GONTRIBUiaPSs

Osmund Bopearachchi 'The essays in this volume cover

a vast geographical area as also
Parul Pandya Dhar
many centuries of dialogue and
Suchandra Ghosh interaction amongst the countries
of Asia.... Altogether, here is rich
Sou mya James
material, diverse in perceptions,
Yumiko Kamada urging us to re-examine and re-visit
the ancient encounters.'
yjHermann K u lk^

Sunil Kunfiar —Kapila Vatsyayan, Chairperson,

IIC-Asia Project, in her Foreword
Jansen Sen ,
to this book
Upinder Singh

Geoff Wade

'JH

1j'. '

IS B N 0-19-809980-0

O XFO RD
U N IV E R SIT Y PRESS

www.oup.com
•IS/S.dO,
asían encounters
exploring connected histories

EDITED BY
UPINOER SINOH
PARUL PANOYA O KAR

Foreword by KAPILA VATSYAYAN

OXPORD
U N IV E R S I T Y PRESS
 OXPORD
U N IV E R S IT Y TRESS

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 boellemphasizes the enormous *
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need for sustainea collaliaf;ativirok|id ^ .
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asian encounters
 Acknowledgements

At the outset, we would like to thank D r Kapila Research, and the N alanda-Sriw ijaya C entre
Vatsyayan, who visualized the initiative o f bringing (Singapore) for funding the conference and
together a number o f institutions for a meaningful m aking this dialogue possible. W e thank
dialogue on Asian interactions and brought the all the participating scholars who not only
idea to successful fruition in an international raised the level o f discussion and debate with
conference out o f which this book has emerged. their erudite papers but were also extrem ely
We thank the four institutions that participated c o o p e r a tiv e th r o u g h o u t th e m a k in g o f
in the organization o f the conference, namely the this book.
India International Centre, the Archaeological O u r co lleag u es in th e D e p a rtm e n t o f
Survey o f India, the Indira Gandhi National History, University o f D elh i, were a great
Centre for the Arts, and the University o f Delhi. source o f encouragem ent and our students
Thanks are also due to Dr Gautam Sengupta, lent enthusiastic and valuable help. We truly
former Director General o f the Archaeological appreciate all the hard work put in by the team
Survey o f India, and to D r Senarath Dissanayaka, at Oxford University Press in the production
Director General, Department o f Archaeology, Sri o f this b o ok.W e hope that the book will
Lanka, who participated in the venture. generate further ideas, debate, and momentum
W e are also grateful to the U n iversity for a concerted scholarly engagem ent with
o f D elhi, the Indian C ou n cil o f H istorical Asian interactions.

Upinder Singh
Parul Pandya L^har
 Foreword

I am so pleased that the painstaking efforts o f my C onnectivities and C on flicts’, a brief com ­
colleagues in the University o f Delhi, Professor m ent is perhaps pertinent in regard to the
Upinder Singh and D r Parul Pandya Dhar, have papers in the section ‘Religion, Rituals, and
come to fruition. T he essays in this volume cover Monuments*. W hat becomes explicit through
a vast geographical area as also many centuries o f these papers is a natural tendency o f symbiosis
dialogue and interaction amongst the countries and interpenetration o f different streams in
o f Asia. T h ey pointedly draw atten tion to the creation o f art. Here, no rigid lines can be
valuable new data which calls for a revision o f drawn between what may be called Hindu,
earlier critical evaluations. Buddhist, and other streams. T h is is evident
I was particularly happy to read Professor in Parul Pandya D hars paper and o f course
Hermann Kulkes lead article which reflects his in the long history o f discourse on Angkor
introspection on positions taken earlier. I have Wat and Borobudur, to mention only a few
followed Professor Kulkes work over many instances. Altogether, here is rich material,
decades. He represents an earlier generation, but diverse in perceptions, urging us to re-examine
he also represents the present generation which is and re-visit the ancient encounters. I shall say
now looking afresh at the dynamics o f political no more because the editors have identified the
and cultural dialogues within Asia, particularly issues in greater detail in their Introduction.
South and Southeast Asia. O ther papers relating T he conference entitled ‘Asian Encounters:
to new evidence in regard to relations between Networks o f Cultural Interactions’, held from
different parts o f Asia make it clear that today 31 O ctober to 4 November 2 0 1 1 , on which
it is necessary to look again at the nature o f this volume is based, was accompanied by a very
the dialogue which was mutual, as is evident educative exhibition held at the University o f
in Upinder Singhs paper which discusses royal Delhi, which drew attention to the valuable work
endowments made by Southeast Asian rulers done by the Archaeological Survey o f India in the
in India. T he articles relating to China are at a conservation o f Asian monuments in Cambodia
different level, focusing attention on military and Laos. This provided an appropriate backdrop
intervention and state violence. to the conference. Now, it remains for me as the
W ith o u t c o m m e n tin g fu rth e r on the conceiver o f the conceptual plan o f the confer­
o th e r essays in th e se ctio n on ‘P o litica l ence to situate it within the broader framework
X Foreword

o f the IIC-Asia Project and to give a brief account by the University o f Delhi has already been dis­
o f the planning o f its ocher components. cussed. T he second one related to the discovery
First, very briefly, an account about the IIC - o f new inscriptions which called for revision o f
Asia Project and its trajectory over the last decade data and much else. T he Archaeological Survey
and a half: The IIC-Asia Project first looked at o f India organized an exhibition on the recent
nation-state formation and focused attention on inscriptions discovered in India and neighbour­
political and social histories. This was followed ing countries and also organized a seminar on
by adopting a rather unconventional methodol­ epigraphic connections’ between India, Inner
ogy o f viewing the Asian dialogue. It identified Asia, and West Asia, and between India and
modes o f expression, be it poetry or literature. Southeast Asia. In che seminar, many important
This included the hard task o f putting together papers were presented, including on ‘Khmer
an anthology o f womens writings in Asia. Film Epigraphy: Issue o f Asian Linkages* (Sachchi-
is another potent medium. For a decade, the danand Sahai), ‘Epigraphical Probing in Central
IIC-Asia Project has been identifying, collecting, Asia’ (Maheswari Prasad), and ‘Indo-Tokharian
and showing films made by Asians at a non­ Interactions: Epigraphical Evidence* (B.R. Mani).
commercial level. Even more unconventional Judging from the discussions at this seminar, it
was looking at the role o f the humble needle was clear that greater attention has to be given
and thread in stitching cultures together or to the discipline o f epigraphy and a younger
being indicators o f an Asian dialogue through generation must be trained in palaeography.
em broidery from Afghanistan to V ietnam , Another section o f the conference, organized
China, and Japan. Most intriguing at the outset, by the Indira G andhi N ational C entre for
but otherwise commonplace, was to trace the the Arts, New D elh i, considered aesthetic
journey o f the well-known and humble plant, theories and art forms. It had several important
Indigo, the dye that has played an important role presentations. These included: ‘From Sida to
in the Asian continent. It has also penetrated and Madsi: An Ideal Role o f W omen from Thai
conditioned the political discourse, especially Ramayana and Vessantara Jataka* (Suchitra
during the colonial period. Surviving the Chongstitvatana from Thailand); ‘Javanisation
imposition o f the chemical indigo, it has today o f the Goddess Durga in Java from the 8 th -1 6 th
received a new lease o f life in the cross-cultural Century* (Hariani Santiko, Indonesia); ‘Western
efifervescence o f the natural dye. The dimensions Aesthetic Theory and Ancient West Asian Aes­
which surfaced in the dialogue on Indigo were thetic Experience* (Irene Winter, Harvard); and
from many points o f view— botany, trade, social ‘Abhinavagupta*s Theory o f Arts and Aesthetic
structures, and o f course, artistic manifestations. Experience’ (Kamlesh Dutt Tripathi). A fourth
W ithout dwelling on other such unconven­ section o f the conference was on representations
tional projects, it was now considered necessary o f Asian art in Asian museums.
to bring together new evidence in the domains of The above narration is illustrative o f the many
archaeology, political and economic history, and disciplines through which the trajectories o f
religion and artistic expressions. The conference Asian communication can be traced. T he papers
on Asian encounters, on which this book is based, presented at the conference drew attention to
consisted o f four parts. The first section organized new evidence as also the implications o f this
 Foreword xi

evidence in identifying the mutual give and take devoting their energies to the development o f
between and amongst Asian countries. There is the subject o f pre-modern Asian inceraccions
more, much more, which calls for investigating ac the Department o f History in the University
in depth the many contours o f networks within o f Delhi by way o f teaching and research. I
this landmass called Asia, Asian civilization, and am particularly pleased about this as a former
culture. Recently there have been interrogations student and faculty member o f che University
on whether there is such a thing called an Asian o f Delhi. Our efforts can only bear fruic if the
civilization. T h e conference papers prove the younger generation o f students and scholars at
vibrancy and continuity of this civilization, in the university level take this up seriously.
the past and the present, and beyond nation­ I would also like to take this occasion to
state boundaries and political dialogues, on thank all the members o f the four collabo­
mountains, rivers, oceans, land routes, sea routes; rating institutions— the IIC-Asia Project; the
there is an Asian sensibility, which percolates Department o f History, University o f Delhi; the
all these and has a relevance, even, I should Archaeological Survey o f India; and the Indira
add, a message, for the future o f a world based Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. W ithout
on perennial values, on creative dialogues, and their support, the conference would not have
nor conflicts and wars, while searching for fructified. My appreciation also extends to the
world peace. Indian Council o f Historical Research, New
I once again congratulate Parul Pandya Dhar D elh i, and the N alanda-Sriw ijaya C en tre,
and Upinder Singh for their role in organizing ISEA S-Singapore, for their support to our
the Asian Encounters conference, especially the endeavour. Last, but not the least, the scholars
section held at the University o f Delhi, and for who have contributed their valuable papers and
their continued commitment in ensuring che also the publishers, Oxford University Press,
publication o f this comprehensive volume. It deserve all praise for maintaining the highest
is also heartening for me to note that they are academic standards.

Kapila Vatsyayan
Chairperson, IIC-Asia Project
 Introduction

T he historical importance o f cultural interac­ the Department o f History o f the University o f

tions across the Asian regions is finally receiving Delhi, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the
the recognition it deserves. This is not to say Arts, and the Archaeological Survey o f India. It
that earlier studies had altogether neglected the involved the participation o f scholars from many
subject.W hile many historians were content to parts o f the world and saw the coming together
confine their vision to regional, sub-continental, o f m any disciplines including history, art
or national frames, there were always areas where history, archaeology, aesthetics, and epigraphy.
these frames had to be transcended— trade and T h e themes addressed ranged over aspects o f
empire breached many a boundary and trans- politics, trade, archaeology, epigraphy, literature,
regional exchanges were impossible to ignore visual arts and aesthetics, music, and museums.
in histories o f art and religion. Over the past T h e aim was to generate a m om entum for
few decades, the older conceptual frameworks sustained, collaborative, and inter-disciplinary
have been critiqued and new data has come to investigations o f Asian interactions. This book
the fore. Nevertheless, scholarship in the field emerged from that conference and is part o f that
o f cross-cultural Asian interactions at times still momentum.
tends to be in a reactive mode, responding to Investigating the long-standing history o f
the limitations and biases o f old methodologies Asian interactions raises many questions; W hat
and conceptual frameworks. Further, there is an were the historical contexts in which these
urgent need to consolidate the perspectives and interactions evolved? W hat were the avenues
results o f specific inquiries rooted in different and agents o f cultural transmission? How did
disciplines and sub-disciplines in order to arrive trade, religion, politics, intellectual, and artistic
at new. more comprehensive understandings o f exchange intersect with each other? How did
Asian interactions. certain specific ideas and forms in religion,
These were the concerns that motivated an art, and literature get selected, assimilated, and
international conference on ‘Asian Encounters: transformed in different cultural contexts? To
N etw orks o f C u ltu ral Interaction* held in what extent does new data force us to re-examine
Delhi during October-N ovem ber, 2 011. T he old hypotheses about inter-regional contacts and
conference was a collaborative effort between exchange? Are there new ways o f interrogating
four major institutions— the IIC-Asia Project, the evidence from various kinds o f historical
xlv Introduction

sources— textual, archaeological, and artistic— to analogous historical processes. In ‘T h e Concept

answer these and other questions? o f Cultural Convergence Revisited: Reflections
One o f the driving concerns behind this book on India’s Early Influence in Southeast A sia,
is the conviction that there is an urgent need Kulke gives a panoramic overview o f the his­
for Indian scholars to re-engage with Southeast toriography o f South-Southeast Asia relations,
A sia.’ However, a re-engagement with this touching on the ideas o f Hindu colonization and
region^ has to be combined with a broader Asian, Indianization in the writings o f R. C. Majumdar
even a global, perspective. Therefore, while (1 9 4 0 ) and Georges Coedes (1 9 6 8 ), and the
several essays deal with relations between South thought-provoking critiques and alternative
and Southeast Asia, others talk about the equally perspectives suggested by scholars such as J. C.
important connections between South and East van Leur (1 967), J. G. de Casparis (1 983), Paul
Asia, and South and Central Asia. T he essays Wheatley (1982), and Ian C . Glover (2007). The
focus broadly on political interactions, trade, art, contribution o f O . W. Wolters (1982) also forms
and religion, mostly in the pre-modern context.^ an important part o f the enterprise o f rethinking
Although they differ in their specific spatial Southeast Asian history.
and temporal span as well as in the particular Against this background, Kulke looks afresh
themes addressed, there are several threads that at his own hypothesis o f cultural convergence
bind them. Not least among these is a special in the specific context o f the emergence o f early
interest in exploring the connections between kingdoms in India and Southeast Asia in the mid-
historical processes and the representations oi first millennium. T he chronology o f the political
these processes in different kinds o f sources, and cultural developments in the two areas
each o f which raise their own distinct varieties and the precise geographical contexts o f these
o f interpretative issues. developments are important for his hypothesis.
W hile historiographical issues have been Kulke comments on the near contemporaneity o f
raised in several essays in this book, the first the monumental temples of the Pallavas in south
section, ‘C hanging Perspectives*, addresses India and those on the Dieng Plateau in Java. He
them directly— first, in the South-Southeast notes that both in South and Southeast Asia, the
Asian context and next, from the perspective spread o f Hindu temples was connected with
o f Chinese interactions with other parts o f the emergence o f early regional kingdoms. He
Asia— reflecting on and responding to the emphasizes that it was not the Gupta imperium
historiographical approaches to these trans- but the post-Gupta regional \^mgdov[\s o f South
regional interactions. T he starting point is an Asia that provided the model for the emerging
essay by Hermann Kulke, a scholar who has regional kingdoms o f Southeast Asia. Further, it
over the decades been an important contributor was not social distance (that is, difference), but
to the study o f political and religious processes social nearness (similar social and political pro­
in both South and Southeast Asia, One o f the cesses) that was the crucial factor in promoting
hallmarks o f Kulkes approach is his ability to the selection and adaptation o f certain Indian
connect these two areas, not only in terms o f cultural elements in Southeast Asia,
their actual interactions, but also by placing them T he final part o f Kulkes essay responds to
in the same frame by locating and comparing Sheldon Pollocks influential hypothesis of the
 Introduction xv

Sanskrit cosmopolis and his critique o f legiti­ adversary were used against another. As for the
mation theory (Pollock 2 0 06). Critiquing this voyages o f Zheng He, Wade describes them as
critique, Kulke examines certain recent writings a part o f the attempts o f the Ming emperors to
(Manguin et al, 2 0 1 1 ) which apply Pollocks extend their control over ports and waterways in
ideas to Sou th-Sou theast Asia connections. order to further political and economic interests.
This discussion takes us back to the fact that The fact that military action was routinely used
although there is a great deal o f evidence o f the against those who did not submit underlines the
results o f cultural interaction between South element o f violence in these voyages.
and Southeast Asia, direct evidence regarding In the second part o f his essay, Wade compares
the agents and actual processes o f cultural representations o f these rwo sets o f events in
transmission remains rather meagre. W hile the ancient (Ming) and modern Chinese historiog­
critique o f the legitimation framework no doubt raphy. In M ing texts, the interactions with Yun­
stems from an exasperation with its overuse by nan and Dai Viet are part o f a larger political
many historians and their indifference towards discourse in which the emperor enjoyed the
the world o f ideas, perhaps it is time for a truce ‘Mandate o f Heaven and ruled his people with
between the proponents and critics o f the legiti­ paternalistic benevolence. Wars are presented
mation hypothesis, and for the acceptance o f the as necessary acts, expressions o f the emperors
possibility o f a political history that respects both concerns for maintaining order and peace. Wade
the integrity and importance o f political ideas as points out that the modern historiographical
well as the need to anchor political discourse in representations o f these episodes are surprisingly
the actual political processes o f its time. similar in certain respects to those o f Ming times.
W ith G eoff Wades ‘M ing Chinas Violence The elements o f violence, aggression, and designs
against N eighbouring Polities and Its R ep­ o f aggrandizement are erased, and these events
resentation in Chinese Historiography*, the are presented either as natural reactions to the
focus shifts to East Asia and to violence and provocations o f others, or, in the case o f Zheng
war. T h e first part o f Wades essay examines Hes voyages, as benign missions o f peace and
certain episodes o f M ing expansion between friendship. Wades larger argument is that Ming
the late I4th and 15th centuries— the regimes involvement in these parts o f Asia was, in certain
interactions with Yun-nan and D ai V iet; and important ways, similar to the strategies o f the
the maritime voyages o f Zheng He and other later European colonial regimes and constitutes
eunuchs. In the case o f Yun-nan and Dai Viet, a sort o f proto-colonialism. O f course, a great
Wade demonstrates how military aggression was deal hinges on how we define colonialism. But
accompanied by various strategies o f control what is not in doubt is the fact that war was
including economic exploitation, the creation an important part o f Asian interactions in the
o f new bureaucratic and military structures, pre-modern era, an aspect that is often missed,
and steps to establish cultural hegemony, all o f surprisingly so, because it glares unambiguously
which were backed by the actual or potential use at us in the political narrative.
o f force. War and diplomacy went hand in hand, T he essays in the second section o f the book,
punitive measures were accompanied by the lure ‘Political Connectivities and Conflicts’, explore
o f honours and rewards, and the troops o f one interactions between South, Southeast, East, and
xvi Introduction

Central Asia and show how these interactions and religious contexts in South and Southeast
were mediated in different ways by political Asia— a pluralism in the religious landscape and
expansionism, empire, and religion.Upinder royal religious policy and a belief in the transfer
Singh s essay, ‘Gifts from Other Lands: Southeast o f merit. Singh goes on to look at the notions o f
Asian Religious Endowments in India’, looks empire expressed in ancient Indian inscriptions
at one specific aspect o f South-Southeast Asia with a special focus on the place o f the ocean in
interactions— a series o f religious endowments ancient Indian ideas o f sovereignty. She points
made by Southeast Asian kings and recorded out that oceanic references in ancient Indian
in inscriptions at Nälandä, Bodh Gayä, and royal inscriptions tend to be vague and general,
N agapattinam . Singh suggests that there is with some notable and not surprising exceptions,
much more to these gifts than viewing them such as those o f the Colas, who provide a rare
(as is usually done) as instances o f ‘religious exam ple o f m aritim e m ilitary expeditions
diplom acy’ and that their phraseology and launched by Indian kings.
idiom demand careful reading both along and Tansen Sens article, ‘Changing Regimes:
between the lines. The Nälandä copper plate I'wo Episodes o f Chinese Military Interventions
inscription, which records a ^ailendra grant for in Medieval South Asia’, engages with several
the Nälandä monastery, indicates, among other issues raised in the earlier essays. Like Wade,
things, the renown that this monastic centre Sen draws attention to the neglect o f the role ot
enjoyed in 9th century Southeast Asia. T h e conflict and war in pre-modern Asian histories,
Burmese endowments at Bodh Gayä demand a neglect which is partly a fallout o f modern
special attention, extending as they do from the political considerations, and partly the result o f
1 1th to the 18th centuries, and clearly indicate an uncritical acceptance o f information provided
the importance o f Bodh Gayä in the Burmese by ancient Chinese sources. Sen discusses two
political and religious imagination over a very specific episodes recounted in Chinese official
long period o f rime. The ^rivijayan endowments discourse, situating their representations in
at Nagapatrinam, on the other hand, are part o f a Tang and Ming texts within the larger political
complex relationship between the Colas and the discourse o f their tim es. T h e first episode
kingdom o f ^rivijaya, where interactions through is connected with the C hinese envoy Wang
trade and religious endowments were punctuated Xuance’s role in events in Kanauj after the death
on at least one occasion by war.'^ o f Harsa in the 7th century, a case o f a peaceful
These epigraphic records impel us to reflect embassy that seems to have metamorphosed into
on other issues as well— on the conceptualiza­ a military encounter. T h e second is the military
tion o f inter-state relations among contemporary involvement o f Zheng He in Sri Lanka in the
dynasts located in different power circles or early 15th century, mentioned in both Chinese
m andalas, and on the long-term trans-regional and Sri Lankan sources. Sen points out that the
histories o f Asian pilgrimage networks. They representations o f these episodes in Chinese
also invite us to inquire into the religious sources as justified actions against unwarranted
and cultural contexts in which trans-regional insults or aggression by barbaric people camou­
religious endowments were possible and to flage attempts to effect regime changes in order
note certain sim ilar aspects o f the political to further Chinese strategic interests in these
 Introduction xvii

areas. Clearly, Asian interactions cannot be seen dealt with the social and ethnic origins o f the
through an idealized lens o f peace and harmony. Turkish military slaves who formed the elite
W hile diplomacy, war, and trade intersected o f the early Delhi Sultanate, and examines the
in Chinese involvements with other lands, there nature o f their relationship with the inhabitants
are other significant aspects to these episodes, o f the frontier and with the Mongols. He goes
connected with religion and healing. Sen directs on to describe how the Persian writers dealt with
attention to the Buddhist activities o f the envoy the Central Asian heritage o f the Khalajis and
Wang Xuance and the Tang rulers' keen interest early Tughluqs. At one level, we are looking at the
in accessing Indian doctors and longevity drugs. crafting o f discourses o f power. But Kumar takes
He also emphasizes the important role o f Bud­ care to embed these discourses in the variegated
dhist relics, especially celebrated ones like the Sri and intense trans-regional interactions between
Lankan tooth relic. Apart from their religious the peoples o f South and Central Asia— political,
significance, relics were long believed in China military, diplomatic, and commercial— showing
to have enormous healing powers and also served how the changing political discourse in Persian
the purpose o f legitimizing political power. It sources grappled with changing political realities.
is, therefore, not surprising that they were often Kumar demonstrates how the awareness o f
represented as reasons for waging wars. W hile the tribe and clan specificity o f the early Delhi
the importance o f Buddhism as an element in Sultans josded with the use o f the umbrella
Asian interactions has been long recognized, the term ‘Turk,* which erased such distinctions in
detailing o f the movement o f relics across the order to create a homogenous elite identity.
Asian regions in different periods is an issue that Considerable ingenuity and skill was required
demands further historical investigation. Sens to transform the story o f slave antecedents into
essay demonstrates that it is, in fact, difficult to awe-inspiring accounts o f men charged with a
disentangle strategic, diplomatic, commercial, divine mission to save the followers o f Islam.
political, and religious elements in understand­ Similarly, the chroniclers grappled with the Cen­
ing trans-regional interactions across Asia. tral Asian origins and traditions o f the Khalajis
Sunil Kumars essay, ‘A n Inconvenient Herit­ and lughluqs by employing the strategies o f
age: T h e Central Asian Background o f the Delhi re-classification, evasion, and erasure. Never­
Sultans*, urges us to re-examine the relationship theless, Kumar demonstrates how glimmers o f
between the Delhi Sultans and Central Asia. the ‘inconvenient* Central Asian heritage o f the
Kumar carefully analyses the Persian litterateurs* Delhi Sultanate elites did creep into the Persian
tantalizingly fleeting allusions to the Sultanate ch ron icles. A m ong other things, he draws
elites* Central Asian connections, as well as attention to the increased Mongol migration
their telling elisions. He identifies the different across the frontier and the implications o f the
narrative strategies that these writers used in changes in the nature o f elite households— from
order to distinguish and distance their elite the fragm ented households o f the frontier
patrons from the people o f their homeland, migrants in the time o f the slave commanders
especially the Mongols, whom they consistendy to the larger and more cohesive household
portrayed as menacing marauders. Kumar first structures o f the later period. Kumars essay offers
looks at how 13th century Persian chroniclers much for reflection, moving decisively beyond
xviü Introduction

the conventional framework o f legitimation the D à N àn g Museum o f Cham Sculpture

strategy in its meticulous reconstruction o f the in Central Vietnam and the Musée G uim et
processes and changing historical contexts o f in Paris) and by a close examination o f early
the crafting and re-crafting o f the language o f 20th century records in the photo-archives o f
political ideology. It also leads us to interrogate the École française d'Extrêm e-Orient and the
the significance o f homelands and frontiers in an Guimet Museum in Paris.
age o f political expansion and migration, taking Dhar investigates the iconography o f Asian
us far away from the simplistic understanding cultural interactions at D ong Diicfng through
o f this period in terms o f an encounter between a close reading o f its art remains, architectural
Hinduism and Islam. organ ization , and in scrip tio n s. H er paper
T he third section o f this volume, ‘Religion, compels us to look at several o f the complex
Rituals, and Monuments’, focuses on specific processes o f cultural interaction as these mani­
m onum ental complexes as sites o f cultural fest at a specific site: First, the manner in which
in terface during ancient tim es. W h ile the Buddhism as the state religion at D o n g Du'tfng
overarching processes o f Asian cross-cultural related to Saivism, local religious practices, and
exchange are gradually beginning to emerge with the aspirations o f the patron. Beyond establish­
greater clarity, their precise nature at specific ing the importance o f local factors, the processes
sites is not always easy to ascertain and often in evidence at D on g Du'cfng also urge us to
remains elusive. This part focuses on two such question the prevalent tendency in academia
mainland Southeast Asian sites with substantial o f creating a forced H indu-Buddhist divide
monumental remains— D ong DtTofng in Central when studying the histories o f religion. Second,
Vietnam, which was a parr o f Campa during the art remains from D ong Du'cfng are replete
ancient times; and Banteay Srei in Cambodia, with enigmatic icons that pose iconographie
perhaps the most elegant o f all ancient Khmer riddles for the researcher. Possible signs which
monuments. could help in understanding intended meanings
Parul Pandya D h ar’s paper, ‘ Buddhism , inherent in the iconographie programme require
Art, and Ritual Practice: D ong Du*cfng at the going beyond established formulae and codes.
Intersection o f Asian Cultures’, engages with Dhar looks for iconographie clues and the
the dynamics o f cross-cultural encounters as plausible textual basis as much in art as in the
these unfolded at a grand Buddhist temple and inscriptions found at the site, while linking
monastery complex in D o n g Du'cfng in the these to the iconography o f the architectural
Quang Nam Province o f present-day Central complex as a whole. Third, the D on g Ducfng
Vietnam. D ong Du'cfng was the religious and material clearly reveals afllnities to both India
political hub o f an important Campa polity and China, and beyond this, also shows evidence
which participated in a vibrant international o f contact with other South and Southeast
cultural traffic during the late 9th and early 10th regions, all o f these creating complex networks
centuries. T h e monumental complex can now o f influence. Finally, as Dhar’s paper reveals, the
only be imagined by an informed re-assembling D ong Du'cfng remains help us in understanding
o f its fragm ented rem ains scattered across the active role played by art, monument, and
Vietnamese and European museums (notably ritual in shaping cultural practices in accordance
 Introduction xix

with the local belief patterns and aspirations of paucity o f evidence from contem poraneous
its patrons. sources poses some challenges, James* contri­
Soumya Jam es' essay, ‘Durga and Siva at bution is important in the way evidence from
Banteay Srei: Blurring Boundaries between M on­ seemingly disparate sources has been garnered
ument, Image, and Practice’, draws attention to in interpreting pre-m odern Khm er art and
rwo relatively neglected areas in the historiogra­ society. It also foregrounds a relatively fresh
phy o f pre-modern South and Southeast Asian approach in understanding the dynamics o f
art— gender studies and performance traditions. cross-cultural interactions by including gender
Her paper points to the need for recognizing and performance in visual arts interpretation.
the inter-relatedness o f monument, image, and T he fourth and final part o f this book, ‘Trade,
performance traditions. A second significant Icons, and Axtefacts, discusses the role played
focus o f her essay is the dynamic equilibrium by trade in the dissemination o f ideas and the
between the male and female principles in circulation o f icons and artefacts. T he arrival
ancient Cambodian culture. These two aspects o f traders, mariners, and others at important
are integrated in her fresh interpretations o f ports along the sea routes between Rome and
the well-known pediments portraying Durga China was one o f the most crucial factors that
M ahisâsuram ardinï and dancing Siva over shaped cultural exchange across Asia. Osmund
entryways at the 10th century Banteay Srei Bopearachchi and Suchandra Ghosh engage
temple complex in Cambodia. James draws our with the close relationship between Buddhism
attention to the kinetic quality or performative and trade,^ while Yumiko Kamada discusses
aspects conveyed by these two sculptures frozen issues relating to the circulation o f carpets
in stone, independently and in their relationship from the Deccan in southern India to different
with each other. parts o f Europe and Asia between the 17th and
Drawing from recent research on gender and 19th centuries.
female power in pre-modern Southeast Asia^ Since ancient times, sea ports on the western
and specifically on the significance o f dance as and eastern coasts o f India and Sri Lanka had
a magico-ritualistic activity in Khmer culture.^ played a significant role in the processes o f
James foregrounds the localization o f Durga as exchange and assimilation in the Indian Ocean
a potent female power associated with fertility zone. Osmund Bopearachchi s paper, ‘Sri Lanka
and temporal power in ancient Cambodia. In and Maritime Trade: Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara
her analysis o f the Durga and Siva pediments at as the Protector o f M anners’, highlights the
Banteay Srei, the positioning o f these dynamic importance o f maritime trade networks and Sri
images above the doorways o f the temple creates Lanka’s strategic location in the dissemination
an interactive performative relationship between o f Buddhist ideas and imagery to Southeast
the devotees, deities, and the monument, which Asia. His research also directs us to the plausible
in turn is linked to the fertility and prosperity reasons for the popularity o f Avalokitesvara
o f the kingdom, ^iva and Durga connect as a worship in the region. Avalokitesvara’s appeal
pair in ‘creative tension, complementing and as the compassionate healer o f the sick and
balancing each other in a dynamic equilibrium his role as the protector o f mariners from
that registers no hierarchies. A lthough the shipwreck had already gained popularity in
XX Introduction

India from about the 5th century CE.This is also across convincingly in Bopearachchis paper,
reflected in the iconography o f Avalokitesvara. the persistent presence o f this bodhisattva all
especially in the Astamahabhaya Avalokitesvara along the ancient Asian overland trade routes
compositions seen in the caves o f the western is just as difficult to ignore. T h e reasons, in this
Deccan. Bopearachchi s research establishes the case too, seem to rest on the widespread faith in
presence o f Mahâyàna images, especially those bodhisattva Avalokitesvara as the saviour o f all
o f Avalokitesvara, along navigable rivers and sentient beings and as the ultimate embodiment
near bays on the Sri Lankan sea coast. W hile Sri o i karu n â or compassion.
Lanka is assumed to have been largely oriented Suchandra G h o sh s essay, ‘V iew ing O u r
towards Theravada Buddhism , the literary, Shared Past through Buddhist Votive Tablets
archaeological, art historical, and epigraphic across Eastern India, Bangladesh, and Penin­
evidence invoked in his paper clearly reveals sular T h ailan d ’, discusses the circulation o f
that as early as the 6th century, Mahàyâna votive tablets’ or ‘sealings’ across eastern India,
Buddhism had already established its stronghold Bangladesh, and peninsular Thailand. Buddhist
on the island. T h e distribution patterns o f in content, such tablets have been found from
Avalokitesvara icons in Sri Lanka between the several parts o f Asia and have played a significant
7th and 9th centuries, and their iconographie role in the exchange o f ideas and forms across
and stylistic traits, become important markers in the regions on account o f a variety o f factors.
understanding the dynamics o f maritime trade Not least among these is their small size, which
and the spread o f Mahayâna Buddhism along encouraged portability and circulation. As they
the coasts o f India, Sri Lanka, and the Southeast were made from moulds, their mass production
Asian regions. led to a multiplication o f imagery, iconographie
Bopearachchi also brings into discussion formulae, and other details depicted on them.
the recent exciting discovery o f a shipwreck T his multiplication in turn greatly enhanced
at the ancient Sri Lankan port site o f Gothap- the proliferation o f similar ideas and forms to
abbata (m odern G odavaya). T h is has now diverse regions. T he act o f replicating images
been securely dated to the 2nd century B C E , o f the Buddha and stupas has been considered
making it the earliest known shipwreck in meritorious in the Buddhist tradition, perhaps
the Indian O cean and one which promises because replication or repeated production o f
to significantly add to our understandings Buddhist imagery was perceived as being akin
o f cross-cultural connections and m aritim e to spreading the message o f the Buddha. T he
trade routes across the Indian Ocean. Given presence o f the y e dham m a Buddhist verse on
the close links established between maritime several o f these tablets further affirms such a
trade and the A valokitesvara cu lt in this view. Ghosh reiterates at the beginning o f her
essay, the discovery o f several Avalokitesvara essay that such m ultiplicity was not limited
icons along the banks o f the Walwe Ganga merely to a replication o f imagery on account
River, which connects the ancient port o f o f mass production, but was carried further
Godavaya with inland Mahàyâna sites, should also by a multiplicity o f uses and associated
come as no surprise. W hile the popularity o f meanings attached to the tablets. They were
Avalokitesvara as a protector o f mariners comes used as meditational devices, for the purpose
 Introduction xx¡

o f gaining religious m erit, and perhaps also presence o f Deccani carpets and their typical
occasionally acted as pilgrims’ souvenirs. The motifs seen in 17th century Dutch paintings,
term votive’ to qualify these tablets, however, for example, point to their circulation in the
has been questioned by some scholars as they Netherlands through the trade initiatives o f the
evidently were not made to commemorate the Dutch East India Company.
fulfilment o f a vow. Indian and Persian carpets began circulating
As products o f a ‘ritual ideology o f mass in different parts o f Europe and Asia when
production, the tablets were, o f course, man­ the English and Dutch East India Companies
ufactured locally and replicated in the various traded in them along with spices, silks, cotton
regions. Ghosh draws our attention to the close textiles, porcelain, tea, and other goods during
links between Buddhism and trade, a recurrent the 17th and 18th centuries. W ith rising costs
theme also in Bopearachchis contribution to and other difficulties in procuring Persian and
this volume. She views these tablets as Voyaging Mughal carpets, their D eccani counterparts
objects’ which were carried overseas and overland produced at centres such as M asulipatnam,
by pilgrims and traders as mementos. Given that Ellore, and Warangal were adapted to varied
Avalokitesvara was a popular subject depicted on contexts and were coveted as trade goods to the
these artefacts, she also suggests their plausible East and the West. Even though the interests
role as protective amulets. Ghosh’s paper tells us o f the Dutch East India Company shifted to
that the distribution and typology o f such tablets Bengal by the last decades o f the 17th century,
recovered from different sites along the Bay o f Deccani carpets continued to be valued as trade
Bengal and the coasts o f peninsular Thailand can items and their circulation appears to have
yield vital information about the coastal trade continued right up to the early 19th century.
networks in the region. D uring the period o f the Japanese national
Yum iko Kamada’s paper, ‘Early M odern seclusion policy (1 6 3 9 -1 8 5 4 ), Deccani carpets
Indian Carpets as M edia for Cross-cultural appear to have entered Japan in the 18th
Interaction, carries forward the theme o f the century through the ports o f Bengal by way
circulation o f artefacts to the early modern o f private trade between the Japanese and the
period. Although trade in Indian cotton textiles Dutch East India Company employees. Kam­
has been well-researched by art historians and ada’s discussion on the use o f Deccani carpets
historians, scholarly attention to the production as float covers in Japanese religious festivals is
and circulation o f Indian carpets has centred o f particular interest in this context. Primarily
largely on those produced in north India encouraged as a trade com m odity that sym­
during the period o f Mughal rule. It is only bolized social stature, luxury, and exotica, the
during the past three decades that the subject different functions served by Deccani carpets as
o f carpet trade from the Deccan has ignited the coveted artefacts across Europe and Asia seem to
curiosity o f scholars. Kamada takes a close look blur the boundaries between the ‘religious’ and
at Deccani carpets dispersed across museums the ‘secular’ in intercultural exchange.
and private collections in Europe, Asia, and The essays in this volume highlight aspects
the U nited States, and also examines their o f the connected histories that bind the various
representations in other artistic media. T h e regions o f Asia and also those which link Asia
xxii introduction

to other parts o f the world. A key problem is to is needed before the dynamics o f localization
arrive at methodologies that enable us to better and all that it entails can be fully understood.
understand the complex processes o f cultural Cosmopolitanism, globalization, hybridization,
interactions, transmission, and transformation. and syncretism are some o f the other important
The issues involved are clearly not just about ori­ concepts that have attracted attention in recent
gins, genealogies, analogies, and unidirectional y e a r s .I n view o f the complex issues and the
flows. It is important to remember that we are wide range o f sources involved, understanding
looking at dynamic cultures in contact with and theorizing pre-modern Asian interactions
each other at multiple levels, at different points clearly requires collaboration among scholars
in time, and with changing equations. W hile from different disciplines including historians,
cultural similarity has for long been established as art historians, archaeologists, philologists, and
a significant factor in identifying and discussing epigraphists.The time is ripe to re-assess existing
inter-cultural exchange, the im portance o f conceptual frameworks and consider fresh
cultural difference is now being increasingly possibilities, while at the same time advancing
recognized. Understanding connected histories our knowledge about the connected histories o f
requires an appreciation o f the co-existence Asian cultures.
o f affinity and difference; the tangible and
intangible; continuity and change; ‘foreign and Upinder Singh and Parul Pandya Dhar
‘local'; and conflict and convergence. Although Department o f History, University o f Delhi
the power equations involved cannot be ignored
or m inim ized, any satisfactory conceptual Notes
framework for understanding trans-cultural 1. For a discussion of how this neglect and its
interactions cannot only concern itself with redressal have to be situated in a broader historio­
the politically or culturally dominant; it must graphical perspective, see Singh (2011, 21, 25-6),
acknowledge the importance o f the local; and it 2. In the post-1970s decades, Indian scholars
must recognize the fact that cultural interactions who have contributed significantly to revisionist
often led to the birth o f new cultural forms, readings of Asian interactions in art and religion
with distinct identities that were not necessarily include Kapila Vatsyayan, Lokesh Chandra,
Sachchidanand Sahai, and Pratapaditya Pal. See, for
present in ‘dominant’ cultures.
example. Sahai (1978), Pal (2003-4), and Chandra
Beyond reconstructing the details o f the many
(1999-2005). See also the Foreword to this book for
aspects o f pre-modern Asian interactions, the
the contributions by Kapila Vatsyayan. Among more
challenge ahead includes the search for satisfac­
recent research by Indian scholars on cross-cultural
tory conceptual frameworks to understand the interactions in South and Southeast Asian art and
range o f cultural interactions that have linked architecture, see Dhar (2010).
regions and people in different parts o f Asia 3. While most of the essays in this book deal with
(and beyond) over centuries. ‘Indianization* what can be loosely referred to as the pre-modern
and ‘Sinicization are no longer seen as the period, Yumiko Kamadas contribution moves into
overarching determ inants in Asian cultural the early modern.
encounters, and the importance o f localization 4. For a detailed discussion of the Còla naval
has long been recognized. Yet, far greater clarity expeditions, sec Kulke et al. (2009).
 Introduction xxiii

