Gangga Negara
Encyclopedia
Gangga Negara is believed to be a lost semi-legendary Hindu
kingdom mentioned in the Malay Annals that covered present day Beruas
, Dinding and Manjung
in the state of Perak
, Malaysia with Raja Gangga Shah Johan as one of its kings. Researchers believe that the kingdom was centered at Beruas and it collapsed after an attack by King Rajendra Chola I
of Coromandel
, South India
, between 1025 and 1026. Another Malay annals Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa known as Kedah Annals, Gangga Negara may have been founded by Merong Mahawangsa
's son Raja Ganjil Sarjuna of Kedah
, allegedly a descendant of Alexander the Great or by the Khmer
royalties no later than the 2nd century.
, the name derived from Ganganagar
in northwest India where the Kambuja peoples inhabited. The Kambujas are an Indo-Iranian clan of the Indo-European family, originally localized in Pamirs and Badakshan. Commonly known as Hindu traders, they built their colonies in Southeast Asia around 2000 years ago at the Mekong valley and also at the Malay archipelago in Funan, Chenla
, Champa
, Khmer
, Angkor
, Langkasuka
, Sailendra
, Srivijaya
, etc. Historians found the Kambuja traders travelled from Gujarat to Sri Lanka and then to Ligor (Nakhon Sri Thammarat) of the northern Malay peninsular, overland to Thailand and Cambodia.
), Kinta Valley, Tanjung Rambutan
, Bidor
and Sungai Siput
were part of the kingdom. Artifacts also suggest that the kingdom's center might have shifted several times. Gangga Negara was renamed to Beruas after the establishment of Islam
there.
of Sumatra rested at Beruas tree (Pokok Bruas), his name was Malik. History of Pasai
did mentioned a Malik ul Salih
whom was the first local Hindu Malay king to convert to Islam in 1267. Today the beruas trees have become extinct but can still be found in the nearby villages of Pengkalan Baru and Batang Kubu .
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
kingdom mentioned in the Malay Annals that covered present day Beruas
Beruas
Beruas is a small town in Perak, Malaysia.- Name :Beruas' name is derived from mangosteen-like tree that bear fruits, known as Pokok Bruas in local Malay, Seashore mangosteen or by its scientific name, Garcinia hombroniana.-History:In ancient times, before the area was known as Perak, it was a...
, Dinding and Manjung
Manjung
Manjung, previously also known as Dinding, is a district in the southwestern part of the state of Perak, Malaysia. It is well-known for Pangkor Island, a major attraction in Perak and the home of the Royal Malaysian Navy Lumut Naval Base and dockyard...
in the state of Perak
Perak
Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
, Malaysia with Raja Gangga Shah Johan as one of its kings. Researchers believe that the kingdom was centered at Beruas and it collapsed after an attack by King Rajendra Chola I
Rajendra Chola I
Rajendra Chola I was the son of Rajaraja Chola I and was one of the greatest rulers of Tamil Chola dynasty of India. He succeeded his father in 1014 CE as the Chola emperor...
of Coromandel
Coromandel Coast
The Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian Subcontinent between Cape Comorin and False Divi Point...
, South India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, between 1025 and 1026. Another Malay annals Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa known as Kedah Annals, Gangga Negara may have been founded by Merong Mahawangsa
Merong Mahawangsa
Merong Mahawangsa is a legendary warrior and a ruler who is said to be the first king of Langkasuka and later became the modern day, Kedah. The tale of Merong Mahawangsa is mentioned in the Kedah Annals...
's son Raja Ganjil Sarjuna of Kedah
Kedah
Kedah is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice...
, allegedly a descendant of Alexander the Great or by the Khmer
Khmer Empire
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city...
royalties no later than the 2nd century.
Origin
Gangga Negara means "a city on the Ganges" in SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, the name derived from Ganganagar
Ganganagar
Sri Ganganagar , also called Ganganagar , is the northernmost city of Rajasthan in western India. It is the administrative headquarters of Ganganagar District.-History:...
in northwest India where the Kambuja peoples inhabited. The Kambujas are an Indo-Iranian clan of the Indo-European family, originally localized in Pamirs and Badakshan. Commonly known as Hindu traders, they built their colonies in Southeast Asia around 2000 years ago at the Mekong valley and also at the Malay archipelago in Funan, Chenla
Chenla
Chenla is the Chinese designation for Cambodia after the fall of Funan. That name was still used in the 13th century by the Chinese envoy Zhou Daguan, author of the Manners and Customs of Cambodia...
, Champa
Champa
The kingdom of Champa was an Indianized kingdom that controlled what is now southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.The Cham people are remnants...
, Khmer
Khmer Empire
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city...
, Angkor
Angkor
Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara , meaning "city"...
, Langkasuka
Langkasuka
Langkasuka was an ancient Hindu Malay kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula...
, Sailendra
Sailendra
Sailendra 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 Kedu Plain of Central Java with Buddhist monuments, including the world famous Borobudur.The Sailendras are considered to be a...
