeginswiththetermsvastifortune,luck,success,prosperitybutsideA
begins with the gerund visriy spreading, diffusing; coming forth from the root
visrin (MonierWilliams 1899: 1283, 1001) that radically differs from the epigraphic
SanskrittraditionofSoutheastAsia.Bothsideshaveidenticalscripts.Thismeansthat
BoschsassumptioniscorrectandthattheChaiyainscription(letuscallitthisforthe
sakeofconvenience)isasingletextwhichshouldbereadfromconventionalsideB.
The rulers name is not mentioned in the Chaiya inscription. The only term
which may be a name is vivkhyo Vishnu by name from the third line of side B.
Unfortunately,itcanalsobetranslatedas(havingan)appearanceofVishnu(ayant
laspectdeViu)(Cds1918:32;1959:47;Cds&Damais1992:110)astheterm
khymeansboth(MonierWilliams1899:129).Itshouldbenotedthatthefourthline
ofsideBgivesanexampleofsimilarusage:Thecompoundrmahrjanmmaybe
translatedasrmahrjabynameandwhoiscalledillustriousmaharaja.
Side A tells about the construction of brick sanctuaries in honour of Buddha
(the destroyer of Mra) and bodhisattvas Padmap (kajakara) and Vajrap
(bajrini) (Cds 1918: 29, 31). Therefore, the ailendras again appear in Buddhist
context.
OneofthemostimportantsourcesonearlyIndonesianhistoryistheNland
copperplate of Devapladeva from Bengal (Shastri 1924: 31027). Devapladeva
belongedtothePladynasty.Unfortunately,thisinscriptiononlyhasthedateofthe
39th regnal year of Devapladeva. Conventional chronologies of the Pla dynasty,
however, date his death between 843 and 850 CE (Sirkar 1977; Khandanavala &
Gorakshkar 1986; Huntington & Huntington 1990; Jordaan & Colless 2009: 323).
Therefore, the Nland copperplate belongs to the first half of the ninth century
insteadofthesecondoneassupposedbyDeCasparis(1956:297).Theinscriptionsays
thattherulerofSuvaradvpa(Sumatraorpartthereof,includingSrivijaya),thegreat
king of kings (adhipamahrja) named Blaputra founded a Buddhist monastery
(vihra)inNland.BlaputrawassaidtobeagrandsonofakingofYavabhmi(Java)
who was an ornament of the ailendra dynasty (ailendravaatilako
yavabhmipla, line 52). A son of this king Samargravra10 married a princess Tr
7
who was a daughter of a certain great king of the Lunar race Dharmasetu (rja
somakulnvayasya mahata rdharmaseto sut) (Shastri 1924: 3224; Nilakanta
Sastri1949:1267;Krom1926:139;Damais1968:364;Jordaan&Colless2009:42).As
Sundberg(2011:145)rightlypointsout,thetermsdharmasetuandtrbothoccurin
theKalasaninscriptionofPaakaraabutinthatcasetheyarenotconsideredtobe
personal names. Where Dharmasetu ruled is not known, nor do we know of other
members of the Lunar race. The only person who clearly belonged to the ailendra
dynastyisthekingofYavabhmi,agrandfatherofBlaputra.Thelatterwasnotcalled
anornamentoftheailendradynasty.
ThenameBlaputra,probablyoccursaswlaputrainthemetricalOldJavanese
inscriptionofthekingLokapladated856CE(DeCasparis1956:280330,esp.312).
This inscription tells about the construction of a temple complex in honour of Siva
identifiedwiththefamousPrambanan(Jordaan(ed.)1996).DyaLokaplaascended
the throne of the kingdom and kraton of Mdang (rjya karatwan, maang
kaatwan)succeedingthekingJtiningrat(DeCasparis1956:312,318).Accordingto
theWanuaTengahIIIinscriptionissuedbykingBalitungin908CE,Jtiningratwasthe
raka of Pikatan (Wisseman Christie 2001: 30, 52). Lokapla is known as the raka of
Kayuwangi whose personal name was Sajjanotsavatuga mentioned in the copper
plateofRamvi,ortheNgabeanVIinscriptionof882CE(Sarkar1971,278).Thesixth
stropheoftheLokaplainscriptionsays:Theyoungprinceprotectedthecountryof
Java (yuwantha mangraka bhmi ri jawa). This prince is also called maharaja
and victor (jet) (De Casparis 1956: 3112). De Casparis supposed that this is a
referencetoabattlebetweenBlaputraandJavaneserulers,namelyrakaofPikatan
andLokapla,resultinginthedefeatofBlaputraandtheailendrasevictionfromJava
toSumatra(1956:2959).Butthecontextofthetermwlaputraisunclearasthefirst
oftheprecedingtwosyllablesislostwhereasthesecondhicannotbeexplained
satisfactorily. It is equally possible that wlaputra means here young man, child
instead of being a personal name (Zoetmulder 1982: 2179; MonierWilliams 1899:
729).Ifcorrect,thismeansthattherewasnobattleontheRatuBokoplateau.
8
One point is worthy of notice. The Kkurak inscription calls the ruler a
destroyerofthebestheroesofenemies(vairivaravramardana)(seeabove).Almost
identical epithets occur in the Chaiya inscription and the Nland copperplate:
destroyingtheprideofallhisenemies(sarvvrimadavimathana)(Cds&Damais
1992:108;cf.:Cds1918:29)andillustrioustormentor/destroyerofbravefoes
(rvravairimathana) (Nilakanta Sastri 1949: 1267). This resemblance of epithets
forcesustoconsiderthemasbelongingtooneandthesameailendraruler.Nilakanta
SastriheldthathewasPaakaraaDharandravarman(NilakantaSastri1949:556)
but the name Dharandravarman seems inauthentic. Roy Jordaan and Brian Colless
(2009: 43) think the ruler was r Sanggrmadhanajaya. Sundberg believes that the
killerofhaughtyenemieswasPaakaraa(2003,176).Theonlythingthatseems
evident is that these references concern one and the same ruler. It is only his name
whichisapointatissue.
Later references to the ailendras occur outside Java, in India. The Larger
LeidencopperplateinscriptionoftheCholarulerRjarjaIdatedto1006CEcontains
theSanskritpartwhichwasaddedbyhissonRjendraIabout1019CE.Ittellsthatthe
king of Kaha, i.e. Kedah in Malaysia, named Cmaivarman founded a Buddhist
templeinNagapattinam.Cmaivarmanwasbornintheailendrafamily,wasthe
lord of the rviaya (country), and was conducting the rule of Kaha (ailendra
vaasambhtena rviaydhipatin Kaahdhipatyamtanvat) (Karashima &
Subbarayalu 2009: 2723; Nilakanta Sastri 1949: 128, 75; Aiyer 1933a: 21366).
Rjarja Chola I bestowed a village to the temple. A son of Cmaivarman named
Mravijayttugavarman finished his fathers construction. The temple was called
ailendraCmaivarmavihra. The Smaller Leiden copperplate inscription of
Kulttunga Chola I confirmed Rjarjas endowment (Majumdar 1933: 124; Aiyer
1933b: 26781; Karashima & Subbarayalu 2009: 281). The rviaya country is
identified with Srivijaya. Two other inscriptions from Nagapattinam dated to
1014/1015and1015CEmakethisidentificationbeyonddoubtastheyofferdifferent
spellingsofthename:rviayaandrvijaya(Karashima&Subbarayalu2009:2756).
Another text from Nagapattinam dated from 1019 mentions an envoy of the king of
9
Kira,anotherspellingofKadramandKaha(Karashima&Subbarayalu2009:278).
ThesedatashowthatthemembersoftheailendradynastyheldswayoverKedahat
theendofthetenthtothebeginningoftheeleventhcenturyandalsoruledSrivijaya.11
AstheailendrasandtheiractivitiesarerecordedinsomanycontextsofJava,
Sumatra,ThaiMalayPeninsula,andIndia,theirhistoryandlegacyhavebecomevery
complicatedanddisputable.Letmenowturntosomeproblemsinthisresearch.

