Adityawarman


Adityawarman was a king of Malayapura, a state in central Sumatra. He was the cousin of Jayanegara, king of Majapahit from 1309–1328, and the grandson of Tribhuwanaraja, king of Melayu Kingdom. Adityawarman was awarded the Senior Minister of Majapahit and used this authority to launch Majapahit military expansion plans and conquered east coast region in Sumatra. Adityawarman then founded the royal dynasty of Minangkabau in Pagarruyung and presided over the central Sumatra region to take control of the gold trade between 1347 and 1375.

Early life

Adityawarman was born around 1294–1310 in Trowulan, East Java, the capital of the kingdom of Majapahit, as recorded in the poem of Pararaton. According to Kuburajo Inscription found in Limo Kaum, West Sumatra, Adityawarman's mother was Dara Jingga, princess of Dharmasraya and his father was Majapahit nobleman Adwayawarman. He might have visited China for a diplomatic expedition in 1325 if, as some historians believe, he is the envoy whom a Chinese source calls Sengk'ia-lie-yu-lan.
According to George Coedes, "His name appears in Java as early as 1343 on an image of Bodhisattva Manjusri that was originally located in Candi Jago." This is the sanctuary built by Kertanegara for his father Visnuvardhana. In one of various inscriptions about him, he explicitly calls himself Lord of the Golden Earth. An inscription in localised Malay Sanskrit found on the back of the Amoghapasa statue found at Rambahan, West Sumatra, dated 1347, written by Adityawarman, commemorates his role as protector and source of welfare to the people of the capital of Malaya and his power as an embodiment of Amoghapasa. "At Malayapura, Adityawarman bore the royal title of Udayadityavarman Pratapaparakramarajendra Maulimalivarmadewa, a title which one scholar believes he can detect an attempt at synthesis of the royal title traditionally in use in Srivijaya and Malayu." His kingdom is believed to be the predecessor of the present-day Minangkabau matrilineal society in Indonesia.
Adityawarman's inscriptions as a Sumateran ruler, shows that he was a devotee of Tantric Buddhism. He ruled until at least 1375, the year of his last known inscription. He was described as the Lord of Suravasa; and the name Suruaso itself is still used to refer to the area near Pagarruyung, Kingdom of the Minangkabau people.
His son was Ananggawarman.