Tamil and Sanskrit inscriptions in Malaysia
Encyclopedia
A good number of Tamil
inscriptions, as well as Hindu
and Buddhist icons emanating from South India
, have been found in Southeast Asia
(and even in parts of south China
). On the Malay Peninsula
, inscriptions have been found at Takuapa, not far from the Vishnuite statues of Khao Phra Narai in Southern Thailand
. It is a short inscription indicating that an artificial lake named Avani-naranam was dug by nangur-Udaiyan, which is the name of an individual who possessed a military
fief at Nangur, being famous for his abilities as a warrior
, and that the lake was placed under the protection of the members of the Manikkiramam (which according to K. A. Nilakanta Sastri
, was a merchant guild) living in the military camp. Since Avani-narayana is a surname of the Pallava
King Nadivarman III who reigned from 826 to 849, we can deduce the approximate date of this inscription. In the capital of Tabralinga there is a sanctuary in which there is a bronze image of Ganesa
bearing a Tamil inscription Majapisedesa in modern characters.
in southern Thailand
. It has been dubbed the "Ligor inscription", "Ligor" being the name given by Europeans to the region in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is written in Sanskrit
and bears the date of 775 AD. One side of the inscription refers to the Illustrious Great Monarch (śrīmahārāja) belonging to the ‘Lord of the Mountain’ dynasty (śailendravaṁśa), which is also mentioned in four Sanskrit inscriptions from Central Java; the other side refers to the founding of several Buddhist sanctuaries by a king of Sriwijaya. Sriwijaya is the name of a kingdom whose centre was located in the modern city of Palembang
in South Sumatra
province, Indonesia. The Ligor inscription is testimony to an expansion of Sriwijaya power to the peninsula.
there is an important and unmistakably Hindu
settlement which has been known for about a century now from the discoveries reported by Col. Low and has recently been subjected to a fairly exhaustive investigation by Dr. Quaritch Wales. Dr. Wales investigated no fewer than thirty sites round about Kedah
. The results attained show that this site was in continuous occupation by people who came under strong South Indian influences, Buddhist and Hindu
, for centuries.
An inscribed stone bar, rectangular in shape, bears the ye-dharmma formula in South Indian characters
of the 4th century AD, thus proclaiming the Budhist character of the shrine near the find-spot (site I) of which only the basement survives. It is inscribed on three faces in Pallava script, or Vatteluttu
rounded writing of the 6th century AD, possibly earlier.
An inscription in Sanskrit dated 1086 has been found in Kedah
. This was left by Kulothunka Cholan I (of the Chola empire, Tamil country
). This too shows the commercial contacts the Chola Empire had with Malaya.
province, Indonesia. It was erected by a Tamil merchant guild
, the Ayyavole 500 (“the 500 of the thousand directions”) which enjoyed the patronage of the Chola rulers. The inscription mentions the guild as “having met at the velapuram in Varocu”. “Varocu” is Barus, an ancient port located not far from Lobu Tua, which had played a major role in the camphor
and benzoin
trade since the 9th century. These valuable products were in high demand in China, India and the Middle East and came from the forests in the northern Sumatra hinterland. From there, they were brought to Barus and exported. Tamil were among the foreign merchants who would come to Barus and buy the camphor and benzoin from local traders.
In 1017 and 1025, the Chola kings had sent fleets to raid ports controlled by Sriwijaya in the Malacca Straits. After these successful attacks, the Chola seem to have been in a position to intervene in the region for the rest of the 11th century. This allowed for an increased presence of Tamil merchant guilds in Sumatra.
The oldest known inscriptions in Indonesia
are those on seven stone pillars, or yupa (“sacrificial posts”), found in the eastern part of Borneo, in the area of Kutai
, East Kalimantan
province. They are written in the early Pallava script, in the Sanskrit
language, and commemorate sacrifices held by a king called Mulawarman. Based on palaeographical grounds, they have been dated to the second half of the 4th century AD. They attest to the emergence of an Indianized state in the Indonesian archipelago prior to AD 400.