TheailendrasinCentralJava

The ailendras in Java occur only in a Buddhist context (see above). Early epigraphy
from Java, however, begins with the aivite inscription of the king Sajaya from
Canggal dated 732 CE (Sarkar 1971: 1524). The inscription says Sajaya erected a
lingam of Siva. In the early tenth century, the king Daka who ruled in 913919 CE
introduced a new calendar the era of Sajaya (Damais 1951: 4263; Sarkar 1972:
12334, 13842; Wisseman Christie 2001: 32). Four inscriptions are dated by this
system:TajiGunung,TimbananWungkal,Tihang,andTulangEr,whichisdatedtothe
198th year of Sajaya (Sundberg 2009: 343). The first of these is dated to the 194th
yearofSajaya,or910CE,andmentionsthepreviouscampofthekingrSajaya
(tarubngunirsajayanaranttha,Sarkar1972:125,recto,line25).
The famous Mantyasih I inscription of 907 CE issued by the predecessor of
Daka,kingBalitung,callsSajayathefirstprotectorofthekingdomofMatarm:
You deified beings of earlier times from Mdang, from Po pitu the raka of
Matarm (such as) king Sajaya, the illustrious great king (who is) the raka of
Panangkaran,theillustriousgreatking(whois)therakaofPanunggalan,theillustrious
great king (who is) the raka of Warak, the illustrious great king (who is) the raka of
Garung,theillustriousgreatking(whois)therakaofPikatan,theillustriousgreatking
(who is) the raka of Kayuwangi, the illustrious great king (who is) the raka of Watu
Humalang(kamungrahyangtarumuhunrimangripopiturakaimatarmsang
ratu sajaya r mahrja rakai Panangkaran r mahrja rakai panunggalan r
mahrja rakai warak r mahrja rakai garung r mahrja rakai pikatan r
mahrjarakaikayuwangirmahrjarakaiwatuhumalang)(Sarkar1972:68,75).
10
TheSundanesechronicleCaritaParahyangandatingfromthesixteenthcentury
tellsthatSajayaconqueredmanylandsinSumatraandBali,andpursuedwarsagainst
the Khmers and even China (Poerbatjaraka 1920: 40316; Majumdar 1937: 230;
Chatterji1967:9).Whilethisseemsanobviousexaggeration(Krom1931:126;Cds
1968:88;Chatterji1967:9;cf.:VanderMeulen1979:27;Mahdi2008:11143),the
chronicle shows the great significance of Sajaya in the historical memory of the
Sundaneseand,indirectly,Javanesefromwhomtheformergottoknowofhim.Asthe
kingsSajayaandLokapla,aswellmanyotherrulersofCentralJavaintheninthto
earlytenthcenturies,werethedevoteesofSivawhiletheailendraswereBuddhists
(see the sources in Sarkar 19711972; Brandes 1913), many scholars have believed
thattherewerethetwodynastiesinJava,i.e.theailendrasandtheSajayafamily.
OneofthemostprominentexponentsofthistheorywasDeCasparis(1956:2937).
Thesedynastiesweresaidtohavebeenrivalsforhegemony,andafterthepostulated
defeatofBlaputrain856,theailendrasseemtohavebeenevictedfromJava.The
great monuments of Borobudur and Prambanan have been interpreted as the rival
constructionsoftheailendrasandtheSajayafamilyrespectively.
As we have seen earlier, the battle between Blaputra and Lokapla looks
problematic. There are also data that show that there were no distinctions between
the ailendras and Sajaya family. These data include the Mantyasih I and Wanua
TengahIIIinscriptions.BoththetextswereissuedunderthekingBalitungin907and
908CErespectively.Theybothgivelistsofdeifiedrulersasprotectorsofthekingdom
ofMatarmwhiletheircognatetiesarenotmentioned.JordaanandCollessoffertheir
summarytable:
MantyasihI(907) WanuaTengahIII(908)
RakaiMtaramsangRatuSajaya RahyangtariMangandRahyangtaiHra
rMahrjaRakaiPanangkaran RakePanangkaran(746784)
rMahrjaRakaiPanunggalan RakePanaraban(784803)
rMahrjaRakaiWarak RakeWarakDyaManara(803827)
DyaGula(827829)
rMahrjaRakaiGarung RakeGarung(829847)
rMahrjaRakaiPikatan RakePikatanDyaSala(847855)
11
MantyasihI(907) WanuaTengahIII(908)
rMahrjaRakaiKayuwangi RakeKayuwangiDyaLokapla(855885)
DyaTagwas(885)
RakePanumwanganDyaDewendra(885887)
RakeGurungwangiDyaBhadra(887)
rMahrjaRakaiWatuhumalang Rake Wungkal Humalang Dya Jbang (894
898)
rMahrjaRakaiWatukuraDyaBalitung RakeWatukuraDyaBalitung(898)
Source:Jordaan&Colless2009:37.
Jan Wisseman Christie points out that the rulers who were claimed as the
ailendras could have been members of Sajaya family at one and the same time.
The most obvious candidate for such an identification is the king Paakaraa from
the Kalasan inscription who may be identified with r Mahrja Rakai Panangkaran.
Wisseman Christie notices that Javanese rulers bore names of several components.
There are titles (mahrja, raka, ratu), epithets (dya, (m)pu, sang, r), personal
names, and coronation names (abhieka) (Wisseman Christie 2001: 28). After their
death,rulerswerereferredtobyanapotheosisname.Amonarchcouldhaveseveral
coronation names. For example, Balitung is called r mahrjarakaiWatukuradya
Balitung r Dharmmodya Mahambhu in the Mantyasih I inscription, and r
Iwarakeawotsawatungga in the Wanua Tengah III inscription (Sarkar 1972: 65;
Wisseman Christie 2001: 52). As for an apotheosis name, r Mahrja Rakai Warak
DyaManarawascalledrMahrjasanglumiKelsa,i.e.rMahrjawholies
dead/whoseasheswereinterredinKelsa(WissemanChristie2001:28,30,51).12
TheWanuaTengahIIIinscriptiontellsthataBuddhistmonasteryintheareaof
PikatanwasfoundedbyacertainRahyangtaiHrawhowascalledayoungerbrother
of the Rahyangta ri Mang (Wisseman Christie 2001: 2930, 51). As Sajaya is
connectedwithMdangintheMantyasihIcharter(seeabove),itislikelythathewas
this Rahyangta ri Mang. Wisseman Christie points out that Rahyangta i Hra could
havebeeneitherhisrealyoungerbrotherorsubordinatebrotherrulerofthestate
knowntotheChineseasHeling(Holing),whosecapitalhadbeeninHra,andwhose
12
territory had incorporated the Pikatan area until his state was annexed by Sajaya
(WissemanChristie2001:34).Sheadds:
ThisBuddhistrulermayhavebelongedtotheailendrafamily.Ifso,thenthe
twofamilies musthave mergedinthe mideighthcentury,whenHelingsannexation
and subordination was reinforced by a marriage tie between Sajaya and a woman
relatedtoHelingsruler(WissemanChristie2001:34).

Recognizing her hypothesis of marriage tie and annexation of Heling
bySajayaasatruefact,WissemanChristieidentifieslaterrulersofJavainthe
dynasticdiagram:
Sajayafamily ailendrafamily
RakePanangkaran =? IndraSanggrmadhanajaya
(dyPacapaa) (A.D.782)
(A.D.746784)
RakaiPanunggalan/Panaraban =? Dharmmottungadeva
(=narendraSraa13) (A.D.792793)
(A.D.784803) =(?WiuofLigor,afterA.D.775.)
RakeWarakDyaManara(803827) =? Samarattungga
(A.D.824)
(whosedaughterwasPrmodavarddhan)
DyaGula =? ?(noabhiekaname)
(A.D.827828) (Blaputra = possibly son of the ousted
DyaGula?)
(c.A.D.860)
Source:WissemanChristie2001:35.

WissemanChristiestheorywascriticizedbySundberg.HepointsoutthatHeling
continuedtosendembassiestoChinauntil818CEandthisarguesagainsttheidea
ofitsannexationbySajaya(Sundberg2009:344).AnotherproblemwithHelingis
thattherewasapolityWalaingwhosenamewastranscribedbytheChineseas
Heling(Sundberg2009:344;Damais1964:93141).Sajayaandhissuccessors
neverclaimedtopossessWalaing.Sundbergalsoemphasisesthatthekingsname
13
IndraattributedtoPanangkaranbyWissemanChristieisoutofdate(seeabove).
HeaddsthatthereisnoproofthatSraaisapersonalname.Sundbergholdsthat
theAbhayagirivihraandKayumvunganinscriptionsbothmentionSamaratuga.
ThismeansthathisreigncoveredboththatofRakaiPanunggalan/Panarabanand
RakeWarak(Sundberg2009:347).Inanycase,WissemanChristiesconstructions
lookratherproblematic.
Be that as it may, Sundberg shares the same one dynasty theory but his
interpretation is rather different. He believes that the Wanua Tengah III list includes
theailendrastoobecauseitmentionsthegreatkingPaakaraafromtheKalasan
inscription as Rake Panangkaran and this title also occurs in the Mantyasih I charter
(seeabove)(Sundberg2003:174).Ishouldnotethatitistheonlyclearidentification
whichisdoubtless.
One of the most important arguments by Sundberg is based on the Buddhist
mantra found on the Ratu Boko Plateau. It contains the two lines: o ak h ja
svhandPanarabwankhanipa(Sundberg2003:16388,especially164165andfig.
1). According to Sundberg (2003: 174), Panarabwan was identical to the Panaraban
mentioned in the Wanua Tengah III inscription. But the scholar assumes that
Panaraban was Samaratuga who had died in 803 CE as the Wanua Tengah III text
states (Sundberg 2003: 175). As Samaratuga is mentioned in the Kayumvungan
inscription of 824 CE, Sundberg declares that he had died long before it was issued,
and the temple of Buddha was established by his daughter Prmodavarddhan, not
him(Sundberg2006b,27;cf.2009:358).
Sundberg (2006: 95136, especially 1204) thinks Borobudur was constructed
bytheRakeWarakDyaManara(803827CE).Theargumentsareasfollows:There
are placenames nearBorobudur reminiscentof the kings name, including the river
nameKaliWarakandtheMenorehHills.TheinscriptionofKamalagidatedfrom821CE
containsthetermwaragwarakwhichmayhadbeenaplacename(Sarkar1971:57).14
SeveralundatedinscriptionsofBorobudurarewritteninascriptresemblingthatofthe
Kamalagi inscription (Sundberg 2006a: 116, 1213). The Sundanese chronicle Carita
14
ParahyanganreferstoRakeWarakDyaManaraasSangManarah(Sundberg2006a,
123).AllthesedataallowsuppositionthatthedomainofWaraklaynearBorobudur.
According to Sundberg, the empire of the ailendras was divided by Rake
WarakandhishypotheticalbrotherBlaputra;andthisistheonlyargumentthatSang
ManarahifhewasRakeWarak,engagedinwarsagainsthisbrotherRahyangBanga.
TheformerobtainedJava,whilethelatterheldswayoverSumatra(Sundberg2006a:
124,n.50).
Sundbergs theory contains two main defects. First, there is no data that
suggeststhatSamaratugawasdeadwhentheKayumvunganinscriptionwasmadein
821CE.Thetextoftheinscriptionmakesnosuchreference.IftheWanuaTengahIII
inscriptionincludestheailendrasandifSamaratugawasstillalivein821CE,healso
couldbetheRakeWarakDyaManara.Ialsowouldliketomakesomeargumentsfor
the supposition that the Abhayagirivihra inscription, nevertheless, mentions
Samaratuga,notDharmmatuga.
Second, the hypothesis of the division of the ailendra Empire between Rake
Warak and Blaputra seems ungrounded. At first, one needs to prove that the
ailendraseverheldswayoverSumatraoratleastitssoutheasternpart.Thekinship
relations of Blaputra and the ailendras does not prove that. First, one must show
that his father Samargravra was also father of Rake Warak; second, one needs to
show that Samargravra even ruled in Java because the title of ruler of Yavabhmi
(Java)belongedonlytothegrandfatherofBlaputra.
Therefore, Sundbergs theory seems as problematic as that of Wisseman
Christie.
AtheoryofmanydynastieshasnowbeenproposedbyJordaan.Heholdsthat
therewerethreedynastiesinancientJava:theailendras,thedescendantsofSajaya
(probably, selfproclaimed), and the clan of rakarayn of Patapn named Pu Palar
mentioned in the Kayumvugan inscription (see above) (Jordaan & Colless 2009: 36;
Jordaan 2006: 322; 1999: 44). Jordaan identifies the rakarayn of Patapn with a
certainangkaraynPart(t)apnfromanundatedOldMalayinscriptionofGondosuli
II found in Central Java (Jordaan 1999: 44; Jordaan & Colless 2009: 196).15 This
15
inscription mentions a sanctuary of Siva Sang Hyang Wintang, or sacred star (de
heiligeSter,line11).Thedateoftheinscriptionisdebatable.DeCasparis(1950:557)
dateditto832CEbutLouisCharlesDamais(1970:44)placeditabitearlier,around
800CE.RoyJordaanstrangelydatesitfrom847CEwithoutargumentation(Jordaan&
Colless2009:194;cf.Jordaan1999:44).
Jordaan advances several arguments in favour of the ailendra dynasty. First,
he believes that the Kalasan inscription of 778 CE mentions the two rulers, one of
whomwasaailendraking.Second,theidentificationsoftheailendraswiththekings
of the Wanua Tengah III and Mantyasih I lists are unconvincing. According to him,
these lists include the paramount Javanese aivite rulers (Jordaan 1999: 44). The
ailendrasweresupposedlyomittedduetotheirhypotheticalforeignorigin(Jordaan&
Colless200938).Thattheywouldhavebeenofforeignoriginisbecausesupposedlyno
ailendraruler bore the Javanese titles of ratu, raka or rakarayn (Jordaan 2006: 9).
Jordaanstates:
TheotherreasonwhyIthinkthattheailendraswereofforeignorigin
and not a separate dynasty from another part of the country, is that the
establishmentoftheirruleinJavawasaccompaniedbyanumberofexogenous
changes the introduction of a new script that in Dutch colonial times was
generally known by the name of PreNgar (siddhamtka), the earliest
issuance of the silver SandalwoodFlower coins, bearing legends in the same
script,theintroductionofthemharjatitleanditssubsequentadoptionbythe
Javanese rulers, the transfer of the Javanese capital to the East (not
necessarily to East Java), and the sudden blossoming of Mahyna Buddhist
architectural art. In contrast, the departure of the ailendras from Java was
followed by such developments as the fall of Buddhism from royal favour as
reflectedinthedisparagingremarksaboutBuddhistmonksandnunsintheOld
Javanese Rmyaa as well as the halt to Buddhist templebuilding activities,
the change from Sanskrit to Old Javanese, the shift from silver coinage to an
indigenousgoldcurrency(Jordaan2006:6).
Unfortunately, some of Jordaans observations are far from being well

grounded.Firstandforemost,theKalasaninscriptionof778mentionstheonlygreat
kingmahrjadyPacapaakariynaPaakaraawhowasanornamentofthe
16
ailendra dynasty (seeabove). This means that he belonged to this family and bore
theJavanesetitlesdyandkariynaaswellasthetitleofmahrja.Kariynaseems
to be a Sanskritised form of Old Javanese karayn. According to the Kalasan
inscription,PaakaraapatronisedBuddhism.AsheappearsintheMantyasihIand
WanuaTengahIIIlistsasrMahrjaRakaiPanangkaranandRakePanangkaran(see
above) and the Wanua Tengah III inscription tells that a wetrice field (sawa) was
donated to a Buddhist monastery (bihra i pikatan) by this Rake Panangkaran
(WissemanChristie2001:2930,51),Jordaansstatementthattheselistsincludethe
paramountaivitekingsshouldbeconsideredwrong.
InscriptionswritteninOldJavaneseappearedearlierthanthelastmentionof
the ailendras was made in the Kayumvungan inscription. This text is bilingual and
written in both Sanskrit and Old Javanese (see above). The earliest authentic Old
Javanese inscription seems to have been the inscribed stone of the Ding Plateau
dated at 809 CE (Sarkar 1971: 4952).16 Buddhism was flourishing in Java at the
beginning of the tenth century as attested by the Wanua Tengah III inscription
describingthehistoryofaBuddhistmonasteryinPikatan(seeabove).
The transfer of the Javanese capital to the East known from the Chinese
chronicles is extremely obscure information as it covers both terms which are
consideredasdesignationsofJavaanditspolities,i.e.ShepoandHeling:Theking(of
Heling)livesinthecityofShepo;buthisancestornamedJiyantransferred(thecapital)
to the East, to the city of Polujiasi (Xin Tangshu, book 222, notice on Heling) and
during theepoch of Tianbao(742755 CE) (the capital)of Shepo was moved to the
city of Polujiasi (Ying huan zheliu, chap 2) (Pelliot 1904: 225, n. 2). If Heling was
Walaing, as Damais supposed (1964: 93141), these references have nothing in
commonwiththeailendras.
Jordaans other arguments may be viewed in an opposite way. The halt to
Buddhisttemplebuildingactivitiescouldbecausedbyitsowncosts:AfterBorobudur
andtheaiviteLoroJonggrangcomplexinPrambananwerebuilt;therewerenoother
suchhugeconstructions.Thechangetogoldcurrencycouldbecausedbytheabsence
17
ofsilver.TheEarly(orPre)NgarscriptwasusedfortheBuddhistinscriptionsonly
butthisdoesnotimplythatitwasnecessarilyusedbyforeignrulers.
Therefore,noexistingtheoryofearlyJavanesehistoryseemstobeconvincing.
The onedynasty thesis is wrong simply because the Gondosuli II and Kayumvungan
inscriptionsmentionarulerrakaraynofPatapn/angkaraynPart(t)apnnamed
Pu Palar. He most likely was not a member of the ailendra dynasty,and his kinship
withthepostulatedlineofSajayaisalsounfounded.Itshouldberememberedthat
therulerofWalaingPuKumbhayonibelongedtoanotherroyalfamily.Oneofhissmall
Sanskritrecordsdatedfrom856callshimthebullofmen,i.e.king,andtheprotector
of Valaing (nararabha, valaigagoptar) (De Casparis 1956: 270). The second
inscriptionwhichisalsodatedfrom856claimsPuKumbhayoniakingandthevictor
of Valaing (npati, valaigajetar) and perhaps mentions the land of Sargabhava
(DeCasparis1956:274,276).17DeCasparisreferstothegenealogyofPuKumbhayoni
inoneoftheundatedRatuBokoinscriptionsbutgivesnotruetranscriptionorselected
terms which he translates as godking or all other kings predecessors of
Kumbhayoni (De Casparis 1956: 342). This godking was his great grandfather. Pu
Kumbhayoni is called a great grandson (puyut) of Sang Ratu i Halu, i.e. honourable
kingofHalu,intheVukiraninscriptiondatedfrom863(Sarkar1971:172;DeCasparis
1956: 26979, 3413). Pu Kumbhayoni bears the title raka here. Hence, there were
otherroyalorrulingfamiliesinJava.
Thisconclusionisconfirmedbyotherdata.Oneofthemostenigmaticpersons
inancientJavanesehistorywasrKahulunanwhoappearsinthetwoTruiTepussan
(CaiPetung)inscriptionswheres/hemarkedoutasma,orimmunity.Boththetexts
datefrom842CE.Thefirstofthemcontainsanexpressionsmningkamlnibhmi
sambhraimmunityoftheKamlnintheland/countryofSambhra(Sarkar1971,
100). The second inscription lacks the important term bhmi (Sarkar 1971: 102). De
Casparis (1950, 16070) sees here an abbreviated form of the term
bhmisambhrabhdharathemountainofaccumulationofvirtueofthe(ten)stages
(oftheBodhisattva).Itseemsriskytoassumethattheancientscribesusedshortened
forms or made mistakes in both texts. I find it unlikely. More or at least equally
18
plausibleisahypothesisthattherewasanotherbhmicomparablewithbhmirijawa
and bhmi i mataram.18 This was ruled by r Kahulunan. De Casparis translates this
term as Queen Consort whereas Boechari, Lokesh Chandra, Andries Teeuw, and
Sergey Kullanda offer Queen Mother (De Casparis 1950: 856; Boechari 1982;
Chandra1994:84;Teeuw2001:52538;Kullanda2008:361).Butwedonotknowto
whom,orevenif,shewasaqueenmother.
The only wellestablished fact concerning the ailendra dynasty is that one of
itsmemberswasmahrjadyPacapaakariynaPaakaraafromtheKalasan
inscription of 778 CE. As he ruled in 746784 CE, according to the Wanua Tengah III
inscription,thetwootherrecordsdatefromhisreign,i.e.theKlurakof782CEand
the Chaiya, or Ligor, inscription of 775 CE. Therefore, Paakaraa was likely r
Sanggrmadhanajaya.Thattheauthorsofthesetextsuseddifferentnamesandtitles,
is not a great problem as it should be remembered that, first, the Mantyasih I and
WanuaTengahIIIinscriptionsgivetwodifferentroyalnamesofBalitung(seeabove);
second,Paakaraa,orrakaiPanangkaranisnotapersonalorcoronationnamebut
an apanage (watak/watk) title. More difficult is the relationship between
PaakaraaandSrivijayawhichissuggestedonthebasisoftheChaiyastele.

19
TheailendrasandSrivijaya

The Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya which was centred in Palembang in Southeast
Sumatra(Manguin2009:43484)aroseinthesecondhalfoftheseventhcenturyCE.
Itsruler,rJayana,leftfewOldMalayinscriptionsdatedaroundthe680sCE(Cds
1930:2980;DeCasparis1956:146).Hisclanaffiliationisnotknown.Therearesome
textsofSrivijayainSanskrit(DeCasparis1956:116).
Vogel (1919: 62637) and Krom (1919; 1926) held that Srivijaya was ruled by
theailendradynastyfromtheverybeginninganditscapitalwastransferredtoJavain
themiddleoftheeighthcenturyCE.TheirmainargumentsweretheBuddhistnature
oftheKalasanandKlurakinscriptions,thethrivingofBuddhisminSrivijayaaccording
to the Chinese pilgrim Yijing (Chavannes 1894; Takakusu 1896), and a punitive
expedition of Srivijaya against a land of Java (bhmi Java) mentioned in the Kota
Kapurinscriptionof686CE(Cds1930:4550;Cds&Damais1992:526).
Ontheotherhand,WillemStutterheim(1929)thoughtthattheailendraswho
supposedly were of Javanese origin conquered Srivijaya in the middle of the eighth
centuryCE(cf.:Jordaan1999;2006:322).Jordaanreferstothesuddencessationof
Srivijayas embassies to China in 742 CE and appearances of embassies from other
countries: Gelo (Kedah in Malaysia) sent a mission between 742 and 759 CE, Heling
sentembassiesin768818CE,Shepodidthesamein820873CE,andZhanbei(Jambi
inSumatra)dispatchedmissionsin852and871CE(Jordaan&Colless2009:679).
Butboththesetheorieshaveseriousdeficiencies.First,thereisnoevidenceof
the ailendras in Sumatra before Blaputra in the ninth century, and even he might
haveonlybeenarelativeofthisfamily.likethelastRussianemperorNicholasIIwasa
relativeoftheGermanemperorWilhelmIIbutbelongedtotheRomanoffdynasty.The
theoryofVogelandKromdoesnottakeintoaccountthedifferenceoflanguagesused
inSrivijayaandintheJavanesemonarchyoftheailendras,OldMalayinthefirstand
Sanskritinsecond.ThesupposedpunitiveexpeditionagainstalandofJavacouldbe
aimedagainstaplaceotherthanJava:BoecharipointedtoavillagenamedBumijavain
southofSumatrawhileJavacouldalsodenoteapartofBorneo(Boechari1979:31;
20
Kullanda2001:252,n.2).Stutterheimstheoryhasnodataontheailendrapresence
inSumatraintheeighthcenturyCE.ItalsoconfusesChinesedataonShepoandHeling
whichwerenotasopposedasitisusuallybelieved(seeabove).Thetheorymixesthe
questionofpolityandthequestionofdynasty.
Themostprofoundexaminationoftherelationshipbetweentheailendrasand
SrivijayaisthatofJordaanandColless(2009).Theystatethatfromthesecondhalfof
theeighthcenturyCE,Srivijayawasanalliedkingdomoftheailendras,whowerethe
truegreatkings(Mahrjas)oftheMalayIndonesianarchipelagoandtherelations
between Sumatra and Java were a symbiosis (Jordaan & Colless 2009: x). The
ailendraswerethusthemaharajasoftheislesoftheArabiansources.
ThefirstargumentforthealliancebetweentheailendrasandSrivijayaisroyal
titlesintheChaiya,orLigor,inscription.AccordingtoStutterheim,JordaanandColless,
the terms rvijayendrarja and rvijayevarabhpati should be translated as King
over the lords of Srivijaya whereas the title rvijayanpati was a short form
(Stutterheim 1929: 14; Jordaan & Colless 2009: 557). But Cds (1918, 3, 31)
translatedthefirsttwotermsasking(ofthecountry)ofSrivijaya.TheSanskritterms
indrarja, vara, npati, bhpati, and, certainly, rjan denote kings (MonierWilliams
1899:171,567,761,874,1321),butthecompoundvarabhpati,perhaps,maymean
kingofkings(orthehighestking).
AsetofdataonearlyinsularSoutheastAsiacanbefoundinArabiangeographic
literature.MedievalNearEasternscholarshipdescribedmanycountriesintheregion
due to the flourishing of international trade by land and by sea. The Arabian
geographersIbnKhurddhbih(c.850CE)andAbZaid(916CE)tellaboutaveryfertile
island country of Zbag which was identified with Srivijaya (Ferrand 1922: 5261) or
Java (Tibbetts 1979: 107)19, and about the powerful Mahrja of the islands of the
easternsea(Tibbetts1979:259).JordaanandCollessbelievethesecondargument
for the alliance between the ailendras and Srivijaya is the description of an island
countryofZbagbyIbnKhurddhbih:
The authority of the Mahrja [of Zbag] is exercised over these various