3. Barbara W. Andaya (2006) and I'rudy JacobsenFlood, Finbarr. Objects o f Translation: M aterial Cidture
(2003) have discussed gender and power in pre-mod- and M edieval *Hindu-Muslim* Encounter. Delhi:
ern Southeast Asian societies. Permanent Black, 2009.
6. Paul Cravath (2007) and Ibni Shapiro Phim Glover, Ian C. ‘Early States and Cities in Southeast
and Ashley Thompson (1999) have discussed the Asia— Transition from Prehistory to History’.
importance of dance as a magico-religious activity Revised paper contributed to the conference on
in Khmer culture. ‘State Formation and the Early State in South
7. For a perspective emphasizing the relationship and Southeast Asia Reconsidered’, Asia Research
between Buddhism and maritime trade in early South Institute. University of Singapore. March 2007.
and Southeast Asia, see Ray (1994). For a useful Jacobsen, Trudy. ‘Autonomous Queenship in Cam­
discussion of the relationship between Buddhism, bodia. lst-9th Q^n\.\xx\zs hXy. journal o f the Royal
trade and diplomacy in China, see Sen (2003). Asiatic Society 13. no. 3 (2003): 357-75.
8. Ian Mabbett (1986) offers some useful Kulke, Hermann. K. Kesavapany, and Vijay Sakhuja.
conceptual categories in his analysis of cross-cultural eds. Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflectiotis on
encounters in religion. Some recent publications the ChoLi Expeditions to Southeast Asia. Singapore;
have also drawn attention to conceptual issues arising Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2009.
in the study of artistic exchange across different Mabbett, Ian. ‘Buddhism in Campa.’ In David G.
pre-modern cultures. See. for example. Flood (2009) Marr and A.C. Milner, eds. Southeast Asia in
and Canepa (2010). the 9th to I4th Centuries, 289-314. Singapore:
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 1986.
B ibliography Majumdar, R.C. Greater India (Sain Dass M emorial
Lectures 1940). Sholapur; 1940 [s.n.].
Andaya, Barbara W. The Flaming Womb: Repositioning
Manguin, P.-Y.. A. Mani, and G. Wade, eds. Early
Women in Early Modern Southeast Asia. Honolulu:
Interactions between South and Southeast Asia:
University of Hawai'i Press, 2006.
Reflections on Cross-Cultural Exchange. Singapore;
Canepa. Matthew P., ed. Theorizing Cross-Cultural
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and New
Interaction among the Ancient and Early M edieval
Delhi: Manohar, 2011.
Mediterranean^ Near East and Asia. Ars Orientalis
Pal. Pratapaditya. Asian Art in the Norton Simon
38 (2010).
Museum (3 vols). Yale University Press, 2003-4.
Chandra, Lokesh. Dictionary o f Buddhist Iconog­
Phim. Toni Shapiro and Ashley Thom pson.
raphy (15 vols). New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan,
Dance in Cam bodia. Malaysia and New York:
1999-2005.
Selangor Darul Ehsan and Oxford University
Coedes. G. The Indianized States o f Southeast Asia.
Press. 1999.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 1968.
Pollock, Sheldon. The Language o f the Gods in the
Cravath. Paul. Earth in Flower: The Divine Mystery
World o f Men: Sanskrit, Culture and Power in Pre­
o f the Cambodian Dance Drama. Holmes Beach;
modern India. Berkeley: University of California
Dat Asia. 2007.
Press, 2006.
de Casparis, J.G. India and M aritime South East Asia:
Ray, Himanshu P. The Winds o f Change: Buddhism
A Lasting Relationship. Kuala Lumpur: University
and the M aritime Links o f Early South Asia. New
of Malaya. 1983.
Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994.
Dhar, Parul Pandya. The Torana in Indian and
Sahai, Sachchidanand. The Ramayana in Laos: A Study
Southeast Asian Architecture. New Delhi; D.K.
in the Gvay Dvorabhi. Delhi: B.R. Publishing
Printworld, 2010.
Corporation, 1978.
xxiv Introduction

Sen, Tansen. Buddhism, Diplomacy and Trade: The Wheatley, Paul. ‘Presidential Address: India beyond
Realignment o f Sino-Indian Relations, 600-1400. the Ganges— Desultory Reflections on the Origins
University of Hawaii Press, 2003. of Civilization in Southeast hs\ i, journal o f Asian
Singh, Upinder, ed. Rethinking Early Medieval India: A Studies no. 1 (1982): 13-28.
Reader. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2011. Wolters, O .W . History, Culture, an d Region in
van Leur, J.C. Indonesian Trade and Society: Essays in Southeast Asian Perspectives. Singapore: Institute
Asian Social and Economic History. The Hague, of Southeast Asian Studies, 1982.
Bandung: Van Hoeve, 1976.
 Contents

Acknowledgements vii
Foreword by Kapila Vatsyayan ix
Introduction by Upinder Singh andVzvxA Pandya Dhar xiii

C h an g in g P e r s p e c t iv e s 1

1. The Concept of Cultural Convergence Revisited: Reflections on India’s Early Influence in Southeast Asia
by Hermann Kulke
2. Ming China’s Violence Against Neighbouring Polities and Its Representation in Chinese Historiography
by G eoff Wade

P o l it ic a l C o n n e c t iv it ie s a n d C o n f lic t s 43

3. Gifts from Other Lands: Southeast Asian Religious Endowments in India by Upinder Singh
4. Changing Regimes: Two Episodes of Chinese Military Interventions in Medieval South Asia by Tansen Sen
5. An Inconvenient Heritage: The Central Asian Background of the Delhi Sultans by Sunil Kumar

R elig io n , R it u a l s , a n d M o n u m en ts 109

6. Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice: Dong Du'o^ng at the Intersection of Asian Cultures by Partd
Pandya Dhar
7. Durga and ^iva at Banteay Srei: Blurring Boundaries between Monument, Image and Practice
by Soumya James

T r a d e , Ico ns , a n d A r t e fa c t s 159

8. Sri Lanka and Maritime Trade: Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara as the Protector of Mariners by Osmund
Bopearachchi
9. Viewing our Shared Past through Buddhist Votive Tablets across Eastern India, Bangladesh and Peninsular
Thailand by Suchandra Ghosh
10. Early Modern Indian Carpets as Media for Cross-cultural Interaction by Yumiko Kamada

About the Editors and Contributors 225

Index 22^
 I
Changing Perspectives
 CHAPTER 1

The Concept of Cultural

Convergence Revisited
Reflections on India's Early influence in Southeast Asia

H erm a n n K ulke

This essay gives me the opportunity to present is as symptomatic o f this attitude as the more
my convergence thesis’ o f Indias early influence recent names like Further India, East Indies, the
in Southeast Asia again, after about twenty years, Indies, Indian Archipelago or Islands, Insulinde,
with additional remarks on further research on Hinterindien, Nederlandsch-Indie, Indochina,
the so-called Indianization o f Southeast Asia.* and Indonesia (Wheatley 1982, 13).
T he focus is on Indias strong impact on the Southeast Asian historical research by Euro­
emergence o f the early kingdoms in the middle pean scholars developed parallel to the progress
o f the first millennium C E during the second o f Western colonization in that part o f the world.
stage o f early state formation in Southeast Asia, a In order to do justice to the arduous epigraphic
process which 1 depicted elsewhere in three stages and chronological work o f a small group of,
from chieftaincies to the early and the imperial particularly French and D utch, historians o f
kingdoms (Kulke 1986b). the pioneer generation in the late 19th and early
For a long time, Western knowledge about 20th century, which may rightly be criticized as
Southeast Asia has been overshadowed by the ‘Indocentric’ or even biased, one has to keep in
fame o f India and the greatness o f her culture. mind that originally they had to resist the even
India remained the main attraction in the East greater prejudice o f Southeast Asias alleged
ever since Alexanders India campaign more than cultural and historical insignificance vis-à-vis
two thousand years ago. ‘Trans-Gangetic India’ the greatness o f the neighbouring cultures
{India extra Gangem ), the name used by Claudius and empires o f India and China. In order to
Ptolemy for the countries o f Southeast Asia, overcome this preconception, the easiest and
4 Asian Encounters

most effective way was to show that Southeast H ow ever, ‘the m uch m aligned term o f
Asia itself produced or at least possessed several colonies’ (Sarkar 1970, 5) and the concept o f
o f the most important monuments o f Indias ‘Greater India* did not long survive the demise
culture as a whole, as for instance the Borobudur o f European colonies in the East. ‘Indianization*
and Angkor Vat. And since at that time next to now became the new keyword. It has to be
nothing was known about the autochthonous regarded primarily as a reaction against the
prehistory and protohistory o f Southeast Asia, untenable concept o f ‘Indian Colonies’ in the
what was more understandable than proclaiming East and its obvious excesses. Already in 1934,
an Indian origin o f the early Southeast Asian van Leur, a young Dutch student, had dealt this
states and cultures? concept a first blow in his thesis On Early Asian
It should not be forgotten that in the age Trade?- Strongly influenced by Max W eber’s
o f European colonialism , this approach to studies on India and his statem ents about
Southeast Asian history also legitimized, after the active role played by Brahmins and local
all, the domination o f Europeans as successors rulers in the process o f Hinduization in central
to their erstwhile Indian predecessors who and southern India (Kulke 1986a), van Leur
once had also come from the West. But the came to very similar conclusions about early
Indocentric (m is)interpretation o f Southeast Indonesian rulers:
Asian history and culture culminated during the
In the same sort of attempt at [....] organizing and do­
twenties and thirties o f the last century when
mesticating their states and subjects, they called Indian
nationalist Indian historians introduced the
civilization to the east— that is to say, they summoned
concept o f ‘Greater India’ and ‘Hindu Colonies*
the Brahman priesthood to their courts. There was,
in Southeast Asia. In 1926, the Greater India
then, no ‘Hindu colonization in which colonial states*
Society was established in Calcutta and in the arose from intermittent trading voyages followed by
following year, the first volume o f a series o f permanent trading settlements, no ‘Hindu colonies
monographs on The In dian C olonies in the F ar from which the primitive indigenous population and
E astv/2^ published by R. C. Majumdar. M ajum­ first of all its headmen took over the superior civiliza­
dar became the most prom inent proponent tion from the west, (van Leur 1967, 98)
o f this school. In a special lecture delivered in
1940 he asserted that ‘the Hindu colonists [in Van Leur did not live to see the recognition

Southeast Asia] brought with them the whole o f his work, not even in the Netherlands. He

framework o f their culture and civilization and died in the Pacific War at the age o f 34. The

this was transplanted in its entirety among the impact o f his often rather bold and heretical

people who had not yet emerged from their hypotheses’ (van Leur 1967, Introduction. VII)

primitive barbarism* (M ajum dar 1940, 2 1). was first felt in 1946, only a few months after

Majumdar has rightly been blamed for such Indonesia had declared its independence, when

statements, but one should keep in mind that R D . K. Bosch delivered his famous inaugural

even scholars like Nilakanta Sastri titled a short lecture at Leiden University on ‘Problems o f the

article in the Jo u rn a l o f the G reater In dia Society Hindu Colonization o f Indonesia’ (Bosch 1961).

as ‘T h e Tamil Land and the Eastern Colonies* Having meanwhile arrived at similar conclusions,

(Sastri 1944). Bosch referred in his lecture specifically to van

 The Concept of Cultural Convergence Revisited 5

Leurs thesis when he undertook for the first example in this context. Originally published
time a systematic study o f different theories o f in French in 1944, it was revised several times
Indianization which he labelled as ‘Brahmana, till it was translated into English in 1967 with
‘Ksatriya\ and ‘Vaisya’ hypotheses. In a careful the author’s approval. T h e two introductory
analysis, he refuted both the Ksatriya-warrior and chapters on the ‘Land and its Inhabitants’ and
the Vaisya-trader hypotheses and came to the on ‘Indianization’ are followed by a chapter on
conclusion that Brahmins were the major agents ‘T he First In dian Kingdoms’ (emphasis mine).
o f Indianizarion. Boschs lecture initiated a long The book concludes with two chapters entitled
and often very contentious discussion about the ‘The Decline o f the Indian Kingdoms’ and ‘The
process o f Indianization which may be regarded End o f the In dian Kingdoms’ (emphasis mine).
as the major theoretical issue o f classical South­ Moreover, in the context o f his theoretical dis­
east Asian studies during the first two or three cussion o f the process o f Indianization, Cœdès,
decades after World War IL For the time being, too, speaks o f the ‘transplantation’ o f the Indian
it found its conclusion in two comprehensive and civilization into Southeast Asia (Cœdès 1968,
well-balanced articles by I. W. Mabbett (1977) 16), though not in its entirety, as postulated by
on the prehistoric and historic sources o f the R. C. Majumdar.
‘Indianization o f Southeast Asia.^ It is therefore not astonishing that sooner or
T h e concept o f Indianization has doubtless later the concept o f Indianization as a whole
led to a more refined analysis o f the whole was bound to come under fire. In a lecture on
complex o f Indias cultural influence in Southeast ‘India and Maritime South East Asia: A Lasting
Asia. As its major advantage, one may regard its Relationship,’ ]. G. de Casparis pointed out that
final refutation o f the ‘Ksatriya hypothesis’ and it was not his ‘intention to demolish existing
the emphasis it laid instead on the role played theories about “Indianization” but rather to call
by Brahmins as advisors and ritual specialists at attention to some o f their weaknesses and so to
the courts o f Southeast Asia— without, however, prepare the way for a more satisfactory approach’
neglecting the importance o f trade and traders. (de Casparis 1983, 7). He concluded that
But the intensive discussions of, and restriction
instead of the conception based on the principle of
to, the three different hypotheses had a serious
initial ‘Indianization’, I propose to substitute the
repercussion too, as they perpetuated the
pattern of a lasting relationship between the Indian
Indocentric view o f early Southeast Asian history.
subcontinent and maritime South East Asia. The
Van Leurs scornful comment in 1934— ‘to what
relatively simple, or perhaps simplistic, view of
an extent Indonesian shipping played an active Indianization is replaced by a complicated network
role is a question never raised’— was not taken of relations, both between various parts of each of
up seriously in the context o f these Indianization the two great regions and between the rwo regions
studies. Despite its undeniable merits, the con­ themselves, (de Casparis 1983, 17)
cept o f Indianization thus still kept, though in
an alleviated way, to the beaten track, neglecting Already in 1 9 8 2 , R W heatley, too, had
indigenous Southeast Asian initiative. observed that ‘the tide o f revisionism that is

G . Coedes’ fam ous standard w ork T he currently sweeping through Southeast Asian his­
In d ia n iz ed States o f S outheast A sia is a good toriography has in effect taken us back almost to
6 Asian Encounters

the point where we have to consider re-evaluating Indianization regarded Indias impact during the
almost every text bearing on the protohistory first centuries o f the first millennium C E as the
period and many from later times’ (Wheatley beginning o i Southeast Asia’s historical develop­
1 9 8 2 ,2 7 ). This paradigmatic change was caused ment, the new archaeological findings show that
by the far-reaching and sweeping prehistoric we have to understand the congenial acceptance
archaeological discoveries in mainland Southeast o f India’s influence and the subsequent Indian­
Asia. Wheatley pointed out that ization as the fin a l stage or even culmination
o f Southeast Asia’s indigenous prehistory and
prior to World War II. and even later, virtually all
protohistory. In 2 0 0 7 , Ian Glover, too, asserted
prehistoric research in Southeast Asia was undertaken
on the basis o f his own seminal archaeological
within an evolutionary paradigm that was strongly
research that ‘the first civilizations o f Southeast
predisposed to interpret changes in the composition
Asia had their origins in the prehistoric past and
of archaeological assemblages as the results of either
population movements or the diffusion of cultural were not brought by advanced immigrants from
traits into the region from outside. During the 1960s the west’ (Glover 2 0 0 7 , 12).
and 1970s [and we may now add, even more so in the T h e second major cause o f the paradigmatic
following decades], it became increasingly clear that change is the re-evaluation o f processes o f state
the old paradigm was no longer an adequate vehicle formation and o f the nature o f the early state
for fruitful thought about these matters. (Wheatley on both sides o f the Bay o f Bengal (Kulke
1982, 18) 1986b , 1 991). Previously, the early and early
medieval states in eastern and southern India
Wheatley therefore concluded that
as well as in Southeast Asia had been depicted
at about the beginning of the Christian era. Southeast as centralized kingdoms or even empires. More
Asia was occupied by a mosaic o f societies and recent studies emphasize processual modes of
cultures ... within a common, recognizably Southeast state form ation and the segmentary, integra­
Asian trajectory of cultural evolution. Organization­ tive, galactic, am orphous, or m andala-\W ^
ally, these communities ran the whole gamut from nature o f the state; the ritual sovereignty o f its
bands through tribes to chiefdoms, including strongly imperial rulers; and the ‘shared sovereignty’ of
developed paramountcies exhibiting substantial de­ its little kings."^
grees of centralized direction, hereditary hierarchical Space does not permit to explain this new
statuses, and dominantly redistributive modes of
approach in detail. But let me illustrate it with a
economic integration not far removed from those of
few examples beginning with Funan, Southeast
true states. (Wheatley 1982, 18)
Asia’s first so-called empire’. In his standard
He then arrived at an inference which is o f monograph on Angkor, L P. Briggs (1951, 18)
great importance for our consideration when depicts third-century Funan under king Fan
he summarized ‘that it is in these pre- and Shih-man as an ‘empire more than a thousand
protohistoric paramountcies that much o f the miles in extent, with boundaries perhaps as wide
dynamism o f the so-called Hinduization process as those o f which the proudest Khmer Emperor
should be sought’ (Wheatley 1982, 18). could later b oast’.^ M ore recent research,
Whereas the hypotheses o f ‘Indian Colonies however, particularly by C . Jacques (1 9 7 9 ) and
in the Far East’ and (though to a lesser degree) Michael Vickery (19 9 8 ), has shown that none
 The Concept of Cultural Convergence Revisited 7

o f these statements can be accepted any longer grounds their date is assumed as c. 4 0 0 CE.
as established facts.*^ O ne o f these inscriptions relates the genealogy
Briggs’ in terp retation o f early Funan is o f Mulavarman’s ‘dynasty*. It begins with the
clearly contradicted by its earliest inscription, grandfather Kundunga about whom only his
the famous Vo-canh inscription (from Central Sanskrit title narendra (Lord o f Men) is known,
V ietn am ) o f ràjâ ^rî M àra, whom Cœ dès which, however, might have been conferred
identified with the great king Fan Shi-m an upon him posthumously by his son or grand­
and which is dated on palaeographical grounds son. In the second generation, some incipient
betw een the third and fifth centu ries C E change is clearly discernable. Kundunga*s son
(Majumdar 1927, 1 -3 ). In my understanding, adopted the Sanskrit name Asvavarman and
the Vo-canh inscription does not depict an is explicitly praised as the ‘maker* of a (royal)
empire’ but the transition from chiefdom to lineage or ‘dynasty’ {vam sa-karta). The political
an early kingdom. T h e inscription refers only significance o f this foundation o f a ‘dynasty’ is
to the ‘king (ràjà)y his own relatives {svajana)^ unknown. But sociologically it certainly must
the ‘royal lineage* {ràjaku la)^ and the host have meant a considerable raise o f status for
o f kings {ràjagana)^ most likely the heads o f Aivavarman’s family or lineage within his own
minor lineages. Furtherm ore, the welfare o f clan. Under Asvavarmans son Mùlavarman, a
the people* {praja) is invoked twice explicitly genuine socio-political change took place, which
which, most likely, comprised the whole clan. appears to have led to the emergence o f an early
No other patrimonial administrative officers are kingdom. Mùlavarman assumed the foreign
mentioned. Obviously Sri Màra*s ‘state affairs* (Indian) royal title ràjày defeated neighbouring
were still the affairs o f his own patriarchal chiefs or ‘landlords’ {pàrthivd) and made them
household. He ruled his people through the ‘tribute givers* (kara-da). He invited Brahmins
traditional means o f ‘conciliation and gifts’ ‘who came hither’ {ih a àgata), performed grand
(sàm a-dànd)y as is mentioned more explicitly in ceremonies at a ‘most sacred place* near his
Sañjaya*s inscription o f early 8th century Java. [Mulavarmans] own town (svaka p u ra), pro­
In this context, it may be mentioned that, as duced the series o f impressive inscriptions,
in the case o f Funan, Srivijaya’s definition as and were showered with gifts o f land and cows
an em pire too has been questioned by Bronson by Mùlavarman.
(1 9 7 9 , 3 9 5 ^ 0 5 ) . K. R. Hall (1 9 7 6 ), and more Sri Mara*s Vo-canh inscription and Mùlavar-
recently by myself (Kulke 1991, 1993). man’s (most likely contemporary) yu pa inscrip­
T he stw çnyüpa stone inscriptions o f Mùlavar- tions pertain to a very similar developmental
man from Kutei in East Kalimantan provide stage. They depict the rise o f a family (ku la) or
another excellent example as they depict para- lineage (vam id) within their own wider society
digmatically the rise o f a strong local chiefdom and the emergence o f early kingdoms. Mulavar­
to an early kingdom within three generations man’s inscriptions particularly bear witness to
(Kulke 1 9 9 1 ,4 -5 ). These earliest inscriptions o f Tirst victories* over neighbouring chiefs and the
Indonesia are incised on seven sacrificial stone establishment o f ‘royal authority* beyond the
pillars {yüpas) which strongly resemble menhirs clans own territory through the engagement o f
(Chhabra 1963, 8 5 -9 2 ). O n palaeographical Brahmins ‘who have come hither’ (ih a ágata) as
8 Asian Encounters

extra-patrimonial functionaries’ and experts o f he subdued altogether five rulers until he finally
religious and magic knowledge. T heir creation defeated king Visnugopa, the Pallava ruler o f
and m ounting o f a series o f unprecedented Kanchipuram. Samudragupta claims to have
and im pressive in scrip tion s and the royal defeated, released and, out o f favour, reinstated
redistribution o f the spoils o f victories and all these kings. Although most o f these rulers are
o f the (m ost likely) irregular tribu te from known only from Samudragupta’s inscription,
d efeated ch iefs validated and legitim ized the list provides a unique insight into processes
their newly acquired ‘royal’ status as rulers o f o f state formation in eastern and southern India
an early kingdom. It was at this stage o f the in the late 4th century CE.
emergence o f early kingdoms in Southeast Asia Let me illustrate the new kind o f local state
that Indian influence apparently fell on fertile formation in tribal and post-tribal eastern India
ground. Brahm ins were not only welcom e in mid-first millennium C E by just one example
administrators but obviously there existed also from southern Orissa. The 7th and 8th century
a tremendous need for additional legitimation inscriptions o f the Sailodbhava dynasty o f
which indigenous traditional institutions were Kohgodamandala in Southern Orissa/Kalihga
unable to fully provide. contain a revealing dynastic foundation legend
In the context o f our deliberations about the which may go back to the late 4th or early 5th
possible causes o f early local state formation in century C E (Sircar 1951). The legend relates that
Southeast Asia under strong Indian influences Pulindasena, who was famous among the people
in the late 4th and 5th centuries, it is significant o f Kalinga, requested Siva to relieve him from
that we observe similar evolutionary processes o f the burden o f rulership. Siva granted this boon
early local state formation on the other side o f and a young man appeared out o f a piece o f rock
the Bay o f Bengal. In post-Sátaváhana eastern, {sila-sakala-u dbh ed i). Both names—Pulindasena
central, and southern India,^ too, we ascertain (who has no title) and Sailodbhava— clearly
sim ilar ‘trajectories’ o f political and socio ­ reveal a tribal origin o f this dynasty. The Pulindas
economic evolution and a new kind o f incipient were a well-known tribe o f ancient central India.
local state formation as in contemporary South­ Pulindasena thus may have been a military chief
east Asia.® T h e existence o f a large number o f {send) o f this tribe. T h e name o f his successor,
local polities in the coastal regions o f eastern Sailodbhava (‘born from the mountain) and the
India is well-documented by Samudragupta’s mention o f Mahendragiri as the ‘great family
great Allahabad inscription (Fleet 1888, 1 -1 7 ). mountain {brhat-ku la-giri), points even more
It lists altogether twelve rulers o f chieftaincies clearly to their mountainous homeland from
and little kingdom s w hich Sam udragupta where they conquered the nearby fertile valley o f
defeated during his famous conquest o f the the Rishikulya river in coastal south Orissa. Their
south (d a ksin áp ath a). After crossing Kosala, inscriptions depict the Sailodbhavas as stern
he defeated the ruler o f the great forest region followers o f Hinduism who claimed to rule their
Mahákántára in present day Kalahandi/Koraput early kingdom according to Hindu sastras. In
districts o f Orissa whose name ‘King o f the the early centuries o f the second half o f the first
Tigers’ (Vyághrarája) seems to reveal his tribal millennium C E , more than half a dozen such
origin. In coastal Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, dynastic foundation legends and stories o f divine
 The Concept of Cultural Convergence Revisited 9

metamorphoses o f formerly tribal thakurdnds Mauryas, as for instance under the Satavahanas.
(aniconic tribal or village deities) to tutelary But despite their unique greatness, even such
Hindu deities o f these early kingdoms are known centres o f Buddhist art on Indias eastern coast
from epigraphic sources in Orissa (Eschmann like Ajnaravati and Nagarjunakonda had nearly
1978, 7 9 -9 8 ; Kulke 1993). They all testify to no direct impact on the emergence o f Southeast
stages o f incipient state formation connected Asia’s indigenous art and architecture. T his
with protracted processes o f socio-econom ic changed all o f a sudden, shortly after Hindu
changes and cultural transformation which we temples became for the first time a royal symbol
are now used to calling Hinduization. o f the emerging early kingdoms in eastern Indias
In view o f our knowledge about the already far coastal region from the late 7th century. T he best
advanced material culture and trade relations o f examples are the well-known early temples o f the
the societies o f Southeast Asia at the beginning o f Pallavas at Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram
the Common Era and due to the reinterpretation and even a few decades earlier, the temples at
o f the alleged empires o f the early centuries C E Bhubaneswar, as well as the Western Calukya
as chiefdoms, principalities, and early kingdoms, temples at Aihole and Pattadakal. Javas earliest
we are now perceiving similar processes o f early temples on the Dieng Plateau are dated around
state formation on both sides o f the Bay o f 700 C E and are thus exact contemporaries o f
Bengal. But whereas early developm ental the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram and
processes in eastern and southern India, for the famous Shore temple at Mahabalipuram,
example during the Sangam age or under the which must have been most impressive for sea­
Satavahanas and the earliest Pallavas, did not faring visitors from Southeast Asia. I am neither
influence Southeast Asia, the new processes concerned here with the controversial question o f
o f local state formation on the Indian side o f the exact dates o f Java’s earliest temples at Dieng
the Bay o f Bengal from the middle o f the first plateau nor with the possible Indian models o f
millennium C E increasingly influenced and Java’s earliest temples.‘^ My main concerns are
accelerated indigenous processes o f early state three conclusions. First, the early temples o f
formation in Southeast Asia. It was then that Southeast Asia are nearly contemporary to those
rulers o f Southeast Asia ‘summoned* (or, more Hindu temples which sprang up like mushrooms
likely, invited) Brahmins to their little courts, in coastal eastern, central, and southern India in
in order to legitimize and strengthen their claim the 7th century C E. Second, the early temples o f
to superior authority and power through their Southeast Asia from the very beginning devel­
advice, a claim which, as we know from anthro­ oped peculiar regional styles in the same way
pologists, is not sanctioned by tribal norms. as it happened in the various regions o f India.
As another significant case o f concurrence Third, the spread o f Hindu temple architecture
and nearly simultaneous developments on both beyond the frontiers o f the former Gupta empire
sides o f the Bay o f Bengal, the emergence o f on both sides o f the Bay o f Bengal was directly
free-standing stone temples may be at least linked with the emergence o f the early regional
briefly referred to. It is, o f course, well-known kingdoms.
that India produced masterpieces o f Buddhist I f we look at the political and cultural
art and stupa architecture after the age o f the developments on both sides o f the Bay o f Bengal
10 Asian Encounters

in the middle o f the first millennium C E , we in early Southeast Asia within the framework
observe a similarity and even convergence o f o f an overall historical process which included
social and cultural evolution in both regions. and affected the societies o f South and Southeast
It is the major thesis o f this paper that it was Asia as a whole. According to this thesis, it was
exactly this nearness between the societies in the socio-economic and political convergence
the coastal regions o f the Bay o f Bengal rather in both regions in the m iddle o f the first
than the social distance betw een im perial millennium C E which required and enabled
Indian states and emerging early kingdoms o f similar solutions to similar problems o f social
Southeast Asia which made the Indian model change. In this context, the just-m entioned
so attractive to Southeast Asian rulers. For nearly contemporary emergence o f freestanding
obvious reasons, the Hindu model o f a ‘limited Hindu temple architecture on both sides o f the
universal kingship’ was initially taken over by Bay o f Bengal is particularly revealing. Whereas
early local rulers o f Southeast Asia from the early Indianization presumes social distance as a
kingdoms o f southern and eastern India and not major cause o f acceptance o f Indian influences
from the imperial Guptas ot northern India, a in Southeast Asia, the convergence hypothesis
model that did not yet fir the requirements o f postulates social nearness as the prom oter
contemporary Southeast Asian rulers. Brahmins o f social change under, undoubtedly, Indian
and scribes who brought the so-called Pallava influence in Southeast Asia.
gran tha script to Indonesia in about 4 0 0 C E I may now try to summarize a few contribu­
were thus not emissaries o f powerful Hindu tions to the ‘Indianization discourse’ since my
rulers o f south India (where indeed no powerful convergence thesis was first published in 1990.
empires existed at that time). They came rather In 1999, two substantial articles were published
from the courts o f early kingdoms like that o f by Monica L. Smith and Roy E. Jordaan. The
the Pallavas, whose rulers had only recently been title o f Smith’s article ‘“Indianization” from the
able to establish their authority and ‘domesticate Indian Point o f View’ (Smith 1999) may be
their people with the help o f invited Brahmins misleading as one might expect a treatise on
and thus were able to successfully solve similar Indian concepts o f Indianization like ‘Indian
problems which their emerging colleagues in Colonies in the Far East’, and so on. But instead
Southeast Asia were still facing. O nce we look o f that, it is a critical evaluation o f the Indian
in this way at the societies on both sides o f the sources on India’s con tacts with Southeast
Bay of Bengal, we understand why Indias culture Asia. Sm ith rightly emphasises that ‘prior to
did not reach Southeast Asia through an act o f the fourth century C E Indian trade activities
‘transplantation’, but through a ‘complicated appear to have been relatively infrequent ... as
network o f relations’ (de Casparis 1983) between the level o f open-water seafaring technology in
partners o f mutual ‘processes o f civilization’ the subcontinent appears to be rather limited’
which comprised both sides o f the Bay of Bengal. (Sm ith 1 9 9 9 , 15). Moreover, depictions o f
U nlike the In d ian izatio n co n ce p t, this boats from the early centuries are ‘river-boats
convergence thesis not only provides more rather than seagoing craft’. She also assumes
space for indigenous initiatives in Southeast that ‘whatever contact was sustained in the
Asia. It also tries to interpret the developments early first millennium between Southeast Asia
 The Concept of Cultural Convergence Revisited 11

and the subcontinent w-as Ukely to have been the twenties o f the last century, namely that
initiated by individuals sailing from Southeast the uniqueness o f the so-called Indo-Javanese
Asia (Smith 1999, 6 - 7 ) . In her conclusion, she art and architecture was based on architectural
points out that the term ‘Indianization conceals manuals {silpa-sästras) obtained by Javanese
the complexities o f socio-political organization pilgrims from India. Instead, he vehemently
in the first millennium C .E .’ (Smith 1999, 18). claims that the classical monuments o f Central
As has been argued above, she, too, emphasizes Java, particulady the Borobudur, are the creation
that a genuine adoption o f Indian traditions is o f the allegedly Indian Sailendra dynasty, which
discernible only after the 4th century, and was brought in its entourage Indian craftsmen with
undertaken by dynastic leaders o f Southeast their architectural silpa-sastra manuals. In this
Asia who were increasing their dominance over context, he points out several times that my
local groups as well as improving their contacts above-mentioned statement that Bosch’s famous
with other cultures. But in contrast to my inaugural lecture marks the final refutation
arguments, Smith argues that the point o f origin o f the Ksatriya theory ‘is wrong, at least with
o f the so-called Indianization was the successful respect to the Sailendras’ (Jordaan 1999, 213).
political growth o f the Guptas since the late 4th I ’he theory o f an Indian origin o f the Sailendra
century which ‘provided a powerful, coherent dynasty, b rou g h t up by R. C . M ajum d ar
and attractive ensem ble o f religious motifs (19 3 3 ), has meanwhile been abandoned nearly
and bureaucratic m echanism’ (Sm ith 1999, completely, but still lingers on in the writing
15). I agree that the fame o i the contemporary o f few scholars, mostly Indian adherents o f the
Gupta empire and its culture may be ‘under- ‘Greater India School’. There exists, o f course, a
represented’ in my convergence thesis, linking general agreement that the art o f the Sailendras
the development in Southeast Asia primarily was strongly influenced by the art o f the Pala
with coastal eastern and southern India. I am dynasty o f Bihar and Bengal, best known for the
therefore surprised that finally Smith, too, comes great monastic ‘Buddhist University’ o f Nälandä.
to the conclusion that ‘after the fourth century But it is revealing to note that Jordaan, too, is
C .E. many o f the areas along the eastern Ocean unable to substantiate his claim o f an Indian
sustained the development o f complex political origin o f the Sailendras by any reliable historical
entities that adopted Indian political terms and source and thus to verify the ‘present aim’ o f his
religious motifs. These Indian traditions were paper ‘to re-assess the ksatriya theory’ (Jordaan
attractive because they had been fashioned into 1 9 9 9 ,2 1 8 ).
a coherent socio-political model by groups in More recently, Aoyama Toru o f the Indone­
the subcontinent’.*^ sian Programme, Tokyo University, delivered a
Jordaan’s article follows a very different line still unpublished lecture at Yogyakarta in 2 0 0 7
as can already be detected from its title, ‘The on the concept o f Indianization, which contains
Sailendras, the Status o f the Ksatriya Theory, several interesting p o in ts .Im p o r ta n t, and to
and the Development o f Hindu-Javanese Temple my knowledge new in the international debate
Architecture’ (Jordaan 1999). He refutes again on Indianization, is his comparison o f Sinization
and again the theory o f F. D . K. Bosch, the and Indianization o f East Asia and Southeast Asia
doyen o f D utch ‘Indonesian’ scholars since respectively with particular reference to Japan
12 Aslan Encounters

