Medang Kingdom
The Medang or Mataram Kingdom was a Hindu–Buddhist kingdom that flourished between the 8th and 10th centuries CE. It was based in Central Java, and later in East Java. Established by King Sanjaya, the founder of the Sanjaya dynasty, the kingdom was ruled by the Sailendra and Sanjaya families. By 850, the kingdom had become the dominant power in Java and was a serious rival to the hegemonic Srivijaya Empire.
The earliest account of the
Medang Kingdom is in the Canggal inscription, dated 732, discovered in Canggal village, southwest of the town of Magelang. This inscription, written in Sanskrit using the Pallava script, tells of the erection of a lingga on the hill in the Kunjarakunja area, located on a noble island called Yawadwipa (Java) which was blessed with abundance of rice and gold. This inscription tells that Yawadwipa was ruled by King Sanna, whose long reign was marked by wisdom and virtue. After Sanna died, the kingdom fell into disunity. Sanjaya, the son of Sannaha (Sanna's sister) ascended to the throne. He conquered the areas around his kingdom, and his wise reign blessed his land with peace and prosperity for all of his subjects.
Sanna and Sanjaya are
Parahyangan, a book from a later
the history of Pasundan .
Sanna was defeated by
retreated to Mount Merapi. Later,
kingdom and ruled West Java,
Bali. He also battled the
their king, Sang Srivijaya). | also described in the Carita
period which mainly describes
This book mentions that
Purbasora, King of Galuh, and
Sanjaya reclaimed Sanna's
Central Java, East Java, and
Malayu and Keling (against
- |
Bosch in his book "Srivijaya, de Sailendravamsa en de Sanjayavamsa" suggested that king Sanjaya was the progenitor of the Sanjaya Dynasty, and there was two dynasties that ruled Central Java; the Buddhist Sailendra and the Shivaist Sanjaya dynasty. The inscription also states that Sanjaya was an ardent follower of Shaivism. From its founding in the early 8th century until 928, the kingdom was ruled by the Sanjaya dynasty. The 1st king was Sanjaya, who ruled in the Mataram region in the vicinity of modern Yogyakarta and Prambanan, and left the written records on the Canggal inscription. However, around the mid 8th century, the Sailendra dynasty emerged in Central Java and challenged Sanjaya domination in the region.
According to the
CE and written in the
Kalasan temple was erected by
Sailendravamxatilaka , who persuaded
to construct a holy
(boddhisattvadevi) Tara and build a vihara
the Sailendra realm.
village to a sangha (Buddhist | Kalasan inscription, dated 778
Pranagari script in Sanskrit, the
the will of Guru Sang Raja
Panangkaran (Sanjaya's successor)
building for the goddess
(monastery) for Buddhist monks from
Panangkaran also awarded Kalaxa
monastic community). |
The prevailing historical interpretation holds that the Sailendra dynasty co-existed next to the Sanjaya dynasty in Central Java, and much of the period was characterized by peaceful cooperation. The Sailendra, with their strong connections to Srivijaya, managed to gain control of Central Java and become overlords of the Rakai , including the Sanjayas, thus making the Sanjaya kings of Mataram their vassals. Little is known about the kingdom due to the dominance of the Sailendra, who during this period constructed Borobudur, a Buddhist monument. Samaratungga, the monarch of the Sailendra, tried to secure the Sailendra position in Java, cementing an alliance with the Sanjayas by arranging the marriage of his daughter Pramodhawardhani with Pikatan.
Around the middle of the
between the Sanjaya and the
the Sanjaya ruler,
the offspring of the
and the princess Tara. This
in Java; Balaputra
capital in Sumatra, where he
The Balaputra defeat and
recorded in Shivagrha
Rakai Kayuwangi, Pikatan's | 9th century, relations
Sailendra deteriorated. In 852,
Pikatan, defeated Balaputra,
Sailendra monarch Samaratunga
ended the Sailendra presence
retreated to the Srivijayan
became the paramount ruler.
