Samaratungga
Encyclopedia
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...
dynasty who ruled Central Java and 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...
in the 8th and the 9th century. He was the successor of King Indra, and his name was mentioned in Karangtengah inscription
Karangtengah inscription
Karangtengah inscription is the inscriptions written on five pieces of stones dated 746 Saka or 824 CE, discovered in Karangtengah hamlet, Temanggung Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The inscription was written in ancient Javanese script in two languages; Old Javanese and Sanskrit...
dated 824 CE as the constructor of a sacred buddhist building called Venuvana (Sankirt: bamboo forest) to place the cremated ashes of his predecessor King Indra of Sailendra. During his administration, he initiated the construction of a massive Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
monument Borobudur
Borobudur
Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument near Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues...
. Samaratungga married Dewi Tara, the princess of 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...
n ruler Dharmasetu
Dharmasetu
Dharmasetu was an 8th century maharaja of Srivijaya. Under his reign, he successfully incorporated Pan Pan, a kingdom located in the north of the Malay Peninsula into Srivijayan sphere of influence before 775 AD....
, which created close political alliance between the Sailendras and Srivijaya.
Samaratungga had one son by the name of Balaputra
Balaputra
Balaputra was the maharaja of Srivijaya in the 9th century CE as well as the former head of the Sailendra dynasty. He was the youngest son of the preceding Sailendran maharaja, Samaratunga, through marriage with Dewi Tara who was in turn the daughter of another maharaja, Dharmasetu of...
and one daughter Pramodhawardhani. After Samaratungga died, Pramodhawardhani married the Shivaite Rakai Pikatan
Rakai Pikatan
Rakai Pikatan was a king of the Sanjaya dynasty Medang Kingdom in Central Java who built the Prambanan temple, dedicated to Shiva, which was completed in 856 AD....
from Sanjaya dynasty
Sanjaya Dynasty
The Sañjaya Dynasty was an ancient Javanese dynasty that ruled the Mataram kingdom in Java during first millennium CE. The dynasty was an active promoter of Hinduism in ancient Java.-Origin and formation:...
. Rakai Pikatan managed to usurp Balaputra's authority over Central Java and forced the Saleidras to flee Java for Palembang.
Under the reign of Samaratungga too, Jayavarman II
Jayavarman II
Jayavarman II was a 9th century king of Cambodia, widely recognized as the founder of the Khmer Empire, which ruled much of the Southeast Asian mainland for more than six hundred years. Historians formerly dated his reign as running from 802 AD to 850 AD, but some scholars now have set it back to...
was appointed as the governor of Indrapura in the Mekong delta. Jayavarman later revoked his allegiance to the Sailedras and Srivijaya to form the Khmer Empire
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...
.