and Indonesia. He points out, for instance, that intellectuals and religious professionals. [...]
according to his philological studies, the direct Sanskrit articulated politics not as material
and indirect influence o f Chinese and Sanskrit power [...] but politics as aesthetic power. To
on the vocabulary o f Japan and Indonesia comes some degree the Sanskrit “cosmopolis” I shall
in both cases to nearly 50 per cent, whereas the describe consists precisely in this com m on
influences o f Chinese law and social system in aesthetics o f political culture, a kind o f poetry
Japan clearly exceeds the influence o f Indias o f politics’ (Pollock 1996, 198). After clearly
dham iasàstra and caste system in Southeast Asia. dismissing all facets o f an Indian ‘colonization
Although he does not hesitate to speak o f Siniza­ o f Southeast Asia as possible explanation o f the
tion and Indianization, ‘Sinized’ or ‘Indianized’ spread o f Sanskrit, he points out that from about
states are not the point o f his analysis. He clearly the 5th century onwards, ‘Sanskrit inscriptions
rejects Cœdès’ concept o f the transplantation appear with an almost breath-taking simultaneity
o f India’s culture in Southeast Asia en bloc and and with increasing frequency in what are now
emphasizes the longue durée o f Indianization the nations [of Southeast Asia]’ (Pollock 1996,
and the essential process o f the localization o f 217) and charts ‘very briefly [in fact in great and
India cultural influences. Significant in our significant detail!] the career o f public Sanskrit
context is his emphasis on south India’s role o f in two areas, Khmer country and Ja v a . And
mediator o f the 'cultural affin ity between India after pointing out that no significant Sanskrit
and Southeast Asia as one o f the factors that poetry existed outside the royal inscriptional
characterizes the process o f Indianization (my prasasti poetry in Angkor and Java, he concludes
emphasis). If one replaces India by south India that Sanskrit was ‘exclusively the cosmopolitan
(about which he in fact is speaking), his cultural language o f elite self-presentation’ in Angkor and
affinity’ comes near to the concept o f cultural ‘the first vehicle for literized royal self-expression’
convergence’, particularly as he also refers in this in Java (Pollock 1996, 226, 229).
context to the above-mentioned Mùlavarman. So far, so good. Problems arise only with
Measured by its impact on recent debates on P ollo cks com prehensive con clu sion o f his
Indian influences in Southeast Asia, the most article. He is certainly right when he observes
important but also controversial contribution that after World War II, decolonization pre­
is Sheldon P ollock’s sem inal paper (1 9 9 6 , dictably ‘stimulated a quest for the local, the
1 9 7 -2 4 7 ) on the Sanskrit cosmopolis, which indigenous, the autochthonous’. But he then
therefore will have to be dealt with at some goes on to criticize the important works o f A.
length.*^ As it encompasses a vast range o f Reid, O . W. Wolters, D . Lombard and, others
different aspects,*-^ only those will be taken up for pursuing exactly this quest’, and quotes, for
which pertain to Southeast Asia and particularly instance, from Wolters’ famous late work, that
to his criticism o f the convergence thesis. Right Indianization did not introduce ‘an entirely new
from the beginning. Pollock emphasises the chapter in the region’s history’, but ‘brought
almost concurrent spread o f Sanskrit in south a n cien t and persistin g indigenou s beliefs
India and Southeast Asia in the first millennium into sharper focus’ (Wolters 1982, 11). After
C E. But ‘no political power [...] was at work asserting that ‘much o f this (often masterful)
here. Sanskrit s spread was effected by traditional analysis is open to criticism, not least for what
 The Concept of Cultural Convergence Revisited 13

strikes the non-Southeast Asianist as its defensive ‘There is nothing obvious in this statement at
indigenism concludes that ‘indeed, the very all, for there is no reason to accept legitimation
concepts ‘indigenism ’ and “autochthonism ” theory in the first place, though it is ubiquitous
are em pty ones’ (my emphasis) (Pollock 1996, in the literature especially on the question o f the
2 3 3 f.). In a way. Pollocks argumentation is transculturation o f the Sanskrit cosmopolis’.*"^
paradoxical. None o f these authors has ever Pollock is o f course entitled to assume ‘that it
com e forward with a con cept o f indigenism is a fact that the theoretical basis for this entire
or autochtonism (my emphasis). It is Pollock explanatory structure has been exploded by
who labelled their multifaceted work in this contem porary social theory’, referring to A
way only to blame them for it. Referring to Giddens’ critique o f functionalism and his main
J. Filliozats interpretation that the spread o f argument that social systems “have no needs”’.
Sanskrit was driven by practical interregional But it is strange that Pollock bases the assumed
com m u n ication needs (Filliozat 1 9 7 7 ), he ‘explosion’ o f the ‘refined functionalism ’ o f
expresses in the same way his uneasiness with Wheatley’s and my legitimation thesis more or
what he calls weak functionalism’ which ‘seems less exclusively only on Giddens and his demand
not only anachronistic but conceptually flawed’ that the concrete conditions o f the historical
(Pollock 1996, 2 3 5 ). He explicates his critique rise and decline o f social institutions have in
with special reference to Paul Wheatley and his every case to be direcdy analysed.*^ Afi:er all,
‘post-Independence indigenist revisionism" (my this is exactly what I am trying to do with my
emphasis) as ‘a stronger and more refined func­ convergence thesis.
tionalism [which] holds that the idea-system o f It is, therefore, not astonishing that a thorough
which Sanskrit was the vehicle was needed for scrutiny o f Pollocks article reveals several cases
political “legitimation” (Pollock 1996, 2 3 6 ). o f overlapping or even a kind o f convergence o f
According to W heatley, [Southeast Asians] his argumentation and that o f the ‘more refined
‘came to realize the value o f Indian concepts functionalists’.*^ Thus, for instance, already in
as a m eans o f leg itim izin g th eir p o litica l the introduction to his above-mentioned book
status, and possibly, stratifying their subjects. (Pollock 2 0 0 6 ), he emphasizes the ‘political
To achieve this end they summoned to their dimension’ o f the cosmopolis as his main inter­
courts Brahmans skilled in protocol and ritual’ est. O r he asks the meaningful question, ‘how are
(Wheatley 1961, 161). we to grasp the power o f such cultural forms [the
Moreover, Pollock observes (without doubt translocality o f Sanskrit], their attraction for local
correctly) that ‘this explanatory framework people, their careers, their hegemony over or
rem ains in tact in H erm ann K ulke’s recent compromise with the vernacular’ (Pollock 2006,
analysis’. After a rather lengthy quotation from 2 30). O ne need not be an uncritical adherent o f
my paper (Kulke 1 9 9 0 ,2 0 -2 1 ) on convergence, postmodern discourses to argue that all this has
which ends with the statement that there existed to do as much with competition, contestation
obviously at both sides o f the Bay o f Bengal the and in some cases perhaps even with actual
same or at least similar socio-political needs for political control and power as with Pollock’s
a new type o f legitimation, Pollock concludes main paradigm, ‘the aesthetics o f political
with, to my mind, an inconsistent statement: culture’. After all, I do not believe that Pollock is
14 Aslan Encounters

really o f the opinion that elite self-presentation the diffusion o f Indian visual art in Southeast
and ‘literized royal self-expression operate sans Asia was ‘vernacular from the start. [...] W hile
politics and power— which require legitimacy this may help us to understand the significance
and thus legitimation. o f the Dieng temples within the larger context
Three contributions to the conference on o f the “Sanskrit C osm op olis”, it does not
‘Early Interactions between South and Southeast explain their importance at the local level for
Asia: Reflections on Cross-Cultural Exchange’ the Javanese. W hat is needed is a more thorough
held at the Institute o f Southeast Asian Studies examination o f Dieng as a site in relation to the
at Singapore in 2 0 0 7 (Manguin et al. 2 0 11), political centre o f Central Java at Prambanam*
deal critically with Pollocks Sanskrit Cosmop­ (Romain 2 0 1 1, 3 14).
olis hypothesis. Julie Romains article ‘Indian ohannes Bronkhorst observes in his article
Architecture in the “Sanskrit Cosm opolis”: ‘T h e Spread o f Sanskrit in Southeast Asia’
The Temples o f the Dieng Plateau focuses on (2 0 1 1 ) that Pollock seems to think that his
the comparison o f 7th and 8th century temple rejection o f the ‘legitimation theory’ also does
sites in central Java, Tamil Nadu, and Orissa away with the peculiar connection between
which ‘immediately follow the rise o f Pollocks Brahmins and Sanskrit, thus explaining ‘the
“Sanskrit Cosmopolis”’ (Romain 20 1 1 ). Refer­ spread o f Sanskrit in terms o f the language
ence has already been made to Hindu temple rather than in terms o f its users. This allows
architecture as the visible sample o f cultural him to propose his hypothesis o f “politics as
convergence; suffice it to summarize Romains aesthetic power”’ (B ronkhorst 2 0 1 1 , 2 6 5 ).
evaluation o f the convergence and Sanskrit Moreover Bronkhorst, too, quotes at some
Cosmopolis concepts within the scope o f early length van L eu rs reference to the role o f
Javanese art. After remarking that ‘the degree o f Brahmins to legitimize dynastic interests. He
“cultural convergence” o f Indian and Javanese admits that Pollock may object to the word
visual art traditions challenges the traditional legitimation and that nothing much may be
model o f influence used to explain Indian lost by removing it. But ‘the factual situation
cultural diffusion in Southeast Asia (Kulke remains the same. Brahmans were called to
1990), she points out that Pollocks ‘recent work So u th east Asia [and] b rou g h t w ith them
on the formation o f a “Sanskrit Cosmopolis” their sacred language, Sanskrit’ (Bronkhorst
is a useful framework for thinking about the 2011 , 270 ).*^
diffusion o f Indian art tradition in Southeast Daud Ali’s article ‘T h e Early Inscriptions
Asia’ (Romain 2 0 1 1 , 3 0 0 ). But she detects a o f Indonesia and the Problem o f the Sanskrit
significant difference. ‘Unlike the exclusive use Cosmopolis’ (Ali 2 0 1 1 ) contains, to my knowl­
o f Sanskrit as the language o f royal political edge, the most comprehensive debate so far on
expression, there was not an exclusive Indian Pollock’s concept o f the Sanskrit Cosmopolis in
art style that was adopted across Southeast Asia. the Southeast Asian context. Important in our
...] Certain regional Indian art traditions had context is that Ali emphasizes critically Pollock’s
a stronger impact on Southeast Asia art than refusal to take notice o f the extensive literature
others’ (Rom ain 2 0 1 1 , 3 0 1 ). O f particular on recent theories o f state formation in South
relevance in our context is her conclusion that and Southeast Asia. ‘Pollock’s indifference to this
 The Concept of Cultural Convergence Revisited 15

scholarship is hardly accidental, being connected state about which he notices, ‘that the evidence reflects
with his sustained criticism o f the regnant social the multiplicity of regional centres in the land which
scientific approaches to “ideology”. W hile his for convenience, we call “Cambodia”. Greater unities
disagreement with historians for their banalisa­ were still only the fragile consequence of the power
of an individual leader. Ihis kind of unity quickly
tion o f Sanskrit sources through the “paradigm”
dissolved when an overlord died or lost the confidcnce
o f “legitim ation” may be justified, his own
of his allies*. Wolters concludes that ‘in this situation
attempt to connect Sanskrit and power would
the term “kingdom” is an inappropriate one’ (Wolters
have been enhanced considerably by attention
1974,317).
to this literature’ (Ali 2 0 1 1 , 2 8 1 ). Ali then 7. O f particular importance for our consideration
refers at length to the convergence theory and are Indias coastal regions and the early political cen­
ascertains that its ‘theory o f social circulation, tres in their immediate hinterland (e.g. Kanchipuram
networks and convergence clearly in some way and Bhubaneswar) as they must have been visited
provides a sociological complement to Pollock’s most frequently by Southeast Asian traders and other
Sanskrit cosmopolis* (Ali 2 0 1 1 , 2 8 2 ). After visitors.
scrutinizing Indonesia’s earliest inscription,*^ 8. For coastal Eastern and Southern India see
he concludes, dissenting with Pollock, that Seneviratne (1980/81); Maloney (1976, 1-40);
‘Sanskrit in Southeast Asia was hardly reserved Allchin (1995, 140-51); for a more general discussion
see Chattopadhyaya (1983), For Southeast Asia, see a
for exclusively “eternal” rhetorical claims; it also
wide range of articles in Tarling (1992) and in Glover
articulated quotidian, material ones, particularly
and Bellwood (2004) as well as Higham (2002). For
as a language o f formal affiliation among elites,
early maritime contacts, see Ray (1994) and (2003).
where it rubbed shoulders with and stimulated
9. For recent and comprehensive disquisition of
the development o f other, existing vocabularies these problems, see Romain (2011).
o f power’ (Ali 2 0 1 1 ,2 9 0 - 1 ) . 10. Smith (1999, 19). I am glad that she arrived
independently at this conclusion as she does not refer
Notes to my paper.
11. Toru (2007).
1. This essay is a revised version of Kulke (1990),
12. See also his monograph (Pollock 2006).
2. J. C. van Leur, Eenige beschouivingen betreffende
13. ‘The “Sanskrit Cosmopolis” is the name I want
den ouden Aziatischen handel (Leiden 1934). 'Ihe
to suggest for what may be the most complicated—
English translation was published posthumously
and as totality least studied— transregional cultural
under the title On Early Asian Trade together with a
formation in the premodern world. While cosmopolis
selection of his publications in the monograph. See
might imply a number of things to different readers,
van Leur (1967).
it is on the “polis” or political dimension that I want
3. For a more recent comprehensive summary
to concentrate (Pollock 2006, 197) ,
see P.-Y. Manguins Introduction to Manguin et al.
14. Pollock (1996, 236) complains, for instance,
(2011. xiii-xxxi).
that ‘functionalist legitimation theory undergirds the
4. See Berkemer and Frenz (2003); Veluthat
entire conceptual framework of the new Cambridge
(2009); Kulke (2011); Tambiah (1976); Wolters
History o f Southeast Asia, quoting several passages
(1982); Manguin (2002).
from its first volume, edited by Tarling (1992). For a
5. Briggs (1951, 18).
lengthy critique of the legitimation concept, see also
6. In this regard one may also refer to O.W.
Pollock (2006,511-24).
Wolters’ study of 7th century Chenla, the post-Funan
16 Asian Encounters

15. ‘Institutional features come about historically Allchin. F R . The Archaeology o f Early H istoric
(emphasis by the author), as a result of concrete South Asia: The Emergence o f Cities and States.
conditions that have in every case to be directly Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
analyzed* (Giddens 1981, 18). Berkemer, B. and M. Frenz, eds. Sharing Sovereignty:
16. Most recently, Professor N. Karashima The Little Kingdom in South Asia. Berlin: Klaus
pointed out in a personal communication that the Schwarz Verlag, 2003.
concept of Sanskrit Cosmopolis is compatible with Bosch, F.D.K. ‘Problems of the Hindu Colonization
the convergence hypothesis although it is in a sense of Indonesia*. In Selected Studies in Indonesian
a revival of the Indianization concept. I am thankful Archaeology, 1-22. Den Hague: NijhofF, 1961.
to him for inviting me to lecture at Tokyo University Briggs, L.P. The Ancient Khmer Empire. Philadelphia:
on the convergence thesis on 18 January 2012. In The American Philosophical Society, 1951.
his comments he also pointed out that in view of Bronkhorst, J. ‘The Spread of Sanskrit in Southeast
the non-existence of the varna system in Southeast Asia*. In R-Y. Manguin. A. Mani and G. Wade,
Asia and of the peculiar Brahmin/Kshatriya relation eds, Early Interactions between South and Southeast
which were of crucial importance for state formation A sia: reflections on C ross-Cultural Exchange,
in India, it is difficult to speak o f ‘Indianized’ states 243-62, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian
in Southeast Asia. He, too, refuted the idea of Studies and Delhi: Manohar, 2011.
Indianization which presumes ‘social distance* as Bronson, B. ‘The Archaeology of Sumatra and the
the main cause of the spread of Indias culture to Problems of Srivijaya*. In R.B. Smith and W.
Southeast Asia and prefers instead ‘social nearness*. Watson, eds. Early South East Asia, 395-405. New
But he rightly missed in my delineations references York: Oxford University Press, 1979.
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and ‘sacral protection of dynastic interests’ may give A Lasting Relationship. Kuala Lumpur: University
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 CHAPTER 2

Ming China's Violence against Neighbouring

Polities and Its Representation in Chinese
Historiography

G eoff W ade

In the early I4 th century, the Mongol Yuan O ver these alm ost 2 8 0 years, the M ing
regime, ruling parts o f what we today call China, remained heavily involved militarily on virtually
experienced a decline in both political power all o f its borders and through such warfare
and military strength. This situation provided an expanded the scope o f the Chinese state. W ithin
opportunity and incentive for bids for power or this paper it is intended to examine some o f the
simply self-protection by other political players. warfare engaged in on and beyond the state’s
The highly-militarized state o f Chinese society in southern borders by the M ing military and then
this age determined that warfare between Yuan explore how these episodes were represented by
loyalists, local self-defence leaders, smugglers, and the M ing state and by later Chinese historians
sectarian rebels marked much o f the succeeding in an effort to understand how the Chinese have
decades. By the 1350s, rival rebellions had resulted represented their history to themselves.
in the ‘China* which the Yuan rulers had con­
trolled being divided into diverse polities which
Ming Military A ctions against Y un-nan
warred against each other. A rebel leader known In 1 3 6 9 , but a year after Zhu Yuan-zhang
as Zhu Yuan-zhang was eventually able to secure had formally founded the M ing dynasty, he
control over increasingly large areas and establish sent proclamations for the instruction o f ‘the
a new Chinese state in 1368. which he named countries o f Yun-nan and Japan’.' T his early
Great Ming W ith the establishment o f his recognition o f Yun-nan as a ‘country’ which
capital at Nan-jing in 1368, Zhu began a dynasty lay beyond the Ming was to change very soon
whose power was to extend until 1644. thereafter. By 1380, Yun-nan was considered
 Ming China's Violence 21

to have ‘been Chinas territory since the Han known to the Ming as ‘native oifices’, as they
dynasty’,^ providing a m oral basis for the were controlled by non-Chinese persons. They
invasion o f the region. About 2 5 0 ,0 0 0 troops were, initially, usually left under the control o f
were then deployed in an attack on the polities the hereditary rulers o f the respective polities,
o f the region, taking Da-li, Li-jiang, and Jin-chi and it was thereby that the Ming exerted control
in 1382. Thereby, the Ming founder took control and engaged in economic expropriation through
o f the major urban centres o f the north-western tribute demands and other levies. This was the
part o f what is today Yun-nan, including several beginning o f a policy which was to be pursued
Tai areas. These colonies were the first to be throughout the Ming, which had such profound
absorbed into Ming ‘Yun-nan effects on the upland Tai polities, and which
By 1 3 8 7 , the M ing founder had set his resulted in Yun-nan becoming part o f China.
sights fiirther and, in preparation for an attack In the process by which they were gradually
on the Bai-yi (Mong Mao) polity to the south absorbed by the M ing, these polities were
o f his earlier conquests, a military ofiîcer was subjected to a wide range o f tribute demands,
sent to Si-chuan to buy 1 0 ,0 0 0 ploughing labour levies, and other levies, including troop
cattle. These were to be used to plough the provision. As an example, in the case o f the Tai
fields necessary to feed the troops on a likely Mao polity o f Lu-chuan/Ping-mian, the Ming
long-term expedition. W hen the invasion did court demanded 15,000 horses, 500 elephants,
occur, under the commander Mu Ying, the Ming and 3 0 ,0 0 0 cattle from the ruler Si Lun-fa in
forces attacked the Bai-yi with firearms, raking 1397.^ Subsequently, large silver demands (silver
a claimed 3 0 ,0 0 0 heads."^ T he Tai Mao ruler Si in lieu o f labour) were levied on this polity.
Lun-fa was subsequently dunned for all the costs T h e annual am ount o f 6 ,9 0 0 lia n £ o { silver
o f the military expedition against him, as a q u id was initially set and then it was almost tripled
pro quo for the Ming court recognizing him as to 18,000 liang. W hen it was realized that this
ruler o f the Bai-yi.^ W hen a minister rebelled was impossible to meet, the levy was reduced
against Si Lun-fa in 1397, the Chinese state gave to the original amount.*® Other diverse levies
sanctuary to the fleeing Si Lun-fa, sent troops were applied to the other polities and enforced
against the rebel and restored Si Lun-fa to his through the use or threat o f military force. Again,
position, extracting vast tracts o f land from him we see the role o f the Chinese colonial armies
for this assistance.*^ The M ing state also broke as providing the military ‘muscle’ necessary to
down his huge former territory into the polities ensure that the economic expropriation could
o f Lu-chuan, Meng-yang, Mu-bang, Meng-ding, be carried out efl^ectively.
Lu-jiang, Gan-yai, Da-hou, and Wan Dian, all T h e reign o f the Yong-le Emperor was to see
under separate rulers.^ a major advance in the Ming colonization o f
In ad d itio n , when engaged in m ilitary Yun-nan, prior to his invasion o f the Vietnamese
activities, the Ming administration in Yun-nan polity in 1406. T he Ming colonization o f the
could call upon the military forces o f the ‘native Tai areas o f Yun-nan during the 15th century
offices*. T he new polities which were ‘created’ was attained and m aintained either by the
(or recognized) in Yun-nan under the first Ming actual use, or the threat, o f military force. As
ruler by the breaking down o f larger polities were such, the Ming established guards throughout
22 Asian Encounters

the region to maintain security and poHtical these rulers.^* Here, then, we see the beginnings
dominance. Independent battalions, directly o f the process by which formerly Southeast Asian
under the Regional Military Commission were polities were gradually absorbed into the Chinese
estabhshed in Teng-chong*^ and Yong-chang*^ polity through a process o f colonialization.
in Yun-nan in 1403,*^ and these were to be the The native office’ polities were then subject to
major control centres for Chinese colonization demands in terms o f gold/silver in lieu o f labour,
o f the Tai polities over the following century. administered by the Ministry o f Revenue, and
In the same year, new Chief's Offices were also required to provide troops to assist in further
‘established* in Y un-nan, at Z h e-le D ian , Ming campaigns. Mu-bang, for example, was
Da-hou, Gan-yai, Wan Dian, and Lu-jiang,*^ required to send its troops against Ba-bai (Lanna)
and in 1406 a further four C h iefs Offices were in the 1406 expedition m entioned above.^-^
established under Ning-yuan Guard in what is This employment o f ‘native troops’ by the Ming
today Sip Song Chau Tai in Vietnam. *^ Mu-bang colonizers reflected what was being done in Dai
(Hsenwi) and Meng-yang were made Military Viet and what was to be done by later colonial
and Civilian Pacification Superintendencies in armies in Southeast Asia.
1404.*^ The recognition o f these polities by the During the reign o f the Xuan-de Emperor
Ming court came at a cost to their independence (1 4 2 6 -3 5 ), Chinese administrative control in
and when they did not accord with what the new Yun-nan was extended, with police offices being
Ming Emperor required, military actions were established at the major passes in Teng-chong
launched against them. In 1405, for example, the and W ei-yuan in 1433.^"^ A former military
senior Chinese representative in Yun-nan, Mu adm inistration— the Yong-chang battalion—
Sheng, launched an attack on Ba-bai (Lanna).*^ was changed into L u -jian g Su bprefectu re,
T h e attempts at dom ination extended even a civil office under the Yun-nan Provincial
to what is today Assam in India, with envoys Administration Commission, as Chinese control
carrying threats being despatched to Da-gu-la, was consolidated. In the same year, the Ming
the Uttara-kula which lay on the northern bank ‘established’ the D ong-tang C h ie fs O ffice,
o f the Brahmaputra River.*® within Burmese territory, as an attem pt to
After some sort o f recognition or acceptance split the territory and power o f the Ava-Burma
o f the superior position o f the M ing court, polity.^^ O ther native offices’ were also set up
through military action or threat, Chinese clerks (that is, recognized and supported by the Ming
or registry managers were appointed to the and its military), including the Niu-wu C h ief’s
‘native offices’ to ‘assist’ the traditional ruler, and O ffice in Ha-ni/Akha territory.^*^ Likewise,
ensure that Ming interests were served. Chinese postal relay stations were established to aid in
clerks were appointed to carry out Chinese com m unications with m ilitary and civilian
language duties in the native offices o f Yun-nan administrations in the area.^'
in 1404,*^ while sim ilar circulating-official It was in the 1430s and 1440s that major
clerk positions (to be filled by Chinese) were Ming military invasions o f the Tai polities o f
established in seven C h iefs Offices in Yun-nan Yun-nan again took place. T h e three major
in 1406.^® Gradually, formal members o f the attacks against the Tai Mao polity known to the
Chinese bureaucracy were appointed to assist Chinese as Lu-chuan,^® extending from 1438
 Ming China's Violence 23

to 1445, have essentially been neglected in the as pacification commissioner.^^ Further details
studies o f Southeast Asian history, and thus so o f these military expeditions are provided by
has this aspect o f M ing colonialism. However, L iew (1996).
they were some o f the most important events A further major M ing military expedition
in the history o f 15th-century Southeast Asia, which was to gready affect the upland South­
resulting in the fragmentation and colonization east Asian polities was that launched in 1448
o f one o f its largest polities. to capture Si Ji-fa, a son o f Si Ren-fa. At a
T h e Tai Mao political leader Si Ren-fa had, date equivalent to April/May 1448, imperial
during the l4 3 0 s , made attempts to recover instructions were issued to Wang Ji requiring
territory formerly subject to his father Si Lun-fa, him to capture Si Ji-fa and the chieftains o f
but which had been atomized by earlier Ming Meng-yang.^*^ T h e surrounding polities o f
policies. He had gained control over Gan-yai, Ava-Burma, M u-bang, Nan D ian, G an-yai,
Nan Dian, Teng-chong, Lu-jiang, and Jin-chi and Long-chuan were also required to provide
by 1438, when the Court sent generals to assist troops for deployment against Si J i - f a . T h e
the local commander Mu Sheng against him.^^ imperial orders sent to Wang Ji presaged the
While the Chinese forces claimed initial success, disruption which such an expedition would
a further 5 0 ,0 0 0 troops from all over southern have wrought in the region. ‘H e [Si Ji-fa
China were mobilized in 1439 for the first major may flee into Ava-Burm as territory and be
Lu-chuan expedition.^® By 1440, it was being concealed by the people there. I f so, capture
claimed that 120,000 troops would be needed persons as the situation demands, so that the
if victory was to be achieved against Si Ren-fa,^* y i [barbarian] people will know fear and the
suggesting something o f the power o f the Mong Great Army will not have been sent in vain.’^®
Mao polity at that time. In 1441, the Ming court W hile Wang Ji reported success in his attack on
ordered another expedition, led by the generals Si Ji-fas stockade,^^ later accounts tell o f how
Jiang Gui and Wang Ji.^^ Wang Ji was to claim Wang Ji had sought personal advantages from
the taking o f 50,000 heads at Shang Jiang on the the ‘native officials’ and how in fact he had been
Salween River within the first year, and claimed defeated by Si Ji-fa."^® Again in 1454, Chinese
that his forces had taken and destroyed Lu-chuan forces were despatched, this time against Si
in 1442, but that Si Ren-fa had escaped.^^ In Ken-fa and others in M eng-yang, who had
August 1442, a further expedition was launched established their own regime in competition
against L u -c h u a n ,a n d both Wang Ji and Jiang with the M ing appointee."^*
Gui were recalled to lead it. T he year 1444 saw Achieving a balance between economically
the destruction o f Lu-chuan, the power base exploiting the newly-conquered areas in Yun­
o f Si Ren-fa, the killing o f Si Ren-fa, and the nan and trying to maintain social stability (and
establishment by the Ming o f the Long-chuan thereby control) in those areas was something
Pacification Commission (apparently the first use the Ming and its agents constantly debated over.
o f the term pacification commission h] in Despite claims that social stability was at risk
Chinese history) to partially replace Lu-chuan. in Yun-nan in the 1440s due to the levies, the
A former Lu-chuan chieftain Gong Xiang, who Ministry o f Revenue refused to reduce any o f
had gone over to the Ming was then appointed the gold and silver payments required, claiming
24 Asian Encounters

that ‘they are an old system dating from the in Jiao-zhi, ‘military farms’ were established to
Hong-wu reign, and it is difficult to abolish feed these military personnel, and it was often
them’.'^^ T h e gold, silver, and horse demands the troops themselves who had to farm to
which the Ming state imposed on theTai polities produce their own grain. These farms were part
o f Yun-nan and beyond not only depleted the o f the colonizing process because they induced
polities, but also left them open to imposition sedentary occupation, allowed the inflow o f
o f other demands by the Ming. In the 1440s for C hinese people, and fed the m ilitary who
example, Mu-bang (Hsenwi/Theinni) deployed enabled the colonizing process to proceed. The
its forces to assist the Chinese forces arrayed process o f expansion was a continuous one. At
against Si Ren-fa in exchange for the cancelling o f the end o f the 16th century, grand plans were
an outstanding debt to the Chinese state (which in place to expand Chinas territory southwards
had been unilaterally imposed by the Ming) o f from Yun-nan, with it being noted that when
14,000 lia n g o isilver. In 1448, the gold, silver, the six zh ao (pacification superintendencies) are
rice, paper money, cowries, and horses owed in completely brought to peace, Ba-xiong Pass will
lieu o f labour by eight prefectures in Yun-nan, be built beyond Meng-mao and thousands o f li
plus Jin-chi, Teng-chong, Gan-yai, Nan Dian, o f land will be opened up with 10,000 mu o f
Long-chuan, C h e-li, M eng-yang, M u-bang, state farms’."^^
Meng-ding, Meng-gen, Wei-yuan, Wan Dian, T he employment o f the kai-zhon g sy sitm in
Zhen-kang, and D a-H ou, being mainly Tai the newly occupied areas also played a major
polities stretching right across Indochina, were all role in expanding the range o f Chinese colonial
cancelled in reward for their military assistance administration and the areas settled by Chinese
in destroying the power o f the Mong Mao polity persons. T h e system involved selling state-
o f Lu-chuan."^^ monopoly salt to merchants for grain, which
T h e pattern was continued in ‘Yun-nan’ the merchants were required to transport to and
throughout the 15th century and beyond. provide in border regions, generally for the use
M ilitary occupation was the initial step in o f expeditionary or defence forces. T he system
establishing a colonial administration. Following was instituted in Yun-nan during the Hong-wu
the military defeat o f the forces o f Shi-ba Zhai reign (1 3 6 8 -9 8 ), in order to feed the Chinese
in Yun-nan in 1522, for example, the Shi-ba forces sent to occupy the region. In the 1430s,
Zhai Independent Battalion was established, the system was powerfully revived again in Da-li
with a military contingent o f three battalion and Jin-chi in Yun-nan to supply the forces to
commanders, three battalion vice commanders, be used against Si Ren-fa o f Lu-chuan, and was
two judges, and 12 company commanders, who still being employed in 1445 to feed the persons
were complemented by a civil administration building the walled city at Teng-chong, the new
o f one clerk and two police officers. Chinese rhilitary outpost in Yun-nan.
Many o f the M ing military units in these O ne o f the essential policies o f the M ing
areas were manned by criminals who had been state in pursuing its colonial aims in the Tai
unable to redeem their sentences through rice regions o f Yun-nan, and in fact in all its colonial
payments and were therefore exiled to these endeavours, was efforts to keep colonized
areas to assist the colonizing process. As occurred polities as divided from each other as possible.
 Ming China's Violence 25

This had the dual roles o f firstly reducing the that it ‘not seek alliances with other tribes’.
threat any single polity could pose to China, And. all along, it was the power o f the Ming
and secondly facilitating the manipulation o f colonial forces in this area and the local forces o f
these polities. In this manner, China pursued other polities which were controlled by the Ming
an active policy o f ‘divide-and-rule’colonialism, that provided the threat or actual power which
and in this the military forces in Yun-nan played allowed them to pursue these policies— policies
an important role. o f divide and rule which have marked all colonial
The aims o f this policy were realized in a num­ regimes in Southeast Asia.
ber o f ways. A major method was to break down A corollary o f this ‘divide and rule' policy
polities into smaller units, making them less o f was that o f ‘using y i to attack y i . That is, the
a threat to Chinese interests. As has been noted Ming were constantly seeking opportunities to
above, during the Hong-wu reign (1 3 6 8 -9 8 ), deploy the troops o f the ‘native offices’ rather
Si Lun-fa o f Lu-chuan/Ping-mian (M ongM ao) than their own troops against those o f other
sought assistance to regain his territory from ‘native offices . This was a notable characteristic
chieftains who had rebelled against him. The o f Chinese military policies from well before the
Chinese state took advantage o f restoring him Ming dynasty. The use o f similar policies has in
(and his death in 1399 or 1400) to break up his fact characterized many colonial empires, either
territory into Lu-chuan, Meng-yang, Mu-bang, because their own troops were few in number
Meng-ding, Lu-jiang, Gan-yai, Da-hou, and and they wanted to reduce their own losses,
Wan Dian, all under separate rulers.^^ A further or because their own troops were not familiar
attempt by the M ing to divide the power o f with local terrains or resistant to the climates
major Yun-nan Tai entities was seen in 1404 with and diseases. During the Ming, it was far more
efforts to divide Ba-bai/Da-dian (Lanna) into convenient to employ the troops o f Yun-nan
Ba-bai/Da-dian and Ba-bai/Zhen-nai (Chiang polities against other Yun-nan polities than to
Rai)."^^This was eventually unsuccessful, despite mobilize and move forces from Chinese areas.
a Chinese-sponsored military attack on Lanna."*^ There are many examples o f this policy being
A similar attempt was made by the M ing state pursued in the Tai areas o f Yun-nan during the
to split the polity o f Che-li (Chiang Hung) 15th century. In 1389, Si Lun-fa o f the Bai-yi
into Che-li and Che-li/Jing-an in 1421, so as to (M ong Mao Tai) was ordered to pursue and
reduce its power and allow the appointment o f capture ‘rebels' in Y u n -n a n ,w h ile two years
a Chinese registrar and military commissioner in later the Hong-wu Emperor wished to employ
the l a t t e r .O n e hundred and fifty years later, the troops o f Ba-bai (Lanna) to attack the
when the power o f Ava-Burma was expanding, B a i - y i . I n 1405, the Chinese commander Mu
the M inistry o f War also urged in respect o f Sheng o f Yun-nan employed Chinese and ‘native’
Yun-nan that ‘special instructions should be sent troops in an attack on Ba-bai (Lanna). When
to the various// noting that they are not permitted the Chinese state intended to attack Ava-Burma
to have communication or form links with each in 1409, M u-bang (Hsenwi) was ordered to
other’.^^ At the end o f the 16th century, the prepare its troops for an overland attack, while
Ministry o f Rites urged that Ava-Burma only the Chinese forces were to attack from the sea.^"^
be given recognition by the court on condition Subsequently, in 14 4 0 , the polities o f Mu-bang,
26 Asian Encounters

