Suvarnadvipa, Persian Sea Trade and Kalki Kings (682 AD)

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“In the early days, Kedah was known by the Persian as Kalah or Kalaha and as Kedaram, Kidaram, Kalagam and Kataha, by the Tamils…..Kedah (formerly Queda) is one of many early Malay Peninsula trade centres that have been found, many have yet to be identified. “

“….Atiśa remained on the island of Sumatra for twelve years studying bodhichitta and exclusive mind training techniques of oral origination. Finally, after over a decade of intensive training, Suvarṇadvipi Dharmakīrti advised Atiśa to "go to the north. In the north is the Land of Snows."

Suvarnadvipa (Skt. Suvarṇadvīpa; Tib. གསེར་གླིང་, Wyl. gser gling) is believed by most scholars to be identified with Sumatra. It might also be Java or Malaysia. It was home to Atisha's most important teacher, known as Dharmakirti of Suvarnadvipa.

“Dharmakirti (Tib. Chökyi Drakpa; Wyl. chos kyi grags pa) or Dharmapala (chos skyong) of Suvarnadvipa was the most important of Atisha's teachers. In Tibetan he is known simply as Serlingpa (Wyl. gser gling pa), literally 'the master from Suvarnadvipa', which is possibly Sumatra. Atisha is said to have stayed with him for twelve years receiving teachings on Lojong……He wrote two texts on the Bodhicharyavatara summarizing its main points.”……David Seyfort Ruegg, The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Philosophy in India, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1981.

“Suvarnadvipi Dharmakīrti (Tibetan: Serlingpa Chökyi Drakpa; Wylie: Gser-gling-pa chos kyi grags pa, Chinese: 金州大師), was a renowned 10th century Sumatran Buddhist teacher remembered as a key teacher of Atiśa.”

“Yijing (traditional Chinese: 義淨; simplified Chinese: 义净; pinyin: Yìjìng; Wade–Giles: I Ching) (635–713 CE) was a Tang Dynasty Chinese Buddhist monk, originally named Zhang Wenming (張文明). The written records of his 25-year travels contributed to the world knowledge of the ancient kingdom of Srivijaya, as well as providing information about the other kingdoms lying on the route between China and the Nālandā Buddhist university in India.”

“Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit names of Swarnadwīpa ("Island of Gold") and Swarnabhūmi ("Land of Gold"), because of the gold deposits of the island's highland……One of the earliest known kingdoms was Kantoli, which flourished in the 5th century CE in southern Sumatra. Kantoli was replaced by the Empire of Srivijaya and then later by the Kingdom of Samudra. Srivijaya was a Buddhist monarchy centred in what is now Palembang. Dominating the region through trade and conquest throughout the 7th to 9th centuries, the empire helped spread the Malay culture throughout Nusantara. The empire was a thalassocracy or maritime power that extended its influence from island to island. Palembang was a center for scholarly learning, and it was there the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim I Ching studied Sanskrit in 671 CE before departing for India. On his journey to China, he spent four years in Palembang translating Buddhist texts and writing two manuscripts…..Srivijayan influence waned in the 11th century after it was defeated by the Chola Empire of southern India. At the same time, Islam made its way to Sumatra through Arabs and Indian traders in the 6th and 7th centuries AD.”….wikipedia

“Buddhism came to Indonesia a few hundred years after Hinduism. It reached its peak at the time of the Sriwijaya's dynasty rule, which was once the largest Buddhist kingdom in South East Asia, from around the 7th century until the 14th century. During that time, many Buddhist colleges and monasteries were built, and famous Buddhist scholars, such as Dharmapala and Sakyakirti, were teaching there….Indian merchants first arrived in Bali in about 200 BCE and it was probably these people who introduced Buddhism and Hinduism. A Balinese work of uncertain date called the Nagarakrtagama by the Buddhist monk lists all the Buddhist temples in Bali, twenty six altogether, and mentions that in 1275 King Kretanagara underwent a Tantric Buddhist initiation to protect his kingdom from an expected invasion by Kublai Khan.”…Buddhism in Bali by the Venerable S. Dhammika

