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Telaga Batu inscription is a 7th-century
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 7th t ...
n inscription discovered in Sabokingking, 3 Ilir, Ilir Timur II, Palembang,
South Sumatra South Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Selatan) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southeast of the island of Sumatra, The province spans and had a population of 8,467,432 at the 2020 Census. The capital of the province is Palembang. The prov ...
, Indonesia, around the 1950s. The inscription is now displayed in
National Museum of Indonesia ) is an archeological, historical, ethnological, and geographical museum located in Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta, right on the west side of Merdeka Square. Popularly known as the Elephant Museum ( id, Museum Gajah) after the elephant ...
, Jakarta, with inventory number D.155. In previous years, around thirty Siddhayatra inscriptions were discovered around Southern Sumatra, all concerning the Siddhayatra journey of
Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa () was the first Maharaja (Emperor) of Srivijaya and thought to be the dynastic founder of Kadatuan Srivijaya. His name was mentioned in the series of Srivijayan inscriptions dated from late 7th century CE dubbed as the ...
, that, according to
Kedukan Bukit Inscription The Kedukan Bukit inscription is an inscription discovered by the Dutchman C.J. Batenburg on 29 November 1920 at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), on the banks of Tatang River, a tributary of Musi River. It is the ...
took place around the year 605 Saka (683 AD). Today all of these Siddhayatra inscriptions are stored in the National Museum of Indonesia. The inscription was carved on an andesite stone measuring 118 cm tall and 148 cm wide. The top of the stone is adorned with seven nāga heads, and on the lower portion, there is some kind of water spout to channel the water that was likely poured over the stone during a ceremonial allegiance ritual. The inscription was written with Pallava letters in the Old Malay language.


Contents

The text content of the inscription is quite long, and is arranged in a number of lines. However, many of the letters have been eroded and are difficult to read, probably due to the use of the stone as a part of the allegiance ritual described in the inscription. The ritual was likely performed by pouring water over the text of the stone, which would collect at the bottom of the stone, and poured via the waterspout to be consumed by people that swore their allegiance to the king. Some lines of the inscription can still be read. The content of the Telaga Batu inscription from third to the fifth row are as follows:


Original script

''“kamu vanyakmamu, rājaputra, prostara, bhūpati, senāpati, nāyaka, pratyaya, hāji pratyaya, dandanayaka, ....murddhaka,tuhā an vatak, vuruh, addhyāksi nījavarna, vāsīkarana, kumaramatya, cātabhata, adhikarana, karmma...., kāyastha, sthāpaka, puhāvam, vaniyāga, pratisara, kamu marsī hāji, hulun hāji, wanyakmamu urang, niwunuh sumpah dari mangmang kamu kadaci tida bhakti di aku”.''


Translations

"You all: the son of kings, ministers, regents, commanders, lords, nobles, viceroys, judges, .... murddhaka, chairman of the workers, supervisors, commoners, weapons experts, ministers, soldiers, construction workers, karmma ... , clerk, architect, skippers, merchants, captains, ye king's servants, king's slaves, all people, will be killed by the spells of your oath if you are not loyal to me. "


Interpretation

The text written upon the inscription is quite long, however the content is mainly concerning the
curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...
s cast upon everyone who may commit or who have committed treason against ''
kadatuan ''Kedatuan'' (ancient or Sundanese spelling: ''kadatuan''; Javanese romanization: ''kedaton'') were historical semi-independent city-states or principalities throughout ancient Maritime Southeast Asia in present-day Indonesia, Malaysia, and the ...
'' 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 7th t ...
or disobey the orders of ''dātu'' (
datuk Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin. Origin The oldes ...
). According to Casparis, the people, occupations or titles mentioned in this inscription were categorized as potentially dangerous people or groups of people that might revolt against Srivijayan hegemony. In order to prevent possible uprisings, the ruler of Srivijaya thought it is important for them to be sworn to pledge their loyalty under the threat of curse. These titles are mentioned: ''rājaputra'' (princes, lit: sons of king), ''prostara'' (ministers), ''bhūpati'' (regional rulers), ''senāpati'' (generals), ''nāyaka'' (local community leaders), ''pratyaya'' (nobles), ''hāji pratyaya'' (lesser kings), ''dandanayaka'' (judges), ''tuhā an vatak'' (workers inspectors), ''vuruh'' (workers), ''addhyāksi nījavarna'' (lower supervisors), ''vāsīkarana'' (blacksmiths/weapon makers), ''kumārāmātya'' (junior minister)'','' ''cātabhata'' (soldiers), ''adhikarana'' (officials), ''kāyastha'' (municipal officials), ''sthāpaka'' (artisans), ''puhāvam'' (ship captains), ''vaniyāga'' (traders), ''marsī hāji'' (king's servants), ''hulun hāji'' (king's slaves). This curse inscription contains one of the most complete surviving lists of state officials. Because of the complex and stratified titles of state officials, some historian have suggested that these titles only existed in the capital of the kingdom, thus insisting that the court of Srivijaya should be located in Palembang. However, Soekmono has suggested that this curse inscription should not be placed in the center of the court, because this inscription contains an intimidation curse for anybody who ''drohaka'' or committed treasons against ''kadatuan'', and he suggested that the capital of Srivijaya should be located in Minanga as mentioned in
Kedukan Bukit Inscription The Kedukan Bukit inscription is an inscription discovered by the Dutchman C.J. Batenburg on 29 November 1920 at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), on the banks of Tatang River, a tributary of Musi River. It is the ...
assumed around
Candi Muara Takus Muara Takus ( id, Candi Muara Takus) is a Buddhist temple complex, thought to belong to the Srivijaya empire. It is situated in Kampar Regency in Riau province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Its surviving temples and other archaeological remains are thought ...
.Soekmono, R., (2002), ''Pengantar sejarah kebudayaan Indonesia 2'', Kanisius, .


See also

*
Kedukan Bukit Inscription The Kedukan Bukit inscription is an inscription discovered by the Dutchman C.J. Batenburg on 29 November 1920 at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), on the banks of Tatang River, a tributary of Musi River. It is the ...
*
Kota Kapur Inscription Kota Kapur Inscription is an inscription discovered in western coast of Bangka Island, offcoast South Sumatra, Indonesia, by J.K. van der Meulen in December 1892. It was named after the village of the same name which is the location where this arc ...
*
Talang Tuwo inscription The Talang Tuo inscription is a 7th-century Srivijaya inscription discovered by Louis Constant Westenenk on 17 November 1920, on the foot of Bukit Seguntang near Palembang. This inscription tells about the establishment of the bountiful Śrīkse ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Telaga Batu Inscription Inscriptions in Indonesia 7th-century inscriptions Srivijaya Malay inscriptions