Ava-Burma, Che-Ii, Ba-bai/Da-dian, Wei-yuan, O n a day equivalent to 3 0 Ju ly 1 4 0 6 , the

and Shi Dian were ordered to combine their boat-borne forces set sail from Nan-jing. They
forces and lead them against Si Ren-fa o f landed in Southern China and joined with other
L u -c h u a n .A fte r the defeat o f the Lu-chuan forces in the border province o f Guang-xi. The
forces and Si Ren-fa's flight to Ava, it was noted overall force comprised 9 5 ,0 0 0 troops from the
by the Zheng-tong Emperor, in respect o f the provinces o f Zhe-jiang, Jiang-xi, Guang-dong,
planned attack on A va-Burm a:‘Using y i to G uang-xi, and Hu-guang, a further 1 0 ,0 0 0
attack^/ was a good tactic used by the ancients. cavalry and in fan try troops from various
Moreover, Ava-Burma is far in the distance. The other guards, and 3 0 ,0 0 0 ‘native troops’^®
Imperial army will not be easily able to penetrate from Guang-xi. An additional 7 5 ,0 0 0 cavalry
deeply and an attack will be impossible without were deployed from Yun-nan, Gui-zhou, and
y i troops’. After the sending o f Si Ren-fa's head Si-chuan. Guang-xi and Yun-nan provinces
to the capital, the growth o f Si Ji-fa’s power in had also each been ordered to supply 2 0 0 ,0 0 0
Meng-yang began to attract Chinese attention grain to feed the expeditionary army,
and it was thus in 1447 that Ava-Burma and and Yun-nan was to arrange for 10,000 troops
Mu-bang were ordered to provide troops for an as reinforcements. In all, so the official account
attack on Meng-yang.^^ Subsequent reports note tells us, some 8 0 0 ,0 0 0 troops were mobilized by
that 100,000 Mu-bang and Ava-Burma troops the Ming for this ex p ed itio n .F irearm s were an
were employed in razing Si Ji-fa's stockades on essential element for this expedition and there is
M t Gui-ku to the west o f the Irrawaddy, and an estimate that about 10 per cent o f the troops
then Ava-Burma was assigned to hunt down Si were armed with firearms. In a recent article, Sun
Ji-fa.^® It is thus clear that, like other colonial Laichen (2003) examines the use o f firearms by
powers which operated later in Asia, the Ming the M ing armies in their invasion o f Vietnam.
depended heavily on native’ military forces to The Ming forces also built boats in Vietnam
achieve their military goals. to continue their assault, and in January 1407
achieved one o f the most significant victories
T he Ming Invasion of O ai V iEt /Dai Ngu o f the campaign when they took Da-bang City.
In 1406, in an effort to increase Ming influence Evocative descriptions o f the Chinese forces

and power in the Vietnamese polity o f Dai Viet, disguising their horses with images o f lions in
known to the M ing as An-nan, the Yong-le order to frighten the elephants which led the
Em peror attem pted to send a puppet ruler Vietnamese forces, and advancing with firearms
named Chen Tian-ping (Tran Thien Binh) into which shot fire-arrows, have been left to us.*^^
that p o lity .T r a n Thien Binh was killed as he In subsequent weeks, the Vietnamese Eastern
proceeded into the country. This killing by the capital collapsed and the Western capital was
Vietnamese became the immediate pretext for abandoned to the Chinese, and in the middle
Yong-le to launch a huge invasion o f the pohty, o f 1407 the Vietnamese ruler H o Quy Ly and
a move obviously planned well before the event. his son were captured, and the short-lived H o
He appointed senior generals, sea-crossing dynasty o f Dai Ngu came to an end. The Chinese
com m anders, firearm s com m anders, rapid forces declared victory, amid claims o f seven
attack commanders, and cavalry commanders. million o f the Vietnamese killed in this initial
 Ming China's Violence 27

campaign to take the polity/^^ In late 1407, In an attem pt to ensure that the colonial
Jiao-zhi (the occupied Dai Viet) became Ming administration could carry out its functions,
Chinas l4 th province, and remained so until the colonial military forces (both Chinese and
1428, when the Ming formally withdrew the non-Chinese) were deployed against the remnant
provincial status. Vietnamese forces. Continuing defiance o f the
T h e colonization o f the country began in Ming by Vietnamese forces was pursued through
earnest immediately, with the invading forces guerrilla tactics, and in 1408, a fijrther 4 0 ,0 0 0
beginning to employ local forces to assist them. troops had to be marched in from China as rein­
T h e M ing regional com m ander Zhang Fu forcements, while another 2 0 ,0 0 0 naval troops
memorialized to the court, ‘Due to the circum­ were readied.*^^ Yet troubles continued. The Jiao-
stances, the expeditionary forces from Yun-nan, zhi Regional Military Commission memorialized
Guang-dong and Guang-xi now have depleted in 1408 that ‘the guards and battalions have
ranks. They wish to select men from the Annam. insufficient soldiers left to fulfil defence duties.
native forces to make up their deficiencies’.^^ T he Guang-dong regional commissioner Sun
The request was approved and the conscription Quan, who led 10,000 troops to transport grain
o f the local arm o f the colonial army commenced. supplies, has now arrived here and the troops are
New administrative boundaries were drawn, equipped with ships and weapons. Permission is
new tax offices, salt offices, Confucian schools, requested to temporarily retain them to provide
Buddhist registries, and other offices were defence’/^ T h e proposal was agreed to.
established, while 7 ,6 0 0 tradesman and artisans New m ilitary guards were established in
(inclu ding gun founders) captured in D ai Jiao-zhi— the Jiao-zhou Left, Right, and Central
Viet were sent to the Ming capital at todays Guards within the capital, and the Jiao-zhou For­
Nan-jing.*^ By 1408, the Chinese had established ward Guard to the north o f the Fu-liang River,
4 7 2 military and civilian offices in Jia o - z h i,a ll and appointments o f Vietnamese persons who
being administered in a Chinese mode, but many had allied themselves to the Chinese were made.
staffed by Vietnamese. W ithin two years, three These were especially valuable in places where
maritime trade supervisorates had been created the Chinese troops could not be employed. For
in this new province, the same number as existed example, in a memorial to the court in 1408,
in the rest o f China. This was a clear indication we read: ‘T he Jiao-zhi Provincial Administration
o f the desire o f the Ming to control maritime Commission has memorialised that the three
trade to the South and exploit the economic areas o f Po-lei, Qiu-wen and Ai-liu are narrow
advantage o f such control.^® O ther economic passes into Jiao-zhi and are affected by miasmic
exploitation involved grain taxes, annual levies vapours. T h e official troops find it difficult
o f lacquer, sapan wood, kingfisher feathers, fans, to dwell in these places. It is proposed raising
and aromatics, and the imposition o f monopolies native forces and establishing guards in nearby
on gold, silver, salt, iron, and fish. In addition, Si Prefecture, Tai-ping Prefecture and Tian
eunuchs were sent to Jiao-zhi with the task o f Subprefecture’7* T h e proposal was accepted
treasure collecting for the Emperor, but an equal and implemented. Where there were insufficient
amount o f treasure collection appears to have troops available for a military guard, police offices
been done for themselves. were established.^^ Senior Chinese m ilitary
28 Asian Encounters

figures would also command roving forces o f up This system was thus employed in the Jiao-zhi
to 2 ,0 0 0 Vietnamese troops to be sent wherever guards.
there was military service to perform. In an attempt to eliminate the cultural basis
This did not prevent a large force from the o f the polity, the M ing Emperor ordered the
Chinese occupation army, led by the Yun-nan destruction o f Vietnamese books. Some o f the
commander Mu Sheng, being defeated in a secret correspondence contains specific sets o f
major engagement in January 14097^ In the orders that M ing commanders and troops were
following month, 4 7 ,0 0 0 more Chinese troops required to abide by during the military cam­
were despatched to the South and the senior paign. O ne o f these letters contains instructions
Chinese commander was ordered to return to related to the handling o f Vietnamese written
the new province/"^ T h e occupation forces were works. Issued on 17 August 1406, they read
obviously poorly supplied, and the southern in part:
provinces were ordered to produce 5 0 ,0 0 0
[b] With the exception of Buddhist andTaoist texts,
items o f clothing and shoes for the forces. For
all written and printed materials within An-nan arc
the following six years, the Ming colonial forces
to be burnt. These include anything that promotes
fought against Vietnamese guerrillas loyal to a
Vietnamese rites and customs as well as texts used
new Vietnamese Emperor Tran Qui-khoang,
by children, such as those containing the phrase
often in pitched naval battles in the seas and shang da ren Qiu J i Y iP In addition, all stelae from
rivers, and it was only in April 1414 after he was ancient times that are of Chinese origin are to be
captured in Laos, that the occupying forces felt preserved, but those erected by Vietnamese should all
some firmer control, at least temporarily. New be destroyed. Not even a single character [from the
guards were then established on the borders Vietnamese works] is to be preserved/®
which the province shared with Champa, Laos,
and ‘the Siamese man while many o f the
Chinese troops returned to China,
In order to feed the forces, the troops were
also permitted to levy grain taxes on the civilian mm
population/^ Some o f the Vietnamese conscripts
were employed on ‘state farms’ solely to grow
grain for the military. T he system in place in O ng further cites 15th century Vietnamese
each guard is described in a memorial from 1410 sources concerning the M ing destruction and
confiscation o f texts.H o Nguyen Tru’ng (Le
The various guards in Jiao-she should follow the Tru*ng), eldest son o f H o Quy Ly, commented:
pattern in Yun-nan» whereby three in 10 of the troops ‘As for the burning o f Vietnamese books during
remain guarding the city walls, while seven in 10 the war [with the M ing], which reduced most o f
should be engaged in farming military fields. Each
them to ashes causing them to vanish without a
guard should set up a fort and when there is an alert
single trace, I can only express deep regret!’ In a
they should enter the fort and wait to be deployed.
draft memorial on the completion o f the official
Doing things in this way will ensure that there is no
chronicle D ai V iet S i( Ky Toan Thw
interference with local agriculture and also that the
soldiers are not unemployed. presented to the Le Emperor Thanh-tong
 Ming China's Violence 29

(r. 1 4 6 0 -9 7 ) in 1479, the famous historian Ngo troublesome colony. T he growing power and
Si Lien wrote, ‘No [event can be compared to momentum o f Le Lo’i’s opposition in 1425 also
the invasion o f the fanatical Ming ( 0 ^ij), [dur­ presaged the end o f the colonial administration.
ing which] one country's (Vietnam’s) books and T he inefficiency o f the M ing military at this
maps [were] reduced to ashes [as a consequence time appears to have derived from the fact that
o f this] catastrophe’ (Ong 2 0 1 0 , 1 5 5 -6 ). most o f the military units they deployed were
In order to try to inculcate some allegiance to Vietnamese, albeit sometimes under Chinese
China, senior Vietnamese military commanders commanders.®*^ A late attempt at reinforcing
who gave their allegiance to the Chinese were the colonial forces in Jiao-zhi was made in 1426,
sent to the Chinese capital at N an-jing for when a further 2 0 ,0 0 0 troops were dispatched
an audience with the emperor and to receive there from various provinces,®^ a further 1,000
rewards,^^ and then sent back to serve their tally slips were sent to Jiao-zhi for appointing
masters in Jiao-zhi as members o f the colonial Vietnamese to military and civil posts, new
army. T he appointment o f such people to senior commanders were despatched with the orders
posts was also used as a propaganda weapon by to recruit 3 0 ,0 0 0 more Vietnam ese for the
the colonial authorities.^® military, and new firearms were despatched. The
Following the capture and execution o f the senior Chinese military commanders already
Vietnamese Emperor Tran Qui-khoang in I 4 l 4 , in Vietnam were stripped o f their ranks and
the M ing Em peror recalled the commander titles and required to ‘realize achievements’.®^
Zhang Fu and sent Li Bin to command the In that same year, the commanders in Jiao-zhi
local forces. Yet by 1417, he was facing rebellion had to take military men away from their grain
by som e o f the V ietnam ese who had been farms in order to participate in expeditions
appointed as military and civil officials.®* These and defence,®^ which deepened the grain crisis.
included someone by the name o f Le L q% the January saw planning in Bei-jing for another
native-ofFicial police officer o f E-le County in m ajor exp ed ition , involving 7 0 ,0 0 0 men,
Qing-hua Prefecture’,®^ who was to eventually to proceed to Jiao-zhi along two routes, but
become the major figure in driving the Ming imperial deliberations are already far advanced
out o f Dai Viet. T h e following year saw more in terms o f an eventual withdrawal from the
evidence o f problems with the colonial army, fractious region. By May o f 1427 the major
with it being noted that most o f the major Chinese citadels in Jiao-zhi were under attack,
guards lacked officers,®^ and that uprisings by and the arriving Chinese reinforcements had
Vietnamese officials who had been incorporated been put to flight. By the end o f 1427, Le Lo’i
in the military and civil colonial administration had sent envoys to the Chinese court seeking
were increasing. W hile reinforcem ents were the Chinese withdrawal,®® and the M ing had
despatched from C hina, the frequency and recognized the benefits o f withdrawal, albeit
intensity o f the uprisings grew, grain supplies disguised in claims o f benevolence by the Ming
continued to be scant, and in 1422, the Chinese court. A process o f decolonization was thus set
supreme military commander Li Bin died. The in train, involving o f course the colonial forces.
death o f the Yong-le Emperor two years later also T he imperial orders, after requiring that the
reduced Chinese enthusiasm for maintaining the Vietnamese find themselves a ruler, read:
30 Asian Encounters

I'he Cheng-shan Marquis and Regional Commander follows: 1) Validation o f a military action was
Wang Tong and so on are to immediately lead the sought out or created; 2) A military expedition
government troops back to their original guards and was launched; 3) Assistance o f some local leaders
battalions. All of the civil and military officials and was gained; 4) Intimidation by slaughter was
clerks, commanders and troops of the Jiao-zhi Regional
conducted;^^ 5) T he existing leaders were killed
Military Commission. Provincial Administration
or removed elsewise; 6) Orders were issued
Commission and provincial Surveillance Commission
locally noting the moral rectitude o f the military
as well as of all guards, battalions, prefectures, subpre­
action and noting that it was conducted to
fectures and counties, are all to return home together
with their family members. Also, all of the grade de­ free the people from their evil rulers or other
fenders and eunuch and palace officials who have been predicam ent; 7) C h inese bureaucrats were
sent on official duties are to return to the capital.®^ appointed as either registry managers or more
broadly in the larger polities; 8) Military guards
The flood o f people and materials northwards and civil administrative offices were established;
out o f the former colony must have made the first 9) Grain and labour levies were instituted, and
few months o f 1428 a hugely dislocated period monopolies over salt, gold, and silver were
for both Dai Viet and Southern China, and at instituted, or else it was demanded that such be
the speed at which this occurred it was more provided to the state in lieu o f labour; 10) Usefijl
a flight rather than an organized withdrawal. human resources were stripped;^^ 11) Further
After some pretence that a descendant o f the opportunities for territorial gain were sought out.
T rin dynasty would be installed as ruler o f the
polity, Le Lo*i formally assumed the position in T he V oyages led by Z heng He and
1428, sending a proxy human figure in gold to Other Eunuchs
the Chinese court/^^
The despatch o f various eunuch-led maritime
The unsuccessful attempt by Ming China at
missions to the ‘W estern O cean’ (m aritim e
colonizing Dai Viet thus extended over a period
Southeast Asia west o f Borneo and the Indian
o f 21 years from 1406 to 1428. During this
Ocean), as well as other lesser-known missions to
period, a colonial administration was established
the Eastern Ocean (todays Philippines, Borneo,
in Dai Viet and economic exploitation o f the
and Eastern Indonesia) was the third o f the three
region was pursued with vigour. The role o f the
prongs o f southern expansion pursued by the
colonial army, comprising both Chinese and
Yong-le Emperor. T h e most widely-known o f
locally recruited persons, was to ensure the secu­
these envoys was Zheng He, otherwise known as
rity o f the colonial administrative apparatus. The
‘San-bao’, or ‘Three Treasures’, and it is around
use o f a large number o f Vietnamese soldiers in
this eunuch that many o f the legends relating
the colonial army was eventually to prove a major
to the voyages are centred. O thers eunuch
flaw in the system, as it was they who eventually
com m anders included W ang G u i-ton g and
rebelled and drove out the Ming colonialists.
Hou Xian. Eunuch envoys such as Zhang Qian
T he policies pursued by the Ming in Dai Viet
were responsible for voyages to the polities in
and some areas ofYun-nan over the 15th century
the Eastern Ocean— Bo-ni, Pangasinan, Sulu,
suggest that the process by which the Ming state
and Luzon— and for bringing their envoys and
expanded into new areas can be summarized as
rulers to China.
 Ming China's Violence 31

T he eunuch-led missions were, Hke Yong-les existed and was being used for voyages at least
expansions into Yun-nan and occupation o f to Southeast Asia as late as 1453.
Dai Vi^t. intended to create legitimacy for the To enable these great fleets to maintain the p ax
usurping emperor, display the might o f the M ing in the immediate region and sail through
Ming, bring known polities to demonstrated the Indian Ocean to Africa, it was necessary to
submission to the M ing and collect treasures create staging posts in what is today Southeast
for the C o u r t . T o achieve these aims, the Asia. These depots {guan-chan^ were established
maritime forces needed to be both huge and at Malacca and at the northern end o f the Straits
powerful. Ship-building began almost as soon o f Malacca near the polity o f Samudera. These
as the Yong-le Em peror assumed power. In can be seen on the W u-hei-zhi maps which date
1 4 05, just after Zheng He departed on his in original from the first half o f the 15th century.
first expedition, Zhe-jiang and other regional T he Straits o f Malacca were probably more vital
military commissions were ordered to build in the 15th century, when international linkages
1,180 ocean-going ships.^'^ By 1408, the task were entirely dependent on shipping, than they
was assigned to a central m inistry and the are today, and controlling this waterway was an
M inistry o f Works was ordered to build 48 essential first step in controlling the region. It
‘treasure-ships’ was also thus that the M ing assisted the growth
T h e size and number o f ships which accom­ o f the new polity o f Malacca, around the Ming
panied the eunuch commanders on the voyages maritime base at that place. The links between
to Southeast Asia and beyond has long been M alacca and the M in g thereby rem ained
an issue o f debate. However, it seems likely intimate for much o f the 15th century. T he
that some o f the ships were more than 250 degree to which the development o f the port
feet long.^^’ Mills (1 9 7 0 , 31) suggests that ‘it city o f Malacca, and the northern port-polities
seems reasonable to conclude that Cheng Hos o f Sumatra was a product of Ming policies in
Zheng Hes] largest ships were probably about Southeast Asia in the early 15th century, needs
three hundred feet long and about one hundred to be further investigated.
and fifty feet broad, and displaced about three T h e military aspect o f these voyages needs
thousand one hundred tons’.^^ T h e ships were underlining, in part because o f the stress placed
capable o f carrying cavalry and some served as on these missions in current Peoples Republic
water tankers. Fleets ranged from 50 to more o f China scholarship as ‘voyages o f friendship .
than 100 ships and remained away for up to A large proportion o f the members o f the
two years. A 16th century Chinese account missions were military personnel, and in a M ing
suggests that 2 7 ,5 0 0 persons accompanied the shi4u reference o f 1427, there is reference to
largest missions to the Western Ocean (Mills ‘ 10,000 crack troops who had formerly been
1970, 15). T he point here is not to dwell on the sent to the Western Ocean suggesting that
technical aspects o f the fleets, but simply to note a large proportion o f the members o f these
that they were huge armadas, larger than any fleers were highly trained military men. It is
others fleets which existed in the world at that obvious that such a force would have played a
time. These fleets died only slowly. An ‘Imperial major threatening role, useful in encouraging
force for Voyages to Fan lands' ( T S ' & I ^ ) still recalcitrant foreign rulers to travel to the Ming
32 Asian Encounters

court. However, there were other times when references to this polity end in 1430, implying
more than military threat was required and the that its fortunes were tied to the continuance
history o f the Zheng He voyages is replete with o f the Ming presence in Southeast Asia, which
violence as the eunuch commanders tried to further suggests that the rulers were indeed
implement the Ming Emperors demands. Major agents o f the Ming state.
military actions included those discussed below.
Violence in Java (1407)
Attack on the Old Port Pacification
In 1407, Zheng He’s troops went ashore in Java,
Superintendency In Sumatra (1407) on which was situated the polity o f Majapahit,
By the early 15th century, Old Port (or H Î ê ) one o f the Ming’s major competitors for regional
near Palembang in Sumatra, had apparently hegemony in maritime Southeast Asia. In an
long been home to a large number o f Chinese ensuing battle, some 170 o f the M ing forces
persons. After it came to Ming notice in 1405, were killed. The Chinese records suggests that the
the local leader Liang Dao-ming travelled to Chinese troops ‘went ashore to trade’, ‘where the
China. In 1407, Zheng He returned from his Eastern king had ruled’, which suggests Chinese
first major mission abroad, bringing with him involvement, intentional or otherwise, in a
a ‘pirate* Chen Zu-yi captured at Old Port, for Javanese civil wan In response, the Ming dunned
reportedly having ‘feigned surrender but secredy the Western king o f Java (presumably the ruler o f
plotted to attack the Imperial army The Ming Majapahit) for compensation. ‘Immediately pay
fleet reported 5 ,0 0 0 persons killed, with ten 6 0 ,0 0 0 liang^^^ o f gold in compensation for their
ships burnt and seven captured in the battle. lives and to atone for your crime ... Fail to comply
Later in the same year, the M ing recognized and there will be no option but to despatch an
the polity o f Old Port. However, because o f army to punish your crime. W hat happened in
the large numbers o f Chinese, both ex-military Annam can serve as an example.’*®^ The threaten­
personnel and civilians, from Cuang-dong and ing reference was to the Ming invasion o f Annam
Fu-jian who lived there, it was deemed not to be noted above. T he methods o f the later European
a country. Rather, it was recognized as a ‘paci­ colonial armies in Asia, demanding compensation
fication superintendency* ( â l Î Î Î ^ ) , a term following their own military adventures, might
which was commonly used to refer to polities be seen as useful comparative examples o f such
ruled by non-Chinese on the Chinese borders. imperial opportunism.
T he person appointed as the Superintendent,
Threats to Burma (1409)
Shi Jin-qing, was more than likely someone
appointed by Zheng He as the local ruler to In the early years o f his reign, while vying with
represent the Ming state.*®® During the Yong-le Ava-Burma for influence in Yun-nan, Yong-le
reign, M alacca sought the territory o f Old was particularly concerned about the polity o f
Port,*®’ possibly because o f the Malaccan ruler’s Mu-bang (Hsenwi). W hen the Mu-bang envoy
origins in Sumatra, or else because it was deemed came to the Ming court in 1409, reportedly
a threat. Either way, the fact that the request was complaining about Na-luo-ta, *®^ the Ava-Burma
made to the Ming suggests something o f Ming ruler, the response by Yong-le included the
control over the polity. Contemporary Chinese following:
 Ming China's Violence 33

N a-luo-ta, with his petty piece o f land, is royal city, captured the king, destroyed his
double-hearted and is acting wrongly. 1 have long military, and carried the king and his family
known of this. The reason that I have not sent troops members back to the Chinese court. As was
there is that I am concerned that good people will the case in similar scenarios in Yun-nan, the
be hurt. I have already sent people with instructions
Ming appointed a puppet ruler ro replace the
requiring him to change his ways and start anew.
abductee, presumably tasked with acting in ways
If he does not reform, I will order the generals to
beneficial to the Ming.^^*^ T he Chinese troops
despatch the army. I'he troops will attack from the
who returned from the expedition to Sri Lanka
ocean route and you can arrange to have your native
cavalry attack overland. The despicable fellow will were rewarded in the same manner and at similar
not be equal to that.***^ levels to those forces which invaded Dai V iet in
1406, suggesting similar aims o f the forces.*^^^
This reference to a maritime force was to the
Western Ocean ships o f the eunuch commander, Attack and capture of Su-gan-la
Zheng He, who together with Wang Jing-hong of Samudera (1415)
and Hou Xian, had been commanded to proceed A further example o f the aims and methods o f
on another mission to the Western O cean. the maritime missions is seen in 1415, when
This threat by the M ing Emperor underlines Su-gan-la, the reported ‘leader o f the Samuderan
the militaristic and intimidating nature o f the bandits* was taken to C hina from Sumatra
maritime voyages. by Zheng He. According to the M ing shi-lu ,
Su-gan-la (possibly Iskander) was plotting to
Attack on Sri Lanka (1411)
kill the local ruler Zainul Abidin and seize
Perhaps the event most telling as to the nature the throne, and was angered that the Chinese
o f the eunuch-led maritime voyages was the envoys did not recognize him as ruler and confer
military invasion o f Sri Lanka, the capture o f a presents upon him. He thus led his forces against
ruler and his carrying back ro the M ing court in those o f the M ing, but was defeated and fled to
modern Nan-jing in 1411. This occurred during Lambri. He was there captured together with
the return voyage o f a mission led by Zheng He his wife and children, and shipped to China
which had taken the Ming forces to the west for punishment.* W hile the events which did
coast o f the Indian subcontinent, including occur in 1414 and 1415 remain obscure,*^’ it
Q u ilon, C ochin, and Calicut. According to is certain that Zheng He and his forces inserted
the M ing texts, on the outward voyage, the Sri themselves in a civil war in Northern Sumatra,
Lankan ruler Ya-lie-ku-nai-er (Alagakiconara)*^^ supported the side which was not hostile to
had been ‘insulting and disrespectful*, which the M ing and engaged in warfare against the
meant obviously that he did not recognize the other. Again, we see an instance o f the maritime
pre-eminence o f the Ming and its envoys. He expedition acting mainly as a military force in an
was also depicted as a local tyrant who ‘enticed* attempt to impose a p a x M in g on what we now
Zheng He back to the island, so that he could know as Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.
rob the Chinese ships. This, according to the T h e examples above suggest that the mar­
official Ming history, is what gave rise to the itime forces sent abroad in the first third o f
hostilities by which Zheng He invaded the the 15th century were intended to achieve the
34 Asian Encounters

recognition o f Ming pre-eminence among all T he proto-colonialism o f the Ming, as sug­

the polities o f the known maritime world. Those gested in respect o f the Zheng He voyages above,
who would not recognize this supremacy o f the had its equivalent in the later proto-colonialism of
M ing were subjected to military force. This the 15 th and 16th centuries Portuguese voyages.
is not to say that all polities needed military Pearson (1 9 9 1 ,4 1 -1 1 6 ) describes the Portuguese
coercion. T h e economic benefits flowing from empire as, in some ways, a continuation o f the
‘tribute missions' suggests that some would, Italian city states. He notes that, at the official
likely, have gladly sent tribute and personally level, there was a very tight connection between
travelled to the M ing court. However, the the Crown and trade. T his was undoubtedly
number o f Southeast Asian rulers travelling to also true in the M ing case. Further, on the basis
China with the Zheng He missions suggests that o f R otherm unds A sian Trade a n d E u ropean
coercion must have been an important element. E x p a n sio n and S te e n sg a rd ’s A sia n T rad e
There are very few other examples o f rulers R evolution, Pearson notes that:
visiting other polities within Southeast Asia in
this was an empire that used military coercion to
this period, suggesting that some great pressure
try and achieve a strictly noneconomic advantage.
must have been imposed on them to encourage
Basically a tribute was demanded from Asian trade;
them to journey to the M ing court, and thereby
the Portuguese created de novo a threat of violence
demonstrate their subordinate status before the
for Asian shipping and then sold protection from
Chinese Emperor. this threat, as seen in the requirement to take passes
As such, these were missions intended to and pay customs duties. No service was provided in
coerce and obtain control o f ports and shipping return; in modern terms this was precisely a protec­
lanes. It was not control o f territory that was tion racket. As we know the effort failed anyway.
sought, which came with later imperialism, (Pearson 1991, 79)^
but was political and economic control across
space— control o f econom ic lifelines, nodal By replacing the word ‘Portuguese’ with

points, and networks. By controlling ports and ‘Chinese’ we would have an excellent description

trade routes, one controlled trade, an essential o f the M ing activities in Southeast Asia and

element for the missions* treasure-collecting the Indian Ocean in the first third o f the 15th

tasks. T he colonial armies which manned these century. T he military who constituted the force

ships were the tools necessary to ensure that the on which the Ming armadas depended can thus

control was maintained. In their methods, the be called ‘proto-colonial armies’ and their role

Ming, through these maritime missions, was was the maintenance o f the p a x M ing which

engaged in what might be called proto-colonial­ provided the Ming with political and, at least

ism. That is, they were engaged in that early form in some ways, economic advantage.

o f colonialism, by which a dominant maritime

Representation of Ming Military
power took control (either through force or the
Engagements in Ming texts
threat thereoO o f the main port polities along the
major East—West maritime trade network, as well W ithin the traditional historiography o f China,
as the seas between, thereby gaining economic a range o f topoi and rhetorical structures are
and political benefits. employed to represent the Emperor/Chinese
 Ming China's Violence 35

state and those beyond the C hinese state. the ruler o f the Vietnamese polity o f Annam
These rhetorical elements might be subsumed in the 1540s: ‘I am the Emperor and I treat all
under the rubric o f the ‘Chinese world view’. under Heaven as my family’.**^ In 1429, the
M ing historiography inherited and utilized Xuan-de Emperor is recorded as defining his
many o f the rhetorical practices which had function as follows: ‘I serve Heaven by treating
been, in some cases, in use since the Zhou the people as my children. In the 10,000 states
dynasty to represent the relations between within the four seas, I try to provide prosperity
C hina and those ‘distant’ to varying degrees and abundance’.*'^ Again, like the ideal father,
(geographically and/or culturally) from the the Zheng-tong Emperor is recorded as stating:
centre. This tradition can be described through ‘The court does not anticipate deceit and cannot
various aspects. bear to punish you’.
In this rh eto rica l system , the C h in ese An important function which Ming official
E m peror had received the divine right to historiography ascribes to the imperial incum­
rule through the Mandate o f Heaven (;? c ^ ). bent was the preservation o f order and the
Helpfully, having the right to rule also meant maintenance o f peace. T h e Tai-zu Emperor,
that all decisions taken were correct, as ‘Heaven when chastising Si Lun-fa o f Lu-chuan/Ping-
is the law and none dare violate it. T h e Way mian, was anxious to note how his own military
o f Heaven is supremely just and correct to the actions against Yun-nan were in fact the result o f
minutest degree’.**^ T h e Emperor was also the his benevolence and concern for peace:
em bodim ent o f righteousness, fairness, and
China is surrounded by y i in the four directions
kindness. T h e Yong-le Emperor noted in 1405
and its land adjoins the territories of the various
that ‘I manifest the love o f the “O ne on High”
chieftains and headmen. However, I have never taken
( .h ^ ') for all living things’. It was moral claims
advantage of my strength to oppress them, bully
such as these which were used by the Chinese
them or eliminate them. The territory of Yun-nan
administration to validate the Chinese invasion is already ours. It may appear that it was taken by
o f Vietnam in 1406. force. This is not so. The Liang Prince, who was the
T h e successive emperors were depicted as grandson of the Yuan Emperor Shi-zu, using his claim
being imbued with a great benevolence. As the as a descendant of the Yuan court, gave shelter to our
personification o f the state, emperors obviously criminals, received our fugitives and lured away our
also had to be depicted in the official texts and in frontier guards. I'hus there was no other way but to
Chinese historiography generally, as peace-lovers. despatch an army to punish him.*
T h e M ing Em perors, regardless o f whether
T h e Chinese historiographical rhetoric thus
they were invading or withdrawing, acting on
even allows aggression against other polities to
their own initiative o f being forced into action,
be represented as benevolent actions. This rep­
were eternally manifesting benevolence, grace,
resentation o f benevolent actions is underlined
and concern. In an extension o f model family
by the fact that the emperor was frequently
relations, the perfect ruler in traditional Chinese
assisted in his preservation o f peace by Heaven.
society is depicted as treating the people both
It was the emperor’s task to pacify’ areas, ‘punish
within and outside the state as a father might
bandits’, or ‘soothe’ people.
treat his children. T h e Jia-jing Emperor advised
36 Asian Encounters

But the actions o f the Ming state were also Modern Representations of Ming
vaHdated by the role played by Chinese civiliza­ Military A ctions
tion. When reports from the Confucian schools
in Jiao-zhi (occupied Dai Viet) reached the Ming
The Occupation of Yun-nan by the Ming
capital in 1425, advising that little progress
had been made in education and suggesting You Zhong (Æ 4^ ), one o f modern Yun-nan’s
the appointment o f qualified instructors, the most prominent historians, describes in one

Emperor reportedly affirmed: ‘Using Chinese o f his works how the first M ing Em peror

ways to change y i (barbarian) ways— there is tried all manner o f peaceful pacification o f the
nothing more important than this’.* Yet— and region until he had no option bur ‘to dispatch

this is key— such rhetoric was a pretext and military forces in order to pacify Yunnan on the

Wang Gungwu (1984, 6) concludes that ‘there south-west border (You Zhong 1994, 3 3 7 ).
is no evidence o f a great urge to civilize people, T he ‘necessity’ o f military pacification’ echoes
whether they were Han Chinese or not’. almost without change, the terms used in the

A further justification or at least pretext Ming imperial annals, while depicting Yun-nan

for m ilitary actions was that C hinese texts as being on the border hides the fact that prior

represented non-Chinese persons, who were to the Ming it was beyond the borders o f China.
referred to in M ing texts variously as mayi T he invasion and destruction o f Lu-chuan in

y i 5^, d i , wi? 16, or fa n # , * in somewhat the 1430s and l4 4 0 s is represented by a prom­

non-human terms. T he ultimate denunciation inent Yun-nan scholar, the late Jiang Yingliang

in Chinese terms was that expressed in 1537: (1990, III, 150), as follows: T rom the time o f Si

‘The^/ and the like the birds and the beasts, Ke-fas uprising, Lu-chuan continually absorbed
are without human morality (M Such China’s territory and created disturbances. Later

rhetoric has a long tradition in China. Tang it invaded its neighbours in the four directions,

rhetoric on the Xiong-nu (Hsiung-nu) people not only bringing disaster to its own people but
is an apposite example: ‘T h e Hsiung-nu, with also bringing serious harm to the various peoples
their human faces and animal hearts are not o f o f neighbouring areas’. This ignored that fact
our kind ... their nature is such that they have that during the first reigns o f the M ing, the

no sense o f gratitude’. Mong Mao polity had been decimated by M ing

T h e depiction o f outsiders as less than forces and divided into multiple polities.

human validated action against them which

would otherwise have been considered immoral The Ming invasion of Dai Viet in 1406
or unjust. This is a strategy which has been In a 1988 article by Liao Xiaojian (1 9 8 8 ,1 1 -1 5 ),
adopted in many ages by many societies, often which adopts much o f the traditional rhetoric
in times o f war and som etim es in times o f in legitimating the Chinese invasion o f Dai Viç
peace, to allow policies o f aggression, expan­ tin 1406, it is claimed that the M ing expedition
sion, genocide, or oppression. T h e importance against Annam was launched as punishment
o f this rhetoric in the policies pursued by the {tao-fa fii) o f Annam for having transgressed
M ing state against other polities should not be the border, deceived the M in g co u rt, and
under-stated. ambushed the new ruler whom the Ming had
 Ming China's Violence 37

sent to Annam. T he terminology and rationale 1. The eunuch-led voyages at the beginning oi the
echo those o f the Ming texts and Liao concludes 15th century constituted only a proto-colonialism
that ‘the reason the Ming court attacked Annam as there was no real rule over a people or territory.
in 1406 is inseparably linked to the provocations There was rule over nodes and networks. The
military that constituted the force on which
initiated by Annam*. Here again a modern
the Ming armadas depended can thus be called
scholar uncritically cites 15th-century claims.
proto-colonial armies*, with their role being the
The Eunuch-led Voyages of the Early maintenance of the pax MingvÀiich provided the
Ming with political and, at least in some ways,
15th Century
economic advantage.
In the representation o f the voyages led by Zheng 2. The Ming invasion of Dai Viet is perhaps the
He and other eunuchs in the first third o f the 15th most obvious example of a colonial adventure.
century, modern Chinese scholars are anxious There was invasion, occupation, the imposition
to laud the voyages as manifesting ‘peace and of a military and civil administration, economic
friendship’ which ‘spread the prestige o f the Ming* exploitation, and domination from a court in the
capital of the dominating power. 'I’he colonial
(Chen 1987 ,4 6 2 ), and whereby ‘Ming Chengzu’s
armies, both Chinese and ‘native* were involved in
policy aimed at ensuring that the various countries
the original invasion, the provision of protection
o f the Southern Ocean and the Western Ocean
to the civil administrators, the suppression of
joindy enjoyed great peace attained success’ (Cai
armed rebellion, the expansion of tiie borders of
1995, V III, 87). In a more laudatory vein, Hong the province, and the growing of food to feed the
Huan-chun (1985, 2. 148) states: forces. The obvious decolonization which occurred
following the failure of this enterprise underlines
In the early Ming a fraternal and friendly foreign
its colonial nature.
policy was pursued, and in the development of
3. The Ming invasion and occupation of Yun-nan
friendship and economic relations with the countries
Tai polities during the 15th century was the most
of Asia and Africa, major achievements were realized.
successful of the colonial ventures examined, as
Zheng He*s voyages to the Western Ocean were a
many of the areas colonized during the Ming still
product of the early Ming’s friendly foreign policy,
form a part of the Peoples Republic of China today.
and they constituted a great event in the history of
There can be little doubt that these actions by the
Chinese-foreign friendship.
Ming rulers were colonial in nature. They involved
the use of huge military force to invade peoples
T h e essential intim idatory nature o f the
who were ethnically different from the Chinese,
missions is ignored, partly as the result o f the
to occupy their territory, to break that territory
topoi o f the M ing dynasty texts, but also as a
into smaller administrative units, to appoint
result o f modern Chinas political exigencies.
pliant rulers and advisers’, and to economically
exploit the regions so occupied. The colonial
Some C oncluding T houghts—T he Ming
armies employed in the enterprise comprised both
AND Colonialism
Chinese and indigenous people, and in many
Examining the set o f Ming policies and practices ways, the latter fulfilled the military needs of the
detailed above, it appears that there is quite Ming. These colonial armies provided the actual or
some basis for classifying them as the actions o f threatened violence necessary to maintain the Ming
colonial administration in the Tai areas ofYun-nan.
a colonial state.
38 Asian Encounters

But what o f these processes is known to 4. Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, \\xdin 189.14b-16a.
young Chinese persons who study their country’s 5. MingTai-zushi4u,]\x2xi 198.2a-b. This practice
history today? They read the rhetoric o f Chinese of claiming reparations from the polity one attacks
historiography portraying just and benevolent became an integral part of many later colonialisms.
6. M ing Tai-zu shi-lu , juan 2 5 5 -2a—b and
rulers punishing ‘bandits’ ( â Î W ) , pacifying
255.8a-b.
areas, soothing (ÎË) polities, and instruct­
7. M ingTai-zongshi-luy]uzn 15.2a and 16.3a.
ing (pÉ) recalcitrants— all manifestly desirable
8 . Ming Tai-zushi'iu/\uzn \90.5h.
actions in maintaining social order. The rhetoric
9. A Chinese unit of weight, often referred to
o f Chinese historiography thereby hides com­ as a ‘Chinese ounce*. During the Ming, it averaged
pletely the many aspects o f Chinese aggression, 37 grams.
exploitation, and incorporation o f border polities 10. Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, jm n 17.6a.
and peoples, h is thus that many young Chinese 11. Located in Teng-yue Subprefecture, west
o f today cannot conceive o f their state as having of Baoshan in what is today'lengchong. Approximately
aggressed against, economically exploited or 160 km north of Bhamo and 150 km southeast
incorporated lands beyond China. Such ‘tyranny ofMyitkyina. See Liew Foon Ming (1998, II, 94-5).
o f Chinese historiography is premised on the 12. Previously known as the Jin-chi (Golden
rhetorical devices described above. Teeth) Guard. Located in what is today Bao-shan.
See Liew Foon Ming (1998. 11. 91-2).
Examination o f the colonial experience in the
13. Ming Tai-zongshi-lu,}uzn 23.4b.
world has long remained limited to the period
14. M ing Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 16.3a. These
o f European expansion. The discussion above,
polities lie in the southwest o f the modern province
even if not sufficient to sway all readers to all o f
of Yun-nan,
its argument, should at least open an avenue for
15. Ming Tai-zongshi-lu, juan 53.2b.
recognizing that in investigating colonialism, we 16. Ming Tai-zong shi-luy juan 32.1a.
need to extend the existing temporal limits and 17. Ming Tai-zong shi-luy juan 49.1a-b.
include within our considerations the actions 18. Ming Tai-zongshi-lu, juan 82.1a-b.
o f the successive polities we know under the 19. Ming Tai-zongshi-luy juan 35.2b.
rubric ‘China*. 20. Ming Tai-zongshi-luy juan 55.1b.
21. Much like the advisers appointed to assist the
Notes rulers of the Malay States by the British.
22. See, for example, Ming Tai-zongshi-lu, 17.6a.
1. M ing Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 39.1b. Another
23. Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 57.2a-b.
reference to Yun-nan as a country can be found at
24. MingXuan-zongshi-lu,]\xzn 106.2a-b. 106.5a
Tai'zu shi4u, juan 53.9a-b.
and 106.7b.
2. Ming Tai-zu shi4u, ]\x2.n I38.5a-b.
25. MingXuan-zong shi-lu/)u^n 106.7a-b.
3. For much of the Ming, in addition to being
26. MingXuan-zongshi-lu/]\i7m 106.7b
a provincial designation, the term ‘Yun-nan* was a
17. MingXuan-zong shi-luy ]u3iV\ 106.8a.
generic term for areas to the Southwest, extending
28. Located in what is today western Yun-nan
as far as knowledge extended. In this respect, Yun­
and northern Burma.
nan was somewhat like the term ‘the West’ in the
29. Ying-zongshi-luy juan 44.7b.
European movement across the Northern American
30. Ying-zongshi-lu, juan 51.7a-b.
continent in the 18th and 19th centuries.
31. Ying-zongshi-luy juan 73.1 lb-12a.
 Ming China's Violence 39

32. Ying-zong shi4us juan 75.6a 64. Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 68.3b-7a.
33. Ying-zongshi-lu, juan 86.6a-7b and 88.8a-9b. 65- Ming Tai-zong shi-lu^ juan 67.3b—4a, dated
34. Ying'zong shi'luy juan 94.7b. CO the equivalent o f 26 June 1407.

35. Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 127.1b. 66. Ming Tai-zongshi4u, juan 71.6a.
36. Ih e policy known in Shan as Mong Yang 67. Ming Tai-zongshi-lu,]\x2iri 80.3b-4a.
or Mong Kawng and in Burmese as Mohnyin or 68. The imponance ofVietnamese maritime trade
Mogaung. in this period is underlined in Momoki Shiro (1998).
37. Ying-zong shi-lu, ]uan 164. 5a-6a. 69. Ming Tai-zong Shi-lu, juan 82.5a-b.
38. Ying-zong shi-lu, ]\x^n 164.5a-6a. 70. Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 81.7b.
39. Ying-zong shi‘lu,]u2in 175.8b. 71. Ming Tai-zongshi4u, juan 77.3b.
40. Ying-zong shi-lu,]nzn 179.7b-8a. 72. Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 84.4b-5a.
41. Ying-zongi/?/-/«,juan 241.4b-5a. 73. Ming Tai-zongshi4u, juan 86.6b-7a.
42. Ming Ying-zong shi-luy ]\xzT\ 156.1a. 74. For a biography of Zhang Fu, see the entry
43. Ming Ying-zong shi-lu,]uzn 189.3b. compiled by Wang Gungwu (1976, 64-7).
44. Ming Shi-zong shi-lu, juan 9.13a. 75. Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, 152.2b.
45. Ming Shen-zongshi-lu^ juan 338,4b-5b. 76. Ming tai-zong shi-lu, juan 68.8b-9a.
46. MingTai-zongshi4u,\\xzx\ 15.2a and 16.3a; 77. This is part of a connected string of characters
and Ming Ying-zong shi-lu^ juan 24.2b-3a. used by children when learning to write in Chinese.
47. Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 31.5a-b. 78. See Ong Eng Ann (2010, 157).
48. Ming Tai-zongshi-luy juan 49.1a-b. 79. For example, see Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan
49. M ing Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 233.4b and 73.5a.
235.1b-2a. 80. Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 145.2b and juan
50. M ingShi-zong shi-luy juan 482.8b-9a, 163.1b.
5 1. Ming Shen-zong shi-luy juan 261.4b. 81. Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, j uan 190.1 a-2a
52. M ingTai-zu shi-lu/]\x2in 198.2a-b. 82. Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, \\xzn 196.1b.
53. Ming Tai'zu shi4u, juan 210.3a. 83. Ming Tai-zongshi4u, juan 204.1b.
54. Ming Tai-zong shi-luy juan 94.5a-b. 84. MingXuan-zong shi-lu, 15.1b-2a.
55. Ming Ying-zong shi-luy juan 76.4b. 85. M ingXuan-zongshi-lu, ]\xzx\ 15.8a-b.
56. MingYing-zongshi-lu/]\x2in 103.2a. 86. MingXuan-zongshi-lu, ]\izn 16.1a-b.
57. Ming Ying-zong shi-lu,)\xzx\ 152.2b-3a. 87. MingXuan-zongshi4u,]\x^n 17.11b-12a.
58. Ming Ying-zongshi-lu/]\xzn 175.6b-7a. 88. MingXuan-zongshi-lu, juan 32.9b-10a.
59. Ming Tai-zongshi-lu, juan 52.6a-7a. 89. Ming Xuan-zong shi4u, juan 33.1a-b.
60. Ih cse were non-Chinese troops under the 90. Ming Xuan-zong shi-lu, juan 51.3b-4a.
native offices’ of Guang-xi. Likely people who are 91. In their victory memorial co che chrone,
today called Zhuang and Yao. che Ming commanders who had captured Dai Vi^t
61. A shi is approximately equivalent to a claimed that 7 million of the Vietnamese forces had
hectolitre. been killed. See Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 68.3b-7a. Even
62. M ing Tai-zong shi-lu^ juan 60.1a-4a. This allowing for the rhetoric, other reports of the Ming
figure o f 8,000,000 cited in the M ing shi-lu may invasion suggest huge mortality on both sides.
well be an exaggeration. Whitmore claims a figure of 92. In 1407, 7,700 tradesmen and artisans,
215,000 was more likely See Whitmore (1985, 89).
including gun-founders, were forcibly transported
63. Ming Tai-zong shi4uy juan 62.3a-b. See also from Annam to the Ming capital at modern Nan-jing.
Whitmore (1985, 91-2). [Tai-zongshi-lu, juan 71.6a).
40 Asian Encounters

93. The eunuchs sent to Jiao-zhi (the occupied and settlement in the Atlantic Islands; and a coastal
Dai Viet) and to Yun-nan by the Ming Emperors were network with less violence on the coast of Guinea)
also engaged in collection of precious stones, gold, and more commerce, and suggest that the initial phase
and pearls. A later reference from 1459 suggests that of their ‘Asian venture' involved variants of all three,
the obtaining of gold was a major task of the eunuch- llie Ming seem to have followed something closest
led voyages. See Ying-zongshi-lu, juan 307.3b. to the Guinea model.
94. Tai-zong shiAuy juan 43.3b. 113. MingYing-zongshi-luy \uzn 190.12b-13a.
95. Ming Tai-zong shi-luy juan 279.1 a. 114. Ming Shi-zong shi-luy juan 268.3a-b.
96. The claims that some of Zheng He’s ships 115. M ingXuan-zong sh i-lu y juan 52.10b-l lb,
were 450 feet in length have generally been regarded 116. Ming Ying-zongshi-luy juan 46.6a-b.
as nautically impossible. For some literature relating 117. Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 244.2b-4a
to the debate over the size of Zheng Hes ships, see 118. Xuan-zong shi-lu, juan 3.12b-13a.
Finlay (1991, 1-12; 3-11). 119. All disparaging monikers which might be
97. Mills (1970. 31). considered to represent a diversity of the uncivilized’,
98. Xuan-zong5hi-lu/]\izn2G.l2i. the ‘barbaric*, or more generally those outside of
99. Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 71.1a. Chinese culture,
100. Tai-zong shi-lit, juan 71 -5a. 120. Ming Shi-zong shi-lu/]\xzn 199.6b-7b.
101. Tai-zong shi-iu, juan 143.1 b. 121. Cited in Wang (1982, 49).
102. A Chinese unit of weight, often referred to 122. This is further underpinned by a graphic
as a ‘Chinese ounce*. During the Ming, it averaged (script) system which precludes all possibilities other
37 grams. than the benevolent Chinese state being at the centre
103. Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 71.6a-b. of the political and moral system represented in that
104. The phonetics suggest Nawrahta, but script. Korea, Japan, and Vietnam have partially
this name does not accord with existing lists of escaped this tyranny by the subsequent invention of
Burman rulers. their own scripts, but those who have been incor­
105- Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 94.5b. porated within the Chinese political, cultural, and
106. Possibly Vira Alakesvara (Alagakkonara). writing systems have been left with little alternative.
the chief minister under Bhuvanekabahu V (ruled
1372-1408). See De Silva (1987, 94-5). Bibliography
107. Tai-zong shi-luy]\idx\. 116.2a-b.
Cai Meibiao Zhongguo tongshi 4^ i(l 0
108. Tai-zong shi-lti, \\x2ii\ 130.1b-2a.
vols). Hong Kong: Sanlianshudian, 1995.
109. Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 118.4a.
Chen Jiarong. Zhongwaijiaotongshi \U^
110. Tai-zong shi-lu, ]\xzn IGS.la-b.
Hong Kong: Xuejinshudian, 1987.
111. For a likely romantic account o f the
De Silva, Chandra Richard. Sri Lanka: A History. New
origins of Su-kan-la, see the account of Samudera in
Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1987.
Ying-yai sheng-lan. This has been translated in
Finlay, Robert. ‘The Treasure Ships of Zheng He:
Mills (1970, 116-7). Chinese Maritime Imperialism in the Age of
112. For a periodized study o f Portuguese
\y\sco\txy .Terrae Incognitael5 (1991): 1-12.
maritime expansion, see Subrahmanyam and Thomaz
Hong Huanchun.i^'i^t#. ‘Mingchu duiwai you-
( 1991.298-331). Subrahmanyam and Thomaz detail
haoguanxi yu Zheng He xia Xiyang* 0/]
three models of imperial organization (a network
In Jinian weidahanghaijia
of coastal fortresses in an endemic state of war in
Zheng He xia Xiyang 580 zhounian choubeiwei-
north Africa; agrarian and territorial colonization
yuanhui, ed., Zheng He xia Xiyanglunwenji ^
 Ming China's Violence 41

fn Nanjing: Nanjing daxue Sun Laichen, eds Southeast Asia in the Fifteenth
chubanshe, 1985. Century: The China Factor, 154-65. Singapore:
Jiang Yingliang.iXßi®. Zhongguo minzu s h i't* H R NUS Press, 2010.
(3 vols). Beijing: Minzu chubanshc, 1990. Pearson, Michael N. ‘Merchants and States’, In James
Liao Xiaojian./^d'*{it.‘Lun 1406 nian Ming chao D. Tracy, ed.. The Political Economy o f Merchant
yu Annan zhanzheng de yuanyin' ifel406 Empires: State Power and World Trade 1350-1750,
zhinaim^MYA 4 I - 1 16. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
(1988); 11-15. 1991.
Liew Foon Ming.'The Luchuan-Pingmian Cam­ Subrahmanyam, Sanjay and Luis Filipe F.R.Thomaz.
paigns (1436-1449) in the Light of Official ‘Evolution of Empire: The Portuguese in the
Chinese Flistoriography.OnVw Extremus 39, no. Indian Ocean during the Sixteenth Century*.
2 (1996): 162-203. In James D. Tracy, ed., The Political Economy o f
----------. The Treatises on Military Affairs o f the Ming Merchant Empires: State Power and World Trade
Dynastic History, (1 3 6 8-1644): An Annotated 1350-1750, 298-331. Cambridge: Cambridge
Translation o f the Treatises on M ilitary Affairs» University Press, 1991.
chapter 89 and chapter 90: Supplemented by the Sun Laichen. Chinese Military Technology and Dai
Treatises on Military Affairs o f the D rafi o f the Ming Viet 1390-1497. ARI Research Institute Working
Dynastic History: A Documentation ofM ing-Qing Paper No, 11. Singapore; Asia Research Institute,
Historiography and the Decline and Fall o f the Ming 2003.
Empire. Flamburg: Gesellschaft fürNatur- und Wang Gungv^. 1976. ‘Zhang Fu. In L. Carrington
Völkerkunde Ostasiens, 1998. Goodrich and Chaoying Fang, eds. Dictionary o f
Mills, J.V.G. Ma Huan: Ying-yai Sheng-lan: The Ming Biography 1368-1644, 64-7. New York:
O verall Survey o f the O ceans Shores' (¡433)^ Columbia University Press, 1976.
Cambridge; Published for Flakluyt Society by ----------. T h e Rhetoric of a Lesser Empire; Early Sung
Cambridge University Press, 1970. Relations With Its Neighbours’. In Morris Rossabi,
Momoki Shiro, ‘Dai Viet and the South China ed., C hina Among Equals, 47-65* Berkeley:
Sea Trade: From the 10th to the 15th Century’. University of California Press, 1982.
Crossroads 12, no. 1 (1998); 1-34. ----------. ‘The Chinese Urge to Civilize: Reflections
MingshiAu (ö jj^ :^ ). Taipei: Institute of History and on Change’. Journal o f Asian History 18 (1984);
Philology, Academia Sinica, 1963-8. 1-34.
Ming Ying-zongshi-lu [Veritable Records of the Ying- Whitmore, John K. Vietnam, Ho (^uy Ly and the
zong Emperor]. Taipei: Academia Sinica, 1963-7. M ing(1371-1421). New Haven: Yale Centre for
Ong Eng Ann, Alexander. ‘Contextualising the International and Area Studies, 1985.
Book-burning Episode During the Ming Invasion You Zhong. ^ 4^ . Yunnan minzu shi
and Occupation of Vietnam*. In Geoff Wade and Kunming; Yunnan daxue chubanshe, 1994.
Political Connectivities and Conflicts
 CHAPTER 3

Gifts from Other Lands

Southeast Asian Religious Endowments in India

U pinder Singh

The starting point o f this paper is a dissatisfaction from one extreme (powerful, highly centralized
with the insularity o f most histories o f the Indian states) to the other (weak, fragmented, highly
subcontinent, an insularity which is astonishing decentralized p olities). U nfortunately, the
considering the enormous historical importance critique o f statist histories’ has meant that an
from very early times o f the interactions across overestimation o f the power o f early Indian states
the various regions o f what we now call Asia’ has been replaced by a serious underestimation
and ‘Europe*. From the perspective o f the o f their capacities and impact. In the Southeast
historiography o f early South-Southeast Asia Asian context too, questions have been raised
interactions in Indian scholarship, the demise about the nature o f early political systems, and
o f the problematic ‘Greater India’ frame was there has been a greater sensitivity than in the
followed by many decades o f a virtual neglect Indian context to the need to carefully examine
o f this im portant historical issue. Although the conceptual vocabulary and apparatus that is
trade links consistently received attention, the used when describing early states and empires.*
manifestations, mechanisms, and complexities Recent scholarship has been more attentive to
o f the larger range o f cultural interactions are the self-representations o f premodern political
still very inadequately explored and understood. structures in literary, epigraphic, and monumen­
T h e political dimension is an important part tal sources. Such an approach can be extended
o f the historical context o f Asian interactions, towards a better understanding o f the nature
and changes in perspectives on ancient and medi­ o f political interactions between ancient states
eval polities therefore have a direct bearing on the across the regions o f Asia. Examining the web
subject. In the Indian context, the understanding o f these political interactions requires adopting
o f ancient and medieval empires has swung multiple perspectives rooted in different aspects
46 Asian Encounters

o f the histories oi the various South and South­ T he G ift by a ^ailendra K ing at NAlandA
east Asian geo-political units involved. Further,
Nalanda fell within the political circuit o f the Pala
although we should be aware o f the constraints
kings in the early medieval period and already
involved in travel and communication in ancient
seems to have had an Asian renown by the mid-1st
times, we should nor underestimate the level o f
millennium CE. Apart from being on the itinerary
rrans-regional awareness and interactions. In
o f Chinese monks such as Xuanzang, a Korean
fact, the evidence clearly indicates that ancient
inscription refers to the I3th/l4th century Indian
monarchs were much more clued into what was
monk Tinabotuo being trained and ordained
happening in distant regions than we might
at Nalanda prior to travelling to Beijing (Sen
expect them to be.
[2003] 2004, 107). The accounts o f Taranatha
This paper takes up one theme in a much
and Dharmasvamin testify to the connections of
larger, very complex story— religious endow­
Tibetan monks with the place. Here, we are par­
ments made by Southeast Asian rulers in India.^
ticularly concerned with a specific inscription— the
T he basic ‘facts about these trans-regional gifts
Nalanda copp>er plate o f Devapala (Shastri 1923—4;
are well known, and historians have generally
Majumdar 1926). W hen analysing this mid-9th
interpreted them as manifestations o f religious
century inscription, we should also keep in mind
diplomacy reflecting commercial and/or political
the larger cultural context o f interactions between
interests.^ The contention o f this paper is that
Bengal and Southeast Asia, which included trade
a close reading o f the inscriptions recording
and artistic exchange.
such endowments is necessary in order to fully
T h e Nalanda copper plate inscription (66
understand the meanings attached to them
lines o f Sanskrit in the Siddhamatrika script)
by those involved in the transactions. T h e
records a grant o f five villages by the Pala king
carefully crafted phraseology o f the inscriptions
Devapaladeva in his 39th regnal year, at the
in fact reveals certain important underlying
request o f m aharaja Balaputradeva, the Sailendra
assumptions about the ideas and relationships
ruler o f SuvarnadvTpa/Yavabhumi (both the
that were central to these grants. I'h e questions
terms occur) in favour o f a monastery built by
that are raised in this paper include: how are the
the latter at Nalanda. T h e Sailendra dynasty
making o f such gifts and their significance rep­
was based in central Java. W hile several scholars
resented in the idiom o f inscriptional discourse,
have identified Suvarnadvipa/Yavabhumi with
and what do the details o f the inscriptional
Srivijaya, this equation is not free from doubt.
discourse tell us about the act o f making such
Balaputradeva’s request was com m unicated
gifts? Is it possible to look at the phenomenon
through an unnamed envoy or envoys. T he
o f religious endowments from the intersection o f
income from the villages was to provide for the
multiple perspectives— from those o f Indian and
various needs o f the bhiksus living there, for the
Southeast Asian political histories, commerce,
writing o f the dham ia-ratn as (Buddhist texts),
and diplomacy, and the histories o f religions
and for the maintenance o f the monastery. This
and regions? These questions are addressed here
inscription can be placed in the 9th century CE."^
through an analysis o f the epigraphic records o f
Although the inscription follows the general
gifts made by Southeast Asian rulers at Nalanda,
pattern o f the Pala land grants, certain aspects
Bodh Gaya, and Nagapattinam.
are noteworthy in the context o f the present
 Gifts from Other Lands 47

discussion. It was a substantial grant— five The name o f his mother Tara is given, but that
whole villages in two districts. T h e im por­ o f his father is not specified.
tance o f the gift is also indicated by the fact T h e asymmetry becomes even clearer when
that the du ta (messenger) was an important we compare the royal epithets. Devapala has the
person, namely Balavarman, the overlord o f titles o f political paramountcy— param esvara,
Vyaghratl-mandaia, who is likened to the right param abhattdraka, and m ahdrajadhiraja. Balapu­
hand o f the reigning Pala king/fhere are also other tra, on the other hand, is a mere m aharaja. In the
unnamed envoys— line 37 refers to a du taka who pecking order represented by royal epithets, the
orally conveyed Balaputras request to Devapala, ideas conveyed (delicately, but very definitely)
while line 63 refers to dutas in the plural. by the composer o f the prasasti are: the king o f
T h e in scrip tio n co n tain s two separate, Suvarnadvipa may have been a paramount king
sequential prasastis (eulogies) o f the rwo kings in his own geo-political sphere (or m andala), but
involved in the transaction, and there is no was not one in the m andala o f eastern India. He
direct statement about their relationship in terms was not a subordinate o f the Pala king, but an
o f paramountcy, subordination, or alliance. independent, respectable contemporary whose
However, the comparison o f the eulogies o f might and glory and level o f paramountcy, even
Devapala and Balaputra leave no doubt that in his own m an dala, were not to be considered
the charter (no doubt composed and inscribed equivalent to that o f the Pala king. There is a
under the direction o f the Pala court) aimed at certain blending o f attributes o f the two kings,
exalting the former and his lineage much more but the descriptions also have a subtle asymme­
than the latter. The level o f detail and specificity try. It is the level and extent o f hyperbole that
in the prasasti o f the Pala king is far greater than is the key to understanding the nature of the
that o f the Sailendra king.^ The content o f the relationship that the inscription inscribes. O f
eulogistic verses confirms the inference that can course we are looking at how this relationship
be made on the basis o f the number o f lines was represented by the Pala court panegyrist.
and verses. Balaputra is praised and that too Balaputras version, if there had been one, may
using some o f the standard imagery associated well have been very different.
with the ideal ruler in the Pala prasastis— there Devapala and Balaputra do have one impor­
is reference to his martial prowess, and to his tant thing in common— they are both described
fame pervading the universe and being equal to as devotees o f the Buddha.^ T he grant fits in
that o f the Mahabharata heroes. This ruler o f with what we know about the strong Buddhist
Yavabhumi or Suvarnadvipa is described as an element in the personal religious orientation and
expert in crushing the pride o f the rulers o f the patronage policy o f the Palas and Sailendras.^
world. Devapala, for his part, is said to have ruled T he gift is described as a pious, meritorious
from the Himalaya to the ocean, conquered the act {dharm m ddhikara, line 51; kirtti\ line 65)
earth up to the ocean, and subdued the whole that would set up virtue all over the world. An
world. But beyond this, symmetry makes way for important aspect o f the inscription is who the
asymmetry in panegyric: there is less specificity merit arising from the gift was supposed to go
about the precise nature o f Balaputras greatness, to. Line 37 states that the villages were granted
and the details o f his lineage are rather meagre. for the increase in the merit [punya) and fame
48 Asian Encounters

iyasas) o f Devapala and his parents. O n the various activities sponsored there by Kyanzittha.
other hand, verse 33 may perhaps (there is some These included sending jewels o f various kinds
ambiguity here) suggest that Baiaputra, having in a ship (this indicates a sea expedition) in
made the request to Devapala through envoys, order to finance various activities, namely to
made the grant for the welfare (hitodaydya) o f repair the temple; to buy some land and dig a
himself, his parents, and the world. If this is the tank and make dams/embankments/channels
case, the inscription suggests a sharing between for irrigating the surrounding land (presumably
the two kings o f the merit accruing from the this was land under the control o f the temple);
gift. This would then actually be considered a to make provisions for the burning o f perpetual
joint donation, both in terms o f the donors and candles in the temple; to present various musical
the merit-recipients, by two kings who describe instrum ents includ ing xylophones; and to
themselves as devotees o f the Buddha. arrange for singing and dancing that was finer
It should be noted that the 9th century than ever before.^ There is no reference to any
Nalanda copper plate represents the earliest Indian ruler or monk in this inscription.
endowment by a Southeast Asian ruler in the Another inscription recording Burmese activi­
su bcontinent. It should also be noted that ties at Bodh Gaya was found at Bodh Gaya itself
Balaputras mind is described as having been It is a late 13th century epigraph, inscribed on a
attracted by the many excellences o f Nalanda grey basalt slab (20* X 18’) embedded in the east
(verse 32). This indicates the fame and eminence wall o f the monastic compound (Cunningham
that this monastic centre had achieved in this 1892, 7 6 -7 7 ; Mitra [1878] 1972, 2 0 6 -0 7 ; Ko,
part o f Southeast Asia by the 9th century. 1 9 1 1 -1 2 ; Luce 1976, 4 0 -2 ). T he language is
Burmese o f the Arakanese type and the script
T he Burmese E ndowments at Bodh G ayA belongs to the Burmese lapidary variety called
We now shift our focus to the long history o f Kyouktsa (or stone letters). There are several
Burmese interventions at Bodh Gaya. W hat different published readings and interpretations
is most interesting is that some o f the various o f this inscription. T h e epigraph was earlier
Burmese ‘repairers’ o f the temple refer to the believed to record a mission sent by a ruler o f
forgetting and remembering o f previous rounds Arakan (or his overlord, the king o f Pagan) to
o f activity at the site. Further, we are not only carry out repairs to the temple.*^ Ko (1 9 1 1 -1 2 ,
looking at activities that affected the physical 119) suggests that the benefactions made to the
structure o f temple, but which also involved the Bodh Gaya temple may have been made for the
land that lay in its hinterland, and the worship spiritual benefit o f Alaungsithu (the successor
chat was going on in the shrine. o f Kyanzittha), who was the king o f Pagan and
T h e first piece o f evidence com es from the overlord o f the Arakanese ruler. He further
Myanmar— an inscription belonging to the reign suggests that these benefactions may have been
o f Kyanzittha, king o f Pagan (c. 1084-1111),^ one o f the conditions o f the restoration o f
found at the Shwesandaw Pagoda in Pyay. This Letyamengnan to the Arakanese throne due to
epigraph refers to the temple (it is referred to as the intercession o f Kyanzittha. O n the other
the temple o f $ri Bajras, that is the vajrdsand) hand, Stargardt suggests that the repair project
having been destroyed by other kings, and to may have been initiated by Kyanzittha and
 Gifts from Other Lands 49

completed by his Arakanese vassal, and suggests cups and garments; and two children styled as
that it shows the intersection o f the religious the donor’s son and daughter. Further, in order
and commercial interests o f Burmese rulers.^* to provide for perpetual daily offering o f rice at
However, Gordon H. Luce (1976) asserts that the temple, land, slaves and cattle were bought
this inscription has been repeatedly misread and dedicated to the shrine. The donor asserts
and misinterpreted. According to his revised that he had made this meritorious gift so that he
reading and translation, which we can accept, could attain nirvana and attain sainthood when
the mission was dispatched by the ‘Lord o f the Buddha Maitreya arrived.
the W hite Elephant,’ a king whose identity is T h e inscription shows an awareness o f a
unclear. Citing Luce and Ba Shin’s reading o f temple established much earlier at Bodh Gaya
the text, A. B. Griswold (1965, 176, fn 5; 177) by Asoka and mentions two rounds o f disrepair
suggests that this might be a reference to king and repair, giving details o f the second one. The
Tarukplyi or more likely his son Kiawcwa, or to Burmese activities at Bodh Gaya recorded here
a crown prince named Klacwa. seem to have lasted at least two years. It should
On the basis o f Luce’s translation, the purport be noted that Burma has a long tradition o f
o f the inscription is as follows: W hen 21 8 years kings ‘repairing’ shrines. It is unlikely that a
o f the Buddha’s dispensation had elapsed, one distinction was made between repair, embel­
o f the 8 4 ,0 0 0 caityas built by Siri Dhammasoka lishm ent, renovation and adding additional
(that is, the Maurya emperor Asoka), king o f elements or structures to a temple complex.
Jambudvipa, at the place where the milk-rice However, Griswold (1 9 7 6 , 1 9 5 -2 0 0 ) argues
offering had made (a clear reference to Sujatas that although the two early repair missions
offering o f pdyasa to Siddhartha at Bodh Gaya) made many changes (and he details what these
fell into ruin due to the stress o f age and time.^^ might have consisted o f), the Burmese must
A senior p a h sa k u m onk repaired the caitya. have respected the basic structure o f Mahabodhi.
Thereafter, it fell into ruin again. T h e ‘King W hile the inscription refers to che extension o f
o f the Law’, ‘Lord o f the W hite Elephant’ sent some financial help towards the repair project
his dcdrya Dharmarajaguru to repair it, and the by a local ruler, it is dominated by an account
latter took along his pupil Siri Kassapa. W hen o f the Burmese benefactors and their activities.
the finances were found to be insufficient, at T he audience o f the inscription was Burmese,
the request o f a Vanavasi monk, Putasin Man as is evident from the Burmese language and
(that is, Buddhasena, who seems to have been script used in it. This gift had nothing to do wich
a local ruler) extended a helping hand, which establishing or furthering diplomatic relations
seems to have involved financial assistance. The with any Indian power. It has to be understood
work was thereafter resumed and continued against the background o f the nature o f the state
from 1296 till 1298 CE. T he inscription goes and kingship in Pagan where wars o f conquest
on to give details o f the dedication ceremony were represented as quests for Buddhist relics
that was held when the work was completed. and where the relationship between the state
This included offerings o f flags and streamers; and the Buddhist sahgha was a key element in
thousands o f offerings o f rice alms and lamps; a the political system.*^ T he kings o f Pagan had
kalpavrksa adorned with gold and silver flowers, a close relationship with Sri Lanka, which was
50 Asian Encounters

the place where monks were periodically sent A few additional pieces o f evidence from the
to be ‘purified.’ Simultaneously, the monarchy site can be cited here, many o f them assembled
sought to establish connections with India. by B. M, Barua. The Burmese were not the only
Apart from the intrinsic importance o f Bodh ones to make their presence felt at Bodh Gayä;
Gayä as the place o f Siddharthas enlightenment there were Sri Lankan, Chinese, and Tibetan
in the Buddhist tradition, the geographical interventions as well. The earliest recorded set o f
proximity and the long history o f trade inter­ such activities took place in the 7th or 8th century,
actions between Burma and eastern India form and the person responsible was Prakhyatakirtti, a
the broader context o f the choice o f this site Sri Lankan monk who had genealogical connec­
for the interventions and donative activities o f tions with the islands ruling family. A Sanskrit
Burmese rulers. inscription indicates that his activities involved
Another issue o f interest is the condition at building a new temple next to the vajräsana (to
Bodh Gayä at the time when this gift was made. the west o f it and the great temple), provisions
Although there is mention o f some financial for repair, the gift o f 100 cows for a perpetual
help being obtained from a local ruler who lamp to be placed before the brass image o f the
was evidendy not inimical towards Buddhism, Buddha in the monastery, and the d ic in g o f a
there is no reference to any interaction with water reservoir and the laying out o f a field for
members o f a local sahgha, suggesting that this the provision o f the monks’ needs (Barua [1934
may have been a relatively ‘fallow’ period in the 1975, II, 42). Further, five 11th century Chinese
institutional control over the shrine and the area. inscriptions have also been found at Bodh Gayä,
A 12th century inscription at Bodh Gayä refers recording gifi^ by Chinese monks, including those
to the Siiighala sahgha at Mahabodhi,*^ and o f stone stupas and a stone slab inscribed with
suggests the possibility o f an inflow o f income a hymn o f praise to the Buddha (Cunningham
derived from Sri Lankan pilgrims at around this 1 8 9 2 ,6 7 -7 4 ). One o f these inscriptions states that
time. This does not necessarily indicate that the the monk in question had been sent to gift the
shrine was the focus o f heavy pilgrim traffic in stone stùpa at the command o f the Song emperor,
the 12th-13th centuries, but simply that it was indicating that Bodh Gayä was also attracting the
dominated by a monastic order o f Sri Lankan patronage o f East Asian elites.
affiliation. Actually, the detailed long-term Apart from the Burmese inscriptions men­
history o f pilgrimage activity at Bodh Gayä tioned above, Burmese elements in certain brick
remains to be written.*^ inscriptions and sculptures are suggestive o f the
T h e 13th cen tu ry Burm ese in scrip tio n presence and activities o f Burmese artisans at
at Bodh Gayä has to be seen in the context the site (Barua [1931] 1975, I, 2 0 6 -1 2 ). The
o f several larger histories— o f long-standing importance o f Bodh Gayä for Burmese kings is
India— Burmese commercial interactions;*^ o f further indicated by the building o f a 16th/17th
the intertwining o f religious and commercial century ‘Mahäbodhi’ temple at Mrauk U, the
interests and activities, pilgrimage and donative ancient capital o f Arakan. H tilo M inio, who
activities at Bodh Gayä; and especially o f the ruled from Pagan in the 13th century, in fact built
place o f royal patronage o f Buddhism in Burmese in his capital city a temple that was modelled on
traditions o f kingship over many centuries. the celebrated Bodh Gayä shrine. A 15th century
 Gifts from Other Lands 51

and an early 19th century king are known to have described. The expected merit o f the gift was that
dispatched missions to Bodh Gaya to take plans the king might become a Buddha himself, and
o f the bodhi tree and o f the temple, to serve as he shared the merit arising out his good deeds
models for shrines to be built in Burma.'** with his parents and ancestors.
T he Burmese engagement with Bodh Gaya Apart from the actual gifts that they record,
seems to have become especially intense in the the inscriptions on the obverse o f the slab tell a
19th century. Apart from the activities o f the remarkable story, beginning with the event o f
mission m entioned above (sent in 1810 by Gautamas enlightenment. We are told that the
King Bodawpaya), three inscriptions at Bodh king heard through yogis and Brahmins who
Gaya testify to further Burmese activities at came from India about a bodhi tree near the bank
the site. T h e first was (the stone is apparently o f the Narinzara river at Gaya in the Magadha
now lost) inscribed on a bevel-rimmed marble kingdom; he heard that there was a temple built
slab (perhaps imported from Italy) mounted by Asoka at the spot where the W azira than (that
on two iron frames in front o f the Baradwari is vajrdsana) stood, and that there was also a
o f the monastery. O n the obverse o f the stone Burmese inscription there recording the repair
was a long inscription (M itra [1878] 1972, o f the temple in year 657 (o f the Burmese era o f
2 1 1 -2 7 )— a bilingual record consisting o f 14 6 3 8 , that is in 1295). The king put two and two
lines comprising two corrupt Sanskrit’ stanzas together, seeing that the descriptions that he had
followed by lines in corrupt Pali\ and the Nagari heard were similar to those given in the books,
script. This was followed by an inscription in and sumrised that this must be none other than
32 lines in the Burmese language (the modern the place o f the Buddhas enlightenment. The
vernacular o f Ava) and script; on the reverse tree is then described, and we are told that the
was another Burmese inscription consisting o f king did homage to it from a distance, and then
39 lines. All these inscriptions are inter-related. dispatched his gifts after performing a dedication
T he first Burmese inscription is supposedly a ceremony. W hat we have here is a reference in a
rendering o f the Sanskrit/Pali inscription; the 19th century Burmese inscription to the earlier
second Burmese inscription deals with the same Burmese inscription o f the 12th/13th century
donation, but there are differences in the level inscription discussed above! T his inscription
o f detail. It is not clear why two inscriptions also suggests that the connections between the
narrating slightly different versions o f the same Buddha, Asoka, Bodh Gaya, and the earlier
events were inscribed on the same stone slab. A Burmese gift had been forgotten and recon­
few interesting aspects o f this set o f inscriptions structed. It is not clear whether the forgetting
can be noted: The main purport is to record that and remembering are to be taken literally or
a Burmese king titled T hiti Pavara Suddhama whether this was a way o f emphasizing the
m ah d rajad h iraja sent by land and water, via dramatic nature o f the donors gifts.
Arakan, hispu roh ita and minister with offerings T h e second Burm ese inscription on the
for the bodhi tree in year 1183 o f the Burmese era reverse o f the marble slab gives more details about
(o f63 8 ; that is in 1822) and that before doing every aspect— the Buddha and his dhammay the
so, the king, along with his queen, performed Burmese king, the inquiries he made and who his
a long-distance dedication ceremony which is informants were, his keenness to make offerings
52 Aslan Encounters

to the tree like his royal ancestors Asoka, Piyat- activities o f the ‘Burmese gentlemen who were
issa, and Kaliiiga, and his sending his priest and trying to ‘repair* the temple. They were politely
men to make the gift. The names o f the minister asked to leave by the British government (Singh
composers o f the two Burmese inscriptions are 2 0 0 4 , 2 2 0 -1 ). For the first time, pious inter-re-
different, and another minister is mentioned in gional religious endowments and engagements
the second inscription as having been sent to had stumbled across the barrier o f archaeologists
inscribe the epigraph, which, according to its and conservationists o f a colonial state, who saw
text, was installed on the full moon day in 1183 such activities as interfering with the ‘intrinsic*
o f the Burmese era, that is 1822. nature o f an ancient historical monument.
There are two other 19th century Burmese T he Burmese inscriptions at Bodh Gayà do
inscriptions at Bodh Gayà (Mitra [1878] 1972: not necessarily indicate regular or substantial
227—8). O ne is a short inscription on a small pilgrim traffic at the place. In fact, judging from
stüpa placed as a finial on the balustrade in front mid-19th photographs, the temple seems to have
o f the Bâradwârï. It is a 1823 epigraph, which been in bad shape at that time.^^ Nor do they
refers to its having been written by Shime-pu, a indicate a continuous political engagement o f
resident o f Kwan-tshwai. Another inscription is Burmese elites with the site. Bur these inscrip­
on the pedestal o f an image o f ^iva and Pârvatï, tions leave no doubt that at certain junctures
which Mitra describes as lying at the foot o f the over a long period o f tim e, the M ahabodhi
bodhi tree. This is an 1809 inscription which temple was invoked by Burmese rulers in order to
seems to record a gift made by two individuals enhance their prestige, and that the temple had
who came to this place in this connection. Mirra an important symbolic significance for Burmese
states that these two records are o f little interest, e l i t e s . I f this is to be understood as religious
except that the second shows how utterly careless diplomacy, it was aimed at a home audience, not
the pious travellers were that they did not know an Indian one.
that they were having their gift inscribed on the
pedestal o f a Hindu statue. Actually, both these T he B uddhist V ihàra at Nàgapattinam • «

inscriptions are important from several points o f From Bodh Gayà we move southwards to
view. They add to the evidence o f the Burmese Nagapattinam and to two specific inscriptions—
connections o f Bodh Gayâ. The second one also the larger and smaller Leiden plates. Much has
shows the prominent presence o f Saiva statuary been written about these Inscriptions and even
at the place. W hy what seems to be a Buddhist more so about their historical contexts, especially
donation was inscribed on this sculpture is an the nature o f the Cóla state and the nature o f
intriguing question— was it either due to igno­ Còla interactions with Southeast Asia. The Colas
rance, or was the sculpture interpreted diiferently were the only Indian power to extend their arms
by the pious Buddhist donors?^^ well beyond the subcontinent. Apart from their
Another Burmese attem pt to ‘repair* the frequent military engagements in Sri Lanka,
Mahabodhi temple in the 19th century took Rajendras expedition to ^rivijaya has been the
place in 1874 during the reign o f King Mindon focus o f much interest, especially insofar as it is
and is recorded in Rajendralala Mitras Buddh seen as a political act aimed at protecting and
G aya ([1 8 7 8 ] 1 9 7 2 ). M irra describes the enhancing maritime commercial interests.^^
 Gifts from Other Lands 53