“Palembang is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, and has a history of being the capital city of the Kingdom of Srivijaya, a powerful Malay kingdom, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest evidence of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, Yijing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in the year 671 for 6 months. The first inscription in which the name Srivijaya appears also dates from the 7th century, namely the Kedukan Bukit Inscription around Palembang in Sumatra, dated 683.”….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palembang

“The Kedukan Bukit Inscription, which is dated 682 CE, is the oldest inscription found in Palembang. The inscription tells of a king who acquires magical powers and leads a large military force over water and land, setting out from Tamvan delta, arriving at a place called "Matajap," and founding the polity of Srivijaya. The "Matajap" of the inscription is believed to be Mukha Upang, a district of Palembang…. It is a small stone of 45 by 80 cm. This inscription is dated the year 605 Saka (683 AD) and contains numerous Sanskrit words.…..in the period 850 - 1025 A.D., Palembang prospered as a centre of trade between the East and West and as a center of Sanskrit and Buddhist learning. Students from China stopped in Palembang to study Sanskrit before continuing their studies in India……”.

“Persians in East Asia By the late Sasanian period (224 to 651 AD) we know that the Persians controlled the seas and came into conflict with the Romans. The question here is whether the state was actively involved in the control of the waterways or simply that the Persian merchants dominated the trade without heavy state intervention. The Sasanians were competing with the Romans and disputing trade concessions as far as Sri Lanka, and it appears there was even a Sasanian colony in Malaysia, but again they do not appear to be military colonies. Persian horses were shipped to Ceylon, and a colony was established on that island where ships came from Persia….The Islamic conquest of Persia (633–656) ended the Sassanid Empire”……http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/persian_gulf_trade_late_antiquity.php

"In 624 AD, a Moslem invasion weakened the Kingdom of Shambhala.”……(Roerich: 1974..pg 753) (Geoffrey Hopkins: 1985..pg 60)...

“Kedah Kingdom (630-1136) was founded by Maharaja Derbar Raja of Gemeron around 630 CE….The king from Gemeron…. In 630 CE, Maharaja Derbar Raja of Gemeron (now known as Bandar Abbas) in Persia was defeated in battle and escaped to Sri Lanka, and he was later blown off course by a storm to the remote shores of Kuala Sungai Qilah, Kedah. The inhabitants of Kedah found him to be a valiant and intelligent person, and they made him the king of Kedah. In 634 CE, a new kingdom was formed in Kedah consisting of Persian royalty and native Malay of Hindu faith, the capital was Langkasuka.”…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kedah_Sultanate

“Langkasuka (langkha Sanskrit for "resplendent land" -sukkha for "bliss") was an ancient Hindu Malay kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula. Another possible source of its name could be the combination of (-langkha Sanskrit for "resplendent land" – and Asoka in tribute to the legendary Mauryan Hindu warrior king who eventually became a pacifist after embracing the ideals espoused in Buddhism), the ancient kingdoms of the Malay Isthmus – Langkasuka having been one of them – believed by some scholars to have been first founded or rebuilt by emissaries or descendants of Asoka from Magadha in India…The kingdom, along with Old Kedah, is probably among the earliest kingdoms founded on the Malay Peninsula. According to tradition, the founding of the kingdom happened in the 2nd century. Malay legends claim that Langkasuka was founded at Kedah and later moved to Pattani.”

“The Kedukan Bukit Inscription was discovered by the Dutchman M. Batenburg on 29 November 1920 at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, on the banks of the River Tatang, a tributary of the River Musi. Barring the potentially earlier (but undated) Dong Yen Chau inscription, it is the oldest surviving specimen of the Malay language, in a form known as Old Malay. It is a small stone of 45 by 80 cm. This inscription is dated the year 605 Saka (683 AD) and contains numerous Sanskrit words.”