In additiion to Mulawarman, the reigning king, the inscriptions mention the names of his father Aswawarman and his grandfather Kundungga. It is generally agreed that Kundungga is not a Sanskrit name, but one of native origin. The fact that his son Aswawarman is the first of the line to bear a Sanskrit name indicates that he was probably also the first to adhere to Hinduism.
. A large stone makara found in Jambi province in Sumatra, dated 1064 AD, bears testimony to the reemergence of a significant power in Jambi, with a strong link to Java, in the 11th century.
The following are the places that Rajendran claims to have raided:
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
inscriptions, as well as Hindu
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...
and Buddhist icons emanating from South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
, have been found in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
(and even in parts of south China
Northern and southern China
Northern China and southern China are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined...
). On the Malay Peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
, inscriptions have been found at Takuapa, not far from the Vishnuite statues of Khao Phra Narai in Southern Thailand
Southern Thailand
Southern Thailand is a distinct region of Thailand, connected with the Central region by the narrow Kra Isthmus.-Geography:Southern Thailand is located on the Malay Peninsula, with an area around 70,713 km², bounded to the north by Kra Isthmus as the narrowest part of the peninsula. The...
. It is a short inscription indicating that an artificial lake named Avani-naranam was dug by nangur-Udaiyan, which is the name of an individual who possessed a military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
fief at Nangur, being famous for his abilities as a warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
, and that the lake was placed under the protection of the members of the Manikkiramam (which according to K. A. Nilakanta Sastri
K. A. Nilakanta Sastri
Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri was an Indian historian and Dravidologist who is generally regarded as the greatest and most prolific among professional historians of South India.- Career :...
, was a merchant guild) living in the military camp. Since Avani-narayana is a surname of the Pallava
Pallava
The Pallava dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which ruled the northern Tamil Nadu region and the southern Andhra Pradesh region with their capital at Kanchipuram...
King Nadivarman III who reigned from 826 to 849, we can deduce the approximate date of this inscription. In the capital of Tabralinga there is a sanctuary in which there is a bronze image of Ganesa
Ganesa
Ganesa can be:* Ganesa, alternate spelling of Ganesha, the Hindu god.* Ganesa , a genus of marine snails in the family Turbinidae....
bearing a Tamil inscription Majapisedesa in modern characters.
Ligor Inscription
An inscription was found on the Malaccan peninsula, at Nakhon Si ThammaratNakhon Si Thammarat
Nakhon Si Thammarat is a town in southern Thailand, capital of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Province and the Nakhon Si Thammarat district. It is about south of Bangkok, on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. The city was the administrative center of southern Thailand during most of its history. ...
in southern Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. It has been dubbed the "Ligor inscription", "Ligor" being the name given by Europeans to the region in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is written in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
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...
and bears the date of 775 AD. One side of the inscription refers to the Illustrious Great Monarch (śrīmahārāja) belonging to the ‘Lord of the Mountain’ dynasty (śailendravaṁśa), which is also mentioned in four Sanskrit inscriptions from Central Java; the other side refers to the founding of several Buddhist sanctuaries by a king of Sriwijaya. Sriwijaya is the name of a kingdom whose centre was located in the modern city of Palembang
Palembang
Palembang is the capital city of the South Sumatra province in Indonesia. Palembang is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, and has a history of being a capital of a maritime empire. Located on the Musi River banks on the east coast of southern Sumatra island, it has an area of 400.61 square...
in South Sumatra
South Sumatra
South Sumatra is a province of Indonesia.-Geography:It is on the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of Lampung to the south, Bengkulu to the west, and Jambi to the north...
province, Indonesia. The Ligor inscription is testimony to an expansion of Sriwijaya power to the peninsula.
