Tarumanagara
Encyclopedia
Sundanese people
The Sundanese are an ethnic group native to the western part of the Indonesian island of Java. They number approximately 31 million, and are the second most populous of all the nation's ethncities. The Sundanese are predominantly Muslim...
Indianized kingdom, whose fifth-century ruler, Purnavarman, produced the earliest known inscriptions on Java island. The kingdom was not far from modern Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, and according to Tugu inscription
Tugu inscription
The Tugu inscription is one of the Tarumanagara inscriptions discovered in Batutumbuh hamlet, Tugu village, Koja, North Jakarta, in Indonesia. The inscription contains information about hydraulic projects; the irrigation and water drainage project of the Candrabaga river by the order of...
Purnavarman apparently built a canal that changed the course of the Cakung River, and drained a coastal area for agriculture and settlement. In his inscriptions, Purnavarman associated himself with Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
, and Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
s ritually secured the hydraulic project.
Tarumanagara existed between 358
358
Year 358 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Datianus and Cerealis...
-669
669
Year 669 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 669 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Deaths :* December 31 – Li Shiji, Chinese...
. The earliest known written records of Tarumanagara existence are inscribed monument stones. Inscribed stone is called prasasti in Indonesian language. A prasasti located in a river bed of Ciaruteun river, called Prasasti Ciaruteun, from the fifth century AD, written in Wengi letters (used in the Indian Pallava period) and in Sanskrit language, reports the most famous king of Tarumanagara:
Located nearby is the Prasasti Kebon Kopi I, also called Telapak Gadjah stone, with an inscription and the engraving of two large elephant footprints. The inscription read: These elephant foot soles, akin to those of the strong Airwata (elephant, which God Indra used to ride), belongs to Tarumanagara King who is successful and full of control.
Not only stones testify of the existence of King Purnawarman and his Tarumanagara kingdom. There are also Chinese historical sources, since Tarumanagara maintained extended trade and diplomatic relations in the territory stretching between India and China. The Chinese Buddhist Monk Fa Xian reported in his book fo-kuo-chi (414 CE) that he stayed on the island of Ye-po-ti (Chinese spelling of Javadvipa), most probably the western part of Java island, for six months, from December 412 until May 413 CE. He reported that the Law of Buddha was not much known, but that the Brahmans (Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
) flourished, and heretics (animists) too.
The kingdom was mentioned in the annals of the Sui dynasty
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
, the king of To-lo-mo (Taruma) has sent diplomatic mission, which arrived in China in 528 and 535 CE. It was mentioned that the kingdom is located far south of China. The annals of Tang dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
also mentioned in the year 666 and 669 the envoys of To-lo-mo has visited the court of Tang.
First rulers
According to the book Nusantara, Maharshi Rajadirajaguru Jayasingawarman founded the Tarumanagara kingdom in 358 AD. Jayasingawarman originated from SalankayanaSalankayana
The Salankayanas were an ancient dynasty that ruled the Vengi region of India's eastern coast from 300 to 440 AD. They were Brahmins and their name is derived from their symbol and gotra name, which stood for Nandi .The Salankayanas succeeded the Andhra Ikshvaku dynasty and were vassals of the...
, India that collapsed after the invasion of Samudragupta
Samudragupta
Samudragupta , ruler of the Gupta Empire , and successor to Chandragupta I, is considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses in Indian history according to Historian V. A. Smith. His name is taken to be a title acquired by his conquests...
from Gupta Empire
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...
. After re-settling in Western Java, he married a Sundanese
Sundanese people
The Sundanese are an ethnic group native to the western part of the Indonesian island of Java. They number approximately 31 million, and are the second most populous of all the nation's ethncities. The Sundanese are predominantly Muslim...
princess daughter of King Dewawarman VIII of Salakanagara
Salakanagara
Salakanagara kingdom is the first historically recorded Indianized kingdom in Western Java, created by Indian trader after marrying a local Sundanese princess. This Kingdom existed between 200-362 AD....
. He died in 382 AD and was buried at the bank of Kali Gomati river (present-day Bekasi city). His son, Dharmayawarman ruled from 382 to 395 AD. His burial site is at Kali Chandrabaga. His grandson Purnawarman was the third king of Tarumnagara and reigned from 395 to 434 AD.
Age of Purnawarman
Book Nusantara, parwa II sarga 3 (page 159 – 162) notes that under the reign of King Purnawarman, Tarumanagara held control over 48 small kingdoms with area stretching from SalakanagaraSalakanagara
Salakanagara kingdom is the first historically recorded Indianized kingdom in Western Java, created by Indian trader after marrying a local Sundanese princess. This Kingdom existed between 200-362 AD....
or Rajatapura to Purwalingga (current city of Purbalingga in Central Java Province). Traditionally Cipamali river (Brebes river) was the border between Sunda and Java.
In 397 AD, King Purnawarman established a new capital city for the kingdom, located near to a beach, called Sunda Pura meaning Holy Town or Pure Town. Thus, word “Sunda” was introduced for the first time by King Purnawarman in 397. Sunda Pura could have been near present day Tugu (North Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
), or near present day Bekasi
Bekasi
Bekasi is a city in West Java, Indonesia, located on the eastern border of Jakarta in the Jabodetabek metropolitan region. To the south is Bogor Regency, east is Bekasi Regency....