islands and the island in which he resides is extremely fertile, and patches of
habitation succeed each other without interruption. A very trustworthy man affirms
21
thatwhenthecockscrowatdaybreak,asinourcountry,theycallouttoeachother
throughout the whole extent of a hundred parasangs [c. 500 kilometres] or more,
showing the uninterrupted and regular succession of villages. In effect, there are no
uninhabitedplacesinthiscountryandnoruins.Hewhocomesintothecountrywhen
heisonjourney,ifheismountedhemaygowhereverhepleases;ifheistiredorifhis
mounthasdifficultyincarryingon,thanhemaystopwhereverhewishes.(Tibbetts
1979:33)
Jordaan and Colless (2009: 64) notice that the Mahrja of the Isles threw a
goldbrickintoapondeveryday,accordingtothereferencesofIbnKhurddhbihand
Ab Zaid, but the ruler of Srivijaya kept his gold in his palace (tngah rumah) as the
Sabokingking, or Telaga Batu II inscription states (De Casparis 1956: 39). That Zbag
wasnotSrivijayaisconfirmedbythefactthatSribuzawhichwasthelattersnamein
theArabiantexts,wasneverreferredtoastheresidenceoftheMahrjaoftheIsles
(Tibbetts1979:113;Jordaan&Colless2009:66).Therefore,ZbagdenotedJavaand
alltheailendraEmpire.Thescholarsalsorefertothefamousstoryaboutthefounder
oftheAngkorianEmpire,JayavarmanII,whosupposedlywasinJavabeforecomingto
Cambodia,astheSdokKakThominscriptionof1052CEsays(Jordaan&Colless2009:
61)20.JordaanandColless(2009:679)explainthecessationofSrivijaya=Shilifoshis
embassiestoChinabyitssubmissiontotheailendras.
As a whole, Jordaans and Colless arguments look convincing. But there are
some issues. First, why was the ailendra ruler in the Chaiya inscription who
presumablysubduedSrivijayaorwasproclaimedasitsoverlord,definedastheking
ofSrivijaya?Second,itneedstobeproventhatin775CESrivijayawasinPalembang
orsomewhereelseinSumatra.However,thereisnodataforitsexistencethereinthe
secondhalfoftheeighthcentury.Perhaps,theailendrarulermentionedintheChaiya
inscriptiontookapartoftheThaiMalayPeninsulaunderhiscontrolaround775CE.
As for the first difficulty, it should be remembered that the full title of
Paakaraaisunknownandkingsoftenincludedthetitlesofcountriesconqueredor
subordinatedintheirofficialtitles;theRussianTsarsareagoodexample.Forinstance
Nicholas II who was the Russian Emperor, was also King of Poland, Grand Duke of
FinlandandTsarofKazanatoneandthesametime21.Itisalsoworthyofnoticethat
22
WilliamtheConquerorwasDukeofNormandyandkeptthistitleafterhebecamethe
King of England. Moreover, he did not absorb the kingdom into the Duchy of
Normandy or viceversa. This suggests that the ailendra ruler could have subdued
SrivijayaorpartofitintheThaiMalayPeninsulaandkeptthetitlekingofSrivijayain
thenewsubordinatedlands.
ManyscholarsspeakoftworulersintheChaiyainscription,i.e.aailendraand
akingofSrivijaya(Majumdar1933:122;Cds1959:47;Mahdi2008:128).Theonly
argumentinfavourofsuchsuppositionisthenumeralsonsideBoftheinscription:eka
oneanddvityasecondwhichmaymeantheonetheothertogether(Monier
Williams1899:227).ButthesenumeralsdonotoccuronsideAwhichistheonlyside
of the Chaiya inscription on which the term rvijaya appears. Therefore, the
opposition of two kings looks problematic. The hypothesis of one king, i.e. the
ailendra ruler who was the king of Srivijaya at one and the same time, is more
congruentwiththetextualevidence.ThementioningofVishnuintheChaiyasteleis
notsurprisingduetohisappearanceasanembodimentofBodhisattvaMajur(see
above).
TheappearanceoftheailendrasintheChaiyastelemayhavebeenaresultof
pilgrimageactivities,notofwarfare.Insuchacase,theirpowerwouldnothavespread
overapartoftheThaiMalayPeninsula.However,therearesomefactswhichpointto
increasingmilitaryactivitiesintheIndonesianMalayarchipelagointhesecondhalfof
theeighthcentury.First,Shepo(Java)andtheKunlun(Malays?)raidedtheregionof
TonkininVietnamin767CE(Cds1968:91).Second,theinscriptionsofChampatell
aboutinvasionsofcertainbarbariansfromtheseaorevenfromJavain774and787
788 CE.22 These data may suggest a politics of expansion of the Javanese rulers. But
howtheailendrasbecamethelordsofSrivijayaremainsunknown.

