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HIE ŚAILENDRAS OF JAVA 89

XT3. NALANDA COPPERPLATE OF DEVAPALA, 39TH REGNAL YEAR

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1923-24 Hirananda Sastri, The Nalanda Copperplate of Devapaladeva, El. 17.310 - 26.

1925 Bosch, TBG. 65-509-88.

1942 Hirananda Sastri 1942:92-102.

The Nalanda Copperplate gives the following information about the kings of Java. The great king of Yavabhumi, named Vira-vairi-mathana was an ornament of the Sailendra dynasty. He had a valiant son, Samaragravlra. The qucen of Sdinar3gravira was Tira, the daugher of Sr! Varmasetu, a king of the Lunar Dynasty. Their son Sn Balaputra deva had a monastery conslructed in Nalanda. The relevant porlions of the original inscription are :

lines 37-38 Suva (rnna)-dvTp-Sdhipa-ma(hS) rSja-śrJ-vS (Da) laputra-devena

dulaka-mukhcna vayam vijflSpitah yathS mayS Sn-N&landiy&m vihSrah kSritas.

/ / *

linę 52-53 Sailendra-vamśa-tilako Yava-bhumipSJah Sri-\ira-

yairi mathan -Snugat - Sbhidhanah

lilie 55-56 tasy-abhavat......sunur ... SamarSgravTrah.

ł

linę 59 rajńah soma-kul-8nvayasya mahatah Sri-Dharmasetoh sutś

tasy-8bhud avanibhujo'gramahisf, Tśr - cva Tar-8hvay8

/

lines 60-61 tasyśn tasya - Srf-Valapulro, bhavat.

The word ⁴ SuvarnadvTpa * has bccn understood spccillcally as Sumatra and Balaputra has bcen taken to be the king of Sumatra. In the Ka(h8 sarit-s8gara the Capital of Suvarnadvlpa was Kalaiapura, which can be idenlified wilh Kalasan, as dcmonstratcd earlier. Thus Suvarnadvlpa would be Java in this inscription. Albcruni (c.A.D. 1030) says that “the easlcm islands in this ocean are the islands of Zabaj callcd by the Hindus Suva^^advTpa...^, (Sachau 1.210, 2.106). Woltcrs (1967:63) opines that aflcr Vcspasian cut olT supplies of Roman bullion to India, a search for gold became'an important motive for the Indian exploralions in Southcast Asia. Suvamabhumi and SuvarnadvTpa are generał cxprcssions for wcalthy regions.

The datę of the Nalanda inscription is the 39lh rcgnal year of Dcvapala. The ycars of his rcign havc bccn computcd by different scholars as follows:

rcgnal ycars    39th year

R.C. Majumdar    810-849    849

D.C. Bhatlacharyya    800-839    839

R.D.Bancrji    809-849    848

A.M.Chowdhury    821-861    860