, 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...
, etc. Historians found the Kambuja traders travelled from Gujarat to Sri Lanka and then to Ligor (Nakhon Sri Thammarat) of the northern Malay peninsular, overland to Thailand and Cambodia.
Beruas
The first research into the Beruas kingdom was conducted by Colonel James Low in 1849 and a century later, by H.G. Quaritch-Wales. According to the Museum and Antiquities Department, both researchers agreed that the Gangga Negara kingdom existed but could not ascertain the exact site. For years, villagers had unearthed artefacts, including tombstones with inscriptions that indicated that Beruas could have been the starting point for the spread of Islam in Peninsular Malaysia. Most of the artefacts, believed to be from the ancient kingdoms, are today displayed at the Beruas Museum dated back to the 5th and the 6th century. Artefacts on display include a 128 kg cannon, swords, kris, coins, tin ingots, pottery from the Ming Dynasty and various eras, and large jars. Through these artifacts, it has been postulated that Pengkalan (IpohIpoh
Ipoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....
), Kinta Valley, Tanjung Rambutan
Tanjung Rambutan
Tanjung Rambutan is a town in the Kinta district of Perak, Malaysia. It is on the Ipoh to Butterworth railway line, Tanjung Rambutan railway station....
, Bidor
Bidor
Bidor is a small town in the district of Batang Padang, Perak, Malaysia. Chinese name is 美罗.-Geography:Bidor is located between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur via the North-South Expressway...
and Sungai Siput
Sungai Siput
Sungai Siput is a town and also a parliamentary constituency in Kuala Kangsar district, Perak, Malaysia. Since the recent Malaysian general election of 8 March 2008, this parliamentary constituency is represented by Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, from Pakatan Rakyat Party, in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower...
were part of the kingdom. Artifacts also suggest that the kingdom's center might have shifted several times. Gangga Negara was renamed to Beruas after the establishment of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
there.
Beruas tree
The district of Beruas has found some royal Acehnese gravestones and this evidence has it linked to another historical source that a prince from AcehAceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
of Sumatra rested at Beruas tree (Pokok Bruas), his name was Malik. History of Pasai
Pasai
Pasai, also known as Samudera and Samudera-Pasai sometimes called Samudera Darussalam was a Muslim harbour kingdom on the north coast of Sumatra from the 13th to the 15th centuries CE. It was believed the word Samudera derived from Samudra meaning ocean in Sanskrit...
did mentioned a Malik ul Salih
Malik ul Salih
Malik ul Salih established the first Muslim state of Samudera Pasai in the year 1267. His original name was Mara Silu, Merah Silu, Muerah Silu and Malikul-saleh, it was said he saw an ant as big as a cat, he caught it and ate it. He named the place Samudera, meaning ocean in Sanskrit...
whom was the first local Hindu Malay king to convert to Islam in 1267. Today the beruas trees have become extinct but can still be found in the nearby villages of Pengkalan Baru and Batang Kubu .
- Bujang ValleyBujang ValleyThe Bujang Valley or Lembah Bujang is a sprawling historical complex and has an area of approximately 224 square km. Situated near Merbok, Kedah, between Gunung Jerai in the north and Muda River in the south, it is the richest archaeological area in Malaysia.These archaeological remains show that...
- Kota GelanggiKota GelanggiKota Gelanggi is an archaeological site reported in 2005 as potentially the first capital of the ancient Malay Empire of Srivijaya and dating to around 650–900 and one of the oldest pre-Islamic Malay Kingdoms on South East Asia's Malay Peninsula...
- KambojaKambojasThe Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
- Kambojas and KambodiaKambojas and KambodiaThe name of Cambodia, in Khmer "Kampuchea" , derives from Sanskrit . It is not unique to the modern kingdom of Cambodia: the same name is also found in Burmese and Thai chronicles referring to regions within those kingdoms...
- ChampaChampaThe kingdom of Champa was an Indianized kingdom that controlled what is now southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.The Cham people are remnants...
- BhagirathaBhagirathaBhageeratha was a great king in Hindu mythology who brought the River Ganges to Earth.-Early life:Bhageeratha was the king of Kosala, a kingdom in ancient India. He was a descendent of the great king Sagara of the Suryavamsa, or Sun Dynasty...
Bringing the Ganga to Earth - Kamboja Dynasty of BengalKamboja Dynasty of BengalThe Kamboja-Pala Dynasty ruled parts of Bengal in the 10th to 11th centuries CE, gradually gaining independence from their former liege lords, the Palas.-Origins:...
- Indian maritime historyIndian maritime historyIndian maritime history begins during the 3rd millennium BCE when inhabitants of the Indus Valley initiated maritime trading contact with Mesopotamia. The Roman historian Strabo mentions an increase in Roman trade with India following the Roman annexation of Egypt. By the time of Augustus up to 120...
External links
- http://www.kambojsociety.com/KambojWord.asp
- http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/hindu.htm
- http://muzium.perak.gov.my/m_br_bahan.html Beruas Museum