Kalingga Kingdom facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kalingga ꦏꦫꦠꦺꦴꦤ꧀ꦏꦭꦶꦁꦒ (Jawa)
6th century–7th century
Capital	Precisely unknown, suggested somewhere between Pekalongan and Jepara
Common languages	Old Javanese, Sanskrit
Religion	Hinduism, Buddhism, Animism
Government	Monarchy
Raja
• circa 674	Shima
History
• Established	6th century
• Disestablished	7th century
Succeeded by Mataram Kingdom
Today part of	Indonesia

The Kalingga Kingdom (also known as Karajan Kalingga in Javanese) was an ancient kingdom that existed in the 6th and 7th centuries. It was located on the northern coast of Central Java, Indonesia. Kalingga was one of the very first Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms in Java. Along with the Kutai and Tarumanagara kingdoms, it is considered one of the oldest kingdoms in Indonesian history.

Finding Kalingga's Story

Historians and archaeologists do not have many records or findings from the Kalingga Kingdom. This makes it hard to know exactly where its capital city was. Experts believe it was somewhere between the modern-day cities of Pekalongan and Jepara.

There is a place called Keling subdistrict near Jepara. However, some old findings near Pekalongan suggest that Pekalongan was once an important port. This makes some people think Pekalongan might be a changed name of "Pe-Kaling-an." Kalingga existed for about 200 years, from the 6th to the 7th century. Most of what we know about this kingdom comes from old Chinese writings and local stories passed down through generations.

In the year 752, the Kalingga Kingdom became part of the Srivijaya empire. This happened because Kalingga was an important part of a large trading network. Other kingdoms like Dharmasraya and Tarumanagara were also part of this network. They were strong rivals to Srivijaya's trading power.

Life in Kalingga

Most of what we know about Kalingga comes from Chinese records, especially from the Tang Dynasty. These old writings describe Kalingga as a rich land. It was located in the southern ocean, east of Sumatra and west of Bali.

The people of Kalingga built their forts and even their biggest houses from wood. They used palm leaves for roofs. Inside, they had fancy beds made of ivory and mats woven from bamboo. The land was rich in valuable goods like tortoise-shell, gold, silver, rhinoceros horns, and ivory. The Chinese records also mention a special cave where salty water bubbled up naturally. The people made wine from coconut palm flowers. They had their own writing system and knew a lot about astronomy. When they ate, they did not use spoons or chopsticks.

The Chinese texts mention that the king lived in a town called Djava, Djapa, or Djapo. There was also a mountain area called Lang-pi-ya, which some believe was the Dieng Plateau.

Buddhist Monks in Kalingga

In 664, a Chinese Buddhist monk named Huining traveled to Kalingga. He stayed there for about three years. During his visit, he worked with a local Kalingga monk named Jnanabhadra. Together, they translated many Buddhist scriptures. This shows that Kalingga was an important center for Buddhist learning at that time.

Queen Shima's Strict Rule

Around 674, the Kalingga Kingdom was ruled by Queen Shima. She was famous for her very strict laws against stealing. Her laws encouraged everyone in the kingdom to be honest and always tell the truth.

There is a famous story about Queen Shima. A foreign king wanted to test how honest the people of Kalingga were. He placed a bag full of gold in the middle of a busy intersection in Kalingga. For three years, no one dared to touch the bag because it did not belong to them.

However, one day, Queen Shima's own son, the crown prince, accidentally touched the bag with his foot. The queen was so strict that she ordered her son to be put to death! But her ministers begged her to change her mind and spare the prince's life. They argued that since only his foot touched the bag, only the foot should be punished.

According to a later book called Carita Parahyangan, Queen Shima's great-grandson was Sri Sanjaya. Sanjaya later became the king of the Sunda Kingdom and Galuh Kingdom. He also founded the Mataram Kingdom. This suggests a connection between the Kalingga Kingdom and later powerful kingdoms in Java.

Between 742 and 755, the Kalingga Kingdom may have moved further east from the Dieng Plateau. This move might have been because of the rising power of the Buddhist Sailendra dynasty.

Ancient Inscriptions

Historians have found two important inscriptions that tell us more about Kalingga.

Tukmas Inscription

The Tukmas inscription is believed to be from the Kalingga period. It was found on the side of Mount Merapi in Central Java. This inscription is written in the ancient Sanskrit language using the Pallava script. It talks about a very clear spring of water that was considered sacred. People believed it was as holy as the source of the Ganges River in India. The inscription also shows Hindu symbols like the trisula (a trident), kamandalu (a water jar), parashu (an axe), a shell, a chakra (a wheel), and a padma (a red lotus). These are all symbols of Hindu gods.

Sojomerto Inscription

Another important inscription from around the same time is the Sojomerto inscription. It was found in Sojomerto village in Central Java. This inscription is written in the Old Malay language using the Kavi script. It is thought to be from the 7th century. The inscription tells us about a ruler named Dapunta Selendra. He was the son of Santanu and Bhadrawati, and his wife was Sampula. An Indonesian historian, Professor Boechari, suggested that Dapunta Selendra was an ancestor of the Sailendra dynasty. The Sailendra family later ruled the Mataram Kingdom.

Both of these inscriptions suggest that around the 7th century, a Hindu Shivaist kingdom thrived on the northern coast of Central Java. Today, this kingdom is identified as Kalingga. Some of the oldest temples in Java can also be found in the mountains of northern Central Java, such as the Hindu temples of Dieng Plateau and Gedong Songo. However, these temples were probably built later, during the early Mataram Kingdom. Historians believe there was a connection between this old Kalingga kingdom and the later Sailendra kingdom in the Kedu Plain of Southern Central Java.

Images for kids

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  Image of a person from Kalingga/Java (大闍婆國), from the Gujin Tushu Jicheng by Chen Menglei