“Kedah and Melaka…..According to Kedah Annals, Kadaram (Kedah Kingdom 630-1136) was founded by Maharaja Derbar Raja of Gemeron, Persia around 630 CE, and also alleged that the bloodline of Kedah royalties coming from Alexander The Great. The other Malay literature, Sejarah Melayu too alleged that they were the descendants of Alexander The Great…..The early history of Kedah can be traced from various sources…..the early Maritime trade of India, Persia, Arabs to the written works of early Chinese pilgrims and early Chinese records, the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (known as Kedah Annals) to Al-Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah. In the early days, Kedah was known by the Tamils as Kedaram, Kidaram, Kalagam and Kataha, and Kalah or Kalaha by the Persians…..

“Deutero Malays……Combination of the colonial Kambujas of Hindu-Buddhism faith, the Indo-Persian royalties and traders as well as traders from southern China and elsewhere along the ancient trade routes, these peoples together with the aborigine Negrito Orang Asli and native seafarers and Proto Malays intermarried each others and thus a new group of peoples was formed and became to be known as the Deutero Malays, today they are commonly known as the Malays.”…..

“Geshe Sopa, John Newman and others have suggested that Sripala is the same person known in Tibetan texts variously as Pindo (Pito), Dharmakirti, Dharmapala and Suvarnadvipi ("one from Suvarnadvipa.) The latter name is rendered in Tibetan as Serlingpa or Gserlingpa. Shambhala is equated with the kingdom known in Indian texts as Suvarnadvipa, and the agent who introduced the Kalacakra was none other than the Shamhbala king known as Kalki Sripala…..Serlingpa is described as a prince of Suvarnadvipa, while Sripala is listed in Kalacakra texts as the 17th king of the Kalki or Kulika (Tib: Rigden) lineage. Of all the kings of the ancient kingdom of Suvarnadvipa and its predecessors and successors, he is the best documented, and by a number of different traditions….That Shambhala should be identified with Suvarnadvipa can be posited on a single argument as Tibetan texts describe the existence of the Kalacakra as only in Shambhala before it was introduced into India….Paul Kekai Manansala…http://sambali.blogspot.com/2009/03/serlingpa-king-of-suvarnadvipa.html

“Chilupa/Kālachakrapada is said to have set out to receive the Kālachakra teachings in Shambhala, along the journey to which he encountered the Kulika (Shambhala) king Durjaya manifesting as Manjushri, who conferred the Kālachakra initiation on him, based on his pure motivation……..Upon returning to India, Chilupa/Kālachakrapada is said to have defeated in debate Nadapada (Tib. Naropa), the abbot of Nalanda University, a great center of Buddhist thought at that time. Chilupa/Kālachakrapada then initiated Nadapada (who became known as Kālachakrapada the Lesser) into the Kālachakra, and the tradition thereafter in India and Tibet stems from these two. Nadapada established the teachings as legitimate in the eyes of the Nalanda community, and initiated into the Kālachakra such masters as Atisha (who, in turn, initiated the Kālachakra master Pindo Acharya (Tib. Pitopa)).”…..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalachakra

“In his history of Buddhism, Taranatha says that the Kalacakra was introduced into India by Pindo. Different sources claim that Pindo is one of the names of Serlingpa, the prince of Suvarnadvipa…..Atisha, the teacher who helped establish Buddhism in Tibet, says that he learned of the Paramadibuddha, the basic Kalacakra text, from the oral teachings of Serlingpa, who he also refers to as Pindo.”….Paul Kekai Manansala…http://sambali.blogspot.com/2009/03/serlingpa-king-of-suvarnadvipa.html

