Sailendra

All you want to know about Sailendra

This article is part of the History of Indonesia series

See also: Timeline of Indonesian History
Prehistory
Early kingdoms
Tarumanagara (358-723)
Srivijaya (7th to 13th centuries)
Sailendra (8th to 9th centuries)
Kingdom of Sunda (669-1579)
Kingdom of Mataram (752–1045)
Kediri (1045–1221)
Singhasari (1222–1292)
Majapahit (1293–1500)
The rise of Muslim states
The spread of Islam (1200–1600)
Malacca Sultanate (1400–1511)
Sultanate of Demak (1475–1518)
Aceh Sultanate (1496–1903)
Sultanate of Banten (1526–1813)
Mataram Sultanate (1500s to 1700s)
European colonialism
The Portuguese (1512–1850)
Dutch East India Co. (1602–1800)
Dutch East Indies (1800–1942)
The emergence of Indonesia
National awakening (1899–1942)
Japanese occupation (1942–45)
Declaration of Independence (1945)
National Revolution (1945–1950)
Independent Indonesia
Liberal democracy (1950–1957)
Guided Democracy (1957–1965)
Start of the "New Order" (1965–1966)
The "New Order" (1966–1998)
"Reformasi" era (1998–present)
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Sailendra (Sanskrit:Lord of the Mountain) is the name of an influential Indonesian dynasty that emerged in 8th century Java.

The Sailendras were active promoters of Mahayana Buddhism and covered the plains of Central Java with Buddhist monuments, including the world famous Borobudur. ^[1]

1 Primary sources
2 Sailendras in Java
3 Sailendras in Sumatra
4 Origins
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links

Primary sources

The bas relief of 8th century Borobudur depicted the scene based on Sailendran royal court where King and Queen accompanied by their subjects.

The earliest dated inscription in Indonesia in which the dynastic name Sailendra appears is the Kalasan inscription of central Java, dated 778 AD, which commemorates the establishment of a Buddhist shrine for the Buddhist goddess Tara.^[2]

The name also appears in several other inscriptions like the Kelurak inscription (782) and the Karentengah (792). Outside Indonesia, the name Sailendra is to be found in the Ligor inscription (775) on the Malay peninsula and the mid-9th century Nalanda inscription.^[3]

Sailendras in Java

The Sailendra rulers maintained close relations, including marriage alliances with the Srivijaya kingdom in Sumatra. For instance, Samaratungga married Dewi Tara, a daughter of Srivijayan maharaja Dharmasetu. The mutual alliance between the two kingdoms ensured that Srivijaya had no need to fear the emergence of a Javanese rival and that the Sailendra had access to the international market.

The received version holds that the Sailendra dynasty existed next to the Sanjaya dynasty in Java. Much of the period was characterized by peacefull co-existence and cooperation but towards the middle of the 9th century relations had deteriorated. Around 852 the Sanjaya ruler Pikatan had defeated Balaputra, the offspring of the Sailendra monarch Samaratunga and princess Tara. This ended the Sailendra presence in Java and Balaputra retreated to the Srivijaya kingdom in Sumatra, where he became the paramount ruler.^[4]

Sailendras in Sumatra

After 824, there are no more references to the Sailendra house in the Javanese ephigraphic record. Around 860 the name re-appears in the Nalanda inscription in India. According to the text, the local king had granted 'Balaputra, the king of Suvarna-dvipa' ( Sumatra )the revenues of 5 villages to a Buddhist monastery near Bodh Gaya. Balaputra was styled a descendant from the Sailendra dynasty and grandson of the king of Java. ^[5]

From Sumatra, the Sailendras also maintained overseas relations with the Chola kingdom in India, as shown by several south Indian inscriptions. An 11 th century inscription mentioned the grant of revenues to a local Buddhist sanctuary, built in 1005 by the king of the Srivijaya . In spite the relations were initially fairly cordial, hostilities had broken out in 1025.^[6] Nevertheless, amity was re-established between the 2 states, before the end of the 11 th century. In 1090 a new charter was granted to the old Buddhist sanctuary and is the last known inscription with a reference to the Sailendras.

Origins

Although the rise of the Sailendra's occurred in the Javanese heartland, their origin has been the subject of discussion.^[7] Apart from Java itself ; an earlier homeland in Sumatra, India or Cambodia has been suggested. In 1934, the French scholar Coedes proposed a relation with the Funan kingdom in Cambodia.^[8] Other scholars hold that the Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya was involved in the rise of the dynasty in Java. ^[9]

Borobudur, the largest Buddhist structure in the world built by the Sailendra dynasty.

Notes

^ "Patrons of Buddhism, the Sailendras during the height of their power in central Java constructed impressive monuments and temple complexes, the best known of which is the Borobudur on the Kedu Plain" (quoted from Hall 1985:109).
^ Hall(1985:110)
^ Hall(1985:110)
^ " De Casparis proposed that in 856 Balaputra was defeated by Pikatan, where upon Balaputra retreated to Srivijaya, the country of his mother, to become the first Sailandra ruler of Srivijaya. Thus in the late 9th century Srivijaya was ruled by a Buddhist Sailendra ruler, while Java was ruled by Pikatan and his successors who patronized Siva" (cf. De Casparis, 1956; Hall, 1985:111).
^ Hall( 1985:109 )
^ Hall (1985:200)
^ Roy E. Jordaan (2006). "Why the Sailendras were not a Javanese dynasty". Indonesia and the Malay World 34 (98): 3–22. doi:10.1080/13639810600650711.
^ Coedes believed that the Funanese rulers used similar sounding 'mountainlord' titles, but several Cambodia specialists have discounted this. They hold there is no historical evidence for such titles in the Funan period. ( Jacques 1979; Vickery 2003-2004 )
^ e.g. Munoz (2006:139) Supporters of this connection emphasize the shared Mahayana patronage; the intermarriages and the Ligor inscription.

References

De Casparis, J.G. de (1956). Prasasti Indonesia II : Selected inscriptions from the 7th to the 9th centuries AD. Bandung: Masu Baru, 1956
Kenneth Perry Landon (1969). Southeast Asia. Crossroad of Religions. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226468402.
Briggs, Lawrence Palmer (1951). "[Review of] South East Asia. Crossroad of Religions by K.P. Landon". The Far Eastern Quarterly 9 (3): 271–277.
G. Coedes (1934). "On the origins of the Sailendras of Indonesia". Journal of the Greater India society I: 61–70.
K.R. Hall (1985). Maritime Trade and State Development in Early South East Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824809599.
Claude Jacques (1979). "'Funan', 'Zhenla '. The Reality Concealed by These Chinese Views of IndoChina". R.B. Smith and W. Watson Early South East Asia. Essays in Archaeology, History and Historical Geography: 371–389, New York/Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.
M. Vickery (2003–2004). "Funan reviewed: Deconstructing the Ancients". Bulletin de l' Ecole Francaise d' Extreme Orient: 101–143.