Latest / The Srivijaya Empire: Southeast Asia's Forgotten Maritime Superpower — Fexingo History / Srivijaya's Buddhist Pilgrims: Yijing and the Road to Nalanda
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Srivijaya's trade networks and the Orang Laut, but one aspect that doesn't always get enough attention is their role as a center for Buddhist learning. I mean, this wasn't just a place where goods passed through; it was a major hub for religious pilgrims and scholars. Luna: Right, like the Chinese monk Yijing, who we mentioned briefly in the episode about the Nalanda grant. Lucas: Exactly. Yijing is probably the most famous of those pilgrims. He was a Tang dynasty monk who traveled to India in the late 7th century, and he spent a decade in Srivijaya — actually, more than a decade — studying Sanskrit and collecting Buddhist texts. He wrote a detailed account of his travels, which is one of our best sources for understanding Srivijaya at its peak. Lucas: He originally set out from China in 671 CE, traveling on a Persian merchant ship. He stopped in Srivijaya, which he called 'Kien-ch'a' in Chinese, and he was so impressed by the level of Buddhist scholarship there that he decided to stay for six months before continuing to India. Luna: Six months just to get started. What did he do there? Lucas: He studied Sanskrit grammar and began translating texts. He also noted that there were over a thousand monks living in Srivijaya, all following the same rules and practices as in India. The king at the time — we think it was Maharaja Sri Jayanasa — was a devout Buddhist and supported the monastery. Lucas: After that initial stay, Yijing went on to the famous Nalanda University in India, where he spent ten years studying and collecting scriptures. But on his way back to China, he stopped again in Srivijaya for another four years, translating the texts he had gathered into Chinese. Luna: So Srivijaya was like his base of operations, a place where he could work with other scholars. Lucas: Exactly. And he wasn't alone. Yijing recorded that many Chinese monks passed through Srivijaya on their way to India. He even wrote a biography of sixty-one monks who made the journey. The fact that Srivijaya had a well-established monastery with a library and a translation bureau made it an ideal stopover. Lucas: There's also a fascinating inscription from the Kedukan Bukit site in Palembang, dated 683 CE, which mentions a 'siddhayatra' — a sacred journey — undertaken by the king. Some scholars think this might have been connected to the establishment of a Buddhist sanctuary or a pilgrimage route. Luna: So the rulers themselves were actively involved in promoting Buddhism. Lucas: Absolutely. The Sailendra dynasty, which ruled Srivijaya and parts of Java, were major patrons. They built massive monuments like Borobudur, which is a Mahayana Buddhist stupa complex. But they also funded monasteries in India itself — the Nalanda copper plate grant we talked about earlier is a perfect example. Lucas: Balaputradewa, the Maharaja of Srivijaya in the 9th century, requested permission from the Pala king of Bengal to build a monastery at Nalanda, and he was granted land for it. So Srivijaya wasn't just receiving influences; they were actively contributing to the international Buddhist network. Luna: That's a huge deal. It shows they had real diplomatic and cultural clout. Lucas: And it wasn't just China and India. Srivijaya was also connected to Tibet. The great Tibetan translator Rinchen Sangpo, who worked for the king of Guge, sent monks to study in Kashmir and also to Srivijaya. The most famous case is the Indian master Atisha, who was invited to Tibet in the 11th century. Lucas: Atisha, whose full name is Dipankara Shrijnana, studied in Srivijaya for twelve years under a teacher named Dharmakirti. He became a leading scholar of Mahayana Buddhism and later traveled to Tibet, where he revitalized Buddhism there. His teachings became the foundation of the Kadam school. Luna: So Srivijaya was a crucial link in the transmission of Buddhism from India to Tibet. Lucas: Exactly. Without Srivijaya, many texts and traditions might have been lost. It's remarkable to think that this maritime empire, which we often think of as a trading power, was also a center of religious learning that connected China, India, and Tibet. Luna: It makes you wonder how many other pilgrims and scholars passed through that we don't have records for. Lucas: That's what I love about this — the glimpses we get through sources like Yijing's travelogue. He gives us names, dates, even the number of monks. It's a window into a world that was far more interconnected than we usually imagine. Lucas: Yijing also left us a detailed description of the monastic rules followed in Srivijaya, which were based on the Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition. This was the same tradition used at Nalanda, so the practices were consistent across the Buddhist world. Luna: I guess that made it easier for monks to travel and feel at home. Lucas: Exactly. And the kings of Srivijaya made sure the monasteries were well-equipped. They provided food, robes, and even writing materials for the monks. Yijing specifically mentions that the king gave him paper and ink for his translations. Lucas: It's this kind of patronage that made Srivijaya a magnet for scholars. And it also made the empire wealthy, because pilgrim traffic brought gifts and trade. Monks traveling from China to India often carried silk and other goods, and they paid their way in gold or merchandise. Luna: So it was a virtuous circle: wealth from trade funded monasteries, which attracted pilgrims, who brought more wealth. Lucas: Exactly. And that's something we often see in history — when a state becomes a center of learning, it also becomes a center of commerce. Think of the Abbasid Caliphate's House of Wisdom in Baghdad, or the University of Bologna in medieval Europe. Lucas: Srivijaya was like that, but for Southeast Asia. It sat at the crossroads of the maritime Silk Road, and its rulers consciously cultivated an image as protectors of the faith. The Telaga Batu inscription, for example, includes a curse against those who break their oath to the king — and it mentions Buddhist symbols. Luna: So religion and politics were tightly intertwined. Lucas: Very much so. The Maharaja was seen as a chakravartin — a universal monarch who upheld the Dharma. That's a concept from Indian political thought, and it gave the king both secular and spiritual authority. Lucas: And it's not just inscriptions. We have archaeological evidence too. The Muaro Jambi temple complex in Sumatra, which we covered a few episodes ago, was a major Buddhist university. It had lecture halls, libraries, and dormitories for hundreds of monks. The layout is similar to Nalanda's. Luna: That's a great point. Muaro Jambi was basically the Srivijayan equivalent of Nalanda. Lucas: Exactly. And it lasted for centuries. Even after Srivijaya's political decline, the Buddhist network persisted. The last tributes from Srivijaya to China in the 12th century mention monks and Buddhist texts being sent as gifts. Lucas: It's also worth noting that Yijing's work had a lasting impact. His translations of Sanskrit texts into Chinese became part of the Chinese Buddhist canon, and they're still studied today. So Srivijaya's intellectual legacy is still with us. Luna: That's something to think about the next time we see a Buddhist text. Lucas: Yeah. And on that note — if you've been enjoying these deep dives into Southeast Asian history, and you'd like to see us keep going, the best way to help is by supporting the show. We keep it ad-free because of listeners who chip in at buymeacoffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small gesture that makes a big difference for us. Luna: Absolutely. Every little bit helps us keep researching and telling these stories. Lucas: So back to Yijing. One of the most fascinating details from his account is that he noted the Srivijayan monks were experts in both Mahayana and Theravada traditions. That kind of ecumenical environment attracted scholars from all over Asia. Luna: It must have been an incredible place to study. Lucas: It really was. And it makes you wonder — what would it have been like to walk into one of those monastic complexes, with monks chanting in Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese, and local languages all at once? That's the world we're talking about. Lucas: So next time you think of Srivijaya, don't just picture ships and spices. Picture libraries, debate halls, and a community of scholars who connected civilizations. Luna: That's a beautiful way to think of it.