Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa () was the first

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

(Great King) of

Srivijaya Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important ...

and thought to be the dynastic founder of Kadatuan Srivijaya. His name was mentioned in the series of Srivijayan inscriptions dated from the late 7th century CE dubbed the "Siddhayatra inscriptions", describing his sacred journey to acquire blessings and also to conquer neighboring areas. He reigned around the turn of the late 7th century to early 8th century, more precisely in the period between 671 and 702 CE.

Biography

Yijing The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...

'', a Chinese Buddhist monk who visited Srivijaya and stayed for 6 months in 671, was impressed by the generosity, kindness, and hospitality demonstrated by the king of Srivijaya. The king mentioned in Yijing's report was later linked to the king mentioned in the oldest Srivijayan inscription (dated 682 CE), the

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 (Indonesia) ...

discovered in

Palembang Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...

. However, later historians discount the interpretation of the inscriptions as being connected to the account by Yijing.Marwati Djoened Poesponegoro, Nugroho Notosusanto, (1992), ''Sejarah nasional Indonesia: Jaman kuna'', PT Balai Pustaka, The

dated 605 saka (683 CE), mentioned a king titled ''Dapunta Hyang'' who performed a ''Siddhayatra'' (sacred journey) by the boat. He departed from Minanga Tamwan accompanied by 20,000 soldiers heading to Matajap and conquering several areas. Other inscriptions tell of the Siddhayatra journey and Srivijayan conquests of surrounding areas, such as Kota Kapur discovered in Bangka island (686 CE), Karang Brahi discovered in

Jambi Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of i ...

Hulu (686 CE) and Palas Pasemah discovered in southern

Lampung Lampung, officially the Province of Lampung (; ), is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra. It has a short border with the province of Bengkulu to the northwest, and a longer border with the provi ...

, all mention the same event. From all of these inscriptions, it was concluded that ''Dapunta Hyang'' established the Srivijayan empire after defeating his enemies in Jambi, Palembang, Southern Lampung, and

Bangka island Bangka is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is administered under the province of the Bangka Belitung Islands, being one of its namesakes alongside the smaller island of Belitung across the Gaspar Strait. The 9th largest island in ...

, and he even went further to launch a military campaign against Bhumi Java that probably contributed to the decline of the

Tarumanagara Tarumanagara or Taruma Kingdom or just Taruma was an early Sundanese Indianised kingdom, located in western Java, whose 5th-century ruler, Purnawarman, produced the earliest known inscriptions in Java, which are estimated to date from aro ...

kingdom in West Java.

References

{{reflist Maharajas of Srivijaya Indonesian Buddhist monarchs 7th-century monarchs in Asia 8th-century Indonesian people 7th-century Indonesian people