Dharmasraya facts for kids

Dharmasraya was an important capital city in the 11th century. It was the heart of a Buddhist kingdom called the Melayu Kingdom. This kingdom was located along the Batanghari river in what is now West Sumatra and Jambi, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. People sometimes called the kingdom by its capital's name, Dharmasraya. It was also known as Bhumi Malayu or Suvarnnabhumi, which means 'Land of Malayu' or 'Land of Gold', according to the Padang Roco Inscription.

How Dharmasraya Began

After a powerful invasion by Rajendra Chola I, a king from the Chola Empire in India, the Sailendra dynasty lost much of its power. The Sailendra dynasty used to rule over the islands of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. Later, a new family called the Mauli dynasty took over. Dharmasraya is seen as the kingdom that followed the great Srivijaya empire.

The oldest record mentioning a Mauli ruler is the Grahi inscription. This stone inscription is from 1183. It was found in Chaiya (also known as Grahi) on the Malay Peninsula, in Southern Thailand. The inscription tells us that Maharaja Srimat Trailokyaraja Maulibhusana Warmadewa ordered a local leader, Mahasenapati Galanai, to create a statue of Buddha. The statue weighed 1 bhara and 2 tula (old units of weight) and was worth 10 gold tamlin. The artist who made the statue was named Mraten Sri Nano.

Another important record from the Mauli dynasty appeared about a hundred years later in 1286. This record is the Padang Roco inscription. It was found near the source of the Batanghari river, in what is now the Dharmasraya Regency in West Sumatra. This inscription mentions the name Dharmasraya and the king Srimat Tribhuwanaraja Mauli Warmadewa.

Rulers of Dharmasraya

Here are some of the important leaders of Dharmasraya:

See also

• History of Indonesia
• Melayu Kingdom
• Srivijaya
• Malay