Shailendra dynasty

The Sojomerto inscription (c. 725) discovered in Batang Regency, Central Java, mentioned the name Dapunta Selendra and Selendranamah. The name 'Selendra' has been suggested as another spelling of Shailendra, meaning that Dapunta Selendra was the progenitor of Shailendra family in Central Java.[6] However, recent analysis suggested that this was not true: The inscription has diphthong ai in it, so it is unlikely that Selendra was another name for Shailendra, and the Sumatran origin of Sailendra dynasty was thus unproven.[2]^: 24–25

The earliest dated inscription in Indonesia in which clearly mentioned the dynastic name of Śailēndra as Śailēndravamśatilaka appears is the Kalasan inscription (778) of central Java, which mention its ruler Mahārāja dyāḥ Pañcapaṇa kariyāna Paṇaṃkaraṇa and commemorates the establishment of a Buddhist shrine, Candi Kalasan, dedicated for the goddess Tara.[2][7]

The name also appears in several other inscriptions like the Kelurak inscription (782) and the Karangtengah inscription (824). Outside Indonesia, the name Shailendra is to be found in the Ligor inscription (775) on the Malay peninsula and Nalanda inscription (860) in India.[7] It is possible that it was Paṇaṃkaraṇa that create the Chaiya, or Ligor inscription (775), and took control over Srivijayan realm in the Southern Thailand Malay Peninsula.[2]

Although the rise of the Shailendras occurred in Kedu Plain in the Javanese heartland, their origin has been the subject of discussion.[8] Apart from Java itself, an earlier homeland in Sumatra, India or Cambodia has been suggested. The latest studies apparently favour a native origin of the dynasty. Despite their connections with Shrivijaya in Sumatra and Thai-Malay Peninsula, the Shailendras were more likely of Javanese origin.[2]^: 27

Borobudur, the largest Buddhist structure in the world

The Shailendra rulers maintained cordial relations, including marriage alliances with Shrivijaya in Sumatra. For instance, Samaragrawira married Dewi Tara, a daughter of Shrivijayan Maharaja Dharmasetu. The mutual alliance between the two kingdoms ensured that Shrivijaya had no need to fear the emergence of a Javanese rival and that the Shailendra had access to the international market.

Karangtengah inscription dated 824 mentioned about king Samaratungga. His daughter named Pramodhawardhani has inaugurated a Jinalaya, a sacred buddhist sanctuary. The inscription also mentioned a sacred Buddhist building called Venuvana to place the cremated ashes of King Indra. The Tri Tepusan inscription dated 842 mentioned about the sima (tax free) lands awarded by Śrī Kahulunan (Pramodhawardhani, daughter of Samaratungga) to ensure the funding and maintenance of a Kamūlān called Bhūmisambhāra.[14] Kamūlān itself from the word mula which means 'the place of origin', a sacred building to honor the ancestors. These findings suggested that either the ancestors of the Shailendras were originated from Central Java, or as the sign that Shailendra have established their holds on Java. Casparis suggested that Bhūmi Sambhāra Bhudhāra which in Sanskrit means "The mountain of combined virtues of the ten stages of Boddhisattvahood", was the original name of Borobudur.[15]

The received older version holds that the Shailendra dynasty existed next to the Sanjaya dynasty in Java. Much of the period was characterized by peaceful co-existence and cooperation but towards the middle of the 9th century relations had deteriorated. Around 852 the Sanjaya ruler Pikatan had defeated Balaputra, the offspring of the Shailendra monarch Samaratunga and princess Tara. This ended the Shailendra presence in Java and Balaputra retreated to the Srivijaya kingdom in Sumatra, where he became the paramount ruler.[16][17]^: 108

Earlier historians, such as N.J. Krom and Coedes, tend to equate Samaragrawira and Samaratungga as the same person.[17]^: 108 However, later historians such as Slamet Muljana equate Samaratungga with Rakai Garung, mentioned in Mantyasih inscription as fifth monarch of Mataram Kingdom. Which means Samaratungga was the successor of Samaragrawira, and Balaputradewa that is also Samaragrawira's son, is Samaratungga's younger brother and ruled in Suvarnadvipa (Sumatra), and he is not Samaratungga's son. This version holds Balaputra that reign in Sumatra challenged the Pikatan-Pramodhawardhani legitimation in Java, arguing that his niece and her husband has less rights to rule Java compared to his.