Here, we are nor concerned with the Còla plates) and gives the invocation, a detailed Cóla
expedition against Srivijaya but with certain genealogy, and the purport o f the inscription.
rehgious endowments made by Srivijaya kings at It tell us that in the 21st year o f his reign (that
Nagapattinam. T h e larger Leiden plates (Aiyer is in 1006), Ràjaràja Cóla gave the village of
1 9 3 3 -3 4 a ) record the grant o f a village named Anaimarigalam to a temple o f the Buddha in
Ànaimangalam by Ràjaràja I to a Buddhist estab­ the Cùjàmanivarma-vihàra, which had been
lishment at Nagapattinam known as Cùlàmani- built by the ruler o f ^rivisaya and Katàha named
varma-vihàra> constructed by a ruler o f Srivisaya M àravijayóttungavarm an, who belonged to
and Katàha named Maravijayottuiigavarma o f the Sailendra family, and who was the son o f
the Sailendra family, in the name o f his father CQlàmanivarman (the temple was obviously
C ùjàm anivarm an. T h e grant was made by built in his name, that is memory). It goes on
Ràjaràja in the 21st year o f his reign (that is, in to tell us that after the death o f Ràjaràja, his son
1006), but the copper plate document {sdsana) Ràjendra had a permanent edict issued for the
was issued during the reign o f his son Mad- village granted by his father (in 1035).
huràntaka, that is Ràjendra I, in his 20th year T h e Tamil portion o f the inscription (this
( 1090). T h e smaller Leiden plates o f Kullotuiiga has a few Grantha letters, but is for the most
(Aiyer, 1 9 3 3-34b ), (dated in year 23 o f the kings part in the Tamil script) consists o f 332 lines
reign, that is 1035) record a grant o f villages covering both sides o f 16 copper plates. It
to the same Buddhist establishment, described repeats the gist o f the Sanskrit portion, but gives
as having been constructed by the Kadàram far greater details o f the grant— the details o f
king. Kadàram has been identified as being the land, its boundaries, its income, the many
located in the Malay peninsula and was at this officials associated with the grant, the process o f
time probably under the control o f Srivijaya, making the gift, the terms o f the grant, detailed
although it is possible that it enjoyed a certain instructions about water management, and the
amount o f autonomy. signatures o f witnesses. It is interesting to note
Let us look at the larger and smaller Leiden that the Sanskrit portion o f the inscription has
plates in turn and then juxtapose the evidence o f the prasastiy which the Tamil portion does not
the two inscriptions, especially examining some have, and the Tamil portion has the details o f the
o f the inferences that can be made by reading grant which are absent in the Sanskrit portion— a
between the lines. T h e sheer length o f the division of labour that is known from other Còla
larger Leiden plates (443 lines inscribed on 21 records as well.
copper plates) makes it one o f the longest Còla For the purpose o f the subject o f this essay,
inscriptions and one o f the longest inscriptions a few noteworthy aspects o f this inscription
found in the Indian subcontinent.^^ T h is in can be singled out. T h e level and nature o f
itself should point to the importance attached detail about the Còla and the Sailendra king
by the Còlas to the endowment. Like many are very disproportionate. T h e eulogy o f the
Còla inscriptions, this one too consists o f two latter is very b rief and perfunctory, with no
parts— one in Sanskrit, the other in Tam il. reference whatsoever to his martial qualities or
T h e Sanskrit part is in the G rantha script achievements (although he is described as having
(111 lines covering both sides o f five copper mastered statecraft). Even more interesting is
54 Asian Encounters

the fact that the Sanskrit part, which gives the confirming the gift o f the village made by his
detailed Cóla genealogy, was added onto the father 29 years earlier.
Tamil portion at a later date (this is clear from T h e smaller Leiden plates are only three
the contents). While it is theoretically possible in number, but give us an important insight
that the Sanskrit portion replaced an earlier into the later history o f this very Buddhist
Tamil or Sanskrit prelude (in fact many Colas establishment. T his inscription is entirely in
inscriptions have such a division into Sanskrit the Tam il language and script (with a few
and Tamil), the length and detail o f the prosasti Grantha letters) and there is no prasasti. T he
may well represent an important and historically inscription gets straight to business. It tells
significant afterthought— an attem pt o f the us th at m essengers [d ù ta s) o f the king o f
Colas to assert more strongly Cóla authority Kadàram petitioned Ràjakesarivarman (that
vis-à-vis the grant that had been made, over is, Kulottuhga Cóla) in the 20th year o f his
the Buddhist establishment that it was made in reign (that is, 1090) to issue a copper plate in
favour of, and also over the Kadàram king. favour o f the sahgha o f the p a lli o f Cùdàmani-
T h e in scrip tion associates m uch pom p varma-vihàra in ^olakulavallipattanam (that is
and show with the grant. It tells us that the Nagapattinam). W hile this name is mentioned
ceremony o f walking around the boundaries in the inscription, the Cóla authority over the
with a female elephant that accompanied the establishment is indicated by the reference to
grant involved the participation o f assemblies the names o f two temples that were part o f this
{sabhas and urs) o f 26 villages. This and the com plex— namely Ràjendrasojapperum palli
fact that the signatories to the grant included and Ràjaràjapperumpajji, described as having
representatives o f these and two more villages been constructed by the king o f Kadàram. These
emphasized the political im portance o f the may have been two new shrines in the complex.
grant. T he Buddhist establishment seems to T h e purpose o f the document was to record
have been a very large one, as it apparently took the details o f certain land in several villages
at least nine years to build; its magnificence is assigned to the establishment. T h e details o f
indicated in the inscription where it is described the land grant indicate that the land assigned to
as having lowered Kanakagiri, that is mount the vihàra aspallicchan das had increased greatly
Meru. The relationship between the Sailendra from the time o f the earlier inscription.
kings, the Cólas, and this Buddhist establish­ It may be noted that the endowments recorded
ment extended over several generations, both in the larger and smaller Leiden plates are also
before and after the Cóla invasion o f ^rivijaya. different in several respects from the grant o f the
It is likely that a copper plate document was Pagan/Ajakan king at Mahabodhi. T he location
issued during the time o f Ràjaràja, but that o f the Buddhist com plex at N agapattinam
there was some problem, possibly arising out was not dictated by the sacred landscape o f
o f the hostilities between Ràjendra I and the Buddhism, but by the fact that this port city
Srivijayans in c. 1 0 2 5 -6 (perhaps the grant had by this time eclipsed Màmallapuram and
was even revoked). Some ten years after the Kàveripattinam and had emerged as the premier
hostilities, some semblance o f cordiality seems Cóla port.^^ Nagapattinam was not known for
to have been restored, leading to Ràjendra its Buddhist monasteries, and in fact, the one
 Gifts from Other Lands 55

endowed by the Kadàram king may well have the Srivijaya king at Nàgapattinam. This was
been the most magnificent one in the city. followed by certain gifts made by agents o f the
It is also important to note how different Srivijaya king at a particular Saiva temple in the
this record o f Srivijaya endowments in another early years o f Rajendra’s reign. There was a lull
king’s domain is from the pattern o f the ^rlvi- in activity thereafter, and fo r many years after
jaya inscriptions found in Srivijaya itself Very Rajendras invasion o f Srivijaya, which must
few Srivijaya inscriptions are known (Coedès in have left some hostile residue. It is some 10
fact talks o f the architectural poverty and the years after that invasion that Ràjendra issued
epigraphic penury o f this kingdom^^). Most o f an edict confirming the gift made by his father
them are in Malay, with many Sanskrit words, many years earlier. The connections having been
and are written in a variety o f the Brahmi script. restored and confirmed via royal decree, che
Even more significant is that notwithstanding vihàra at Nàgapattinam received Còla patronage
certain common religious elements, the ideas in the form o f the grant o f land at the request o f
o f kingship that these inscriptions (although their Srivijaya counterparts 55 years later, during
they are older than the C òla ones) reveal, the time o f Kulottuhga I.
including curse form ulae and benedictions There were thus two major foci o f donative
connected with pran idhàn asy are completely activity by Srivijaya elites in che Còla empire—
different in form and ethos from those o f the the Buddhist vihàra at Nàgapattinam (the more
Còla inscriptions. They clearly reflect two very important one) and the Karonasvàmin temple.^*
different kinds o f discourses on kingship.^^ In W hile the com m ercial interactions between
terms o f language, content, and phraseology, south India and Srivijaya preceded Ràjendra.
the two sets o f Leiden plates completely adhere his reign marked an important break in terms
to Còla, not Srivijaya, conventions. not only o f his launch o f naval campaign/s into
To all this can be added the evidence o f other the latter region but also in the creation o f a
inscriptions which indicate a different kind o f Buddhist centre sponsored by the Srivijayans in
religious endowment from the Kadàram end a premier Còla port. After this there is a break,
at Nagapattinam. An inscription in the Saiva and then a resumption much later in the process
Karonasvamin temple records a grant made by o f endowments during the time o f Kulottuhga.
an agent o f the Kidaram (that is Kadàram) king. T he major ‘foreign donative activity that we
Another inscription in the same temple records see in the Còla realm was that o f the Srivijayans.
a grant made by another agent o f the Srivijaya But there was one more player— the king o f
king in the third regnal year o f Ràjendra I. A Kamboja, who features as donor in two inscrip­
third inscription from the same temple refers tions. The Karandai copper plate o f Ràjendra I
to a grant made by an agent o f the Kidaram refers to the present o f a chariot by an unnamed
king in the seventh year o f Ràjendra (1019).^® Kàmboja king (that is, a king o f Angkor) to
These were endowments made before Rajendra’s Ràjendra 1, dated in the latter’s eighth regnal
invasion o f Srivijaya. Taken together, the year, that is 1020. This was a unique, magnificent
inscriptions suggest that the activity o f Srivijaya politico-diplomatic gift loaded with symbolic
royal gifting started in Ràjaràjas time, with a significance. T he Chidambaram inscription o f
major Buddhist monastery being established by Kullottunga I, dated in the 44th year o f the
56 Asian Encounters

Kulottungas reign (c. 1114), refers to a gemstone endowments. It should be noted that these and
presented by an unnamed Kamboja king.^^ other instances o f inter-state patronage discussed
here do not fall within the same category. Cola
The Implications of Trans-regional temple construction in Sri Lanka represented yet
Endowments another type o f inter-state religious patronage,

It is noteworthy that the instances o f the royal representing an assertion o f political power over

patronage o f B u d d hist estab lish m en ts by the island. Further, there is a need to look more

Southeast Asian kings in India took place at a closely at how the different types o f religious

juncture by when Buddhism had declined in endowments intersected with other kinds o f

many parts o f the subcontinent (eastern India is inter-state interactions, including war.

an exception). These grants point to a qualita­ T h e conceptual framework o f ràja-m an dalas

tively new stage in the patronage o f Buddhist sites is useful to understand political interactions

and to a new kind o f interaction among Asian between the regions o f Asia. We should note the

polities. The Indie and Southeast Asian attitude fact that we are dealing with several different sets

towards patronage to religious establishments o f mandalas\ this is evident in the fact that the

was not one o f ‘tolerance' (as it is frequently rulers in question are not explicidy placed in

misrepresented as) but o f an incorporative any direct relationship with each other (c f for

kingship within a polytheistic or monolatorous instance, the tributary relations with China, or

context, and has to be looked at in the context the pecking order o f paramount and subordinate

o f royal policy. Further, I do not think that there kings that we see in Indian royal inscriptions).

are instances o f rulers within the subcontinent T h e phraseology o f the Nälandä inscription

making religious endowments in the political suggests an asymmetrical relationship from the

domain o f another subcontinental ruler. Also, as perspective o f the composers o f the inscriptions,

far as 1 know, there is no epigraphic evidence o f but the Sailendra king is not described as a

the kind o f joint donative activity that we have subordinate or vassal o f the Pala king.

noted here between certain rulers. Despite the religious and cultural diversity

If we juxtapose the epigraphic evidence o f within and between South and Southeast Asia, the

the various donations discussed above, we can fact that religious gifts o f this kind could be made

discern the following patterns: T h e points from suggests certain underlying similarities between

where the Southeast Asian royal gifts emanated these regions— a pluralism in religious context

were Java, Sriv ijay a, Pagan, and A ngkor. and in royal religious policy. The political context

There were rwo points o f the ^rivijayan and was one in which South Asian ideas o f kingship

Sailendra interface— Nalanda in eastern India and sovereignty could be extended with ease to

and Nagapattinam in south India. Angkor too include Southeast Asian rulers, although not in

interfaced with the Colas. The kings o f Pagan, on a way that was identical to the incorporation of

the other hand, had an intense and much longer South Asian rulers. Further, notwithstanding

term relationship and interaction with Bodh their differences and distinctiveness. Buddhism

Gaya. In fact, o f all the Buddhist sites in India, and Flinduism and the idea that religious merit

Bodh Gaya seems to have been o f preeminent could be transferred and shared, provided a

im portance when it came to trans-regional religious context in which such trans-regional

 Gifts from Other Lands 57

gifts could easily be conceptually accommodated. T h e Cólas were the only Indian kings to
The significance o f the transfer o f merit as an send armies across the seas, and it is therefore
important feature o f religious practice in the especially pertinent to look at their prasastis and
Buddhist context has been noted, but it should at the place o f the ocean in self-representations o f
be emphasized that this is by no means only a Cóla imperium. T he sea figures in many places
Buddhist concept and is widely found in Jaina in Cóla royal eulogy. For instance, the larger
and Hindu donative inscriptions as well. The Leiden plates refer to Parantaka protecting the
belief in the transfer and sharing o f merit cut earth girded by the ocean (this image occurs
across many religious, cultural, and geographical very frequently in royal inscriptions) and to
boundaries. This idea, not expounded in detail in Ràjaràja having seen the other shore o f the
religious texts, was evidently a powerftil motivat­ ocean o f all the arts. The larger Leiden plates
ing force behind many a pious donation, and its refer to the southern ocean and the smaller
importance cannot be over-emphasized. Further, plates to the western ocean. More specifically,
the political implications o f this important idea Ràjaràja is described in several inscriptions as
need to be underlined. Merit was not a fixed one who has destroyed the ships at Kàndalùr’
quantity, so there was no problem in it being (K à n d a lù r-S à la i k a la m = a ru ttu ). T h e T iru -
shared by sovereign rulers and feudatories, or valaiigadu plates state that ‘all the waters o f the
even, as we have seen, between rulers who were sea were not enough to quench the fire o f the
not in a direct relationship o f paramountcy/ Cóla kings anger*. T he Senur inscription o f
subordination with each other. Ràjaràja states that all the kings o f the sea {kadal-
aratsar) waited on him. And the Tirukkadaiyur
The Ocean in Indian Ideas of Sovereignty inscription o f Ràjendra I talks o f his having
W hile examining these trans-regional royal gifts, despatched many ships in the midst o f the rolling
we are dealing with traditions o f kingship and sea and describes his victorious campaign against
sovereignty that had both overlapping as well as Kadàram.
distinctive elements, and it is to one aspect o f And yet, we do not find any major art work
the Indie tradition that we now turn. T he term (sculpture or painting) proclaiming the con­
cakravartin— the world conqueror, the wheels o f nection between the Cóla kings and the ocean.
whose chariots run unimpeded— itself suggests Neither are there any hero stones depicting
land-locked idea o f imperial c o n q u e s t . O f sea battles in this region. T his is in contrast to
course Indian conquerors refer grandiosely to the prolific evidence from the domain o f the
their victories over the entire earth girded by Kadambas o f Goa. There are many references
the oceans. But a question that arises is— what in Kadambaprasastis to the ocean. For instance,
part did the ocean and crossing the ocean have in a 12th century inscription o f the time o f
in fantasies o f power in ancient India? Was the Jayakesin II found at Narendra in Dharwar
ocean conceived o f as water that connected or district, Karnataka, apart from the frequent
separated lands and people? A further question epithet ‘lord o f the western ocean and ‘lord o f
is: how did contemporary, even com peting, the ocean there are many other references to
sovereignties o f distant lands intersect with the ocean.^^^The ruler Chattayadeva is said to
each other? have made a bridge o f ships to Sri Lanka; he is
 58 Asian Encounters

described as having sailed over the sea in sport Notes

with great pomp from Gove to Surastra; and 1. See Wolters (1982, 14-5, l6-2I).W olters’
there is much oceanic imagery in the inscrip­ (actually Kautilyas) idea of the mandala state makes
tion. Especially interesting is the reference in good sense in the Indian context as well.
verse 19 to King Jayakesin, the lord o f the sea, 2. It is not, however, my contention that this
swiftly checking the Cola, who had approached was the only or most important element in India-
recklessly, as the ocean streams over its bound­ Southeast Asia interactions in premodern times.
aries. Further, there are many hero stones 3. See, for instance, Spencer (1983, 144) and
showing sea battles found in and around Goa. Kulke (2009, 6). The latter uses the term ‘rituo-
T he inscriptions o f the Palas o f eastern India political donations*.
4. Going by the date of 810 generally given for
too contain much oceanic imagery o f a general
the accession of Devapala, the inscription and the
kind— there are frequent references to the king
grant it records (dated in this king’s 39th regnal year)
as lord o f the earth girded by the four (or seven)
can be placed in 849. However, from the standpoint
oceans, to the earth lying between two oceans,
of Javanese history, de Casparis argued that it
and to the king s glory crossing many oceans. A belongs to c. 860. See de Casparis (1956, 260).
more specific reference is to the southern ocean 5. The prasasti of Devapala and his lineage covers
{daksinäbdhi).T\\cxt are also specific references at least 21 lines and 14 verses; that of the Sailendra
to bridges, and officers in charge o f the fleet king and his lineage consists of 10 lines and 8 verses.
(naukädhyaksäy n au bala-v yàp rtakd ) although 6. According to Kielhorn (1892, 257, fn. 54)
these may have been related to riverine rather there is double entendre in the invocation, and that
than maritime activity.^^ it praises both the Buddha and Devapala. This a
Notions o f sovereignty in ancient and medi­ debatable point. Although reference to the lord of
eval India were clearly not oblivious to the sea, the earth and benefitting the prajd could apply to
both, ‘Sugata* could not apply to the king. On the
but the sea that they had in mind was usually the
other hand, line 17 does give the analogy of the Pala
generic sea which girdled the land. T he impetus
king inheriting his fathers kingdom in the manner in
for seaward political expansion was a rarity. Indie
which a bodhisattva attains the status o f a Sugata, that
empires saw themselves and generally land­
is the Buddha. This is balanced by an analogy between
locked ventures, with a few exceptions such as
Balaputra and Siddhartha, the son o f Suddhodana,
Samudragupta (c. 3 5 0 -7 0 ) who claimed in his in verse 3 1.
Allahabad prasasti to have sway over Simhala 7. These two aspects need to be differentiated,
and all the other islands, and the Colas who although they did overlap; patronage policy was often
sailed further. But although Indian armies much more broad-based than the personal religious
travelled across the Indian Ocean to Southeast inclinations of a ruler.
Asia only once, religious gifts from other lands 8. Shwsandaw Pagoda Inscription, Epigraphica
arrived on Indian soil on several occasions. These Birmanica I, No. 8, 163.
trans-regional interactions, whether overland 9. Janice Stargardt (1971, 57-8) has pointed out
or by sea, tell us something significant not only that the material, especially bricks, and the labour
would no doubt have been obtained on the spot, and
about the transactions themselves but also about
that Indian bricks were much admired and were even
similarities and differences in the nature o f the
imported into and used in Burma.
interacting polities and societies.
 Gifts from Other Lands 59

10. Ko (1911-12, 118-20). 'Ihere are different Trevithick (1999). By this time, a mahant had
readings of the dates of the activities mentioned in the established himself in this place. But this Buddhist
inscription— 657-660> 66 7 -6 6 8 ,4 6 7 -4 6 8 . Ko sees inscription is inscribed on an already existing ^aiva
it as an early 13th century inscription, while others image, which amounts to a Buddhist encompassment
suggest an early 12th century date. However, Luce of a Hindu image. Perhaps both kinds of encom­
asserts that the correct readings of the dates are 657 passment were going on simultaneously. On other
and 660, which corres[x>nd to 1295 and 1298 CE. aspects of the modern history of Bodh Gayä, see
11. Stargardt (1971, 59, 62). Stargardt also Lahiri(1999).
points out that the control of Pagan over Arakan 21. 'Fhe 19th century sketches, on the other hand,
was nominal. show a hint of dilapidation, but a better over-all
12. If 218 refers to the era o f544 BCE, this would condition than the photograph does.
correspond to 236 BCE, which would locate the event 22. This is just part of the story. That there is
mentioned here towards the end of Asokas reign a need to investigate the larger range of religious
(c. 268-232 BCE). interactions between Burma and India is suggested by
13. For the relationship between kingship, a 13th century Sanskrit-Tamil inscription recording
Buddhism, the sahgha and society in Pagan, see a gift made to a Visnu temple at Pagan by a person
Aung Thwin (1976). The claim by Kyanzittha that named Kulasekhara Nambi, evidently a native of
he had converted a ‘Coli king’ to the Buddha’s Malabar. See Hultzsch (1902—3).
doctrine can also be understood in the context of this 23. TheTirukkadaiyur inscription of Ràjendra
relationship and was clearly for home consumption I, inscribed on the base of the central shrine of the
(E pigraphica B irm an ica, Shw esandaw Pagoda, Amrtaghatesvara temple in Thanjavur district, is
PromCy 1, No. 8: 165). dated in the 15th regnal year of Ràjendra I (that
14. On various Burmese traditions connecting the is 1027) and describes the expedition of the Cola
kings Anawratha and Kyanzittha with Sri Lanka and army against Kadàram. There is a reference in
India, including the tradition of Kyanzittha having the Perumbur inscription o f Vîrarâjendra to the
married a princess of Vaisall, see R.C. Majumdar conquest of Kadàram by Vîrarâjendra; it is dated
([1955] 1971,59). in this kings seventh year, that is 1070. For these
15. Sec Vidyavinoda (1913-14), Inscription A. inscriptions, see Karashima and Subbarayalu (2009,
16. For an important contribution in this 2 79-80). For various aspects of the Còla expedi­
direction, see Leoshko (1988). tions, see Kulke, Kesavapany, and Sakhuja (2009).
17. See Stargardt (1971) for a good discussion of 24. On the identity and relationship between
these aspects. Burma was also important because the Kadàram, i5rïvijaya, and the Sailendras, see Georges
overland route between northeast India and China Cœdès in Pierre-Yves Manguin. Tan Sri Dato, and
(often referred to as the southern silk route) passed Mubin Sheppard (1992, 15, 99, 105).
through here. 25. It is not, however, the longest. The Karandai
18. See Barua ([1934] 1975. II> 43-5). Barua does plates of Ràjendra consist o f2,628 lines inscribed on
point out, however, that the style of the Mahäbodhi 57 plates and the Thiruvindalur grant of his son is even
temple does not seem to have had a major impact on longer (Y. Subbarayalu, personal communication).
the architectural style of Burmese temples. 26. On Nagapattinam, see Seshadri (2009).
19. There is uncertainty about the precise event 27. See Cœdès in Pierre-Yves Manguin, Tan Sri
that this era marks. Dato, and Mubin Sheppard (1992),
20. For a discussion of the ‘Hindu mode of 28. See Cœdès in Pierre-Yves Manguin, Tan Sri
encompassment’ of the Bodh Gayä remains, see Dato, and Mubin Sheppard (1992, 43).
60 Asian Encounters

29. On ^rivijayan kingship, see Hall (1976). Cunningham, Alexander. M ahdbodhi or The
30. See Karashima and Subbarayalu (2009, Great Buddhist Temple under The Bodhi Tree at
275-78). Buddha-Gaya. London: W. H. Allen, 1892.
31. For the possible identification of this vihàra de Casparis, J.G . Prasasti Indonesia II: Selected
with the ‘Chinese pagoda*, see Seshadri (2009, Inscriptions From the Seventh to the Ninth Century
109-18). A.D. Bandung: Masa Baru, 1956.
32. See Karashima and Subbarayalu (2009, Griswold, A. B. T he Holy Land Transported: Replicas
278-9. 283). of the Mahabodhi Shrine in Siam and Elsewhere’.
33. However, we do see some instances of joint In Paranavitana Felicitation Volume, 173-221.
donations of paramount and subordinate rulers. Colombo: M.D. Gunasena and Co., 1965.
34. It should be noted, however, that Kalidasas Hall, Kenneth. ‘State and Statecraft in Early Srivijaya.
Abhijnànasàkuntala does refer to a prophecy that In Kenneth Hall and John K. Whitmore, eds.
Bharatas chariots will roll unimpeded over all the Explorations in Early Southeast Asian History: The
oceans. Origins o f Southeast Asia Statecrafts 61-106. Ann
35. For the various references, see Aiyer (1933- Arbor: Centre for South and Southeast Asian
34a, 224) and Kulke, Kesavapany, and Sakhuja (2009, Studies, University of Michigan, 1976.
279-80). Hulrzsch, E. ‘A Vaishnava Inscription at Bagan’.
36. See Barnett (1915-16). Epigraphia Indica 7 (1902-3): 197-8.
37. See Mukherji and Maity (1967. 170, 253, Karashima, Noboru and Y. Subbarayalu. ‘Ancient
2 5 1 ,3 4 2 -3 ,3 8 3 ). and Medieval Tamil and Sanskrit Inscriptions
Related to Southeast Asia and China. In Hermann
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the Chola N aval Expeditions to Southeast Asia,
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Ko, Taw Sein. ‘Burmese Inscription at Bodh-Gaya.
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Lahiri, Nayanjot. ‘Bodh-Gaya: An Ancient Buddhist Seshadri, Gokul. ‘New Perspectives on Nagapattinam:
Shrine and Its Modern History (1891-1904)*. In The Medieval Port City in the Context of Political,
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 CHAPTER 4

Changing Regimes: Two Episodes of

Chinese Military Interventions in
Medieval South Asia

T ansen S en

M ilitary confrontations (and collaborations) scholars, who wanted to sidestep the contem­
were important elements o f interactions between porary geo-political problems between the two
ancient China and the South Asian subcon­ nation states.
tin en t.* However, scholars have neglected A second reason for the neglect o f the study
the topic primarily due to two reasons. First, o f military confrontations between Chinese
studies on pre-colonial India-China interactions dynasties and South Asian polities has to do
emerged in the early 20th century, when some with historiographical issues. Almost all records
o f the leading intellectuals in Asia were trying on pre-colonial interactions between China
to come to terms with European colonial rule and India com e from Chinese sources. T h e
and, in response, promote an idealistic vision o f writers o f these records range from Chinese
Pan-Asian harmony and unity. Consequently, Buddhist pilgrims, who perceived South Asia as
advocates o f such a vision, Liang Q ich ao a holy land, to court historians who uniformly
(1 8 7 3 -1 9 2 9 ) and Rabindranath Tagore underscored the Confucian virtues and values o f
(1 8 6 1 -1 9 4 1 ) for instance, focused only on the Chinese emperors and dynasties. In the writings
ancient cultural connections between Asian o f court historians, military confrontations with
societies, avoiding in-depth exam ination o f foreign states and tribes were often described
intra-Asian conflicts and warfare. Later, in the as justified actions by the Heavenly-mandated
aftermath o f the India-China conflict o f 1962, Chinese rulers against the unruly, immoral, and
this kind o f nostalgic scholarship resurfaced barbaric people. Thus the changing o f regimes
among a new generation o f Indian and Chinese in foreign lands by Chinese military forces was
 Changing Regimes 63

portrayed as justified actions by the reigning between the Tibetans and the Tang court seems
emperor who, according to these sources, was to have been the key determining factors in the
attempting to preserve peace and harmony under dispatch o f successive Tang diplomatic missions
Heaven by disposing o f or replacing ‘evil* leaders. to the South Asian subcontinent, three o i which
The two episodes discussed in this essay are included Wang Xuance.^
also portrayed in Chinese sources as just actions Som etim e in 6 3 7 - 8 , Xuanzang reportedly
undertaken by representatives o f Chinese courts. had an audience with Harsa, the most powerful
T h e first episode deals with the Tang envoy ruler in northern India at that time. During
W angXuances ^ (fl. 7th century) capture their conversation, Xuanzang mentioned the
and abduction o f an ‘Indian ruler’ who had virtues o f the reigning Tang emperor Taizong
allegedly ‘usurped* the throne o f King Harsa (r. 626—49) and his role in pacifying China.
(d. 6 4 7 / 6 4 8 ) o f Kanauj and ‘attacked* the Shortly thereafter, in 6 4 1 , Harsa sent an envoy
Chinese diplomatic entourage in the mid-7th to the Tang court. W hen recording the arrival
century.^ T h e second incident relates to admiral o f this first embassy from Kanauj at the Tang
Zheng He’s (1 3 7 1 -1 4 3 3 ) battle with, and court, Chinese scribes give credit to Xuanzang for
the subsequent capture of, the Sri Lankan ‘ruler’ opening the diplomatic channel between the two
called Yaliekunaier or Aliekunaier courts. T he Tang court responded by dispatching
([Vira] Alakeswara or Alagak- an embassy to Kanauj in the same year.^
konara) in the early 15th century.^ Hitherto, It is possible that the changing geo-political
these portrayals have been accepted without situation on the Tibetan plateau had some role
any critical analysis. A closer examination o f in prompting the Tang court to quickly respond
the sources reveals complex issues, concerns, to the diplomatic mission from Kanauj. For
and interests that must be considered in order the first time during the first millennium, a
to gain a proper understanding o f these military powerful ruler had emerged in T ib et. King
confrontations between the emissaries from Srong-brtsan sgam-po (r. 6 1 4 - 5 0 ) had not
Chinese courts and polities in South Asia. only successfully overwhelmed the Tanguts and
Bolan tribes around the Tibetan plateau and
T he Missions of W ang X uance and made punitive raids on Chinese border towns;
Z heng He he had also subjugated the kingdom o f Nepal,
Although there is litde evidence to indicate that
Before outlining the military interventions by
the Tibetan king attempted to invade or raided
Wang Xuance and Zheng He in South Asia, it is
Harsa’s territories adjoining Nepal, and even
important to place these two emissaries and their
if peaceful relations were established between
missions in historical contexts. Wang Xuance’s
China and Tibet by the end o f 6 4 0 , both Harsa
mission, primarily to the region the Chinese
and Emperor Taizong may have had some res­
called ‘Middle In d ia *to o k place in the mid-7th
ervations about whether Srong-brtsan sgam-po
century, shortly after the famous Chinese monk
would abandon his expansionist policies. Such
Xuanzang ^ ^ (6 0 0 ? -6 4 ) visited Nalanda and
reservations might have motivated the Tang
a peace agreement had been reached between
court to maintain frequent diplomatic exchange
the Tibetans and the Tang court. In fact, both
with Kanauj.
the visit o f Xuanzang and the peace settlement
64 Asian Encounters

Zheng He s voyages in the early 15th century that his succession to power was legitimate’.
began shortly after the Yongle emperor The emperor also developed, for the first time in
(Emperor Chengzu r. 1 4 0 3 -2 4 ) deposed Chinese history, a strategy to deal with maritime
his nephew Zhu Yunwen (the Jianwen polities. In 1373, the Hongwu emperor wrote.
^'SC emperor, also known as Emperor Huidi
The overseas foreign countries like Annan [Viet­
r. 1 3 9 9 -1 4 0 2 ) and ascended to the Ming
nam], Champa, Korea, Siam, Liuqiu [the Ryukyu
throne. The reasons for launching these maritime
islands], the [countries of the] Western Oceans
expeditions are not clear, but could have included
[South India] and Eastern Oceans [Japan] and the
an attempt by the Yongle emperor to consolidate various small countries of the southern man [barbar­
and legitimize his political authority/ ians] are separated from us by mountains and seas
T h e geo-political situations in Southeast and far away in a corner. Their lands would not pro­
Asia and South Asia might have been equally duce enough for us to maintain them; their peoples
important considerations for initiating these would not usefully serve us if incorporated [into the
massive voyages. South Asian polities, especially empire]. If they were so unrealistic as to disturb our
Calicut on the Malabar coast, were important borders, it would be unfortunate for them. If they
destinations for Zheng He. T h e brisk diplo­ gave us no trouble and we moved troops to fight
matic exchanges between the M ing court and them unnecessarily, it would be unfortunate for us.
1 am concerned that future generations might abuse
Calicut, charts o f Chinese sailors, and accounts
China’s wealth and power and covet the military
o f admiral Zheng H es maritime expeditions
glories o f the moment to send armies into the field
suggest that Calicut was a strategic location
without reason and cause a loss of life. May they be
on China’s maritime frontier through to the
sharply reminded that this is forbidden. As for the
m id -15th century (Sen 2 0 1 1 ). D ip lom atic hu and rong barbarians who threaten China in the
relations between the Ming court and Calicut north and west, they are always a danger along our
were established soon after the founding o f frontiers. Good generals must be picked and soldiers
the new dynasty and peaked during the Yongle trained to prepare carefully against them. (Translated
period, when Zheng He made multiple visits in Wang 1998. 311-12).
to the South Asian port. Clearly, the M ing ruler was aware o f his
T h is diplom atic interest in the maritime naval prowess, but concerned about military
world can be traced back to the founding ruler exploitations beyond the Chinese shores by
o f the Ming dynasty, Emperor Taizu (that future rulers o f the dynasty. Perhaps he believed
is, the Hongwu emperor, r. 1 3 6 8 -9 9 ), who that the use o f naval force against the Indian
revived and emphasized the Confucian rhetoric Ocean polities would be a diversion from the
o f the Sinocentric world order in its relations real threat posed by the M ongols and other
with foreign states. T he Hongwu emperor did Inner Asian tribes. Consequently, the Hongwu
not resume the militarist policies o f the Yuan emperor tried to incorporate the states within
court (1 2 7 1 -1 3 6 8 ) toward some o f the Indian the reach o f the M ing navy into the symbolic
Ocean polities, ‘he sought, instead’, as Wang Confucian world order. He ordered that the
Gungwu (1998, 303) explains, ‘to obtain their mountains and rivers o f some foreign polities
symbolic acknowledgement o f China’s cosmo­ ‘receive the rites o f sacrifice together with those
logical centrality and their acknowledgement o f C hina’. T h e list o f these polities, which
 Changing Regimes 65

numbered twelve in 1375, ranged trom Korea 1993 and Sen 2 0 1 1 ). Rather, it focuses on the
and Japan in East Asia, to Srivijaya and Java in successful regime change that Zheng He and his
the Southeast, and the ‘CoUs’ in southern Asia.^ entourage undertook in Sri Lanka in 1 4 1 0 -1 1 .
The purpose, it seems, was to underscore the
notion o f ‘showing nothing was left out [of
Changing Regimes in Middle India and
the sinicized world]’ (shiw uw ai and S ri Lanka
demonstrate the symbolic Chinese suzerainty Wang Xuance’s first trip to the South Asian
over the foreign polities (Wang 1968, 5 4 -5 ; subcontinent was as the deputy o f the main
Sen 2 0 1 1 , 6 1 ). T h e concept was not new to envoy Li Y ibiao (fl. 7 th century).
the Chinese, but the Hongwu emperor made Consisting o f twenty-two people, the mission
a conscious decision to emphasize the rhetoric arrived in Kanauj in the twelfth lunar month
rather than pursue full-fledged conquest o f the o f the Zhenguan r t Ü era (January-February
maritime world with his powerful naval force. 6 4 4 ). T he Chinese embassy had an audience
Hongwu’s son, the Yongle emperor, after with Harsa as well as the king o f Kàmarùpa.
usurping the M ing th ron e, seems to have During his next mission, which left the Tang
adhered to his fathers advice against the colo­ capital in 6 4 8 , Wang Xuance was che lead envoyé
nization o f Indian Ocean polities. Nonetheless, T h e m ission reached Kanauj shortly after
he did not shy away from expanding the empire che death o f King Harsa. Indian sources fail
or displaying his naval power. In fact, the Ming to tell us definitely when and how Harsa died.
court under the Yongle emperor aggressively Nor is the role o f the Indian king Aluonashun
promoted the Confucian rhetoric o f che Chinese HU (Arunasa?), described in Tang sources
world order and allowed his representatives as the usurper o f Harsa’s throne, in consolidating
to interfere in the internal affairs o f foreign his power in Kanauj mentioned in any available
polities. T h e assertive maritime policies o f the Indian records. Indeed, the only clues about
Yongle emperor are evident in Zheng He’s seven the two events, as the sections on the death o f
expedicions across the Indian Ocean and several Harsa in studies by Devahuti ( 1970) and^Iripathi
ocher naval missions that branched out o f these (1 9 8 9 [1964], 1 8 8 -9 1 ) illustrate, come from
famous voyages (Wade 2 0 0 5 ). O ne of the main Chinese material.
goals o f these naval missions, as Wang (1 9 6 8 , T h e Chinese sources inform us that soldiers
56) has noted, was to communicate ‘a picture o f led by Arunasa attacked Wang Xuance and his
M ing Chinas superior place in the world’. An entourage without any provocation. Most o f the
important region o f this ‘world’ when Zheng members o f the Chinese embassy were either
He sailed on his maiden voyage in 1405 was killed or captured by the Indian attacker. Only
the Malabar coast. Not only was Calicut the W ang Xuance and his second-in-com m and
terminus o f his first two expeditions, but Zheng Jiang Shiren escaped. After chey arrived
He also seems to have died in the region in 1433 in T ib e t, che two members o f the C hinese
participating in a conflict between Cochin and embassy assembled a regiment o f 1,200 Tibetan
Calicut. T h e military confrontation relating mercenaries and more chan 7 ,0 0 0 Nepali cav­
to Zheng He discussed in this essay is not the alry. T h e Wang Xuance-led army then launched
one on the Malabar coast (for which, see Ray a councer attack on Arunasa. ‘In three days o f
66 Asian Encounters

