Interpretation
The inscription is severely damaged, so it is difficult to make clear sense of much of the text. It is important to distinguish information explicitly stated in the text from scholars' modern interpretations of those statements. This is the first known Balinese inscription in which a king (adhipatiḥ) recorded his name: Śrī Kesarī Varma(deva), mentioned in A.4 and B.13. [8] [5] The deva part of the name does not appear clearly on the stone, but it is a conjecture based on the common use of the title Varmadeva in later Balinese inscriptions.
There is an apparent reference to the island of Bali, which is called Vāli-dvīpa (B.2). The alternation of b and v is common in Balinese epigraphy. The inscription also mentions "the palace Singhadvāla" (siṅhadvāla-pure, A.3), which many scholars identify with the palace Singhāmandava of earlier Balinese inscriptions. [9]
The inscription also tells about the success of military expeditions against enemies in two places: Gurun and Suwal (A.5). These place names are slightly obscure. Stutterheim suggested that they might refer to offshore islands, with Gurun possibly referring to Nusa Penida. [7] Goris, quoted by I Wayan Ardika, "believed that Gurun was Lombok, and interpreted Suwal as Ketewel beach south of Sukawati in the Gianyar regency". [10] Others have suggested more faraway places such as Maluku, but it is unclear what evidence this suggestion is grounded on. [4]
Pringle has argued that the mix of language and script suggests that the objective of the inscription was not to communicate locally to the Balinese people, but rather to be established as a symbol of power and authority. [4]
According to the French historian George Coedès, who was referring in general to Balinese inscriptions of the period 884-939 CE:
"These inscriptions reveal an Indo-Balinese society that was independent of Java, used a dialect peculiar to the island, and practiced Buddhism and Sivaism at the same time"
Some have suggested that the Blanjong pillar testifies to the connections of Bali with the Sanjaya dynasty in Central Java. [12] However, there is no explicit reference to Javanese kings in the inscription.
It has been speculated that Sri Kesari was a Buddhist king of the Sailendra dynasty leading a military expedition, [13] to establish a Mahayana Buddhist government in Bali. [14] However, there is no explicit evidence for this interpretation in the inscription itself.
Three other inscriptions by Kesari are known in the interior of Bali, which suggests either that there were conflicts in the interior of the island, or that Śrī Kesarī's power was centered in the interior. [4]
Bali is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller offshore islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nusa Ceningan to the southeast. The provincial capital, Denpasar, is the most populous city in the Lesser Sunda Islands and the second-largest, after Makassar, in Eastern Indonesia. The upland town of Ubud in Greater Denpasar is considered Bali's cultural centre. The province is Indonesia's main tourist destination, with a significant rise in tourism since the 1980s. Tourism-related business makes up 80% of its economy.
Devanagari is an Indic script used in the northern Indian subcontinent. Also simply called Nāgari, it is a left-to-right abugida, based on the ancient Brāhmi script. It is one of the official scripts of the Republic of India and Nepal. It was developed and in regular use by the 7th century CE and achieved its modern form by 1000 CE. The Devanāgari script, composed of 48 primary characters, including 14 vowels and 34 consonants, is the fourth most widely adopted writing system in the world, being used for over 120 languages.
The Shailendra dynasty was the name of a notable Indianised dynasty that emerged in 8th-century Java, whose reign signified a cultural renaissance in the region. The Shailendras were active promoters of Mahayana Buddhism and covered the Kedu Plain of Central Java with Buddhist monuments, one of which is the colossal stupa of Borobudur, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Airlangga, regnal name Rakai Halu Sri Lokeswara Dharmawangsa Airlangga Anantawikramottunggadewa, was the only king of the Kingdom of Kahuripan.
Sanur is a coastal stretch of beach east of Denpasar in southeast Bali, which has grown into a little town in its own right. A 5.1 km (3.2 mi) area of Sanur's coastline, from Matahari Terbit Beach to Mertasari Beach, was reclaimed in 2008.
Balitung was a Javanese king of Mataram. Balitung was his birth name, though like other Javanese kings of this period, he was commonly referred to by his appanage title Rakai Watukura. He reigned from 10 May 898 to c. 911–912. His territories included a wide range of areas in Central Java and East Java.
