Srivijaya's Lost Language: Deciphering the Old Malay Inscriptions

The Srivijaya Empire: Southeast Asia's Forgotten Maritime Superpower — Fexingo History · Jul 6, 2026 · 8m · transcript

Episode 143 of Fexingo History explores the linguistic legacy of the Srivijaya Empire through its surviving inscriptions. Lucas and Luna delve into the Kedukan Bukit inscription, the oldest known Old Malay text, and what it reveals about the empire's origins. They discuss the Talang Tuwo inscription, which documents a royal garden and reflects Buddhist values, and the Kota Kapur inscription, a curse against rebels. The conversation examines how these stone texts, written in Pallava script, blend Sanskrit loanwords with local Austronesian syntax, offering a window into Srivijaya's…