23
TheOriginoftheailendras

Wherefrom the ailendras came to Java is a problem which, being relatively
unimportant, became a point at issue and generated many papers (For more details
see Jordaan 1999; and Jordaan & Colless 2009). There are four main theories: of
Sumatran, Javanese, Indian, and Funan origin; the first two may be named
Indonesian origins whereas the last two are foreign. This distinction partially
accountsfortheirexistence:manytheoriesofIndianisationwereconstructedtoview
Southeast Asia as a secondary region of the world always dependent on foreign
influences from India, China or Western Europe. Nowadays these theories are no
longertenablebutthequestionoftheailendraoriginlooksliketheirecho.
ThetheoryofaSumatranoriginwaspopularinthefirsthalfofthetwentieth
centuryandwasadvocatedbyKrom(1919),Cds(1918;1930),andVogel(1919).It
became outdated because there is no data on the ailendra presence in Sumatra
earlierthantheninthcenturyandSrivijayacouldnothavesubduedJava(seeabove).
But the discovery of the undated Old Malay Sojomerto inscription prolonged
popularity of this theory. Boechari (1966: 243), who edited the inscription found in
SojomertoinCentralJava(sic!),supposedthatthetitledapntaSelendrawasaMalay
form of the term ailendra. Moreover, he dated the Sojomerto inscription from the
beginningoftheseventhcenturyCE.AsthetextpraisesSiva(namavaya,line3),
Boechari went further and supposed the existence of the ailendraaivites as
opposingtotheailendrasBuddhists.
ButtheidentificationSelendra=ailendraappearstobeproblematic.OldMalay
has Sanskrit loanwords with sibilants without vocalization as it is attested by Old
MalayinscriptionsofSrivijayadatedfrom682,684,and686CE:therearesuchterms
as rvijaya in the Kedukan Bukit, Kota Kapur and Palas Pasemah texts; akavara in
the Kedukan Bukit, Kota Kapur and Talang Tuwo records; uklapaka in the Kedukan
Bukitsource;rketraandrjayanaintheTalangTuwoinscription;andntiinthe
Kota Kapur texts (Cds 1930: 34, 39, 48). Introductory formula in the oath
inscriptionsofSrivijayawritteninanunknownlanguagecontainsthediphthongaiin
24
the phrase paihumpaan hakairu while the Sojomerto inscription itself contains the
Sanskritworddaivadivinewiththesamediphthongasintheailendra.Therefore,
thelatterstransitiontoSelendralooksunnecessary.Damaishadsomedoubtsinearly
dating of the Sojomerto inscription offered by Boechari and placed it before 800 CE
(Damais1970:44).Hence,thetheoryofSumatranoriginremainsunproved.
ThetheoryofaFunanoriginwasofferedbyCdsin1934.Hereferredtothe
resemblancebetweentheSanskrittitlesailendra,parvatabhplaorailarjawhich
mean lord of mountains with the Old Khmer title kurung bnam with the same
meaningwhichallegedlywasbornebythekingsofancientkingdomofFunansituated
in the Lower Mekong River Delta (Cds 1934: 6770; 1968: 36, 889). However,
Claude Jacques suggests that this title kurung bnam never existed as there is no
evidenceofitsuse(Jacques1979:375;Vickery1998:36).
The theory of an Indian origin of the ailendras was offered by Majumdar
(1933: 12141) in the early 1930s and this was supported by Sarkar (1985: 32339),
LokeshChandra(1994:64102)andJordaan(1999b:21043).Theirmainargumentis
thespreadofforeigninfluence,andparticularlyMahynaBuddhismunderthebaton
of the ailendras. This statement is a particular case of general assumption, that the
adoptionofanewreligionimpliesdynasticchange.Butthisassumptionisfallacious.
WhenClovisIwasconvertedtoChristianity,theMerovingiandynastydidnotgiveway
toanotherfamily.WhenVladimirSviatoslavichtheGreatbaptizedalltheKievanRus,
theRurikdynastykeptitsposition.Therefore,thespreadofBuddhisminJavaduring
thesecondhalfoftheeighthcenturyCEmaynothavebeenconnectedwithachange
of dynasty. As the first undoubtedly ailendra ruler of Java was Paakaraa who
succeeded to Sajaya directly, according to the Wanua Tengah III inscription (see
above),wecanmoreconvincinglysupposeaJavaneseoriginoftheailendradynasty.
The theory of a Javanese origin was advocated by Stutterheim (1929),
Poerbatjaraka (1958: 25464), Boechari (1966, 241), and Wisseman Christie (1995,
273).Ithasitsownproblems:whywasSajaya,thepredecessorofPaakaraa,not
calledaailendra;whydidthisdesignationdisappearfromOldJavanesesourcesatthe
25
beginning of the ninth century; and what relationship existed between the Javanese
ailendrasandtherulersofKedahoftheearlyeleventhcentury.
Asforthefirstquestion,itshouldberememberedthatwhetherSajayawasa
relativeofPaakaraaornot,isunknown.ThefamilytiesofJavanesemonarchsare
oftenunknown.EvenifSajayaandPaakaraawererelativesitdoesnotmeanthat
theybothusedthefamilynameofailendra.Wecantaketheappearanceofroyallists
underBalitungasanexample.Whydidhispredecessorsnotrefertotheprotectorsof
theirkingdom(s)?Mostlikely,theydidnotneedsuchreferences.Paakaraamight
havesimplyintroducedanewfamilynametolegitimisehispowerand/oremphasise
hisclanstatusinnewreligiouscircumstances.MountMeruplaysaveryimportantrole
in Hindu and Buddhist cosmologies. Calling oneself a lord of mountains is to claim
leadership in a symbolic universe and increase ones power. The construction of
Borobudurreinforcedtheseclaims.ButitremainsunclearwhetherPaakaraawas
itsfounder.
ButitisalsopossiblethatailendrawasthenameofSajayaasthefounderof
a dynasty or his posthumous name, like Gagrja/Gagea from the early Champa
inscriptions(C.73&C.96)(Finot1903:20611,fig.23;Finot1904:91825).Thiswould
explain the appearance of Sajaya in later Old Javanese epigraphy and in Carita
Parahyangan, since he is mentioned there together withSena who can be identified
withSajayasfatherSanna,orSannha,fromtheCanggalinscription.Itisinteresting
thatSajayaruledoverthechoicestislandofJava(dvpavarayavkhyam,line13;
dvpeyavkhye,line15)(Sarkar1971:18)asdidhissuccessorPaakaraa,orkiller
ofbravefoes,accordingtotheNlandcopperplate(seeabove).Ihavealreadycited
thereferencetothekingLokaplaKayuwangiinhisinscriptionof856CE:Theyoung
princeprotectedthecountryofJava(yuwanthamangrakabhmirijawa).And
this record also mentions the term maang which occurs in the Mantyasih I charter
(maangkaatwan;DeCasparis1956:312,318).Thisshowscontinuitybetweenthe
kingdoms of Sajaya, Paakaraa, Lokapla, and Balitung. If this was the case,
Javanese rulers could return to the proper name of Sajaya after 824 CE. But the
26
equation Sajaya = ailendra remains hypothetical as there are no sources directly

mentioningthis.
ButifSajayawasnotaailendra,thereareotherpossibilitiesoftheirhistory.
First, the lineage of the ailendras could have been broken: The only child of
SamaratugahisdaughterPrmodavarddhancouldhavebeenchildlessandthus
havebeenthelastmemberofthedynasty.Second,ifthenameoftheailendraswas
introduced by Paakaraa and was used in Sanskrit texts only, later kings who
preferred Old Javanese could have rejected this Sanskrit title as not possessing
traditionallegitimacy(contrarytothelessambitiousmahrja).Eventually,thiscould
have been replaced by such synonyms as parwatantha and girintha mentioned in
Deawarana by Mpu Prapaca (1.1c; 1.5a) (Robson 1995: 256; Pigeaud 1960: 3;
Supomo1972).
TherelationshipbetweentheJavaneseailendrasandtheailendrasofKedah
waslikelycognatebutwedonotknowthedegreeofthisrelationship.Asawhole,it
likely remained like the famous House of Habsburg with its many lines, including
Spanish, Austrian, Albertine, and Leopoldine. In any case, it seems better to admit a
lackinourknowledgethantofabricateendlesswars,evictionsordivisions.

Conclusions

ThebestestablishedmemberoftheailendradynastywasmahrjadyPacapaa
kariynaPaakaraaasdescribedintheKalasaninscriptionof778CE.Itwashewho
lefttheChaiya,orLigor,steleof775CE,andtookcontroloverSrivijayaorthoseparts
of it on the ThaiMalay Peninsula. How he subdued it remains unknown. Perhaps he
introduced the new family name, i.e. the ailendras, or this was a name of his
predecessor Sajaya. The ailendras were of Javanese origin. Their relatives ruled
Kedahattheendofthetenthcenturyandintothebeginningoftheeleventhcentury.

