Sri Deva was a king of Srivijaya Kingdom of

Sailendra dynasty The Shailendra dynasty (, derived from Sanskrit combined words ''Śaila'' and ''Indra'', meaning "King of the Mountain", also spelled Sailendra, Syailendra or Selendra) was the name of a notable Indianised dynasty that emerged in 8th-century ...

, who in 1028 CE sent an envoy to the Chinese

Northern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

. In the chronicle History of Song (''Sòng Shǐ''), his name was recorded as ''Shih-li Tieh-hua'', which may not be his complete title. He ruled shortly after Srivijaya's various territories were attacked by King

Rajendra I Rajendra I (26 July 971 – 1044), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, was a Chola Emperor who reigned from 1014 to 1044. He was born in Thanjavur to Rajaraja I. His queen was Vanavan Mahadevi and he assumed royal power as co-regent with ...

of the

Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty () was a Tamil dynasty originating from Southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd cen ...

in 1025 CE, in which King Sangramavijayottunggawarman of Srivijaya was defeated and captured by his opponent. Chola attack was not accompanied by the occupation of the Srivijaya territories. After the attack, Srivijaya's power in Sumatra seemed to be restored, however it made peace with the Kahuripan Kingdom, which claimed power over the whole of

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 ...

. The Kahuripan king

Airlangga Airlangga (also spelled Erlangga), regnal name Rakai Halu Sri Lokeswara Dharmawangsa Airlangga Anantawikramottunggadewa (born 1002 in Bali, Indonesia – died 1049 in Java), was the only king of the Kingdom of Kahuripan. The Kingdom was bui ...

supposedly married a Srivijayan princess in 1030 CE to strengthen the peace commitment.

Mahayana Buddhism Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Thera ...

teaching was very popular in Srivijaya around the time of Sri Deva's reign, as evidenced by the discovery of the Lokanatha (Lokesvara Bodhisattva) statue in Tapanuli which was made in 1024 CE, and from the notes of Nepalese monk

Atiśa Atish Dipankar Shrijnan (Sanskrit transliteration: Atiśa Dipankara Shrijnana) (c. 982–1054 CE) was a Bengalis, Bengali Buddhist religious teacher and leader. He is generally associated with his body of work authored at Vikramashila, Vikram ...

who visited Srivijaya between 1011 and 1023 CE.

References

{{reflist Maharajas of Srivijaya Indonesian Buddhist monarchs 11th-century monarchs in Asia 11th-century Indonesian people

See also

References