While preparing for museum tours, I learned that kings from both India and Southeast Asia made donations to religious institutions of each other. I researched more and came to know about a valuable artifact – The Devapaladeva’s copperplate inscription.
Hiranand Shastri, the Indian historian and epigraphist, mentioned that he found this copper plate during his exploration of Nalanda University in 1921 in Monastery B (Wiki says Monastery 1). Despite the campus was destroyed heavily, this was not affected much. He looks to be happy to find this copper plate intact. With the help of Archaeological chemist, he was able to read the characters.
He is fascinated by this discovery, as it talks about kings of other countries, which made this copper palate of International value.
Devapaladeva, a king of the Pala dynasty, issued this copper plate inscription granting permission to build a monastery at the request of the King of Suvarṇadvīpa, conveyed through a messenger. It also talks about the purpose of the offering in detail.
Suwarnadvipa or Suvarṇadvīpa is the island – south and central Sumatra in particular.
The southeast Asian Srivijayan king is mentioned as King Balaputradeva. His lineage and his relatives were also mentioned.
His mother was Tārā, daughter of King Dharmasetu of the lunar race. She was the consort of mighty king who was the son of YavaBhumi (yava is Java – remember the famous Yavanarani novel from Sandilyan!). The name of the father of Palaputradeva is not given at all but the name of the grandfather is said to have been something like Śrī-vira-vairi-mathana meaning the illustrious destroyer of heroic foes.
He strongly wrote that the Yavabhumi and the Suvarṇadvīpa are evidently identical with the Yavadvīpa and the Suvarṇadvīpa islands spoken of in Sanskrit works like the Ramayana or the Kathāsaritsāgara and are unquestionably the modern Java and Sumatra.
The Kathāsaritsāgara is a famous 11th-century collection of Indian legends and folk tales as retold in Sanskrit by the Shaivite Somadeva from Kashmir.
Hirananda Shastri, referencing various sources, concludes that Yavadvipa refers to Java proper, while Suvarṇadvīpa corresponds to Sumatra.
With other artifacts, he mentions that Srivijaya ruled Java and Sumatra from 7 to 10th century.
The historical evidence suggests that cultural and economic connections between India and Southeast Asian countries were more extensive in the past than in recent centuries. The decline of these relationships after the 14th century CE marks a notable shift in regional dynamics. This change in international relations and India’s global influence over time presents an interesting area for further historical research and analysis.
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