Sri Jayanasa of Srivijaya


Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa was the first Maharaja / Emperor of Srivijaya and thought to be the dynastic founder of Kadatuan Srivijaya. His name was mentioned in the series of Srivijayan inscriptions dated from late 7th century CE dubbed as the "Siddhayatra inscriptions", describing his sacred journey to acquire blessings and also to conquer neighboring areas. He reigned around the turn of late 7th century to early 8th century, more precisely in the period between 671 and 702 CE.

Biography

According to I Tsing, a Chinese Buddhist monk that visited Srivijaya in 671 and stayed there for 6 months, he was impressed by the generosity, kindness and hospitality demonstrated by the king of Srivijaya. The king mentioned in I Tsing report was later linked to the king mentioned in oldest Srivijayan inscription, also from 7th century, dated 682 CE, the Kedukan Bukit inscription discovered in Palembang, and thought to be referring to the same person. However, later historians discount that interpretation of the inscriptions.
The Kedukan Bukit inscription dated 605 saka, mentioned a king titled Dapunta Hyang who performed a Siddhayatra by the boat. He departed from Minanga Tamwan accompanied with 20,000 soldiers heading to Matajap and conquering several areas. Other inscriptions tell of the Siddhayatra journey and Srivijayan conquests on surrounding areas, such as Kota Kapur discovered in Bangka island, Karang Brahi discovered in Jambi Hulu and Palas Pasemah discovered in southern Lampung, all mentions the same event. From all of these inscriptions, it was concluded that Dapunta Hyang established the Srivijayan empire after defeating his enemies in Jambi, Palembang, Southern Lampung and Bangka island, and he even went further to launch a military campaign against Bhumi Java that probably contributed to the decline of the Tarumanagara kingdom in West Java.