The Calcutta Stone, known in Indonesia as the Pucangan Inscription, is an ancient Javanese inscription written in Sanskrit and Old Javanese, [1] dated to 1041 CE during the reign of king Airlangga of the Kahuripan kingdom, which explains some events and the royal genealogy of the king. The inscription more or less narrates the life story of King Airlangga, one of the greatest kings in Javanese history, also explaining his lineage as the rightful ruler of Java, the successor of King Dharmawangsa of Isyana dynasty. This inscription was known as the "Calcutta Stone" because it has been stored at the Indian Museum in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, from the 19th century until today.
The Pucangan inscription is a bilingual inscription carved on both sides of a single monolith. The front side is written in Old Javanese while the other side is written in Sanskrit. Both inscriptions are written in the Kawi script (Ancient Javanese script). The inscription scape is a block with pointed top, on the base of the inscription is adorned with padma (lotus) pedestal. The name Pucangan derived from a word in this inscription. It was the name of a place on the slopes of Mount Penanggungan, today located in Mojokerto Regency, East Java. [2]
The inscription describes a terrible pralaya (calamity) that befell the East Javanese Mataram Kingdom of Isyana Dynasty in the early years of the 11th century. In 1016, a rebellion incited by a vassal king Wurawari from Lwaram resulted in the destruction of the capital of Watugaluh. The reigning king, Dharmawangsa, successor to Sri Makutawangsawardhana, was murdered along with his entire family and many of his subjects. Only the young Airlangga, who was aged about 16 at the time, managed to escape unharmed. [3]
The Pucangan inscription was discovered on the slope of Mount Penanggungan in East Java and sent to Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the British Governor General of Java 1813–1816 in Batavia. In 1812 Raffles sent it together with Sangguran inscription to Lord Minto, Governor-General of India in Calcutta, as a token of appreciation. [4] This inscription was stored in Calcutta Museum while the Sangguran inscription was taken by Lord Minto back to his estate in Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland.
Quotation of some verses in the inscription.
The 10th century was the period from 901 through 1000 (M) in accordance with the Julian calendar, and the last century of the 1st millennium.
Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles was a British colonial official who served as the governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieutenant-governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. Raffles was involved in the capture of the Indonesian island of Java from the Dutch during the Napoleonic Wars. It was returned under the Anglo–Dutch Treaty of 1814. He also wrote The History of Java in 1817, describing the history of the island from ancient times. The Rafflesia flower was named after him.
Old Javanese or Kawi is the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was spoken in the eastern part of what is now Central Java and the whole of East Java, Indonesia. As a literary language, Kawi was used across Java and on the islands of Madura, Bali, and Lombok. It had a sizable vocabulary of Sanskrit loanwords but had not yet developed the formal krama language register, to be used with one's social superiors that is characteristic of modern Javanese.
Kakawin Ramayana is an Old Javanese poem rendering of the Sanskrit Ramayana in kakawin meter.
Johan Hendrik Caspar Kern was a Dutch linguist and Orientalist. In the literature, he is usually referred to as H. Kern or Hendrik Kern; a few other scholars bear the same surname.
The Mataram kingdom ; also known as Medang kingdom was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that flourished between the 8th and 11th centuries. It was based in Central Java, and later in East Java. Established by King Sanjaya, the kingdom was ruled by the Shailendra dynasty and Ishana dynasty.
The Nagarakretagama or Nagarakṛtāgama, also known as Desawarnana or Deśavarṇana, is an Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king of the Majapahit Empire. It was written on lontar as a kakawin by Mpu Prapanca in 1365. The Nagarakretagama contains detailed descriptions of the Majapahit Empire during its greatest extent. The poem affirms the importance of Hindu–Buddhism in the Majapahit empire by describing temples and palaces and several ceremonial observances.
