Reign 671–702 Successor Sri Indrawarman | Predecessor Position established | |
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Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa (IAST: Ḍapunta Hiyaṃ Śrī Jayanāśa) was the first Maharaja of Srivijaya and thought to be the dynastic founder of Kadatuan Srivijaya. His name was mentioned in the series of Srivijayan inscriptions dated from late 7th century CE dubbed as the "Siddhayatra inscriptions", describing his sacred journey to acquire blessings and also to conquer neighboring areas. He reigned around the turn of late 7th century to early 8th century, more precisely in the period between 671 and 702 CE.
Biography
According to I Tsing, a Chinese Buddhist monk that visited Srivijaya in 671 and stayed there for 6 months, he was impressed by the generosity, kindness and hospitality demonstrated by the king of Srivijaya. The king mentioned in I Tsing report was later linked to the king mentioned in oldest Srivijayan inscription, also from 7th century, dated 682 CE, the Kedukan Bukit inscription discovered in Palembang, and thought to be referring to the same person. Although later historians had disapprove on the interpretation of this inscriptions.
The Kedukan Bukit inscription dated 605 saka (683 CE), mentioned a king titled Dapunta Hyang that performing Siddhayatra (sacred journey) by the boat. He departed from Minanga Tamwan accompanied with 20.000 soldiers heading to Matajap and conquering several areas. Other inscriptions also tell the Siddhayatra journey and Srivijayan conquests on its surrounding areas, such as Kota Kapur discovered in Bangka island (686 CE), Karang Brahi discovered in Jambi Hulu (686 CE) and Palas Pasemah discovered in southern Lampung, all mentions the same event. From all of these inscriptions, it was concluded that Dapunta Hyang established the Srivijayan empire after defeating his enemies in Jambi, Palembang, Southern Lampung and Bangka island, and he even went further to launches military campaign against Bhumi Java that probably contributed to the decline of Tarumanagara kingdom in West Java.