the victory of Pikatan was
inscription dated 856, edicted by
successor. |
However, this dual
proposed by Bosch and De Casparis
Indonesian historians in later
proposed by Poerbatjaraka,
kingdom and one dynasty, the
capital in the Mataram area , and
the Sailendra. | Sailendra—Sanjaya dynasties theory
was opposed by some
period. An alternate theory,
suggests there was only one
kingdom called Medang, with the
the ruling dynasty being
- |
This theory is supported with Boechari interpretation on Sojomerto inscription and Poerbatjaraka study on Carita Parahyangan manuscript, Poerbatjaraka holds that Sanjaya and all of his offspring belongs to the Sailendra family, which initially was Shivaist Hindu. However, according to Raja Sankhara inscription ; Sanjaya's son, Panangkaran, converted to Mahāyāna Buddhism. And because of that conversion, the later series of Sailendra kings who ruled Medang become Mahāyāna Buddhists also and gave Buddhism royal patronage in Java until the end of Samaratungga's reign. The Shivaist Hindus regained royal patronage with the reign of Pikatan, which lasted until the end of the
Medang Kingdom. During the reign of Kings Pikatan and Balitung, the royal Hindu Trimurti temple of Prambanan was built and expanded in the vicinity of Yogyakarta.
Most of the time, the
was located in Mataram,
near modern Yogyakarta and
reign of Rakai Pikatan, the
Later, in the reign of
this time to Poh Pitu. Unlike
unable to pinpoint the exact
although most historians agree
Kedu Plain, somewhere
Temanggung regencies. Later,
court was moved back to the | court of the Medang Kingdom
somewhere on the Prambanan Plain
Prambanan. However, during the
court was moved to Mamrati.
Balitung, the court moved again,
Mataram, historians have been
locations of Mamrati and Poh Pitu,
that both were located in the
around the modern Magelang or
during the reign of Wawa, the
Mataram area. |
The complex stratified
refined aesthetic taste in art
through the various scenes in
various temples dated from the | ancient Javan society, with its
and culture, is evidenced
narrative bas-reliefs carved on
Medang era. |
The common people of Medang mostly made a living in agriculture, especially as rice farmers, however, some may have pursued other careers, such as hunter, trader, artisan, weaponsmith, sailor, soldier, dancer, musician, food or drink vendor, etc. Rich portrayals of daily life in 9th century Java can be seen in many temple bas-reliefs. Rice cultivation had become the base for the kingdom's economy where the villages throughout the realm relied on their annual rice yield to pay taxes to the court. Exploiting the fertile volcanic soil of Central Java and the intensive wet rice cultivation enabled the population to grow significantly, which contributed to the availability of labor and workforce for the state's public projects. Certain villages and lands were given the status as sima (tax free) lands awarded through royal edict written in inscriptions. The rice yields from sima lands usually were allocated for the maintenance of certain religious buildings.
The bas-reliefs from temples of this period, especially from Borobudur and Prambanan describe occupations and careers other than agricultural pursuit; such as soldiers, government officials, court servants, massage therapists, travelling musicians and dancing troupe, food and drink sellers, logistics courier, sailors, merchants, even thugs and robbers are depicted in everyday life of 9th century Java. These occupations requires economy system that employs currency. The Wonoboyo hoard, golden artifacts discovered in 1990, revealed gold coins in shape similar to corn seeds, which suggests that 9th century Javan economy is partly monetized. On the surface of the gold coins engraved with a script "ta", a short form of "tail" or "tahil" a unit of currency in ancient Java.
The King was regarded as the paramount ruler or chakravartin, where the highest power and authority lies. The king, the royal family and the kingdom's officials had the authority to launch public projects, such as irrigation works or temple construction. The kingdom left behind several temples and monuments. The most notable ones are Prambanan, Sewu, and the Plaosan temple compound. The palace where the King resided was mentioned as kadatwan or keraton, the court was the center of kingdom's administration. Throughout its history, the center of Medang kingdom was mostly situated in and around Prambanan Plain, named as Mataram, however during the reign of other kings, the capital may shifted to other places. Several other courts and capital cities were mentioned, such as Mamrati and Poh Pitu, location unknown but probably somewhere in Kedu Plain. In later Eastern Java period, other centers were mentioned; such as Tamwlang and Watugaluh (near Jombang), also Wwatan (near Madiun).
The Wonoboyo hoard
to the wealth, art, and
achievement of the Medang Kingdom.
intricate artwork and technical
goldsmith. The hoard was estimated
King Balitung. The treasure
belonging to a noble or a member of | golden artifacts also attest
culture as well as the aesthetic
The artifacts show the
mastery of the ancient Javanese
to date from the reign of
has been identified as
the royal family. |
Since the beginning of
Mataram kings seemed to favour
construction of Gunung Wukir Hindu
inscription by king Sanjaya.