The Ishana dynasty, rulers of the Kingdom of Mataram, was a dynasty of the Hindu Mataram Kingdom on the island of Java. Ishana refers to a Hindu god who is often considered to be one of the forms of the Hindu destroyer god Shiva. It followed the Sanjaya dynasty and was established by Mpu Sindok, who moved the capital of the Mataram Kingdom from Central Java to East Java around the year 929. Coedes states, "Sindok, under his reign name Sri Isyana Vikramadharmatungadeva, was always considered the founder of Javanese power in the east of the island." Mpu Sindok's daughter and successor was Isanatungavijaya, who in turn was succeeded by her son Makutavamsavardhana, followed by Dharmawangsa. Pucangan inscription describes the reign of the Isyana dynasty that came to an end when the revolt against a vassal King Wurawari of Lwaram attacked and destroyed the capital in 1016.
Dharmawangsa, stylized regnal name Sri Maharaja Isyana Dharmawangsa Teguh Anantawikramottunggadewa of the Isyana dynasty, was the last Hindu raja of the Kingdom of Mataram, who reigned from 990 to 1016 CE. He is also known by his posthumous name Wijayamreta Wardhana, which means "powerful in glorious death", which refers to his fight to the death.
Airlangga, regnal name Rakai Halu Sri Lokeswara Dharmawangsa Airlangga Anantawikramottunggadewa, was the only king of the Kingdom of Kahuripan.
Udayana Warmadewa, also Udayana the Great or Dharmmodayana Warmadewa, was a king of the island of Bali in the 10th century. He belongs to the Warmadewa dynasty. He was married to the Javanese queen Mahendradatta, also known as Gunapriyadharmapatni. Their son was the famous Airlangga, who replaced the overthrown emperor of Java Dharmawangsa, and ruled in both Java and his original home of Bali. Mahendradatta and Udayana co-ruled Bali, issuing inscriptions in both their names.
The Canggal inscription is a Sanskrit inscription dated to 732, discovered in the Gunung Wukir temple complex in Kadiluwih village, Salam, Magelang Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The inscription is written in the Pallava alphabet. The inscription documents an edict of Sanjaya, in which he declared himself the universal ruler of the Mataram Kingdom.
The Minto Stone or Sangguran Inscription, known in Indonesia as Prasasti Sangguran, is a 3 long tons (3.0 t), 2 metres (6.6 ft) tall epigraphy found in Malang, East Java province. In 1812, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then Lieutenant-Governor of the island of Java, removed it along with the so-called "Calcutta Stone" as a token of appreciation to his superior, then British Governor-General of India, Lord Minto. It consequently became part of the Minto family estate near Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland.
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.
Kahuripan was an 11th-century Javanese Hindu-Buddhist kingdom with its capital located around the estuarine of Brantas River valley in East Java. The kingdom was short-lived, only spanning the period between 1019 and 1045, and Airlangga was the only raja of the kingdom, which was built out of the rubble of the Kingdom of Mataram after the Srivijaya invasion. Airlangga later in 1045 abdicated in favour of his two sons and divided the kingdom into Janggala and Panjalu (Kadiri). The kingdom's name derived from Old Javanese term hurip with circumfix ka- -an which means "life" or "livelihood". Later in 14th to 15th century, the former kingdom was recognised as one of Majapahit's 12 provinces.
Arjunawiwāha was the first kakawin to appear in the East Javan period of the Javanese classical Hindu-Buddhist era in the 11th-century. It was composed by Mpu Kanwa during the reign of King Airlangga, king of the Kahuripan Kingdom, circa 1019 to 1042 CE. Arjunawiwaha is estimated to have been finished in 1030.
The French and British interregnum in the Dutch East Indies of the Dutch East Indies took place between 1806 and 1816. The French ruled between 1806 and 1811, while the British took over for 1811 to 1816 and transferred its control back to the Dutch in 1816.
Sri Makutawangsa Wardhana was the Hindu king of Mataram Kingdom, in East Java, that ruled prior to 990s CE. He was the son and the successor of Queen Isyana Tunggawijaya and King Sri Lokapala. He belongs to the Isyana dynasty, established by his grandfather, Mpu Sindok that ruled Java circa the 10th century CE.
Śri Ajñadewi was a reigning queen of Bali, who flourished in 1016 CE.
According to the Kakawin Nagarakretagama canto XIII and XIV, the following areas are recognized as conquered or subordinate to Majapahit. The conquered states in Java were not mentioned because they were still considered part of the royal "mandala".