Latest / The Srivijaya Empire: Southeast Asia's Forgotten Maritime Superpower — Fexingo History / Srivijaya's Silver Age: The Reign of Dharmasetu
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Srivijaya's peak under Balaputradewa, and then the devastating Chola raid of 1025. But what happened after that? The empire didn't just vanish overnight. Today I want to look at the so-called 'silver age' of Srivijaya — specifically the reign of a ruler named Dharmasetu, who came to power around 1080. Luna: Dharmasetu — I don't think we've mentioned him before. Was he related to the Sailendra dynasty? Lucas: That's a good question, and the answer is: we're not entirely sure. The records are fragmentary. But the name Dharmasetu appears in a few inscriptions, most notably the 'Grahi inscription' from 1183, which is actually a bit later. But there's also a Chinese record from the Song dynasty that mentions a Srivijayan king named 'Shih-li-tieh-hua', which scholars believe might be a transliteration of Sri Dharmasetu. Lucas: What's interesting is that after the Chola attack, the center of power seems to have shifted. Palembang was badly damaged. So during Dharmasetu's time — and probably before — the capital may have moved temporarily to Jambi, which was the old Melayu kingdom. Luna: So it was like a strategic retreat inland? Lucas: Exactly. Jambi is further up the Batang Hari River, so it was more defensible. And the trade network was still intact — the Strait of Malacca was still the superhighway of the Indian Ocean. What Dharmasetu did was rebuild the fleet and reassert control over the key ports. He might be the king who commissioned the famous bronze Buddha statue at Chaiya in southern Thailand. Luna: I've seen pictures of that statue — it's massive. What's the story behind it? Lucas: The Chaiya Buddha is about 3 meters tall, and it's a masterpiece of Srivijayan bronze casting — a blend of Indian Gupta style and local aesthetics. We know it was made around the 11th or 12th century, but there's no inscription directly naming the king. However, the archaeological context and the artistic style suggest it was part of a royal commission, probably to assert Srivijayan authority over the Malay Peninsula after the Chola raid. Lucas: Dharmasetu also faced a new challenge: the rising Khmer Empire. By the late 11th century, the Khmer king Suryavarman II — the guy who built Angkor Wat — was expanding westward into the Chao Phraya valley, which brought him into contact with Srivijayan tributaries. Luna: Did they go to war? Lucas: Not directly, as far as we know. The Khmer and Srivijaya seem to have maintained a kind of cold peace. There's a Chinese account from the 12th century called the 'Zhu Fan Zhi' that describes Srivijaya as still very powerful, controlling 15 colonies. But it also notes that the Khmer were becoming a major force. The balance of power was shifting. Lucas: One of the most intriguing artifacts from this period is the so-called 'Ligor stele', which mentions a king named 'Sri Dharmaraja' who might be Dharmasetu. It was found at Nakhon Si Thammarat — that's the old Ligor kingdom. The inscription talks about a king who built a sanctuary and promoted Buddhism. Luna: So he was also a patron of Buddhism, like the earlier Sailendra rulers. Lucas: Yes, very much so. And this is key: Srivijaya's identity as a Buddhist thalassocracy continued. The Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions that flourished under Balaputradewa didn't disappear. In fact, Chinese pilgrim-monks still stopped in Srivijaya on their way to India. One monk named Wuyin, who we mentioned before, probably passed through during this period. Lucas: But the cracks were starting to show. By the early 12th century, Srivijaya was losing its grip on the northern Malay Peninsula. New powers like the kingdom of Tambralinga — which later became the Sukhothai kingdom — were asserting independence. Luna: And I suppose the Chola raid had weakened their prestige, making it easier for vassals to break away. Lucas: Exactly. The empire was still wealthy — trade with Song China was booming — but the political unity was fraying. Dharmasetu's successors had to deal with more and more rebellions. By the end of the 13th century, Srivijaya was a shadow of its former self, and the stage was set for the rise of Majapahit. Lucas: So Dharmasetu represents a fascinating figure: a king who managed to hold things together through diplomacy, religious patronage, and a pragmatic relocation, but who couldn't stop the long-term decline. He's not as famous as Balaputradewa, but his story gives us a more complete picture of Srivijaya's arc. Luna: It's like they had a golden age, then a silver age, and then it all faded away. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the story we don't often hear — the resilience, but also the limits of that resilience. Next time, we'll look at the final century of Srivijaya and the coming of Majapahit.