Okm 100 200 300 400 soo

Map 4.1 Sites visited by Wang Xuance in Middle India. Drawn by the author.

conrinuous fighting , reports the Jiu Tang shu (Waddell 1911) have deciphered as a transcrip­
(198, 5 ,308; Sen 2 0 0 3 , 23), the croops tion ofT irabhu kti (see Map 4 .1 ), a feudatory
led by Wang Xuance kingdom o f Harsa in present-day northern Bihar.
The site o f the battle is reported as Chaboheluo
completely overpowered the barbarians. More than
^ îi# ll.li(C h a m p â ra n ?) on the banks o f river
3,000 people were beheaded, and those who jumped
Qian/Gantuowei i$j(G andakï?). Wang
into the water and died by drowning numbered more
Xuances victory not only made him a hero in
than 10,000. Arunasa abandoned the city and fled,
China, but the whole episode was depicted by
[but] Shiren pursued and captured him. The men and
the Tang scribes as an appropriate punishment
women who were taken captive numbered 2,000, and
for someone who had ambushed the peaceful
the cows and horses seized were more than 30,000.
Chinese delegation and deposed a just Indian
India trembled at these [events]. [Wang Xuance]
returned [to China] talcing Arunasa as a captive. ruler. For his success in the battle, Wang Xuance
had the prestigious title o f the Grand Master for
Most Chinese sources on the battle between Closing Court bestowed upon him.
Wang Xuance and Arunasa record rhar the Although it can be discerned that Harsa died
Indian attacker was the ruler o f a polity called sometime between 6 4 6 , when a second Tang
D inafudi w hich som e scholars embassy had departed from Kanauj. and early
 Changing Reginnes 67

6 4 8 , when the third Chinese mission arrived in voyages are often described today as missions
Middle India, a number o f important issues have o f peace and harmony, a view that emerged
remained inconclusive. W ho was Arunasa? Did as part o f the early-20th century scholarship
he really usurp Harsa’s throne? And finally, what on Pan-Asian unity and harmony mentioned
provoked Arunasa to attack the Tang embassy? at the beginning o f this essay. However, as a
Given the exaggerated Chinese accounts on detailed examination by G eoff Wade (2005)
the episode and the absence o f Indian records, has revealed, the intention o f these voyages was
we can only guess at what events may actually to assert Chinese power in the Indian Ocean,
have transpired. Some o f these possibilities are specifically at the key ports o f the trading
discussed in the next section. network that linked the coastal region o f Ming
It is worthwhile here to point out briefly the China to the markets in the Middle East. Zheng
role o f Nepal in the above encounter. T h e Jin He had cleared the Strait o f Malacca in 1406—7
Tang shu records that the king o f Nepal was by defeating the pirate’ Chen Zuyi in
‘delighted’ to meet the Chinese ambassador l 4 l 4 he had trounced the usurper Sekander
Li Yibiao, the lead envoy o f the second Tang and resolved a civil war in Semudera, in 1 4 16 he
mission to Kanauj, on his way to India in 6 4 3 . had backed the emerging port-city o f Cochin in
‘Later*, the work notes, ‘[when] Wang Xuance its conflict with Calicut, and in 1420 members
was attacked byTianzhu, Nepal contributed by o f the Zheng He mission travelled to Bengal to
despatching cavalry to jo in the Tibetan (mer­ resolve a local dispute.**
cenaries] and sackTianzhu’ {Jiu Tang shu 198, T he change o f regime in Sri Lanka executed
5 ,2 2 2 ). It may be noted that when the Chinese by Zheng He took place in 1411, during his
envoy had an audience with the Nepali king, third voyage across the Indian Ocean. In many
the kingdom was already subjugated by the ways, the event, as described in Chinese sources,
T ib etan ruler Srong-brtsan sgam-po (Yang is similar to the confrontation between Wang
1 9 97, 2 9 7 - 8 ) . Moreover, before he received Xuance and Arunasa in 648. Like in the case o f
the Chinese princess W encheng through Wang Xuance’s conflict with the Indian ‘king,
m a rria g e a llia n c e in 6 4 1 , S r o n g -b r ts a n Zheng He is described as a victim o f ‘gross lack
sgam-po had already in 6 3 3 obtained a Nepali o f respect’ and a target o f a plot by the local
princess through a similar process (Yang 1997, ruler. And similar to Wang Xuance, Zheng He
2 9 6 - 7 ) . T h is familiarity with the Tibet-N epal worked out a clever strategy in response, defeated
region might explain Wang X uances success the local ruler, captured him, and brought him
in gathering mercenaries from the area in a back to China.
short time.^^ Zheng H e’s third voyage started from the
Unlike Wang Xuance, Zheng H es trips to Chinese coast in O ctober-N ovem ber 1409.
South Asia were through the maritime routes. Passing through C h am p a, Java, M alacca,
He visited the Malabar coast and Sri Lanka on and Semudera (in Sumatra), the ships led by
several occasions. Additionally, members o f his Zheng He reached Galle in Sri Lanka in 1410.
entourage went to Bengal (Ch. Banghala ^[5Rn T h e 48 ships in Zheng He’s armada carried
^■J) and the neighbouring kingdom o f Jaunpur 2 7 ,0 0 0 people, many o f whom were soldiers.
(C h. Zhaonapuer Z heng H e’s T h e Taizong shilu in an entry for 6 July 1411
68 Asían Encounters

gives the following account o f Z heng He’s returned and surrounded the city and several bat­
arrival back in China and a recounting o f the tles were fought, but He greatly defeated them.
events that transpired when Zheng He arrived He and the others subsequently returned to the
in Sri Lanka, Court. The assembled ministers requested that the
king be executed. The Emperor pitied the king for
The eunuch Zheng He and others, who had been his stupidity and ignorance and leniently ordered
sent as envoys to the various countries in the that he and the others be released and given food
Western Ocean, returned and presented Ya-lie and clothing. The Ministry of Rites was ordered
Ku-nai-er, the captured king of the country of Sri to deliberate on and select a worthy member of
Lanka, and his family members. Previously, He and the family to be established as the countrys king
the others had been sent as envoys to the various in order to handle the country’s sacrifices. {Ming
fan (i.e., foreign) countries. However, when they shilu 12: 1477-8; translated by Wade, Entry 1778)
reached Sri Lanka, Ya-lie Ku-nai-er was insulting
and disrespectful. He wished to harm He, but He According to the above record, the ‘king o f Sri
came to know of this and left. Ya-lie Ku-nai-er Lanka’ had ‘insulted’ Zheng He when he reached
also acted in an unfriendly way to neighbouring the island during his first expedition to the
countries and repeatedly intercepted and robbed Indian Ocean in 1 4 0 5 -7 . For his third voyage,
their envoys. All the fa n countries suffered from Zheng He seems to have come prepared to battle
his actions. When He returned, he again passed Alagakkonara. Unlike Arunasa, the Sri Lankan
Sri Lanka and the king enticed him to the country. was released by the Ming court and eventually
The king then had his son Na-yan demand gold,
returned to his native country. The reason for his
silver and precious objects, but He would not give
release is also given in the above source:
these to him. The king then secredy despatched
over 50,000 fa n troops to rob He’s ships. They Ye-ba-nai-na was enfeoffed as the king of the coun­
also felled trees to create obstructions and impede try of Sri Lanka. Previously, Ya-lie Ku-nai-er, the
He’s route of return, so that he could not render king of the country o f Sri Lanka, had been seized
assistance. He and the others found out about this for the offences he had committed and the Emperor
and they gathered their force and set off back to ordered that one of his relatives who was worthy
their ships. However, the route had already been be appointed as ruler. At this time, the Ministry
blocked. He thus spoke to his subordinates, saying: of Rites advised: “We have enquired of the people
“The majority of the troops have already been of this country and they all say that Ye-ba-nai-na
despatched. The middle of the country will be is virtuous and worthy.” Accordingly, an envoy
empty.” He also said: “Our merchants and troops was sent with an Imperial proclamation and a title
are isolated and nervous and will be unable to act. patent and seal to confer upon him. The patent
If they are attacked by surprise, the attackers will read: “I succeeded to the Great Undertaking of
achieve their purpose.” Thus, he secretly ordered my Imperial Ancestor, govern the Chinese and the
persons to go to the ships by another route with yiy bring great prosperity to all places and exercise
orders that the government troops were to fight rule over them. In recent times, Ya-lie Ku-nai-er
to the death in opposing the attackers. He then of Sri Lanka, residing on that island in the ocean
personally led 2,000 of his troops through a by­ and possessing an evil heart, constantly oppressed
path and attacked the royal city by surprise. They the people and harboured enmity for neighbouring
took the city and captured alive Ya-lie Ku-nai-er, countries. 1 sent Imperial envoys with an Imperial
his family members and chieftains. The fa n army proclamation and orders o f instruction for the
 Changing Regimes 69

various fa n countries, but when they came to Sri underscore the com plexities o f pre-colonial
Lanka, this Ya-he Ku-nai-er dared to oppose the intra-Asian interactions.
way o f Heaven. He was insolent and not respectful.
In an outrageous and evil manner, he planned to G eo-politics, Personal V endettas, and the
kill the Courts envoy. However, Heaven detested Q uest for B uddhist Relics
his evil and assisted in his capture. I consider all
the soldiers and civilians o f that country to be Political and military interference by Chinese
my people. I thus ordered the appointment of a courts in foreign regions has a long history.
worthy and able person to govern them. You, Ye- D uring the Han dynasty, for example, the
ba-nai-na> have cultivated virtue and goodness and Chinese court played a significant role in the
you have been recommended by the people. Now, internal affairs o f the polity o f Jibin
I am especially enfeoffing you as the king of the which during this period indicated the ancient
country of Sri Lanka. Indeed, only by being sincere Gandhara (present-day Afghanistan-Pakistan)
and respectful can you be firmly established; only region (E n om oto 1 9 9 4 ). O ne o f the kings
by being benevolent and virtuous, can you govern
o f th e polity, a person nam ed W u toulao
the people; only by being loyal, can you serve the
(Azilises? fl. 1st century B C E ), was
superior; and only by being trustworthy, can you
accused o f assaulting envoys from the Han court.
maintain good relations with neighbouring coun­
The succeeding ruler was allegedly also hostile
tries. You are to respect my orders, long revere the
Way o f Heaven and must not be remiss or arrogant. and ‘intended to harm’ the visiting Han envoy.
Thereby, the fief will be received by your sons and Consequently, the Han envoy, with local help,
grandsons and there will be prosperity for genera­ attacked the polity. T he ruler was killed and the
tion after generation without end. Respect this!” At Han envoy installed the local ally as the new king
that time, the assembled ministers had all requested (Hulsewe and Loewe 1979, 1 0 4 -1 2 ; Sen 2003,
that Ya-Iie Ku-nai-er be executed, but the Emperor Tran 1951; 3 ^ ; Yu 1992, 1 4 4 -6 7 ; Yu 2004).
said: “Man and yi are just like birds and animals. Such narratives o f Chinese retaliation because
There is no point in severely punishing them.” At o f an assault by a foreign ruler, and his eventual
this time, the Emperor forgave him and sent him defeat and disposal are not uncom m on in
home. (M ingshilu 12: 1608-9; translated by Wade,
Chinese historical records. W ritten mostly by
Entry 1914)
Confucian scribes, the aim o f these records, as

T h e regime change in Sri Lanka initiated by noted above, was to depict Chinese military
offensives against foreign kingdoms as morally
the M ing court is evident from the two records
citied above. Similar to the Chinese records o f justified and undertaken on behalf o f the right­

Wang Xuances confrontation with Arunasa, ful sovereign o f the world, that is, the Chinese

Zheng Hes military action in Sri Lanka is also emperor. T h e records about Wang Xuance’s
retaliation against the Indian ‘king’ and Zheng
portrayed as a righteous deed performed by the
Chinese court on behalf o f the oppressed people He’s capture o f the Sri Lankan ‘ruler’ fit this

o f a foreign polity. Are there alternative expla­ general narrative scheme o f Chinese records.

nations to these two episodes o f regime change T h e practice o f hostage-taking was also

in South Asia by representatives o f the Chinese prevalent during the early imperial period o f

courts? T he following section examines some Chinese history. Yang Lien-sheng (1 9 5 2 ) has

o f these possibilities, which, while speculative, noted that there were at least two categories
70 Asian Encounters

Gs)lo; Site of the tril ingual

(Ch inese. T amil. Arabic)
inscription laid by Zheng
He i n H l O ' l l

Map 4.2 Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in the sixteenth century. After Somaratne (1975).

o f hostages. In the first category were the abduction o f foreign rulers by Chinese emis­
exchanged hostages’, who were used to ‘guaran­ saries, it is clear from the examples discussed
tee friendly relations between two states or two in this essay that Wang Xuance’s military action
groups’. T h e second category described by Yang against the Indian ‘king’ and the capture o f
as ‘unilateral hostages’ who assured allegiance Alagakkonara in Sri Lanka by Zheng He were
and loyalty to the Chinese court, included also part o f attempts by the Chinese courts to
‘external’ (that is, from a second polity) and achieve suzerainty over foreign regions.
‘internal’ (from within the Chinese empire,
especially from its civil or military officials) The Politics of Regime Changes
hostages. Yang points out that taking ‘external’ C hinese records imply that the Tang court
hostages was a standard practice during the Han through the exchange o f diplomatic missions had
dynasty for ‘controlling small barbarian states’. developed cordial relations with Harsa. Indian
Yang explains that the practice con tinued sources, on the other hand, including those by
during the later periods, particularly during the Banabhatta (fl. 7th century) and Kalhana (fl.
Tang dynasty. Although Yang does not discuss 12th century), are silent about this relationship.
the parallels between hostage-taking and the As a consequence, one has to depend on Chinese
 Changing Regimes 71

sources to deduce the sequence o f events leading launching the counter attack? The fact that only
to the military confrontation between Wang twelve hundred Tibetan troops participated
Xuance and the alleged usurper o f Harsas throne. and no Tang reinforcements were sent seems to
The depiction o f Arunasa in Tang sources, how­ indicate that this counter attack may have been
ever, must be used with caution since the Chinese Wang’s personal decision.
scribes were most likely attempting to represent Thus, a preemptive military action by Wang
the Tang as a righteous and paramount empire Xuance for geo-political reasons, after he found
and conceal the real reason(s) for the conflict. out about the death o f Harsa, cannot be com­
Arunasa could have been one o f the many pletely ruled out. As noted above, the initial aim
feudatories that sought to benefit from the o f the Tang court to send a diplomatic mission
chaos that followed the sudden death o f Harsa, to Harsa’s court was related to the perceived
who, it seems, was without issue. Under these threat to the Tang from T ib et. Subsequent
circumstances, it is possible that the military exchange o f embassies between the Tang court
co n fro n ta tio n betw een W ang X uance and and Harsa seems to have affirmed this strategic
Arunasa was a mere co in cid en ce. Arunasa alliance, with a peaceful relationship existing
could have perceived the Chinese envoys as between Harsa, the Tibetan empire, and the Tang
supporters o f Harsas regime and launched the court— the three leading powers in the region.
attack. Similarly, W ang Xuance might have W ang X uance could have provoked the
deliberately entered the chaotic region to inspect initial military confrontation in order to install
the political situation and raised suspicion someone friendly to the Tang court. Although
among the contending forces. Neither Arunasa he seems to have been engaged in Buddhist
nor Wang Xuance may have planned the initial activities, as the C hinese Buddhist sources
military confrontation before the mission arrived discussed below suggest, Wang was aware o f the
in Middle India. importance o f having a stable and supportive
In 6 4 8 , when Wang Xuances mission left regime south o f the Tibetan empire. It is perhaps
the Tang capital, Harsa was already dead and worth noting that during Wang Xuance’s next
Middle India was in chaos. Neither the Tang visit to the South Asian subcontinent in 658,
court nor W ang X uance presum ably knew the Tang emissary also included in his itinerary
about this situation before the mission departed a visit to the present-day Kashmir region, where
from Chang’an. Two aspects o f the military the Karkota dynasty, and the future ally o f the
co n fro n ta tio n betw een W ang X uance and Tang court against the Tibetans (Sen 2 0 0 4 ),
Arunasa are, however, rather puzzling. First, was emerging as a powerful polity. Thus, while
Chinese sources seem to imply that the Tang the Chinese dynastic histories fault the Indian
mission had toured other Indian polities before side for initiating the military confrontation,
the conflict with Arunasa, in which case they it is conceivable that Wang Xuance actively
would have come to know about Harsas death sought to preserve the Tang court’s alliance in
and the chaos that had ensued. W hy did Wang the region by removing a hostile ruler. W hat
Xuance decide to enter the region that was in ensued after the confrontation perhaps derived
chaos’? Second, did Wang Xuance consult the from Wang Xuance’s own initiative to gather
Tibetan or Nepali rulers or the Tang court before various mercenaries from theTibet-Nepal border
72 Asian Encounters

and seek revenge against Ajunasa, without first Taking many captives Dos Raja returned to Great
consulting the Tang court. T h e Indian ‘ruler China. (Translated in de Silva 1912, 317; see also
might have been deliberately taken to the Tang Hettiaratchi 2003, 93)
court to legitim ize the counter attack and
T h e above records agree with the Chinese
demonstrate Wangs valour. Indeed, it is likely
sources with regard to the capture and taking
that much o f the information about this episode
o f the Sri Lankan ruler to China. It is also clear
in Chinese sources must have come from Wang
from the contradicting parts o f the accounts that
Xuance him self'^
the reason for military confrontation between
T he portrayal o f Zheng H es confrontation
Zheng He and Alagakkonara was more complex
with Alagakkonara in Chinese sources, as noted
than what these sources tell us.
above, was similar to WangXuances encounter in
Edward W. Perera (1 9 0 4 ) has explained
Middle India. Unlike the Wang Xuance episode,
the extremely complicated political situation
however, there are local accounts o f a military con­
in Sri Lanka w hen Z h en g He landed in
frontation between a Chinese emissary and a Sri
1410. There may have been three principal
Lankan. T he Saddharm aratnakaraya, composed
contenders for power in Sri Lanka at that
in 1415, reports, ‘Vira Alakesvara, after he was
time. To complicate the matter further, there
defeated in the war with Virabahu, the younger
seem s to be c o n fu sio n a b o u t the person
brother, at Rayigampura, went abroad and came
Zheng He actually captured and took to the
back and ruled for twelve years here and was
M ing court (Somaratne 1975, 5). Somaratne
caught in a Chinese stratagem as a result o f a past
(1 9 7 5 , 6 6 - 7 ) explains that the person Zheng
karm a (deed)' (Translated in S.B. Hettiaratchi
He took captive was not the reigning ruler o f
2 003, 92; see also Somaratne 1975, 53).
Kotte, but a high official or minister holding
A second source is the late 16th century
the title o f ‘prabhuraja*. T h is p rabh u raja
work A lakesvarayuddhayay which notes that:
Alagokkonara was the one Z heng He met
‘Having com e from Great C hina, the king
during his first visit to the island and came to
o f the Island o f Sri Lanka was taken captive
know that he was not a supporter o f Buddhism.
and after that in the absence o f a king o f Sri
Although Alagokkonara was pardoned by the
Lanka, the minister by the name o f Alakesvara
Yongle emperor, the M ing court nonetheless
lived in the city o f Rayigama (Translated in
appointed another person named Yebanaina
Hettiaratchi 2 0 0 3 , 9 2 - 3 ) .
([Parákramábahu] Apaña?), who
T h e third source, the R djdvaliyay a 17th
was in M ing China at the same time as Alagok­
century chronicle from Sri Lanka, records that:
konara, as the new ‘ruler . Apana, however, was
During the reign of king Vijaya Bahu, Dos Raja, murdered on the same day that he returned to Sri
king of Great China, landed in Lanka with an im­ Lanka (most likely in 1414). Since the reigning
mense army, and under pretext of bringing presents ruler o f Kotte was also named Parákramábahu
and curiosities, craftily carried away king Vijaya (r. 1 4 1 1 -6 6 ), the Chinese scribes mistook the
Bahu, who fell into his hands, foolishly thinking that two as the same person and even the M ing
he also brought presents, as other foreign princes court, Somaratne argues (1 9 7 5 , 7 4), continued
had done in the time of king Parakrama Bahu. His to perceive him as their original ‘nominee o f the
(Vijaya Bahus) four younger brothers were killed.
 Changing Regimes 73

Chinese emperor to the throne o f Ceylon on Tibetan territories to reach the South Asian
account o f their identical names'.*^ Somaratne subcontinent, but also provided impetus for
further suggests that Parakramabahu, aware the Tang rulers to carry out religious activities
o f this co n fu sio n , m ain tain ed a strategic at Bodh Gayä and Räjagrha.
relationship with the M ing court by regularly D uring his first trip to the South Asian
sending tributary missions. subcontinent, for example, Wang Xuance was
Despite the above confusion, it is evident involved in several Buddhist activities. Wang
that by nominating a representative, the Ming and other members o f the Chinese embassy
court tried to effect a regime change in Sri first attended a Buddhist ceremony organized
Lanka. The intention would have been to gain a by Harsa where they also gained an audience
foothold at an important transit centre engaged with the king o f Kämarüpa. In early 6 4 5 , the
in Indian Ocean commerce and interactions. mission reached the city o f Räjagrha, where they
T he essay by G eo ff Wade in this volume argues placed an inscribed tablet at the foot o f the sacred
that the M ing voyages led by Zheng He were Grdhrakuta mountain. A month later, the envoy
the third prong o f Yongles southern expansion, visited the Mahäbodhi Monastery in Bodh Gayä
a fter invasions in to A nnam (p resen t-d ay and placed an inscription beneath the Bodhi
V ietn am ) and the Yunnan regions. T h ese Tree under which ^äkyamuni is supposed to
armadas, he suggests, utilized their massive have attained enlightenment (Chavannes 1896;
force to impose a '‘p a x M ing’ on the maritime Lévi 1900; Sen 2 0 0 3 , 3 8 ). T h e mission also
polities o f Southeast and South Asia and to included an artisan named Song Fazhi
control the maritime trade routes linking West who drew images o f Buddhist architecture and
Asia to East Asia. T his hegemony was backed artefacts. T he painting o f the Maitreya under the
as necessary by violence employing the prime Bodhi Tree that he seems to have drawn in India
military technologies o f the age. T h e regime was later used as a blueprint for a sculpture at
change in Sri Lanka executed by Zheng He fits the Jing ai Monastery in Luoyang and another
into this broader M ing policy o f controlling golden image o f the figure in Chang’an, the Tang
what Wade calls, major ‘choke points* in the capital {Fayuan zh u lin T . 2 1 2 2 , 5 0 3 a .6 -1 2 ; Sen
Indian O cean— Malacca in Southeast Asia and 2 0 0 3 , 38).
Sri Lanka in South Asia. Evidence regarding the Buddhist involvement
in the Tang missions also com es from the
Quests for Buddhist Relics? personal activities o f the Chinese envoy Wang
A nother possible reason for these m ilitary Xuance, Expressing his feelings about Buddhism
actions by the Chinese envoys in the South Asian on his maiden trip to India in 6 4 3 , the then vice
subcontinent needs to be highlighted here. The envoy noted,
Tang missions to Kanauj were actively engaged
1 had the unexpected good fortune to see the ven­
in the performance o f religious activities at sacred
erable foot-prints [of the Buddha]. Sometimes sad,
Buddhist sites. Indeed, the establishment o f sometimes happy, 1 could not control my feelings.
peaceful relations between the Tang court and This is why I have engraved an inscription on the
Tibet not only made it possible for the Tang mountain face to perpetuate an everlasting souvenir
embassies to use the shorter route through the so that the emperor of the Tang may have a splendour
74 Asian Encounters

as durable as that of the sun and the moon, and the himself as an expert in preparing longevity drugs.
law of the Buddha may be as extensive and as vast To demonstrate the potency o f his skills, he
as this mountain and may obtain an equal strength. claimed to be over 2 0 0 years old. T he reigning
(Fayuan zhulinT, 2122: 504b.8-9; Sen 2003, 40) Tang ruler Taizong was at that time suffering
from serious wounds he received in his battles
Wang Xuances third trip during the Xian-
against the Korean army and had witnessed the
qing period (6 5 6 —60) was similarly dominated
deaths o f some o f his leading officials. Taizong
by Buddhist activities. Sent sometime in the
housed the wonder-worker in the O ffice o f
third lunar month o f the third year o f the Xian-
Precious Metals and ordered him to produce
qing period (6 5 8 ), the purpose o f this fourth
the life-prolonging drug. T h e emperor assigned
Tang embassy to Middle India, according to
the Minister ofW ar Cui Dunli to look
some o f the Buddhist sources, was to carry a
after the needs o f the alchemist. Every effort
monastic robe {C\\.Jiasha Skt. kdsdya) for
seems to have been made to provide the doctor
presentation at the Mahabodhi Monastery on
with ingredients required to manufacture the
behalf o f Emperor Gaozong ¡§5^ (r, 6 4 9 -8 3 ).
drug for the emperor. 'Envoys’, Z izh i tongjian
Buddhist monks, including a Sogdian named
iS y p 3 § ^ (200, 6 303) records, ‘were sent in
Sengjiapam o (Sarnghavarman?),
the four directions to find strange herbs and rare
were part o f this imperial pilgrimage. O n 5
stones. Embassies were also sent to the Indian
November 6 6 0 , Jielong (Silanaga?), the
kingdoms to procure [longevity] drugs.*
head o f the Mahabodhi Monastery, organized
In the third lunar month o f the twenty-third
a grand reception for the Chinese embassy
year o f the Zhenguan period (July 6 4 9 ) the
and presented Wang Xuance with gifts that
emperor died at the age o f 49. A few years later,
included pearls, ivory, relics o f the Buddha, and
when Emperor Gaozong wanted to experiment
impressions o f the Buddha. In fact, fragments
with longevity drugs, high ofilcials at the court
o f Wang Xuances records o f his visits to India,
pointed out the failed attempt ot the Indian
a memorial he presented to the Tang court in
doctor to save his father. They even suggested
66 2 , and recent archeological evidence indicate
that the death o f Taizong may have resulted
that the Chinese diplomat was a lay Buddhist
from the drugs concocted by Narayanasvamin.
(Sen 2 0 0 3 ,4 1 ) .
Emperor Gaozong decided to send the doctor
T h e Tang missions to Kanauj also suggest
back to India, but before he could embark on his
that the Chinese rulers were deeply interested
voyage home, the disgraced doctor o f longevity
in finding a cure for their health problems
died at the Chinese capital.'"^
in the South Asian subcontinent. They were
In his quest tor extending his lifespan,
especially attracted to Indian longevity doctors
Taizong may have also sought to use the healing
and in the healing powers o f Buddhist relics (Sen
powers o f Buddhist relics. Since the 3rd or 4th
2003). In 64 8 , when Wang Xuance returned to
century C E , the Chinese had started to believe
China with the captured Indian ruler Arunasa,
in the healing and other miraculous powers o f
he also brought with him a Brahmin physician
the bodily remains o f the Buddha and objects
called N alu oershapo[m ei] ^1^ iM ^
associated with his life. Many Chinese rulers
(Narayanasvamin?), and the Brahmin introduced
also believed that the veneration or distribution
 Changing Regimes 75

o f these relics would legitimize their rule and Sri Lanka and southern India to expressly bring
extend their political authority.'^ Sometime in Buddhist relics to China. W hile these embassies
6 3 1 , one o f the most famous Buddhist relics, failed to obtain the renowned alms-bowl or the
the purported finger bone o f the Buddha, was tooth relic from Sri Lanka, Marco Polo reports o f
exhumed at the Famen Monastery not far from seeing one relic brought from South Asia at the
the Tang capital. For the next 2 0 0 years the Yuan court (Sen 2006a). Earlier Chinese records
relic was closely linked to the Tang rulers, who also mention Buddhist monks and embassies
periodically venerated it inside their palaces, trying to purchase or smuggle Buddhist relics
mostly, it seems, when they were suffering from from the South Asian subcontinent. The Chinese
major illnesses (Sen 2 0 0 3 , 6 8 -7 6 ). monk Yijing ft'/ ? (6 3 5 -7 1 3 ) speaks o f a Tang
Although Taizong is not known to have m onk named Mingyuan who tried to
personally venerated the Famen relic as some steal the tooth relic from Sri Lanka. He then
o f the later Tang rulers did, he financed its comments: Tt is said that this Tooth-relic could
first public display in 631. And in 66 0 , when be taken to China only by the Divine Power; and
Emperor Gaozong conducted the first imperial not by human contrivance {D a TangXiyu qiu fa
veneration o f the Famen relic, Chinese sources gaoseng z h u a n T 2 0 6 6 : 3c. 1 2 -1 8 ; translated by
note that there was already a parietal-bone Lahiri 1986, 3 3 -4 ).
(dinggu I ^ f t ) o f the Buddha brought from Almost 7 0 0 years later, Zheng He seems to
India by Wang Xuance in the palace.’*^ Since have tried to bring purportedly the same tooth
Wang Xuance was in India at this time, the relic to China. This may have been one o f the
relic could have only been brought during one causes o f the armed conflict with Alagakkonara.
o f his previous trips. It can be speculated that Even before Zheng He sailed on his third voy­
in 64 8 Wang Xuances main task was to bring a age, a trilingual (Chinese, Persian, and Tamil)
longevity doctor for the ailing Emperor Taizong. inscription was prepared in China to be erected
But, when he found that India was in chaos in Sri Lanka (Nagel 2 0 0 1 ). Dated 15 February
after the death o f King Harsa, Wang might have 1409, the Chinese section o f the inscription
also tried to gain access to one o f the Buddhas records lavish imperial gifts, including 1,000
remains in the region. The removal o f a Buddhist pieces o f gold, 5 ,0 0 0 pieces o f silver, and 50
relic by a foreign envoy would have no doubt rolls o f silk which were being presented to the
challenged Arunasas legitimacy. I f true, Arunasa Buddha. It is clear from this inscription that
might have attacked the Chinese entourage in one o f the reasons for Zheng H es voyage was
order to prevent them from taking the relic from to pay homage to the famous Buddhist relics
India. This suggestion would seem preposterous in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, a contemporaneous
if not for the similarities with other notices o f record from M ing China, as has been already
C^hinese interest in obtaining Buddhas remains pointed out by Louise Levathes (1993, 1 1 6 -1 8 ),
from South Asia. This includes, as noted below, indicates that Zheng He obtained the tooth relic
the possibility that Zheng He also tried to do after his victory in Sri Lanka and brought it to
something similar in Sri Lanka in 1411. China in 1411 (Map 4.2 ).
Already during the Yuan period, Kubilai T h is record appears in the Ming-dynasty
Khan is supposed to have sent his embassies to edition o f Xuanzangs D a TangXiyu j i
76 Asian Encounters