“Serlingpa: King of Suvarnadvipa……..Geshe Sopa, John Newman and others have suggested that Sripala is the same person known in Tibetan texts variously as Pindo (Pito), Dharmakirti, Dharmapala and Suvarnadvipi ("one from Suvarnadvipa.) The latter name is rendered in Tibetan as Serlingpa or Gserlingpa…..Serlingpa is described as a prince of Suvarnadvipa, while Sripala is listed in Kalacakra texts as the 17th king of the Kalki or Kulika (Tib: Rigden) lineage. Of all the kings of the ancient kingdom of Suvarnadvipa and its predecessors and successors, he is the best documented, and by a number of different traditions……That Shambhala should be identified with Suvarnadvipa can be posited on a single argument as Tibetan texts describe the existence of the Kalacakra as only in Shambhala before it was introduced into India. The same tradition in some cases clearly suggests the existence of the Kalacakra in Suvarnadvipa without any explanation as to how it got there. And there is more than enough evidence to suggest that the Kalacakra was introduced to India from Suvarnadvipa, which would suggest that the latter is simply another name for Shambhala. Note these points:….One of the oldest documents of the Tanjur, the second part of the Tibetan canon that consists of translations of older texts, is known as the Sri Kalacakra-garbhalankara. In the notes to a Peking manuscript of this text, authorship is ascribed to Pindo, "who was born in the land of the Southern Ocean." This ocean is generally associated with the world of Southeast Asia including Suvarnadvipa…..A prayer, from one of the two major lineages that have transmitted Tibetan Buddhism, and recorded by Bu ston calls on the blessings of "Kalki Sripala from the end of the Southern Ocean." According to this same lineage, it was Kalki Sripala who brought the Kalacakra to India……According to both major transmission lineages, the Kalacakra came to India together with three major tantric commentaries. All three of these works cite the Paramadibuddha, the work taught to Atisha by Pindo , and two of them are called by names that Newman thinks can be translated as "a commentary according to the thought of Pindo.”…..From this evidence we can clearly see that: Serlingpa, who is also called Pindo and Kalki Sripala, is responsible for introducing the Kalacakra to India, and that he hails from Suvarnadvipa.……Paul Kekai Manansala….http://sambali.blogspot.com/2009/03/serlingpa-king-of-suvarnadvipa.html

“Previously we have mentioned that the king of Suvarnadvipa-Sanfotsi was during this period using a policy of attraction to help in protecting his kingdom's age-old control of the Clove Route. We also hear from a temple inscription in Canton dated 1079 that the "Lord of Sanfotsi" had contributed funds toward the upkeep of not only Buddhist, but also Taoist temples in South China. Taranatha mentions that Pindo brought the Kalacakra to India during the second half of Mahipala's lifetime. Newman thinks this Mahipala must be the Pala king with that name who reigned between 988-1038, but it's not impossible that Taranatha is referring to Kalki Mahipala, the father of Kalki Sripala (Serlingpa) according to Kalacakra tradition……near the end of the 7th century, Dharmapala, abbot of Nalanda university, is said to have ventured to Suvarnadvipa to study alchemy near the end of his life. …However, we should note that despite its popularity with Buddhists there is evidence of a great deal of religious plurality in Suvarnadvipa. Already mentioned was the contribution made by the Suvarnadvipa king toward maintenance of both Taoist and Buddhist temples in 1079. In 983, we hear from Chinese records that "the priest Fa-yu, returning from lndia where he had been seeking sacred texts, arrived at Sanfotsi where he met the Hindu priest Mi-mo-lo-shih-li, who after a short conversation gave him a petition expressing his desire to visit the Middle Kingdom and translate sacred books there."……Paul Kekai Manansala….http://sambali.blogspot.com/2009/03/serlingpa-king-of-suvarnadvipa.html

“Islamic writers, who elsewhere show much interest in religious practices, make no mention of the religion practiced in Zabag to this author's knowledge. Islamic terms for Buddhism like samani, budd, buddah, budhah, bahar, etc. are not used in describing Zabag, nor is any other specific term giving of the local religion with the exception that the inhabitants are sometimes called majus, which could be interpreted as "fire-worshipper."……Paul Kekai Manansala….http://sambali.blogspot.com/2009/03/serlingpa-king-of-suvarnadvipa.html

“Zabag (Chinese: Sanfotsi; Hindu: Suvarnadvipa, Javaka; Arabic: Zabaj) is thought to have been an ancient kingdom located south of China somewhere in Southeast Asia, between Chenla (now Cambodia) and Java. The established studies by several historians associated this kingdom with Srivijaya and pointed its location somewhere in Sumatra, Java or Malay peninsula. However its exact location is still the subject of debate among scholars. Other possible locations such as northern Borneo and Philippines are also suggested.”…. The Medieval Geography of Sanfotsi and Zabag