27
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Endnotes

1
The compound adeaastrin was not translated by Himanshu Bhushan Sarkar, but
JohannesGijsbertusDeCaspariswrotethatitliterallymeansthosecarryingordersas
(though they were) knives (1986: 59). The compound consists of the two words:
adea order and astrin having weapons, bearing arms, armed with a sword
(MonierWilliams1899,1061;Bhtlingk1879:171).Isupposethatthecompoundmay
beunderstoodas(who)isaninstrumentof(executing)anorder.
2
IomittedSarkarsadditionrakryanasthetextlooksclear.
3
Sarkarsaddition(tothedeity)wasomittedasunnecessary.
4
Sarkar translates dedhyakn as headmen of villages following one of the
meaningsoftheworddeainOldJavanese(Zoetmulder1982:393)buttheinscription
iswritteninSanskrit,andthemeaningvillagehereispartiallymisleading.
5
SarkarleavestheSanskrittermpatiwithouttranslationduetoitspolysemy.Butthe
meaningmasterisknownbothinSanskritandOldJavanese(MonierWilliams1899,
582;Zoetmulder1982,1322).
35
6
Sarkar writes all religious persons (for all ages). The word sdhu denotes a holy
man, saint, sage in Sanskrit and Old Javanese (MonierWilliams 1899, 1201;
Zoetmulder1982,1589).
7
ThephrasewasstrangelyomittedinSarkarstranslation.
8
Sundbergintend[s]topublishacompletestudy,includingafulltransliteration,ofall
theextantfragmentsonanotheroccasion(2003,175,n.20)butgivesnoarguments
forhisreading.
9
Cds(1959,428)strangelyomittedthispointinhisconsideration.
10
ThefirsteditoroftheNlandcopperplateHiranandaShastrireadsamargradhaira
instead of Samargravra (1924: 323, n. 4). But Nicolaas Krom improved the reading
andfoundapersonalname(1931).
11
It should be emphasised, however, that the locality of Srivijaya in the epoch is
debatable(Jordaan&Colless2009).ItmayhavebeenlocatedonlyinKedah,inKedah
and Sumatra, or in Palembang and Jambi in Sumatra. If the Chinese term Sanfoqi
meansthreeVijayas,itmayrefertothethreepolitiesfromtheearlytenthcentury
onwardsbearingthisname.
12
Lumisanactiveformoftheverblah(Zoetmulder1982:955).
13
The phrase narendra Sraa seems to occur in the Majur inscription from the
temple complex of Candi Sewu. It dates from 792 CE and was deciphered
independentlyofoneanotherbythetwoIndonesianepigraphistsKusenandBoechari.
Kusen translated it into Indonesian. John Miksic, Widya Nayati and Tjahjono made a
provisional translation into English. For more details see Miksic et al. 2001: 31932;
Miksic 2003: 1942. Sundberg (2006b, 22, n. 33) indicated that he had prepared a
monographontheMajurinscriptionbut,unfortunately,itremainsunpublished.
14
However, the term may be a title. The Old Javanese text says: ri sang mapati ri
sukunsiwangunumiluriwaragwarakgustisinanggapramanntap(recto,lines19
21),anditwastranslatedbySarkarasoftheSangmapatiofSukun(wiz.)SiVangun;
in accompaniment with the waragwarak gusti (wiz.) Si Nanggap, father of Intap
(1971, 59). Another possible translation is of (kalang) of sang mapati of Sukun Si
Wangun,andof(aregion)Waragwarak,andgustiSiNanggap,fatherofIntap.Kalang
36
means, perhaps, a carpenter but its exact meaning is unknown (Zoetmulder 1982:
772).Sundberg(2006a:121)supposesthatWaragwarakmaymeanaWarakvillagein
Warakdistrict.
15
The inscription was edited by De Casparis (1950: 612). The title of karayn is
discussedindetailinWarunoMahdi2010:14;cf.:Vogel1919:634,n.2.
16
RecentlySundbergofferedanewdatefortheMuuancharter807CEbutgave
no supporting argument. He also dates the Ding inscription from 854 CE (Sundberg
2006a:116,n.35;111,n.9,referringtoDamais1952).Buttherearethetwooreven
threeinscriptionsunderthislabelwhichcomefromtheDingplateau.Sarkar(1971,
4950) noticed that the stone of 809 CE tells about the foundation of immunity
(manima < sma) by a certain pamagat (ruler of an area) named Si Dma. Another
inscriptionfromtheDingplateauisknownasVayukuanddatesfrom854CE.Itstates
thattherakaofSisairanamedpuVirjmarkedoutwetrice(sawa)fieldsatVayuku
asimmunityforaBuddhistmonastery(vihra)atAbhayananda(Sarkar1971:127;see
a discussion of the inscriptions date in Damais 1951: 2931; 1952: 301). It implies
thatBuddhismcontinuedflourishingafterthesupposedevictionoftheailendrasfrom
Java.
17
LouisCharles Damais (1964: 185) strangely holds that Pu Kumbhayoni was never
calledaking.TheFrenchscholarinterpretstheexpressionvalaigajetr(theformof
original)asbyhimwhoconqueredValaing(parceluiquiavaincuValaing)andthe
termvalaigagoptrbytheprotectorofValainginthesensethatafterconquering
thecountryheprotecteditfromnewenemies,realorimagined(danslesensede
celui qui, ayant vaincu un pays, le protge contre les nouveaux ennemis, reel ou
suppos)(Damais1964:185).
18
WissemanChristie(1985,12,19)callsbhmi,orland,aclassicalJavanesestate
covering a territory under the effective control of a royal government situated in
kaatuan.
19
CdssupposedthatearlierreportsdealwithJavawhereasthestorybyAbZaid
concernsSumatra(1968:93,1301).
37
20
Unfortunately,thereferencetotheSdokKakThominscriptionismisleading.First,it
isunknownwhatplacewasdenotedintheinscriptionbythenamejav.Scholarsoffer
very different localities, among them are the ThaiMalay Peninsula and Champa in
CentralVietnam(formoredetailsseeCoe2003:99;Vickery1998:387;OReilly2007:
123).TheSdokKakThominscriptiondatesfrom1052CEandmayhavemythologised
thepastandlifeofJayavarman(Griffiths2010:43).
21
NicholasII'sfulltitlewasWe,NicholastheSecond,bythegraceofGod,Emperor
andAutocratofalltheRussians,ofMoscow,Kiev,Vladimir,Novgorod,TsarofKazan,
TsarofAstrakhan,KingofPoland,TsarofSiberia,TsarofTauricChersonesos,Tsarof
Georgia,LordofPskov,andGrandDukeofSmolensk,Lithuania.Volhynia,Podolia,and
Finland, Prince of Estonia, Livonia, Courland and Semigalia, Samogitia, Belostok,
Karelia, of Tver, Yugra, Perm, Vyatka, Bulgaria, and other territories; Lord and Grand
DukeofNizhnyNovgorod,Chernigov;SovereignofRyazan,Polotsk,Rostov,Yaroslavl,
Boloozero, Udoria, Obdoria, Kondiam Vitebsk, Mstislav, and all the northern
territories;andSovereignofIveria,Kartalinia,andtheKabardinianlandsandArmenian
territories; Hereditary Lord and Ruler of the Cherkass and Mountain Princes and
others; Lord of Turkestan, Heir of Norway, Duke of SchleswigHolstein, Stormarn,
Dithmarschen,Oldenburg,andsoforth,andsoforth,andsoforth.
22
InscriptionsC.38of784CEfromthePoNagarsanctuaryinNhatrang,theprovince
ofKhnhHa,andC.25of799800CEfromYangTiku,intheprovinceofNinhThun
(Bergaigne 1893: 24260, 20718; Majumdar 1927: 414, 46, 50 B.6, stanza VI:
great army from Java coming by means of ships, nvgatair jjavavalasaghair).
Majumdar omits the term sagha heap, multitude, host (MonierWilliams 1899:
1129).
38

The Sailendras Reconsidered

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The Sailendras Reconsidered

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NALANDA-SRIWIJAYA CENTRE

WORKING PAPER SERIES NO. 12

THE AILENDRAS RECONSIDERED

Photo source: Gunkarta Gunawan Kartapranata, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sailendra_King_and_Queen,_Borobudur.jpg

THE AILENDRAS RECONSIDERED

NSC WPS Editors:

The Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre

The most debatable point in the interpretation of the Kalasan

Unfortunately, some of Jordaans observations are far from being well

equation Sajaya = ailendra remains hypothetical as there are no sources directly

MonierWilliams, M. 1899. A SanskritEnglish Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University

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