Panangkaran and the rise of
Buddhism began to blossomed and
Kalasan, Sari, Mendut, Pawon and
and Sewu temples testify
in Central Java. The court
from the reign of
During the reign of Pikatan,
regain court's favour,
grand Shivagrha . | its formation, the Medang
Shivaist Hinduism, such as the
temple as mentioned in Canggal
However during the reign of
Sailendras influence, Mahayana
gain court favour. The
the magnificent Borobudur
the Buddhist renaissance
patronage on Buddhism spanned
Panangkaran to Samaratungga.
Shivaist Hinduism began to
signified by the construction of
- |
Other Hindu temples dated from Medang Mataram Kingdom era are: Sambisari, Gebang, Barong, Ijo, and Morangan. Although the Shivaist regain the favour, buddhist remain under royal patronage. The Sewu temple dedicated for Manjusri according to Kelurak inscription was probably initially built by Panangkaran, but later expanded and completed during Rakai Pikatan's rule, whom married to a Buddhist princess Pramodhawardhani, daughter of Samaratungga. Most of their subjects retained their old religion; Shivaist and Buddhist seems to co-exist in harmony. The buddhist temple of Plaosan, Banyunibo and Sajiwan were built during the reign of King Pikatan and Queen Pramodhawardhani, probably in the spirit of religious reconciliation after the battle of succession between Pikatan-Pramodhawardhani against Balaputra.
From the 9th to mid 10th centuries, the
Medang Kingdom witnessed the blossoming of art, culture and literature, mainly through the translation of Hindu-Buddhist sacred texts and the transmission and adaptation of Hindu-Buddhist ideas. The bas-relief narration of the Hindu epic Ramayana was carved on the wall of Prambanan Temple. During this period, the Kakawin Ramayana, an old Javanese rendering was written. This Kakawin Ramayana, also called the Yogesvara Ramayana, is attributed to the scribe Yogesvara circa the 9th century CE, who was employed in the court of the Medang in Central Java. It has 2774 stanzas in the manipravala style, a mixture of Sanskrit and archaic Javanese prose. The most influential version of the Ramayana is the Ravanavadham of Bhatti, popularly known as Bhattikavya. The Javanese Ramayana differs markedly from the original Hindu.
The name of the Medang
Laguna Copperplate
discovered in Manila,
inscriptions, written in the Kawi
containing numerous loanwords
non-Malay vocabulary elements
between Old Javanese and Old
people or officials of the
inter-insular trade and foreign
the Philippines, and that
kingdoms in Indonesia and the | Kingdom was written in the
Inscription, dated 822 saka ,
Philippines. The discovery of the
script in a variety of Old Malay
from Sanskrit and a few
whose origin is ambiguous
Tagalog, suggests that the
Medang Kingdom had embarked on
relations in regions as far away as
connections between ancient
Philippines existed. |
Around the year 929, the centre of the kingdom was shifted from Central Java to East Java by Mpu Sindok, who established the Isyana Dynasty. The exact cause of the move is still uncertain; however, a severe eruption of Mount Merapi volcano or a power struggle probably caused the move. Historians suggest that, some time during the reign of King Wawa of Mataram , Merapi volcano erupted and devastated the kingdom's capital in Mataram. The historic massive volcano eruption is popularly known as Pralaya Mataram (the death of Mataram). The evidence for this eruption can be seen in several temples that were virtually buried under Merapi's lahar and volcanic debris, such as the Sambisari, Morangan, Kedulan, and Pustakasala temples.
Another theory
capital city eastward was to
or was motivated by
river valley was considered
for the control of maritime
parts of archipelago, being
Maluku spice trade. | suggests that the shift of
avoid a Srivijaya invasion,
economic reasons. The Brantas
to be a strategic location
trade routes to the eastern
especially vital for control of the
- |
Sindok moved the
moved it again to Watugaluh.
with the Tambelang and
Jombang, East Java. A later king,
to Wwatan, identified as
Madiun. Dharmawangsa also
Mahabharata into Old Javanese in | capital to Tamwlang and later
Historian identify those names
Megaluh area near modern
Dharmawangsa, moved the capital again
the Wotan area near modern
ordered the translation of the
996. |
Related Sites for Medang Kingdom