. He left seven memorial stones with inscriptions bearing his name spread across current Banten and West Java provinces. The prasasti tugu, which is a few years older than the Parasasti Ciaruteun, is considered the oldest of all the inscriptions.
There are more stones with inscriptions from the time of king Purnawarman, some close to Bogor city. They are Prasasti Muara Cianten, Prasasti Pasir Awi, Prasasti Cidanghiang, and Parasasti Jambu. Prasasti Cidanghiang (sits further to the west at Lebak in the Pandeglang area), consisting of two lines, proclaiming Purnawarman as the standard for rulers around the world. Prasasti Jambu, with a two-line inscription in Pallava/Sanskrit, bears the large footprints of the king. The inscription translates as:
Kings after Purnawarman
Purnawarman's son, Dharmayawarman ruled from 382 to 395 AD. His burial site is at Kali Chandrabaga. The next kings of Tarumanagara were:- From 434 to 455: King Wisnuwarman
- From 455 to 515: King Indrawarman
- From 515 to 535: King Candrawarman
- From 535 to 561: King Suryawarman
King Suryawarman established a new capital city for the kingdom eastward and left Sunda Pura and its communities to preserve their own order. Then, Sunda Pura become a new smaller kingdom called Sunda Sambawa which was under control of Tarumanagara. Before the king reigned Tarumanagara, Manikmaya, his son in law, in 526, left Sunda Pura southeastward and established a new kingdom near current Nagreg, Garut city.
After Suryawarman, Tarumanagara was ruled by kings:
- From 561 to 628: King Kertawarman
In this period, the grandson of Manikmaya, Wretikandayun, in 612, established Galuh Kingdom, southeast of current Garut with its capital city located in Banjar Pataruman.
- From 628 to 650 Linggawarman
The only daughter of King Linggawarman, Princess Sobakancana married Daputahyang Srijayanasa, who later established the Sriwijaya kingdom. Their daughter, , married Tarusbawa.
Decline
Tarumanagara kingdom was attacked and defeated by SrivijayaSrivijaya
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...
around 650. After this, Tarumanegara's influence over its neighbors began to decline.
In 669, Tarusbawa inherited Tarumanagara's crown. Tarusbawa was the last king of Tarumanagara. This is in line with Chinese chronicles mentioning that a messenger of Tarumanagara last visited China in 669. Tarusbawa indeed sent his messenger advising his enthronement to Chinese king in 669. Because the influence of Tarumanagara in Tarusbawa era declined as a result of severance by its vassal states as well as due to the attacks by Srivijaya, he wished to return the greatness of the kingdom as was in the era of Purnawarman controlling the kingdoms from Sunda Pura. Hence, in 670, he changed name Tarumanagara to be Sunda.
This event was made as a reason by king Wretikandayun (Monarchic founder of Galuh) to dissociate the small kingdom from the power of Tarumanagara and asked King Tarusbawa to divide Tarumanagara territory into two parts. Galuh got a support from Kalingga
Kalingga
Kalingga or Holing was an Indianized kingdom on the north coast of Central Java, Indonesia. The exact location of kingdom's capital is unknown, it is thought to be somewhere between present-day Pekalongan and Jepara. Kalingga existed between the 6th and 7th century...
kingdom (the first kingdom in Central Java) to separate from Tarumanagara because Galuh and Kalingga had made an alliance through dynastic marriage; a son of King Wretikandayun married Parwati (a daughter of Queen Sima) from Kalingga and Sana alias Bratasenawa alias Sena (a grandson of King Wretikandayun) married Sanaha (a granddaughter of Queen Sima). In a weak position and wishing to avoid civil war, the young King Tarusbawa accepted the request of old King Wretikandayun. In 670, Tarumanagara was divided into two kingdoms: Sunda Kingdom
Sunda Kingdom
The Sunda Kingdom was a Hindu kingdom located on the western part of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering areas of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Central Java...
and Galuh Kingdom
Galuh Kingdom
Galuh Kingdom was a kingdom in Tanah Sunda , Indonesia. It was established following the collapse of the Tarumanagara kingdom. Galuh and the Sunda kingdom, another Sundanese kingdom, established the United Kingdom of Sunda and Galuh....
with the Citarum river as the boundary. Then Galuh Kingdom comprised many vassal kingdoms which covered areas of present-day West and present-day Central Java Provinces.
King Tarusbawa then established a new capital of his kingdom near the Cipakancilan river upstream which centuries later became the city of Pakuan Pajajaran (or shortly called Pakuan or Pajajaran). King Tarusbawa becomes the ancestor of Sunda kings.
See also
- History of IndonesiaHistory of IndonesiaThe History of Indonesia was shaped by its geographic position, its natural resources, the series of human migrations, contacts, economy and trade, conquests and politics. Indonesia is an archipelagic country of 17,508 islands stretching along the equator in South East Asia...
- List of monarchs of Java