Srivijaya Empire: A Biography

Srivijaya is one powerful maritime kingdom on the island of Sumatra and much influence in the archipelago with the territory stretching from Cambodia, Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi.

In Sanskrit, Sri Means "shining" and Vijaya means "victory". It was not until the 1920s that the people of modern Sumatra, in Indonesia, had their imperial ancestry rediscovered.

In the year 687 the Chinese monk Yi Jing, returning from a 25-year pilgrimage, passed through Srivijaya. He was so impressed by the standard of Buddhist scholarship in the country that he stayed there for eight years, working on translating the local texts.

Buddhism was the chief religion of the region at the time, as Islam had yet to spread this far. Monks from all over the area came to study at “the fortified city of Bhoga”, which archaeologists have identified as being in the area of modern Palembang. From Yi Jing’s accounts, we can get a picture of the region, and the influence of Srivijaya within it.

Historiography

There is no further record of Srivijaya in the history of Indonesia; the forgotten past was re-established by a foreign scholar. No modern Indonesian people who heard about Srivijaya until the 1920s, when French scholar George Coedes publish his findings in the Dutch language newspaper, and Indonesia.

Coedes China stated that the reference to "San-fo-ts'i", previously read "Sribhoja", and some inscriptions in the ancient Malays refer to the same empire. Srivijaya became a symbol of the greatness of early Sumatra, and the kingdom of Majapahit in the archipelago except for East Java.

In the 20th century, the kingdom has become a reference by the nationalists to show that Indonesia is a unit of Dutch colonialism before. Srivijaya called by various names. People call Tionghoa Shih-li-fo-Shih, or San-fo-Fo ts'i or San Qi. In Sanskrit and Pali, the kingdom of Srivijaya called Yavadesh and Javadeh. Arabs call Zabag Malay and Khmer. The number of names is another reason why Srivijaya was difficult to find.

Vajrayana Buddhism

As a Vajrayana Buddhist teaching centre, Srivijaya attracted pilgrims and scholars from countries in Asia. Among other priests from China I-sing, who visited Sumatra on his way to study at Nalanda University, India, in the year 671 and 695, and in the 11th century, Atisha, a Buddhist scholar from Bengal who played in the development of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet.

I-sing reported that Srivijaya became home to thousands of Buddhist scholars to become Buddhist learning centre. Visitors who came to this island state that gold coins have been used in the coastal empire. Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism also developed in the Kingdom.

In the early days, the Khmer empire was also a colony of Srivijaya. Many historians claim that Chaiya, Surat Thani province, southern Thailand, as the last capital of the kingdom, Srivijaya influence apparent on building the pagoda-style Borom That Kingdom. After the fall of Srivijaya, Chaiya is divided into three cities namely (Mueang) Chaiya, Thatong (Kanchanadit), and Khirirat Nikhom.

Srivijaya also closely related to the Pala kingdom in Bengal, and a numbered plaque notes that 860 kings Balaputra a monastery dedicated to the University Nalada, Pala. Relations with the Chola dynasty of southern India quite well and then become worse after Rajendra Coladewa ascended the throne and an attack on the 11th century.

Golden Age

In the year 902, Srivijaya sent tribute to China. Two years later, the last king of the Tang Dynasty conferred the title of the messenger of Srivijaya. China envoy from the literature that has this Arabic name given the information that in those days was related to Srivijaya. Arab allows Srivijaya had entered the Islamic influence in the kingdom.

In the first half of the 10th century, between the fall of the Tang dynasty and the rise of the Song dynasty, with foreign trade is rampant, especially Fujian, Min royal and the rich countries of Guangdong, the kingdom of Nan Han. Srivijaya undoubtedly benefited from this trade. In the year 903, the Muslim writer Ibn Battuta was impressed with the prosperity of Srivijaya. Urban areas include the kingdom of Palembang (especially Hill Seguntang), Muara Jambi and Kedah.

It was this unity, then, that probably caused the sultanate to persist through the centuries in the minds of the conquered people, while knowledge of Srivijaya faded. Even its cities were abandoned, the most famous of these the great Buddhist temple of Borobudur.

Even to this day, it is the world’s largest Buddhist temple, but in the 14th century, it was abandoned to the jungle. It was the British colonial ruler of Java, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who in 1814 ordered the expedition that cleared the temple and brought it to the attention of the world.