“… at the age of thirty-one, Atisa arranged for a perilous journey, traveling for thirteen months to Sumatra in order to study under the reputable Suvarṇadvipi Dharmakīrti, (Tibetan: Serlingpa Chökyi Drakpa; Wylie: Gser-gling-pa chos kyi grags pa), a supposed master of bodhichitta. Under the guidance of Suvarṇadvipi Dharmakīrti…… Atiśa remained on the island of Sumatra for twelve years studying bodhichitta and exclusive mind training techniques of oral origination. Finally, after over a decade of intensive training, Suvarṇadvipi Dharmakīrti advised Atiśa to "go to the north. In the north is the Land of Snows." Suvarṇadvipi Dharmakīrti was referring to Tibet, a region with a Buddhist tradition forever changed after the arrival of Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna. From his Master, Suvarṇadvipi Dharmakīrti, Atiśa learnt one meditation that became one of Tibetans fundamental meditation techniques, i.e. Tongleng Meditation. A meditation that aims to recycle supposedly negative energy into loving and healing energy.”….

“Vajrayana Buddhism, also known as Tantric Buddhism, found its way to the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra before 700 C.E., which predates the 8th Century first wave of the 'Ancient Translation School' (Tibetan: Nyingmapa) in Greater Tibet and the Himalayan region. This particular Tantric and Vajrayana lineage in Indonesia is specifically referred to as Mantranaya. Mantranaya is historically designated and evident in the oldest extant Old Javanese esoteric Buddhist literature. ….The Buddhist empire of Srivijaya in Palembang, Sumatra was for more than 600 years, the centre of Vajrayana learning in the Far East…… Yi Jing (635-713) praised the high level of Buddhist scholarship in Srivijaya and advised Chinese monks to study there prior to making the journey to the great institution of learning, Nalanda Vihara, India….The oldest extant esoteric Buddhist Mantranaya (largely a synonym of Mantrayana, Vajrayana and Buddhist Tantra) literature in Old Javanese, a language significantly influenced by Sanskrit, is enshrined in the Sang Kyang Kamahayanan Mantranaya.”

“Palembang is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, and has a history of being the capital city of the Kingdom of Srivijaya, a powerful Malay kingdom, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest evidence of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, Yijing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in the year 671 for 6 months. The first inscription in which the name Srivijaya appears also dates from the 7th century, namely the Kedukan Bukit Inscription around Palembang in Sumatra, dated 683.”

Newman, John. "A Brief History of the Kalachakra," in: Geshe Lhundup Sopa, et al. The Wheel of Time: The Kalachakra in Context, Deer Park Books, 1985, 51-90.

Chattopadhyaya, Alaka, Atīśa, and Chimpa. Atīśa and Tibet; Life and Works of Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna in Relation to the History and Religion of Tibet, [Calcutta]: distributors: Indian Studies: Past & Present, 1967.

“Serlingpa: King of Suvarnadvipa…..Shambhala is equated with the kingdom known in Indian texts as Suvarnadvipa, and the agent who introduced the Kalacakra was none other than the Shamhbala king known as Kalki Sripala…..Geshe Sopa, John Newman and others have suggested that Sripala is the same person known in Tibetan texts variously as Pindo (Pito), Dharmakirti, Dharmapala and Suvarnadvipi ("one from Suvarnadvipa.) The latter name is rendered in Tibetan as Serlingpa or Gserlingpa.”…Quests of the Dragon and Bird Clan by Paul Kekai Manansala (2006)

The First King of Pre-Islamic Kedah…..”Hikayat Merong Maha Wangsa" indicated that the first King of Kedah as Merong Maha Wangsa himself. He was Rome’s ambassador, entrusted with the mission of taking the emperor's son to wed the daughter of the Chinese emperor…..During the journey,his fleet was attacked by the mythical giant bird, "Garuda", in the seas near the Island of Langkapuri. Merong Maha Wangsa's fleet, which was said to have "filled the sea", was totally destroyed. Only his ship survived. He was forced to land at the foot of Jerai Mountain, where he was installed as King by the local population…

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