Kedah Inscription
In ancient KedahBujang Valley
The 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...
there is an important and unmistakably Hindu
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...
settlement which has been known for about a century now from the discoveries reported by Col. Low and has recently been subjected to a fairly exhaustive investigation by Dr. Quaritch Wales. Dr. Wales investigated no fewer than thirty sites round about 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...
. The results attained show that this site was in continuous occupation by people who came under strong South Indian influences, Buddhist and Hindu
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...
, for centuries.
An inscribed stone bar, rectangular in shape, bears the ye-dharmma formula in South Indian characters
Vatteluttu
Vatteluttu alphabet, also spelled Vattezhuttu alphabet is an abugida writing system originating from the Tamil people of Southern India...
of the 4th century AD, thus proclaiming the Budhist character of the shrine near the find-spot (site I) of which only the basement survives. It is inscribed on three faces in Pallava script, or Vatteluttu
Vatteluttu
Vatteluttu alphabet, also spelled Vattezhuttu alphabet is an abugida writing system originating from the Tamil people of Southern India...
rounded writing of the 6th century AD, possibly earlier.
An inscription in Sanskrit dated 1086 has been found in 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...
. This was left by Kulothunka Cholan I (of the Chola empire, Tamil country
Ancient Tamil country
The Sangam period is the classical period in the history of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other parts of South India, spanning about the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE...
). This too shows the commercial contacts the Chola Empire had with Malaya.
Barus inscription
An inscription in the Tamil language, dated 1088 AD, has been found on the western coast of Sumatra island at Lobu Tua, North SumatraNorth Sumatra
North Sumatra is a province of Indonesia on the Sumatra island. Its capital is Medan. It is the most populous Indonesian province outside of Java. It is slightly larger than Sri Lanka in area.- Geography and population :...
province, Indonesia. It was erected by a Tamil merchant guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
, the Ayyavole 500 (“the 500 of the thousand directions”) which enjoyed the patronage of the Chola rulers. The inscription mentions the guild as “having met at the velapuram in Varocu”. “Varocu” is Barus, an ancient port located not far from Lobu Tua, which had played a major role in the camphor
Camphor
Camphor is a waxy, white or transparent solid with a strong, aromatic odor. It is a terpenoid with the chemical formula C10H16O. It is found in wood of the camphor laurel , a large evergreen tree found in Asia and also of Dryobalanops aromatica, a giant of the Bornean forests...
and benzoin
Benzoin
Benzoin is an organic compound with the formula PhCHCPh. It is a hydroxy ketone attached to two phenyl groups. It appears as off-white crystals, with a light camphor-like odor. Benzoin is synthesized from benzaldehyde in the benzoin condensation...
trade since the 9th century. These valuable products were in high demand in China, India and the Middle East and came from the forests in the northern Sumatra hinterland. From there, they were brought to Barus and exported. Tamil were among the foreign merchants who would come to Barus and buy the camphor and benzoin from local traders.
In 1017 and 1025, the Chola kings had sent fleets to raid ports controlled by Sriwijaya in the Malacca Straits. After these successful attacks, the Chola seem to have been in a position to intervene in the region for the rest of the 11th century. This allowed for an increased presence of Tamil merchant guilds in Sumatra.
Kutai inscriptions
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
are those on seven stone pillars, or yupa (“sacrificial posts”), found in the eastern part of Borneo, in the area of Kutai
Kutai
Kutai is the traditional name of a historic region in East Kalimantan in Indonesia on Borneo, a Dayak people of the region with a language of the same name and their historic states. Today the name is preserved in the names of three regencies in East Kalimantan, the Kutai Kartanegara Regency, the...
, East Kalimantan
East Kalimantan
East Kalimantan is the second largest Indonesian province, located on the Kalimantan region on the east of Borneo island. The resource-rich province has two major cities, Samarinda and Balikpapan...
province. They are written in the early Pallava script, in the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
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...
language, and commemorate sacrifices held by a king called Mulawarman. Based on palaeographical grounds, they have been dated to the second half of the 4th century AD. They attest to the emergence of an Indianized state in the Indonesian archipelago prior to AD 400.
