Srivijaya's Sanskrit Legacy: The Kedukan Bukit Inscription

Before Borobudur, before the great trading fleets, the Srivijaya Empire left its first mark in stone. In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine the Kedukan Bukit Inscription, the oldest known text in the Malay world. Discovered in 1892 near Palembang, this small stone slab records a military expedition under Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa in 682 CE. Lucas breaks down the date, the use of Old Malay written in Pallava script, and the scholarly debates around its meaning: was it a conquest, a pilgrimage, or a royal progress? They explore the journey of 20,000 men from a place called Minanga, possibly the interior of Sumatra, and the founding of Srivijaya itself. The episode also touches on the inscription's discovery by Dutch scholars, its role in dating the empire's rise, and the challenges of interpreting a fragmentary text. For listeners who know Srivijaya through its trade networks, this episode grounds that story in a single, tangible artifact—a stone that speaks across thirteen centuries. #KedukanBukitInscription #Srivijaya #DapuntaHyangSriJayanasa #OldMalay #PallavaScript #682CE #Palembang #Minanga #Sumatra #SoutheastAsianHistory #MaritimeHistory #Epigraphy #DutchColonialScholarship #Sanskrit #Mandala #OrangLaut #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo