The Canggal inscription is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

inscription dated to 732, discovered in the Gunung Wukir temple complex in Kadiluwih village, Salam,

Magelang Regency Magelang () is a regency in Central Java, Indonesia, famous for its 9th century Buddhist temple of Borobudur. Its capital is Mungkid. It covers an area of 1,129.98 km2 and had a population of 1,181,723 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statist ...

Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. The inscription is written in the

Pallava alphabet The Pallava script, or Pallava Grantha, is a style of Grantha script named after the Pallava dynasty of South India, Southern India (Tamilakam) and is attested to since the 4th century CE. In India, the Pallava script evolved from Tamil-Brahmi. ...

. The inscription documents an edict of

Sanjaya Sanjaya (Sanskrit: सञ्जय, meaning "victory") or Sanjaya Gavalgana is a figure from the ancient Indian Hindu epic ''Mahābhārata''. Sanjaya is the advisor of the blind king Dhritarashtra, the ruler of the Kuru kingdom and the fathe ...

, in which he declared himself the universal ruler of the Mataram Kingdom.

Content

The inscription describes the erection of a ''

lingam A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or Aniconism, aniconic representation of the Hinduism, Hindu Hindu deities, god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Up ...

'' (the symbol of

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

) in the country of Kunjarakunja, by Sanjaya's order. The ''lingam'' is sited on the noble island of Yava (

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

), which the inscription describes as "rich in grain and gold mines". Yawadwipa ("Java island"), and had long been under the rule of the wise and virtuous king Sanna, but fell into disunity after his death. Amid a period of confusion

, son of Sannaha (the sister of Sanna) ascended to the throne. Sanjaya mastered holy scriptures, and martial arts, and displayed military prowess. After the conquest of neighboring areas, his reign was peaceful and prosperous. The inscription refers to ''Kunjarakunja-desa'', perhaps meaning "the hermitage land of Kunjara", which has been identified as the hermitage of Rishi

Agastya Agastya was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the Indian tradition, he is a noted recluse and an influential scholar in diverse languages of the Indian subcontinent. He is regarded in some traditions to be a Chiranjivi. He and his wife ...

, a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Maharishi revered in Southern India. The

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

contains a reference to a visit to Agastya hermitage on Kunjara by

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

, and

Lakshmana Lakshmana (, ), also known as Laxmana, Lakhan, Saumitra, and Ramanuja, is the younger brother of Rama in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is considered as an incarnation of Shesha, the lord of serpents. Lakshmana was married to Urmila, and i ...

. The name Sanjaya, Sanna and Sannaha curiously was also mentioned in

Carita Parahyangan Carita Parahyangan (, official Sundanese script: ) is a text contained in a single manuscript written around the late 16th century, registered as Kropak 406 from the former collection of the Bataviaasch Genootschap voor Kunsten en Wetenschappen (Ba ...

, a book from a later period composed around 16th century which suggested refer to the same historical person.

Notes

{{reflist, 2

References

* Damais, L.C., 1952, 'Etudes d'épigraphie indonésienne, III, Liste des principales inscriptions datées de 1'Indonésie', Bulletin de l'École Française d'Extrême-Orient (Hanoi) XLVI: 1-103. * Dowson, J., 1957, A classical dictionary of Hindu mythology. London: Kegan Paul. * H. Kern, 1917, Verspreide Geschriften, deel VII. 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff. * J.J. Ras, 1994, ‘Geschiedschrijving en de Legitimateit van het Koningschap op Java' '' BKI'' 150-3 (1994): 518-38.

External links

drawing of Canggal inscription
Mataram kingdom Sanskrit inscriptions in Indonesia 8th-century inscriptions 732 National Museum of Indonesia 8th-century Sanskrit literature

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See also

Notes

References

External links