In additiion to Mulawarman, the reigning king, the inscriptions mention the names of his father Aswawarman and his grandfather Kundungga. It is generally agreed that Kundungga is not a Sanskrit name, but one of native origin. The fact that his son Aswawarman is the first of the line to bear a Sanskrit name indicates that he was probably also the first to adhere to Hinduism.
Inscriptions of Tanjore
In the ancient city of Tanjore in Tamil Nadu are inscriptions dating from 1030. which contain a list of the ports in the Malacca Strait raided by a fleet sent by King Rajendra Chola IRajendra 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...
. A large stone makara found in Jambi province in Sumatra, dated 1064 AD, bears testimony to the reemergence of a significant power in Jambi, with a strong link to Java, in the 11th century.
The following are the places that Rajendran claims to have raided:
- Sriwijaya (PalembangPalembangPalembang is the capital city of the South Sumatra province in Indonesia. Palembang is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, and has a history of being a capital of a maritime empire. Located on the Musi River banks on the east coast of southern Sumatra island, it has an area of 400.61 square...
) - Malaiyur (the Malayu of the 7th century, i.e. Jambi) (referring to the ancient Melayu KingdomMelayu KingdomMelayu 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...
. Known as Jambi today.) - Mayuradingan (the Je-lo-ting of the ChineseChinaChinese 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 the Malay PeninsulaMalay PeninsulaThe Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
) - Ilangosagam (LangkasukaLangkasukaLangkasuka was an ancient Hindu Malay kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula...
) - Mappapalam, (Papphaal, placed by the Sinhalese chronicle MahavamsaMahavamsaThe Mahavamsa is a historical poem written in the Pali language, of the kings of Sri Lanka...
on the coast of PeguBago, MyanmarBago ; , ; Pha-Kho พะโค; formerly Pegu, is a city and the capital of Bago Division in Myanmar . It is located from Yangon.-History:...
in BurmaMyanmarBurma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
) - Mevilimbangan (identified with Karmaranga or Kamalanka on the isthmus of LigorNakhon Si ThammaratNakhon Si Thammarat is a town in southern Thailand, capital of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Province and the Nakhon Si Thammarat district. It is about south of Bangkok, on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. The city was the administrative center of southern Thailand during most of its history. ...
in Southern ThailandSouthern ThailandSouthern Thailand is a distinct region of Thailand, connected with the Central region by the narrow Kra Isthmus.-Geography:Southern Thailand is located on the Malay Peninsula, with an area around 70,713 km², bounded to the north by Kra Isthmus as the narrowest part of the peninsula. The...
) - Valaippanaduru (Pandurang, in Champa)
- Talaittakkolam (Takkola of PtolemyPtolemyClaudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
and the Milindapandha, On the isthmus of KraKra IsthmusThe Kra Isthmus is the narrow land bridge which connects the Malay Peninsula with the mainland of Asia, and popularly named "The Devil's Neck".-Geography:...
) - Madalingam (Tambralingga, Chinese Tan-ma-ling, of which the center was at LigorNakhon Si ThammaratNakhon Si Thammarat is a town in southern Thailand, capital of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Province and the Nakhon Si Thammarat district. It is about south of Bangkok, on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. The city was the administrative center of southern Thailand during most of its history. ...
in Southern ThailandSouthern ThailandSouthern Thailand is a distinct region of Thailand, connected with the Central region by the narrow Kra Isthmus.-Geography:Southern Thailand is located on the Malay Peninsula, with an area around 70,713 km², bounded to the north by Kra Isthmus as the narrowest part of the peninsula. The...
) - Ilamuridesam (Lamuri of the ArabArabArab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s, Lambri of Marco PoloMarco PoloMarco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
at northern SumatraSumatraSumatra 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...
) - Kadaram (KedahKedahKedah 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...
)