Sailendra

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Sailendra (meaning "Lord of the Mountain" in Sanskrit ) was an Indonesian dynasty, emerging in Central Java at the end of the eighth century. The name of the dynasty (Sailendra-vamsa) is first attested in the Kalasan Inscription dated 778. The Sailendras were firm followers of Mahayana Buddhism and were credited for building several temples on Java.

Origins

The earliest Sailendra inscription dates from 778 CE (the Kalasan Inscription). Sailendra power centered on the Kedu Plain in south-central Java, an area where paddy field or sawah cultivation flourished and whose location made it secure from sea-borne raids frequent on the north coast of the island.

The ecology of the Kedu Plain required cooperation in the allocation of water among rice cultivators. Local ruling lineages emerged to control and coordinate water in each stream or river basin. According to Clifford Geertz, paddy culture requires extensive work on drainage, canals, and terracing. A lineage which can mobilize labor from more than one basin can dominate other local lineages. The Sailendra mobilized labor across the boundaries of each basin by the use of symbolic power associated with the use of Hindu and Buddhist rituals including Sanskrit inscriptions, an Indianized court and the construction of a kraton, temples and monuments.

The kings of the Sailendra-dynasty had, like other Javanese kings, the concept of the "Dewa-Raja"(God-King). They believed that the King had divine power as a living god among his subjects. This concept was probably applied to assure and exercise the King's immense power over his dominions and to influence the local lineages.

Location

Although the Sailendras clearly manifested themselves most strongly on the island of Java, some historians suggested that the Sailendras had their homeland outside Java. Apart from Java itself, a homeland in the Srivijaya kingdom in Sumatra (c.670-c.1270 AD), India, Sri Lanka and the Funan kingdom (c.100-c. 600 AD ) in Cambodia, have been suggested.

The French scholar George Coedès once proposed that the Sailendras may have been related to the rulers of the ancient Cambodian kingdom of Funan, because the title "Lord of Mountain" used by the Sailendras may have resembled titles used by the Funanese rulers. In support of his hypothesis, Coedès pointed out that the name "Funan" as used by the Chinese is related to the Cambodian term "phnom" which means "mountain. Other specialists on Cambodian history have discounted Coedès' hypothesis. They argue that that no historical evidence exists to show that the Funanese ever ascribed the title "mountain king" to their rulers.

History

After the formation of Srivijaya, the Sailendra maintained close relations, including marriage alliances with Srivijaya. 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 Sailendra participated in the Spice Route trade between China and India, but their level of participation never rivalled that of Srivijaya. Intensive rice cultivation was the foundation of the Sailendra kingdom.

The Sailendra covered the Kedu Plain with Vajrayana Buddhist shrines and temples celebrating and affirming their power. The Borobudur temple complex, built between 778 and 824 CE was the greatest accomplishment of the Sailendra. Borobudur was the first massive Buddhist monument in Southeast Asia and influenced the construction of later monuments.

Collapse

According to the traditional account, the Sailendra kingdom came to an abrupt end when a prince from the rival Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty, named Rakai Pikatan, displaced them in 832. Rakai Pikatan, who was the crown prince of the Sanjaya Dynasty, married Pramodhawardhani, a daughter of Samaratunga, king of Sailendra.

Some historians describe the Sailendra collapse as a retreat to Sumatra, implying that the dynasty also ruled Srivijaya. It is possible that Balaputra was a Srivijayan prince with a maternal link to the Sailendra and that his attack on Java was a Srivijayan attempt to annex the former Sailendra domain. The hostile relations between Srivijaya and Mataram tend to confirm the thesis. The Sanjaya Dynasty went on to establish the Javanese kingdom of Mataram. The relative chronology of the Sailendra and the Sanjaya dynasty is not well understood. A similar problem exists in defining the respective territories ruled by the Sailendra and Sanjaya.

Notes

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 Southeast Asia. Crossroad of Religions. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226468402.
• Briggs, Lawrence Palmer "[Review of] South East Asia. Crossroad of Religions by K.P. Landon". The Far Eastern Quarterly 9 (3): 271–277.
• G. Coedes "On the origins of the Sailendras of Indonesia". Journal of the Greater India society I 61–70.
• K.R. Hall Maritime Trade and State Development in Early South East Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824809599.
• Claude Jacques "'Funan', 'Zhenla '. The Reality Concealed by These Chinese Views of IndoChina". Early South East Asia. Essays in Archaeology, History and Historical Geography, 371–389. .
• M. Vickery "Funan reviewed: Deconstructing the Ancients". Bulletin de l' Ecole Francaise d' Extreme Orient 101–143.

External links

• Sailendra

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