Long long ago so long ago nobody will know how long ago, there lived a man called Badang in a place called Saluang. I do not know where it is. It might be somewhere in Malaysia or Singapore. As a slave, he was working for a farm. His work made him tired and fatigued. He thought if he were stronger, he wouldn’t feel tired

While fishing secretly, he encountered a monster stealing his catch. Badang threatened the creature, who offered to grant him immense strength in exchange for letting it free. Badang agreed.

With his newfound power, Badang amazed everyone, including the King of Singapore. He demonstrated his strength by pushing a massive boat into the sea without anyone’s help. The King freed Badang and made him army commander. Badang then defeated a strong man from Kalinga of India in various contests of lifting a massive stone in present day Fort Canning Hill.

Kalinga was able to lift the stone only up to his knees. Badang not only lifted it, also threw it all the way until the mouth of Singapore river (present day Fullerton hotel area). He became a celebrated hero, serving the King and bringing peace to Singapore.

This is a mythological story. But a stone of 10 x 10 ft with inscriptions of several lines was left in the same place. No one was able to decipher it. But it became a challenge for the group of labourers. The colonial authorities decided to blow it up to make way for development.

Before doing so, a copy of the inscription was made. But the characters were defaced a lot due to weather. It is believed to be 13th or 14th century. Somebody believes that it may belong to 10th century.

Different experts provide different theory about the characters. Some say Kawi script, the old Javanese script with Sanskrit words.

Peter James Begbie was a Captain in the East India Company’s Madras Artillery worked from Malacca. He published the book The Malayan Peninsula in 1834. He guess the inscription sound similar to Tamil, but using obsolete words.

Australian researcher Dr Iain Sinclair identifies a fragment kesariva. He believes it may be the part of parakēcarivarmaṉ (परकेसरिवर्मन्), a typical title represents Chola Kings. As per his estimation, the stone may belongs to 10th century CE. If this is true, the Indian connection with Singapore goes back to the same timeline.

The damaged parts of the stone are kept in National Museum of Singapore. Some one told me that the one found in Badang Terrace of Fort Canning Hill is its replica. But I am unable to verify the fact.

Whatever it is is, Singapore Stone is one of the other artifacts that stand still to show the connection between India with Southeast Asia.

To read further –

• Your Guide to Ancient History Trail in fort Canning Park by nparks
• Badang

This post is part of Blogchatter’s WRITE A PAGE A DAY 2025 campaign.