The Dutch conquest of South Bali in 1906 was a Dutch military intervention in Bali as part of the Dutch colonial conquest of the Indonesian islands, killing an estimated 1,000 people. It was part of the final takeover of the Netherlands East-Indies. The campaign led to the deaths of the Balinese rulers of Badung and Tabanan kingdoms, their wives and children and followers. This conquest weakened the remaining independent kingdoms of Klungkung and Bangli, leading to their invasion two years later. It was the sixth Dutch military intervention in Bali.
The History of Bali covers a period from the Paleolithic to the present, and is characterized by migrations of people and cultures from other parts of Asia. In the 16th century, the history of Bali started to be marked by Western influence with the arrival of Europeans, to become, after a long and difficult colonial period under the Dutch, an example of the preservation of traditional cultures and a key tourist destination.
Sri Kesari Warmadewa was the first king of Bali whose name is recorded in a written inscription. He was the issuing authority for four inscriptions, including the famous 914 CE inscription on the Belanjong pillar in southern Sanur.
The Warmadewa dynasty, also Varmadeva dynasty, was a regnal dynasty on the island of Bali.
Mahendradatta, also known as Gunapriya Dharmapatni, was the queen of Bali and wife of Udayana Warmadewa, also popularly known as King Udayana from Warmadewa dynasty. She was also the mother of Javanese hero-king Airlangga. Mahendradatta and Udayana co-ruled Bali, issuing inscriptions in both their names. Her other younger sons are Marakata and Anak Wungçu.
A good number of inscriptions written in Sanskrit language have been found in Malaysia and Indonesia. "Early inscriptions written in Indian languages and scripts abound in Southeast Asia. [...] The fact that southern Indian languages didn't travel eastwards along with the script further suggests that the main carriers of ideas from the southeast coast of India to the east - and the main users in Southeast Asia of religious texts written in Sanskrit and Pali - were Southeast Asians themselves. The spread of these north Indian sacred languages thus provides no specific evidence for any movements of South Asian individuals or groups to Southeast Asia.
Purnawarman or Purnavarman was the 5th-century king of Tarumanagara, a Hindu Indianized kingdom, located in modern-day West Java, Jakarta and Banten provinces, Indonesia. Purnawarman reigned during the 5th century, and during his reign he created several stone inscriptions.
The Kingdomship of Bali was a series of Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms that once ruled some parts of the volcanic island of Bali, in Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. With a history of native Balinese kingship spanning from the early 10th to early 20th centuries, Balinese kingdoms demonstrated sophisticated Balinese court culture where native elements of spirit and ancestral reverence combined with Hindu influences—adopted from India through ancient Java intermediary—flourished, enriched and shaped Balinese culture.
Pura Kehen is a Balinese Hindu temple located in Cempaga, Bangli Regency, Bali. The temple is set on the foot of a wooded hill, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the town center. Established at least in the 13th-century, Pura Kehen was the royal temple of the Bangli Kingdom, now the Regency of Bangli.
Munggu Antan is an inscription in the Old Javanese language in the form of a stone stele found in the village of Bulus, Purworejo Regency, which was once included in the Kedu Residency. This inscription contains the designation of the village Munggu Antan as a sima, becoming the domain of a Buddhist monastery (vihāra) in Gusali. This inscription was issued on 9 February 887 by the official of Munggu and his younger sister Sang Hadyan Palutungan, who was also the wife of the 'deity who rests at Pastika', at the behest of the reigning king Bhadra, lord of Gurunwangi. Only four days after this inscription was issued, King Bhadra is said to have fled the palace, ushering in a period of contested leadership that lasted until 894.
Sang Ratu Sri Ugrasena was a Balinese king who is thought to have ruled between 837-864 Saka, or 915-942 CE. The capital of his kingdom was Singhamandawa. The king issued several inscriptions regarding various activities of his people, including giving royal endowment, tax regulation, religious ceremonies, and construction of public lodges and places of worship for pilgrims. His reign was approximately the same period as King Sindok's of the Isyana dynasty in East Java.
