Latest / The Srivijaya Empire: Southeast Asia's Forgotten Maritime Superpower — Fexingo History / Srivijaya's Tamil Inscription: A Testament to Tolerance
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, we've talked a lot about Srivijaya as a Buddhist empire — the monasteries, the pilgrims, the temples at Muaro Jambi. But there's a stone inscription at Borobudur that tells a different story. It's written in Tamil, and it records a grant of land for a Hindu temple. Luna: Wait — a Hindu temple at Borobudur? The world's largest Buddhist monument? Lucas: Exactly. The inscription is carved into a stone that was built into the base of Borobudur's main stupa. It's dated to around 832 CE — that's the Sailendra period, just a few decades after Borobudur was completed. And it's not just any inscription — it names a Srivijaya maharaja, and it's written in Tamil, not Sanskrit. Luna: So who made the grant, and what did it say? Lucas: The inscription says the maharaja — his name is partly lost, but scholars think it's the Sailendra king Samaratungga, or possibly his son Balaputradewa — granted a plot of land near what's now Candi Mendut to a group of Tamil merchants. The land was to be used for a temple to the Hindu god Vishnu. The grant also provided oil for lamps and other offerings. And it's all in Tamil, the language of South India. Luna: So a Buddhist king gave land to Tamil merchants to build a Hindu temple. That's a pretty striking example of religious tolerance. Lucas: It is, but it's also more than that. Srivijaya was a maritime empire that thrived on trade. The Tamil merchants were part of a vast network that stretched from the Coromandel Coast to the Malay Archipelago. By granting them a temple, the Sailendra king was making a political statement — we welcome you, we respect your gods, and we want your business. It's pragmatism as much as piety. Luna: So it's like a diplomatic gift, but in stone. Lucas: Exactly. And this wasn't an isolated case. There are other Tamil inscriptions from the same period found in Thailand and Sumatra, all indicating a thriving Tamil merchant community under Srivijayan rule. The most famous one is the so-called 'Ligor Inscription' from southern Thailand, which also mentions a Sailendra king and a Buddhist complex. So we see both faiths side by side. Luna: I remember you mentioned before that Srivijaya was a mandala — a network of power that wasn't rigidly centralized. Does this fit with that model? Lucas: It does. The mandala system meant that local rulers had a lot of autonomy as long as they acknowledged the overlord. The Tamil merchant guilds probably had their own leaders and their own legal codes. The maharaja didn't need to convert them to Buddhism — he just needed them to pay taxes and stay loyal. So he gave them a temple, and they gave him access to their trade networks. Luna: Still, it's surprising that a Buddhist king would fund a Hindu temple right at the foot of Borobudur. Was there any tension? Lucas: Not that we know of. In fact, the inscription itself says the grant was made 'for the welfare of all beings' — a phrase that could come from either Buddhist or Hindu texts. The Sailendra kings themselves were patrons of both religions. They built Borobudur, but they also commissioned Hindu temples like Candi Prambanan — actually, Prambanan was built a few decades later by a rival dynasty, but the Sailendras had a history of supporting both. Luna: So it's not that they were ecumenical in a modern sense — it was just normal for them. Lucas: Exactly. The idea that a ruler had to choose one religion was foreign to them. In fact, many Southeast Asian kings saw themselves as embodiments of both Buddhist bodhisattvas and Hindu gods. The Sailendra king was sometimes called 'mahaprabhu' — a Hindu title — even as he funded Buddhist monasteries. Luna: That's really interesting. So the Tamil inscription at Borobudur is like a snapshot of that world. Lucas: It's one of the best pieces of evidence we have. The inscription is known as the 'Larger Borobudur Inscription' or the 'Tamil Inscription of Borobudur'. It was discovered in the 19th century by Dutch archaeologists, and it's now in the National Museum of Indonesia. For a long time, it was overlooked because it didn't fit the narrative of Borobudur as a purely Buddhist monument. Luna: So how do we know it's authentic and not a later addition? Lucas: The paleography — the style of the Tamil script — dates it to the 9th century. Also, the inscription is built into the structure itself, not just placed there later. It's part of the original construction. So we know it's contemporary with Borobudur. Luna: Did the Tamil temple actually get built? Lucas: There's no trace of it today. But Candi Mendut, which is a small Buddhist temple nearby, might have been associated with it. Some scholars think the Tamil temple was actually a separate structure that was later demolished or fell into ruin. The land grant specified a location near a place called 'Sri Kahulunan' — that might be Mendut. Luna: So we have the inscription but not the temple. Still, it's amazing that we have the stone at all. Lucas: It's a miracle it survived. Borobudur was abandoned for centuries, buried under volcanic ash and jungle. When it was rediscovered in the 19th century, the Tamil inscription was still there, though partially worn. It took scholars decades to decipher it properly. And it's still yielding insights — recent research suggests the Tamil merchants were part of a guild called the 'Ayyavole', a powerful trading corporation from South India. Luna: The Ayyavole — weren't they the ones that had outposts all over Southeast Asia? Lucas: That's right. They were like a medieval multinational corporation. They had their own armies, their own ships, and they operated across the Indian Ocean. They were based in the town of Ayyavole in present-day Karnataka, but they had colonies in Burma, Thailand, and Indonesia. The Borobudur inscription is evidence of their presence in Java. Luna: So Srivijaya was not just a Buddhist kingdom — it was a multi-religious, multi-ethnic trading empire. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what made it so successful. The maharajas understood that tolerance was good for business. They didn't demand religious conformity. They just wanted the trade to flow. And for centuries, it did. Luna: You know, we've been talking about this for a while, and I'm really struck by how much of Srivijaya's story comes down to a few stones and some cargo. It makes you appreciate the work that goes into uncovering this history. Lucas: Absolutely. And honestly, if today's conversation was worth a coffee to you, we'd be grateful if you wanted to support the show. It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, but it helps us keep digging up these stories. Luna: Yeah, it really does. Every bit helps us spend more time on research and less on ads. Lucas: Anyway, back to the Tamil merchants. Their presence in Java didn't just mean a temple. It meant a whole community — families, priests, artisans. They brought South Indian culture, language, and religion to the heart of Srivijaya. And that cultural exchange went both ways. Luna: What do you mean? Lucas: Well, we know that Javanese influences also appeared in South India. For example, a 10th-century copper-plate grant from the Chola king mentions a temple in Tamil Nadu that was built in the 'Javanese style'. So it wasn't a one-way street. The Srivijaya empire was part of a broader Indian Ocean world where ideas, people, and goods moved freely. Luna: That's a nice way to think of it — not just an empire, but a node in a network. Lucas: Exactly. And that network lasted for centuries, even after Srivijaya declined. The Tamil inscriptions don't stop after the 9th century. There are later ones from the 11th and 12th centuries, found in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. So the Tamil merchant communities remained active long after the Sailendra dynasty fell. Luna: So the inscription at Borobudur is really a symbol of that whole world. Lucas: It is. And it's a reminder that ancient empires were often far more cosmopolitan than we give them credit for. We tend to see them through the lens of modern nationalism — one religion, one language, one culture. But Srivijaya was a patchwork of different communities, and that was its strength. Luna: It makes you wonder what other stories are still buried out there. Lucas: Oh, plenty. There are hundreds of inscriptions from the Srivijaya period that haven't been fully studied. Some are in private collections, others are still in the ground. And every new discovery changes our understanding. The Tamil inscription at Borobudur was a game-changer when it was properly deciphered in the 1930s. Who knows what we'll find next? Luna: Well, thanks for sharing that story. It really brings a whole new dimension to Borobudur for me. Lucas: Glad to. Next time you see a picture of Borobudur, remember — there's more than just Buddha up there. There's also Vishnu, and a whole world of trade and tolerance.