In 851 an Arabic merchant named Sulaiman recorded an event about Javanese Shailendras staging a surprise attack on the Khmers by approaching the capital from the river, after a sea crossing from Java. The young king of Khmer was later punished by the Maharaja, and subsequently the kingdom became a vassal of the Shailendra dynasty.[18]^: 35 In 916 CE, Abu Zaid Hasan mentioned that a polity called Zabag invaded the Khmer kingdom, using 1000 "medium-sized" vessels, which resulted in a Zabag victory. The head of the Khmer king was then brought to Zabag.[19]^{: 137–138} Regardless of whether the story was true or not or just a legend, it may have a connection with the independence of Cambodia from Javanese suzerainty in 802 CE. Zabag might corresponds to Jawaka/Javaka, which may refer to Java or South Sumatra.[20]^{: 269, 302}

After 824, there are no more references to the Shailendra house in the Javanese epigraphic record. Around 860 the name re-appears in the Nalanda inscription in India. According to the text, the king Devapaladeva of Bengala (Pala Empire) had granted 'Balaputra, the king of Suvarna-dvipa' (Sumatra) the revenues of 5 villages to a Buddhist monastery near Bodh Gaya. Balaputra was styled a descendant from the Shailendra dynasty and grandson of the king of Java.[17]^{: 108–109}[21]

From Sumatra, the Shailendras also maintained overseas relations with the Chola kingdom in Southern India, as shown by several south Indian inscriptions. An 11th-century inscription mentioned the grant of revenues to a local Buddhist sanctuary, built in 1005 by the king of the Shrivijaya. In spite the relations were initially fairly cordial, hostilities had broken out in 1025.[22] Rajendra Chola I the Emperor of the Chola dynasty conquered some territories of the Shailendra dynasty in the 11th century.[23] The devastation caused by Chola invasion of Shrivijaya in 1025, marked the end of Shailendra family as the ruling dynasty in Sumatra. The last king of Shailendra dynasty — the Maharaja Sangrama Vijayatunggavarman — was imprisoned and taken as hostage. Nevertheless, amity was re-established between the two states, before the end of the 11th century. In 1090 a new charter was granted to the old Buddhist sanctuary, it is the last known inscription with a reference to the Shailendras. With the absence of legitimate successor, Shailendra dynasty seems ceased to rule. Other family within Shrivijaya mandala took over the throne, a new Maharaja named Sri Deva according to Chinese source establishing new dynasty to rule Shrivijaya. He sent an embassy to the court of China in 1028 CE.

Sri Kesari Warmadewa was said to be a Buddhist king of the Shailendra dynasty who led a military expedition[24] to establish a Mahayana Buddhist government in Bali.[25] In 914, he left a record of his endeavour in the Belanjong pillar in Sanur in Bali. According to this inscription, the Warmadewa dynasty was probably the branch of Shailendras that ruled Bali.

Traditionally, the Shailendra period was viewed to span from the 8th to the 9th century, confined only in Central Java, from the era of Panangkaran to Samaratungga. However the recent interpretation suggests the longer period of Shailendra family might existed, from mid 7th century (edict of Sojomerto inscription) to early 11th century (the fall of Shailendran dynasty of Shrivijaya under Chola invasion). For certain period, Shailendras ruled both Central Java and Sumatra. Their alliance and intermarriage with Shrivijayan ruling family resulted with the merging of two royal houses, with Shailendran finally emerge as the ruling family of both Shrivijaya and Mataram (Central Java).

Some historians tried to reconstruct the order and list of Shailendra rulers, although there is some disagreement on the list. Boechari tried to reconstruct the early stage of Shailendra based on Sojomerto inscription, while other historians such as Slamet Muljana and Poerbatjaraka tried to reconstruct the list of Shailendran king in middle and later period with their connections to Sanjaya and Shrivijaya, based on inscriptions and Carita Parahyangan manuscript. However, there is some confusion occurred, because the Shailendra seems to rule many kingdoms; Kalingga, Mataram and later Shrivijaya. As the result name of the same kings often overlapped and seem to rule these kingdoms simultaneously. The questionmark (?) signify doubt or speculation because of the scarcity of available valid sources.

• List of monarchs of Java
• Slendro
• Candi of Indonesia
• Indonesian Esoteric Buddhism

• De Casparis, J.G. de (1956). Prasasti Indonesia II : Selected inscriptions from the 7th to the 9th centuries AD. Bandung: Masu Baru, 1956
• Kenneth Perry Landon (1969). Southeast Asia. Crossroad of Religions. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-46840-2.
• Briggs, Lawrence Palmer (1951). "[Review of] South East Asia. Crossroad of Religions by K.P. Landon". The Far Eastern Quarterly. 9 (3): 271–277.
• G. Coedes (1934). "On the origins of the Sailendras of Indonesia". Journal of the Greater India Society. I: 61–70.
• K.R. Hall (1985). Maritime Trade and State Development in Early South East Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-0959-9.
• Claude Jacques (1979). "'Funan', 'Zhenla '. The Reality Concealed by These Chinese Views of IndoChina". In R.B. Smith and W. Watson (ed.). Early South East Asia. Essays in Archaeology, History and Historical Geography. New York/Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press. pp. 371–389.
• M. Vickery (2003–2004). "Funan reviewed: Deconstructing the Ancients". Bulletin de l'École Française d'Extrême-Orient. 90: 101–143. doi:10.3406/befeo.2003.3609.
• Paul Michel Munoz (2006). Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula. Editions Didier Millet. ISBN 981-4155-67-5.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sailendra.

• Borobudur website