Adityawarman a nobleman born in east Java

East Java

East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and islands to its east and to its north East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and...

, from Pararaton

Pararaton

The Pararaton, also known as the Book of Kings, is a manuscript in the Kawi language. The comparatively short text of 32 folio-size pages contains the history of the kings of Singhasari and Majapahit in eastern Java...

 poem, his mother's name was Dara Jingga from Dharmasraya

Dharmasraya

Dharmasraya is a regency of West Sumatra, Indonesia....

 princess; his father’s name was Adwayawarman from Kuburajo Inscription around Limo Kaum in West Sumatra

West Sumatra

West Sumatra is a province of Indonesia. It lies on the west coast of the island Sumatra. It borders the provinces of North Sumatra to the north, Riau and Jambi to the east, and Bengkulu to the southeast. It includes the Mentawai Islands off the coast...

. He may have gone to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 on a diplomatic expedition in 1325 if, as some historians believe, he is the envoy whom a Chinese source calls Sengk'ia-lie-yu-lan.

Early life

Adityawarman was born on around 1294-1310 in Trowulan

Trowulan

Trowulan is a village in Mojokerto, in the Indonesian province of East Java. It is surrounded by an archaeological site covering approximately 100 square kilometres. It has been suggested it was the site of the eponymous capital city of the Majapahit Empire, which is described by Mpu Prapanca in...

, the capital of the kingdom of Majapahit. He was the cousin of Jayanegara

Jayanegara

Jayanegara , reigned from 1309 to 1328, was a Javanese King and the second monarch of Majapahit empire. Jayanegara was the heir, crown prince, the son of Raden Wijaya, the founder of Majapahit...

, king of Majapahit in 1309-1328, and the grandson of Tribhuwanaraja, king of Melayu Kingdom

Melayu Kingdom

Melayu Kingdom was a classical Southeast Asian kingdom that existed between the 7th and the 13th century of the common era. It was established around present-day Dharmasraya on Sumatera, Indonesia, approximately 300 km north of Palembang...

.

His name appears in Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

 as early as 1343 on an image of Bodhisattva Manjusri that was originally in Candi Jago, the sanctuary which was built by Kertanegara for his father Visnuvardhana.

In one of his inscriptions, he explicitly calls himself Lord of the Golden Earth (Kanakamedinindra). An inscription in localized Malay Sanskrit found on the back of the Amoghapasa statue found at Rambahan, West Sumatra, dated 1347, written (and perhaps composed) by Adityawarman, commemorates his role as protector and source of welfare to the people of the capital of Malaya (Malayapura) and his power as an embodiment of Amoghapasa. At Malayapura, Adityawarman bore the royal title of Srimat Sri Udayadityawarman Pratapaparakrama Rajendra Maulimali Warmadewa, a title which one scholar believes he can detect an attempt at synthesis of the royal title traditionally in use in Srivijaya

Srivijaya

Srivijaya was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern day Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6...

 and Malayu. His kingdom that still bore the name of Malayu but already corresponded to the future Minangkabau.

Adityawarman left many more inscriptions than any other Sumateran ruler; these show that he was a devotee of esoteric Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

. He ruled for a long time, until at least 1375. His last known inscription was issued in that year. He is described as the Lord of Suravasa; the name Suruaso is still used to refer to the area near Pagarruyung.

Adityawarman conquered Jambi region in Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

, and later the Tanah Datar

Tanah Datar

Tanah Datar is a regency in West Sumatra province, Indonesia. The regency has a population of 334,000. The capital of the regency is Batusangkar...

 region in central Sumatra to take control of the gold trade. Adityawarman then founded the royal dynasty of Minangkabau in Pagar Ruyung and presided over the central Sumatra region between 1347 and 1375.

See also

• Dharmasraya
  Dharmasraya
  Dharmasraya is a regency of West Sumatra, Indonesia....
  
  
• Pagaruyung Kingdom