Samaratungga was the head of the
Sailendra
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 ...
dynasty who ruled
Mataram Kingdom
The Mataram Kingdom (, jv, ꦩꦠꦫꦩ꧀, ) was a Javanese Hindu–Buddhist kingdom that flourished between the 8th and 11th centuries. It was based in Central Java, and later in East Java. Established by King Sanjaya, the kingdom was rule ...
and
Srivijaya
Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the ...
in the 8th and the 9th century. He was the successor of King Indra, and his name was mentioned in
Karangtengah inscription
Karangtengah inscription (also known as Kayumwungan inscription) is the inscriptions written on five pieces of stones dated 746 Saka or 824 CE, discovered in Karangtengah hamlet, Temanggung Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The inscription was wri ...
dated 824 CE
as the constructor of a sacred Buddhist building called ''Venuvana'' (Sanskrit: bamboo forest) to place the cremated ashes of his predecessor King Indra of Sailendra.
During his administration, he initiated the construction of a massive
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
monument
Borobudur
Borobudur, also transcribed Barabudur ( id, Candi Borobudur, jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦝꦶꦧꦫꦧꦸꦝꦸꦂ, Candhi Barabudhur) is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang Regency, not far from the town of Muntilan, in Central Java, Indon ...
. Samaratungga married
Dewi Tara, the princess of
Srivijaya
Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the ...
n ruler
Dharmasetu, which created close political alliance between the Sailendras and Srivijaya.
Samaratungga had one son by the name of
Balaputra
Balaputradewa was the maharaja of Srivijaya in the 9th century CE as well as the former head of the Sailendra dynasty. He was the youngest son of the preceding Sailendran maharaja, Samaratunga, through marriage with Dewi Tara who was in turn the ...
and one daughter
Pramodhawardhani. After Samaratungga died, Pramodhawardhani married the
Shivaite Rakai Pikatan from
Sanjaya dynasty
The Sanjaya dynasty () was an ancient Javanese dynasty that ruled the Mataram kingdom in Java during the first millennium CE. The dynasty was an active promoter of Hinduism in ancient Java.
Origin and formation
According to the Canggal inscri ...
. Rakai Pikatan managed to usurp Balaputra's authority over Central Java and forced the Saleidras to flee Java for
Srivijaya
Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the ...
.
[
Under the reign of Samaratungga too, ]Jayavarman II
Jayavarman II ( km, ជ័យវរ្ម័នទី២; c. 770 – 850) (reigned c. 802–850) was a Khmer prince who founded and became the ruler of the Khmer Empire (Cambodia) after unifying the Khmer civilization. The Khmer Empire was the ...
was appointed as the governor of Indrapura in the Mekong delta. Jayavarman later revoked his allegiance to the Sailedras and Srivijaya to form the Khmer Empire.
References
Indonesian Buddhist monarchs
Shailendra dynasty
Srivijaya
Central Java
9th-century Indonesian people
Borobudur
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