(Records o f the Western Regions [Visited been worshipped from generation to generation with­
During] the Great Tang Dynasty). Originally out negligence. The reigning king A-lie-ku-nai-er is a
written in the middle o f the 7th century, Xuan- native of Soji. He worships heretics, does not venerate
zangs record o f his travels was included in the the Triple Gem, is a brutal and tyrannical ruler, has
no feeling of pity for his people, and blasphemes the
Chinese Buddhist Tripitaka. The first woodblock
Buddhas tooth relic.
printed edition o f the Chinese Tripitaka appeared
in the 11th century and was reprinted several In the third year of the Yongle period (1405 G.E.)
times, with various textual additions. During the of the great Ming dynasty, the Emperor dispatched
Ming period there were six printed editions o f the eunuch Zheng He as an imperial envoy to send
the work. In the ‘Ming beiben 0^ (‘Ming incense and flowers to that country and make offer­
N orthern Ed ition’) or the ‘Yongle beizang’ ings [to the tooth relic]. Zheng He exhorted King
CYongle Northern Tripitaka’) edition, A-lie-ku-nai-er to respect Buddhism and keep away
which was compiled between 1421 and 1440, from heretics. The king was enraged and intended to
a short commentary is added to Xuanzang’s kill the envoy. Having got wind of the intrigue, Zheng
He went away. Afterward he was sent again to bestow
chapter that deals with Sri Lanka. Translated into
gifts on various foreign countries, and he visited the
English by Li Rongxi (1996, 35 3 -5 ),*^ it reads:
king of the mountain of Ceylon, who was all the more
The country of Sirtihala, known as the Land of Lions arrogant and disrespectful, and attempted to kill the
in olden times, and also called the Country of No envoy. The king mobilized fifty thousand troops to
Sorrow, is south of India. As it produces plenty of rare fell trees to obstruct the road and sent a contingent
gems, it is also named the Precious Island. Formerly, to ransack the seagoing vessels. At that juncture a
Sakyamuni Buddha transformed himself into a man subordinate official leaked the secret, and Zheng He
named Siriihala, and as he was a man possessing and his men, having realized the situation, at once
all virtues, he was made king by the people of the tried to return to their ships. As the road had been
country. Therefore it was also called the country cut off, they could only secretly send some men out,
of Simhaia. With his great supernatural powers, he but the captors of the ships would not allow them to
destroyed the great iron city, annihilated the rdksasis, go on board. Zheng He, commanding three thousand
and rescued the victims who were in peril. Then he soldiers, made an assault by a shortcut at night and
constructed a capital city and built towns to convert took possession of the royal city.
and guide the local people. After having propagated
The native troops who had captured the ships joined
the right teachings, he passed away, leaving a tooth
forces with the native soldiers on land and launched a
behind in this country. It is adamantine and will last
counterattack from all four sides. They besieged the
for many kalpas without being damaged. It issues a
royal city with a tight encirclement and fought for six
precious light like a brilliant star, like the moon shin­
days. Zheng He and his men captured the king and
ing in the night, or the sun brightening the daytime.
opened the city gate, and after cutting down trees to
Whenever a prayer is said to it, it responds as swiftly
make a way, they moved away while fighting. Going
as an echo. In times of natural disaster, an earnest
for more than twenty //, they reached their ships in
prayer will bring instant divine auspiciousness. What
the evening. They brought the Buddhas tooth relic on
is now called the Mountain of Ceylon was the country
board with due ceremony. It emitted a brilliant light
of Siriihala in ancient times. Beside the royal palace is
in a most unusual manner as mentioned above, while
a temple for the Buddhas tooth relic, decorated with
a peal of thunder rumbled with such a loud crash
various gems and shining with great brilliance. It has
so that people at a great distance saw the lightning
 Changing Regimes 77

and hid themselves. The ships sailed on the great sea to the Fifth Karm a-pa (D e-bzin -gsegs-p a,
without encountering a windstorm, [and they were 1 3 8 4 -1 4 1 5 ) o f Tibet. Carried by the Tibetan
as safe] as if they were walking on dry land. Ferocious eunuch named Hou Xian the invitation
dragons and mischievous fishes emerged before the requested the Karma-pa to visit the Ming capital
ships but caused no harm. All the people on board
and perform rituals for the deceased parents o f
the ships were safe and happy.
the Yongle emperor. A little over three years
On the ninth day o f the seventh month on the later, in 1407, the Karma-pa accompanied by
ninth year of Yongle (1411 C.E.) they returned to Hou Xian arrived in Nanjing. After conducting
the capital, and the Emperor ordered that a precious several ceremonies at the capital, the Karma-pa
diamond seat be prepared in the imperial city for the also visited M ount Wutai, the perceived adobe
tooth relic, in order to make offerings ro it for the o f the bodhisattva Manjusrï (Berger 2001 ; Mote
benefit of living beings and the welfare of the people, and Twitchett 1 9 8 8 , 2 6 2 - 3 ; Sperling 1983,
so that they might perform countless meritorious 7 4 -1 3 5 ). In 1408, the Yongle emperor invited
deeds. (T 2087: 938c-939a) Tsong-kha-pa, the other im portant Tibetan
leader to the M ing capital. However, the latter
Except for the concluding section describing
declined the invitation. In 1413, when Hou Xian
the removal o f the tooth relic from Sri Lanka,
was sent to Nepal, perhaps to bring the Indian
the episode described in this commentary is
m onk ^ariputra to M ing C hina (M cKeown
remarkably similar to the M in g shilu record
2 0 1 0 ), the eunuch passed through Tibet and
citied above.
met Tsong-kha-pa, presumably to again urge
Edward L. Dreyer (2 0 0 7 , 6 8 -7 0 ) has tried
him to visit the M ing court (Sperling 1982;
to refute the possibility o f a link between the
1983, 1 4 6 -7 ). It is at this rime that the above-
Z heng He-Alagakkonara confrontation and
m entioned letter from the Yongle emperor,
the M ing court s quest for Buddhist relics from
found in 1959 at the Potala Palace in Lhasa, was
Sri Lanka as a ‘red herring (Dreyer 2 0 0 7 , 6 8).
delivered to the Tibetan lama.^*^
He argues that the main emphasis at the M ing
T h e date o f the letter makes it the earliest
court was ‘orthodox Confucianism and not
record o f Zheng H e’s con flict with Alagak­
Buddhism. However, a letter from the Yongle
konara and the removal o f the Sri Lankan relic
em peror to the T ibetan lama Tsong-kha-pa
to M ing China. It is possible that Hou Xian,
(1 3 5 7 -1 4 1 9 ) dated 11 March 1413 includes
who accompanied Zheng He on the expedition
passages about Zheng He and his fetching o f the
o f 1 4 0 9 -1 1 , might have related this episode to
Sri Lankan relic that are exactly similar to the
the M ing court. Hou Xian himself is said to
commentary found in the Ming edition o f the
have been a Buddhist and his visits to Bengal
D a TangXiyu j i quoted above (Su 1996, 2 1 3 -4 ;
in 1 4 1 5 -6 and 1 4 2 0 -1 , like his earlier trip
Liu 2008).*® T h e letter offers significant clues
to Nepal, may have included Buddhism-re­
to the Yongle emperors interest in employing
lated undertakings on behalf o f the Yongle
Buddhism both for spiritual and political
emperor. In fact, during his trip to Bengal in
purposes.
1 4 2 0 -1 , Hou Xian and the Ming delegation are
In 1403, the same year he ascended to the Ming
reported to have visited the site o f the Buddhas
throne, the Yongle emperor sent an invitation
78 Asían Encounters

enlightenment in Bodh Gaya [M ing shilu 14, r. 5 8 1 -6 1 8 ] , for example) to the curing o f
2 2 2 6 ; Wade Entry, 2 6 90). diseases (in the cases o f Tang Gaozong and Wu
In 1412, shortly after the Zheng He mission Zetian, for instance). T h e interest in the Bud­
returned from Sri Lanka, the Yongle emperor dhist relics from Sri Lanka during the Yuan and
initiated the building o f the Bao’en temple Ming periods seems to have been connected to an
and the Liuli pagoda in Nan­ interest in legitimizing political authority within
jing in memory o f his parents (He 2 0 0 0 , 104; China and beyond its frontiers. Both Kubilai
Zhang 20 07). Zheng He was one o f the persons Khan and the Yongle emperor were interested in
put in charge o f overseeing the construction and demonstrating their power in regions far from
is later reported to have donated a large sum o f the Chinese coast.
money towards its completion (Gong and Pan T h e Sri Lankan tooth relic, which has been
2 0 08; He 2 0 0 0 , 1 0 4 -5 ; He 2007). Hou Xians called the ‘relic on the move’ by John Strong
mission to Tibet and Nepal, carrying the letter (2 0 0 4 , 191), is especially connected to episodes
to Tsong-kha-pa, took place shortly after the o f theft and cross-regional warfare. Strong
construction o f these monuments started. It is points to the story in the thirteenth-century
possible that the reason to invite the Tibetan Pali text D dthavam sa, where the arrival o f the
lama was connected to the consecration o f the relic in Sri Lanka is associated with its theft
Bao’en temple and the Liuli pagoda.^* Although from Dantapura in ancient Kalinga (present-day
Tsong-kha-pa declined the invitation, his disciple Orissa). Rulers from other parts o f Asia also
Shakya ye-shes is known to have reached the wanted to obtain the Buddhist relic from
Ming court in 1415 (Sperling 1982). Sri Lanka. Chinese sources, as noted above,
From the above episodes it is clear that m ention an attem pted theft by a m onk in
the Yongle emperor was involved with several the seventh century. In the 13th century, the
Buddhist activities from the time he usurped quest for the Sri Lankan relics, especially the
the throne that continued even after he moved tooth relic and the Buddha's alms bowl, seems
the capital from N anjing to Beijing (Zhou to have become a widespread activity: It was
2 0 05, 3 1 -4 7 ). These episodes indicate that he said to have been captured and taken to South
not only may have been familiar with Buddhist India by the Pandyan rulers; Candrabhanu,
teachings, but also cognizant about the political the ruler from Tambraliriga in Southeast Asia,
implications o f Buddhism and Buddhist para­ tried to procure it by launching naval attacks
phernalia. Indeed, it should also be noted that (Herath 1994, 1 0 7 -9 ; Sirisena 1978, 3 6 -5 7 );
the quest for Buddhist relics was not necessarily and Kubilai Khan sent missions to procure it in
connected to beliefs in the religious aspect o f the the 1280s. Later, in 1561, the Portuguese are
Buddhas remains, although the motive for the said to have taken it to Goa and destroyed it in
removal o f the relic is indirecdy attributed to a public ceremony, A few years later, the relic
the Sri Lankan ‘rulers’ neglect o f Buddhism.^^ miraculously reappeared in Sri Lanka, only to be
Rather, in the case o f many Chinese rulers, captured by the British in the early nineteenth
these relics often served several purposes ranging century (Strong 2 0 0 4 , 1 9 5 -7 ).
from political legitimization (by Liang Wudi Strong (2 004, 196) has also noted that the
[r. 5 0 2 -4 9 ] and Sui Wendi PS possession o f the tooth relic was ‘viewed in Sri
 Changing Regimes 79

Lanka as an important symbol o f sovereignty that the Yongle em perors invitations to the
over the nation and, as centres o f power shifted, Tsong-kha-pa in 1408 and 1413 are also not
he writes, it ‘became a movable palladium o f recorded in the M ing shilu and can only be
kingship The Yuan court, Herath (1994, 111) found in Tibetan sources.
suggests, wanted to obtain the Sri Lankan relics
‘as the most effective means o f enforcing their Concluding Remarks
authority* over the island. T he Yongle emperor, It is often highlighted that the interactions
trying to legitimize his authority in China and between ancient China and South Asia were
demonstrate sovereignty over foreign lands as the dominated by cultural and commercial activ­
heavenly mandated Son o f Heaven, would have ities. T h e m ilitary action o f Wang Xuance
clearly recognized the power o f an important against Arunasa and Zheng H es abduction o f
cultural artefact. In fact, he had also sent several Alagakkonara indicate that political interests
envoys to Korea to obtain Buddhist relics (M ote and military conflicts should also be considered
and Tw itchett 1 9 8 8 , 2 6 8 ). His attem pts to in order to have a holistic understanding o f
invite Buddhist preachers from Tibet and South pre-colonial C hina-South Asian interactions.
Asia may also have been connected to these These episodes suggest the need for critical
political goals. Additionally, the fact that Zheng analysis o f Chinese records, which remain the
He and Hou Xian were intimately involved main sources for the study o f such interactions.
in several o f these activities suggest a link T h e fact that these sources m ention most
between Yongles Buddhist activities and the conflicts between the Chinese dvnasties and
m aritim e expeditions. T h is is an issue that foreign peoples as just actions or responses
requires detailed examination. against a corrupt, immoral, and barbaric ruler
Also needing further investigation are the must not be accepted without detailed scrutiny.
whereabouts o f the tooth relic, if it was indeed Similarly, pre-colonial intra-Asian interactions
brought to C hina, and the reasons why Zheng should not be described only as harmonious and
H es role in bringing it is not recorded in works peaceful. In fact, the above-mentioned military
such as Ma Huans Yingyai shenglan^ Fei X in s confron tation s between C hinese emissaries
X ingcha shenglan, and the M ing shilu. Perhaps and rulers in the South Asian subcontinent,
the relic was housed in the Liuli pagoda in the Cója naval expedition against Srivijaya in
N anjing or taken back to Sri Lanka by Zheng 1025 (Sen 2 0 0 9 ), the wars between Chinese
He during one o f his later v o y a g e s .A s to the courts and its neighbouring polities, and the
absence o f accounts o f Zheng He taking the military expansion o f Islamic armies in Central
relic to China other than in the two sources and South Asia make it clear that warfare and
m entioned above, perhaps these were lost conflict played an important and potent role
d u ring the course o f c o m p ila tio n o f the in shaping relationships between various Asian
surviving editions, a possibility considering polities and peoples.
the M ing court s later actions to expunge many W ith the expansion o f their military might,
o f the records and ob jects associated with courts in China tried to forge various alliances
the maritime voyages. It should be noted, as with foreign polities either through diplomatic
Heather Karmay (1 9 7 5 , 80) has pointed out. means or by the use o f military power. As noted
80 Asían Encounters

above, political interferences in South Asia were and display political authority. W hether the
already apparent during the Han dynasty. The military confrontations between Wang Xuance
rulers o f the Tang dynasty were also interested in and Arunasa in the seventh century and between
expanding their empire and were aware about the Zheng He and Alagakkonara in the fifteenth
threats posed by the neighbouring polities. As a century resulted from the Chinese rulers’ interest
result, they tried to forge alliances with polities in obtaining the Buddha relics cannot be fully
that could serve their imperial goals. The alliance ascertained from the available sources. It is
with Harsa in the seventh century seems to have certain, however, that the presence o f Wang
been such an attempt to address a possible threat Xuance in Middle India in 6 4 8 and Zheng He
from the Tibetans. It would have been natural, in Galle in 1 4 1 0 -1 1 had something to do with
therefore, for the representatives o f the Tang Buddhist activities. The fact that regime changes
court to take an interest in the stability o f the by the Chinese emissaries took place during the
region previously ruled by an ally. performance o f these activities must be examined
Similarly, the Yongle emperor, who com ­ careftxlly in order to understand the intricacies o f
manded the most powerful navy in the world pre-colonial intra-Asian interactions.
in the early fifteenth century, may have also
considered the geo-political issues in the far Notes
reaches o f his sphere o f influence. Instead o f 1. For an episode o f military collaboration
colonizing distant places, establishing a friendly between the Tang court and the Karkota kingdom
regime was both efficient and cost-saving. Sri in Kashmir, see Sen (2004).
Lanka was one such key location in Yongles 2. This issue was discussed earlier in Sen (2003).
sphere o f influence. A friendly native ruler 3. On issues with identifying Yaliekunaier as
in Sri Lanka would have provided Zheng He Vijayabahu VI and his role in Sri Lankan history,
access not only to the main ports in the South including whether or not he was the reigning ruler
of Sri Lanka or one of the many persons vying for
Asian subcontinent, but also allowed his fleet
power, see Perera (1904) and de Silva (1912). See
to sail further west into the Arabian Sea. In
note 13 below for the possibility that there were two
other words, geo-political considerations were
people called Alakeswara or Alagakkonara who may
an integral part o f Tang-Kanauj and Ming-Sri
have encountered Zheng He.
Lanka interactions. 4. The Chinese sources used the term ‘Five Indias*
Also noteworthy is the interest in Buddhist {wu T ia n z h u ii^ ^ ) to refer to the region that now
relics among Asian polities. W hile the transmis­ includes Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. ‘Middle
sion o f Buddhist ideas played a significant role in India (zhong Tianzhu 4^:?^^) usually referred to
connecting various Asian societies and fostering the area around the present-day Indian states of
cross-cultural interactions, there were also Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, as well as parts of Jharkhand
instances when the interest in acquiring sacred and Madhya Pradesh.
Buddhist relics and objects led to conflicts and 5. For details about how these two events may
military confrontations. Indeed, as mentioned have led to the establishment of diplomatic exchanges
between the Tang court and Kanauj. see Sen (2003).
above, the relics o f the Buddha were not only
6. On the sequence of these initial exchanges of
perceived to have miraculous power and healing
diplomatic missions, see Sen (2003, 250n7).
properties, they were also used to legitimize
 Changing Regimes 81

7. A recent study of Zheng Hes voyages and Subsequently, the hero Alagakkonara became the
the issues surrounding them is Dreyer’s (2007) king of Kotte and took the title Vijayabahu VI. In
biography of the Ming admiral. The aims of Zheng 1410-11, when Zheng He returned to Sri Lanka,
He voyages have been reevaluated by Wade (2005). the official Alagakkonara plotted with the Chinese
'Ihe two important primary sources on Zheng He’s to depose Vijayabahu VI. On the pretext of entering
voyages are by Ma Huan called Yingyai shenglan the court to offer tribute, as Rdjdvaliya reports, the
(translation by Mills 1997 [1970]) and Ming embassy captured Vijayabahu VI and returned
Fei Xin S f a called Xingcha shenglan to China. Either when they realized that they had
(translation by Mills/Ptak 1996). been tricked, or because they were able to negotiate
8. The Còla kingdom had already collapsed in some sort of agreement with Vijayabaha VI, the
1279. Perhaps the Ming sources were referring to Ming court decided to let the Sri Lankan return
the Coromandel coast previously ruled by the Colas. to his country. According to Perera (1904, 293),
9. For details about the Tang missions to Kanauj, shordy after his return to Sri Lanka, Vijayabahu VI
see Levi (1900), Sun (1998), and Sen (2003). Levis was murdered by the usurper Alagakkonara, who
French essay on Wang Xuance is available in English was himself killed several months later.
translation by Chatterjee (1987 [1967]). 14. For a detailed study of Tang rulers interest
10. On Chinas relations with Nepal during the in Indian longevity doctors, see Sen (2003, 44-52).
Tang dynasty, see Yamaguchi (1983, 740-82) and 15. John S. Strong (2004) has discussed the
Sun (1999). veneration of Buddhist relics and their political usage
11. On Zheng Hes activities at the Malabar coast in various Asian societies. The political use of relics
and Ming involvement in the dispute between Bengal by Wu Zetian during the Tang dynasty is examined
and Juanpur, see Sen (2006; 2011 ) and Ray ( 1993). by Chen (2002).
12. It is curious that the Chinese sources do 16. For details about the relic veneration at the
not speak of Wang Xuance replacing Arunasa with Famen Monastery, see Sen (2003, 64-7).
another ruler at Kanauj. During his next visit to 17. I have removed the identification of A-lie-
the region, there is no mention of him meeting ku-nai-er as Bhuvanaikabahu V in the translation.
any ruler of Middle India. This raises the question As Somaratne (1975, 17ff) has argued, the two were
about whether Arunasa was in fact the person, who, not the same person.
according to Chinese sources, captured the throne 18. Other than a few differences in the use of
of Harsa. words, the two records of Zheng He obtaining the
13. Perera believes that were two persons named relic and bringing it to China are exactly the same.
Alagakkonara, a petty official trying to manipulate A detailed comparison of the two sources has been
the local political situation and a hero who had done by Liu (2008).
launched a battle against the Tamils in southern 19. On Hou Xian, see Zheng (2011), Yang
India. The official Alagakkonara. Perera (1904, (2008), andTsai (1996, 125-7).
2 9 0 -1 ) argues, was involved in creating a rift 20. The Yongle emperors interactions with the
between the possible heirs to throne in Kotte, with Tibetan lamas is also discussed in Karmay (1975,
the aim to eventually become the ruler himself. 72-103).
When Zheng He reached the island on his first 21. See Sperling (1983) about the possible
voyage, he may have met the hero Alagakkonara, political motives behind inviting these Tibetan lamas
who refused overtures from the Ming emissary to Ming China.
and ‘defeated the Chinese in an engagement and 2 2 . On Alagakkonara’s attitude towards
beat them back to their ships’ (Perera 1904, 291). Buddhism, see Herath (1994, 80-1).
82 Asian Encounters

23. On the political significance of the tooth relic, Da TangXiyuj i [Records of the Western
especially how it superseded the earlier emphasis on Regions Visited During the Great Tang Dynasty]. By
the bowl rehc, see Herath (1994, 92ff). Xuanzang and Bianjil^i^. T. (51) 2087.
24. It is also possible that during the Jiajing Da TangXiyu qiufagaosengzhuan
emperors (also known asShizong r. 1521-67) \nW [Biographies of the Eminent Monks who
suppression of Buddhism, the relic was destroyed. In Travelled to the Western Regions in Search of the
1537, for example, he is reported to have destroyed I^w, Compiled During the Great Tang Dynasty].
several Buddhist relics, including a tooth relic, stored By Yijing a ^ . T ( 5 1 ) . 2066.
in the imperial place. For details, see He Yunao Devahuti, D. Harsha: A Political Study. London:
(2000, 20), 'Ihe Liuli pagoda was destroyed during Oxford University Press, 1970.
theTaiping Rebellion (1850-64). Herath (1994, 81) Dreyer, Edward L. Zheng He: China and the Oceans
points out that the local keepers of the tooth relic in in the Early Ming Dynasty 1405-1433. New York;
Sri Lanka believe that the real relic was never taken Pearson Longman, 2007.
from the island, only its replicas were removed by Enomoto, Fumio. ‘A Note on Kashmir as Referred
the invaders. to in Chinese Literature; Ji-bin. In Ikari Yasuke,
ed., ^ Study o f the N'llamata: Aspects o f Hinduism
L ist of A bbreviations in Ancient Kashmir, 357-65- Kyoto: Institute for
Research in Humanities, Kyoto University, 1994.
T. Taisho shinshu daizôkyô
Fayuan zhulin [Pearl-grove of the Garden of
[Taishô-era new edition of the Buddhist canon],
' the Law]. By Daoshi i t tit (d, 668?) T (53) 2122.
ed.,TakakusuJunjiro (1866-1945),
Gong Bai S l i i and Pan Qun ‘Zheng He
Watanabe Kaikyoku (1872-1932),
chongxiu da Bao’en si kaoliie’
et al. 100 vols. Tokyo: Taishô issaikyô kankôkai,
[Brief Examination of the Renovation of
1924-35.
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 CHAPTER 5

An Inconvenient Heritage
The Central Asian Background of the Delhi Sultans

S unil K umar

Interest in the study o f trans-regional connec­ 1 990, 3 2 -5 7 ) . More recently Peter Jackson’s
tions between the Delhi Sultanate and the rest o f dissertation and later publications con textualized
the Central Islamic Lands and Central Asia has Sultanate-M ongol relations within the larger
been gradually occluded by a far greater interest history o f the Chinggisids and the Sultanate,
in questions relating to cultural encounters focusing thereby on the ways in which internal
between the ‘Hindus’ and the ‘Muslims’ (in the political developments within the larger Central
writings o f Eaton 1997 and Flood 2 0 0 9 , for Asian region impacted on the principal political
example). Much o f the work on the relations actors in north-west India (Jackson 1 9 7 6 ,1990b,
between the Delhi Sultans and the ‘Abbasid 2006; Siddiqui 1983). W hile Andre W inks work
Caliphs in Baghdad and Cairo has continued has drawn attention to the mobile nature o f the
to emanate from a rather mechanical ‘seeking 13th century world, this has been largely through
o f legitimacy’ perspective (Ahmad 1964, 3 -1 1 ; ‘centre-periphery’ global history models. In this
Day 1990, 3 - 2 7 ; Jackson 1999, 1 6 2 -3 , 167, paradigm, frontiers’ were interesting largely as
2 3 4 , 3 7 1 - 2 , 2 9 6 , 2 9 8 ). And even as the places o f transition and as peripheries to the
diplomatic-military aspect o f the relationship medieval Indo-Islamic global epicentres (Kanauj/
between the Delhi Sultans and the Mongols has Delhi) (W ink 1997).
attracted greater historiographical attention, this This paper reconsiders the relationship o f the
was also anachronistically constituted into the Delhi Sultanate and its political elites with Cen­
Sultanates ‘North-West Frontier Policy’ where tral Asia, taking into account the important but
its engagements with the ‘enemy* provided the often ignored detail that many o f the Sultanates
framework for considerable research (Ahmad major political participants had their origins in
1 9 6 4 , 1 2 - 2 1 ; Saran 1 9 5 2 , 1 8 8 - 2 2 2 ; Day that region and were ethnically or linguistically
 An Inconvenient Heritage 87

associated with either the Turkish or the Mongol their own patrons. As I point out in this essay,
people dispersed in the huge region embracing the monochromatic description o f the Mongols
Semirechye in the east, the Caucasus in the west, as hostile invaders made it difficult for Persian
and Afghanistan in the south. T his historio­ litterateurs to report with great accuracy on the
graphical amnesia is surprising considering that backgrounds o f their own patrons. A variety o f
it is d e rigueur to recognize the early Sultanates narrative strategies were therefore deployed to
Turkish’ character. Clearly this recognition did underline the great distance between Sultanate
not extend to any analysis o f what implications heroes and M ongol infidels. As a result we
the ‘Turkish’ character o f Sultanate elites might remain today rather poorly informed about the
have had on the political culture, the institutions links between the Delhi Sultanate and the people
or the reportage on the regime (for exceptions o f the steppe.
see Jackson 1998, 2 006; Kumar 2009). My essay is divided into two sections that are
I argue that the historical narratives o f frontier more or less chronologically and thematically
and inter-faith conflicts tend to obscure the distinct. T h e first section studies the period
longer, and more variegated history o f trans-re­ usually characterized as the ‘Turkish/Slave
gional relationships that existed between the regim e’ and develops two con trastin g but
Delhi Sultanate and the people o f the Central interrelated themes— on the one hand, it focuses
Asian steppes. These narratives were first pro­ on the Turkish military slaves (singular, banda\
duced by Persian litterateurs in the subcontinent plural, bandagan) and the conflicted response o f
who described Chinggis Khans devastation o f Persian litterateurs to the ethnicities and slave
Transoxiana, eastern Iran and Afghanistan as origins o f their patrons. O n the other hand it
the holocaust that would presage the Day o f brings out the complicated interactions between
Judgement. During this period o f crisis these Sultanate military commanders and residents
litterateurs portrayed the Delhi Sultanate as on the frontier in Multan and Lahore, and the
the nearest sanctuary accessible to M uslim Mongols. The second section o f the paper studies
migrants. But their sense o f security was hardly the end o f the 13 th and the beginning o f the I4th
deep rooted; reports o f each Mongol invasion centuries, a period coterminous with the rule o f
replayed old fears (Juzjani [ca 1260] 1963—4, the Khalajis (6 8 9 -7 2 0 AH/1 2 9 0 -3 2 0 C E) and
1: 9 0 0 -1 ). It was the great fear’ o f this age that the earlyTughluqs (7 2 0 -8 1 7 / 13 2 0 ^ 14), whose
coloured the reportage o f the Persian litterateurs founding dynasts had served with the Mongol
and memories o f devastation and displacement auxiliary forces on the Sultanate frontier. Their
caused by the Mongols left them as universally past service with the Mongols did not constrain
hated figures. This was somewhat awkward in the their rapid rise to power and eventual seizure o f
light o f the fact that many o f the Sultanate elites the Sultanate itself I focus upon the evidence
were o f the same social and cultural background for the transposition o f Turkish and Mongol
as the Mongols and their retinues. Some o f these cultural traditions into Hindustan as these
elites had briefly served with Mongol contingents commanders transited from the frontier, seized
in the Afghanistan region. It demanded a great power in the capital, and emerged as Sultans o f
deal o f skill on the part o f the Sultanate literati Delhi. How did the Persian chroniclers, with
to condemn the Mongols, without demonizing their aversion to the Mongol hordes, respond
88 Asian Encounters

to these developments? Towards an effort at his description o f the victories o f Batu, Chinggis
unravelling its different aspects I commence my Khans grandson and Khan o f the Golden Horde,
study at the beginning o f the 13th century and he listed the Qipchaq, Qanqali, Yimak, llbari/
the early deployment o f Turkish military slaves Olperli and Rus as an associated group (Juzjani
by the Delhi Sultan Shams al-D in lltutmish [ca 1260] 1 9 6 3 ^ , 2: 1 7 5 -6 ).*
(6 0 7 -3 3 / 1 2 1 0 -3 6 ). These details are dispersed in Juzjanis text
somewhat randomly. More to the point was the
T urkish Ethnicities, S ultanate Regimes, and manner in which these social details were subli­
T rans-regional Connections mated within the larger ethnonym ‘Turk’, a term

The major source o f information on the purchase that homogenized clan histories and cultural

and deployment o f Turkish slaves by lltutmish particularities o f Iltutmishs slave commanders.

and the early Delhi Sultans is the chronicler This was useful to Juzjani because within Perse­

M in h aj-i Siraj Ju zjani (died ca 6 6 8 / 1 2 7 0 ) phone literary traditions Turk* already possessed

(Juzjani [ca 1260] 1963—4). He obviously had rather stereotypical qualities, not least including

considerable knowledge o f the Turkish tribes valorous service in the cause o f Islam (Jackson

in the Central Asian steppes and it is in the 2 0 0 6 ; Kumar 2 0 0 6 , 2007a; Walker 1915). As

presentation o f this information that the reader early as 602/ 1206 this sentiment was voiced

needs to appreciate his literary craftsmanship. In by Fakhr-i Mudabbir who further clarified that

his record o f many o f lltutmish s Turkish slaves, Turkish slaves were particularly commendable

Juzjani meticulously recorded their tribes and because o f their ability to distance themselves

clans: Qipchaq, llbari/Olperli, Rumi, Khita i from their ‘hearth and homes and acculturate

Turk, and so on (Juzjani [ca 1260] 1 9 6 3 -4 , to the Perso-Islamic regimen o f their new homes.

2: 5 - 7 , 8 - 1 8 , 1 9 -2 0 , 2 2 - 3 , 3 6 - 8 9 ) . There He noted at length:

were some scribal errors in the reproduction

There is no group amongst the masses of unbeliev­
o f Juzjani s text, and as Peter Golden clarified, ers brought to Islam who do not hanker after their
llbari, the name o f a Turkish clan in the extant homes, their mother and father and relations ...
manuscripts o f the Tabaqat-i Nasiri, was an error except only the Turks who when they are brought to
for Olperli, a clan associated with the Qipchaq Islam place their heart so completely in it that they
confederacy (Golden 1986). Juzjani s intimate forget hearth and home and relations__ It is well
knowledge o f the Ilbaris/Olperli and its confed­ known to the people of the world that all races and
erates was clarified in the concluding verse to his classes are loved and respected while they remain
chronicle where he eulogized Balban as ‘Khan o f among their own people, their kindred and in their
the llbari/Olperli and Shah o f the Yimak [Khan-i own town; but when they travel to some strange
land they are friendless, miserable and disrespected.
llbari/Olperli ast wa Shah-i Yimak]\]\xz).xn\ [ca
But the Turks are a case to the contrary. While they
1260] 1 9 6 3 -4 , 2: 2 2 0 -1 ). O ther than being
are amongst their own families and country they are
aware o f the close historical association between
merely one in a multitude and enjoy no wealth or
the llbari/Olperli, the Qipchaqs the Qanqali,
power. But when they leave their own country and
and the Yimak , he was also able to place them come to the land of the Muslims, the further they are
with considerable geographical accuracy in the taken from their hearth, their kin and their dwellings,
trans-Caucasian steppes, the dasht-i Qipchaq. In they become more valued, precious and expensive
 An Inconvenient Heritage 89

and they become amirs and sipahsalars (governors select individuals, even slaves, as sovereigns
and commanders). (Fakhr-i Mudabbir [1210] 1927, (Auer 2 0 1 2 ,4 0 - 2 ) .
35-6; Ross 1922, 402-3) In a similar fashion, Juzjani also wanted his
readers to understand how God was responsible
W hile Orlando Patterson had noticed two
in enslaving Balban and bringing him to H in­
common features— natal alienation a n d social
dustan with the intention o f saving the Muslim
death— in the construction o f slavery across
community. Juzjani noted:
different cultures and histories (Patterson 1982),
it is interesting to note that in Fakhr-i Mudabbir s Since it was God s wish to make an unassailable place
account it is only one o f its features, ‘natal for Islam [quwwatal-hlam]y provide safe sanctuary in
alienation, that receives the greatest attention. the world for the stability of the religion of Muslims
The author left undeveloped the social/jural tran­ and keep Hindustan in the circle of his protection
sitions— from freedom to slavery— underwent and seclusion, He removed \juda kard\ the young Ul­
by the bandagan. ugh Khan [Sultan Balban] fromTurkistan on account
of the flux and troubles caused by the domination
T h e details in Juzjani’s text might suggest
of the Mongols in the region, and separated him
that he was less hesitant in recording both the
from his family and friends \qabail wa aqriha] and
clan histories and the enslavement o f the Delhi
brought him to Baghdad and later from Baghdad to
Sultans Q utb al-Din Ai-Beg (6 0 2 -7 / 1 2 0 6 -1 0 ),
Gujarat. (Juzjani [ca 1260] 1963-4, 2: 48)
Shams al-D in Iltutm ish (6 0 7 -3 3 / 1 2 1 0 -3 6 ),
and Ghiyas al-Din Balban (6 6 4 -8 6 / 1 2 6 6 -8 7 ), Lest the reader remained unimpressed with
and their im portant m ilitary com m anders. these episodes o f divine intervention, and still
He provided fairly elaborate accounts o f how hankered for signs o f aristocratic virtue in their
Iltutm ish and Balban were enslaved, trained rulers, Juzjani introduced Iltutmish as the son
by m erchants, and sold to their masters in o f Il/Ilam Khan, a chieftain o f the Ilbari/Olperli
Delhi (Juzjani [ca 1260] 1 9 6 3 -4 , 1: 4 4 0 - 1 , clan in the Central Asian steppes where he had
2: 4 7 - 8 ) . But this information was carefully numerous followers and family (Juzjani [ca
situated by the author to serve other purposes. 1260] 1 9 6 3 -4 , 1: 4 41). Likewise, Balban was
Juzjani s account o f Iltutmish s enslavement was identified as a descendent o f the Khans o f the
embellished with personal details reminiscent o f Ilbari/Olperli tribe, whose grandfather was the
the Qur anic/Biblical story o f the Prophet Joseph chieftain o f ten thousand tents (Juzjani [ca 1260
and the deception through which he was sold 1 9 6 3 -4 , 2: 47). These details, actually, made
into slavery by his brothers, a parallel underlined G od’s miracle even more magnificent— it was
through the citation o f the appropriate verse His intervention that saved the two princes from
from the Qur'an: Sura >i/jw/12:12-13 (Juzjani Mongol depredations in Turkistan to fijlfil their
[ca 1260] 1 9 6 3 -4 , 1: 4 4 1 -2 ). As Auer noticed, destinies as saviours o f Islam in Hindustan. The
Juzjanis reference to the Biblical and Q ur’anic condition o f slavery was then recast within larger
episodes effectively deflected the story towards historical developments until it was a critical
the‘humble origins o f greatness*, foregrounding process, not a vital social condition that marked
the signs through which readers might appreciate the transitions o f the two protagonists as heroes
the presence o f G ods intervention in choosing in the cause o f Islam.
90 Asian Encounters

T h e fact that both Iltutm ish and Balban the monarch’s slaves were Turks— note, for
belonged to the Ilbari/Olperli clan was quite example, Hindu K han , enslaved in Mahir (near
insignificant to Juzjani.^ O n ce brought to Kalinjar), and eventually given the charge o f
Hindustan and deployed by the Delhi Sultans administrating the monarch’s slave household
they possessed new eponymous identities as (Juzjani [ca 1260] 1 9 6 3 -4 , 2: 1 8 -9 ). Giving
servants o f their new masters: their names this slave from Mahir a Turkish title meant his
stated whether they were Qutbis (Q utb al-Din absorption within an exclusive cadre o f military
A i-B eg s slaves) or Sham sis (Sham s al-D in personnel, created, organized, and deployed
Iltutm ishs slaves). We should not miss the fact in the service o f the monarch. In this context,
that these political dispensations, despite the when Juzjani described the Shamsi bandagan as
internal plurality o f their constituents, always a monolithic body o f Turks, he was picking up
appeared m onolithic. Here Fakhr-i Mudabbir the design o f the monarch quite ably.
and Ju zjan is usage o f the ethnonym ‘Turk’ But creating the sensibility o f a m onolithic
served the useful purpose o f synthesizing the ruling elite had its own com plications. For
myriad servants o f the Delhi Sultans within an one, the disjunction between the ruling class
undifferentiated political dispensation. and the subject population made criticism s
This was not entirely a literary construction o f the political system much simpler. Indeed,
o f Sultanate chroniclers; the D elhi Sultan, outside the circle o f court litterateurs, whose
Shams al-Din Iltutm ish, certainly wanted to scripts might have responded favourably to the
create an exclusive, monolithic Turkish identity intent o f the monarch, other members o f the
for his military slaves. As part o f the process Persian literati appeared to creatively manip­
o f divesting old relationships and bonds the ulate the binaries inherent in the rhetorical
Sultan gave his newly purchased slaves new narratives o f Fakhr-i Mudabbir and Juzjani. In
names. Rather than giving them Muslim names Amir Hasan Sijzi’s record o f the teachings o f
or naming them after Persian folk heroes, the Nizam al-D in Auliya, the author always had
slaves were, without exception, given Turkish the Sufi saint use the generic epithet ‘Turk’,
names (Juzjani [ca 1260] 1 9 6 3 -4 , 2: 1 -8 9 ; to refer to the slave military commanders o f
Kumar 2 0 0 7 a , 1 5 4 - 7 , ‘Table V ). T h is was the Sultan. In the juxtaposition between Turk
somewhat similar to M amluk Egypt where, and non-Turk in this sufi text, ‘Turk’ did not
as Ayalon noticed, Turkish names and titles carry the sense o f a ‘hero/servitor o f Islam’.
‘served as an almost watertight proof o f their As in Fakhr-i Mudabbir’s text, Nizam al-Din
belonging to the Mamluk ruling class and as Auliya’s ‘Turk’ possessed power, wealth, and
a most distinctive mark o f their superiority political influence, but in a variety o f different
over all outsiders’ (Ayalon 1960, 1975). In the stories the sufi saint underlined their rude,
Delhi Sultanate there were several free Amirs bellicose, and unfree nature (Kumar 2 0 0 7 a ,
with I'urkish names or titles, but no political 1 9 9 - 2 0 1 ; Sijzi [1 3 2 2 ] 1 9 9 0 , 1 1 2 - 4 , 134).
group other than the Sultan’s slaves carried T h e binaries in Nizam al-D in’s discourse were
this ethnic marker. Iltutmish’s decision to use tellingly developed in the Sufi saint’s story
Turkish ethnicity to distinguish his elite military about Khwaja Hamid, a secretary who was in
slaves was particularly striking because all o f the service o f the Turkish slave Tughril. O ne
 An Inconvenient Heritage 91

day, quite without warning, Khwaja Hamid W e should remain sensible to the great
saw a mysterious, ghostly face that taunted harmony in Juzjani’s narration: just as G ods
him. T h e face reappeared on several occasions in tercessio n had brou g h t T urkish heroes
and finally explained the reason for harassing ip a h a lw a n a n /sip a h s a la r s) to H ind ustan as
the secretary. It asked: saviours o f Islam, disharmony and con flict
amongst them could only occur through the
Oh Hamid! Why are you standing before this man?
intervention o f Satan.
... You are wise (*alimi) and he is ignorant (jahit), you
In the context o f the threatening Mongol
are a freeman (hurri) and he is a slave (barida), you are
presence, the ethnic solidarity o f Sultanate
a pious man {salihi) and he is an uncultured sinner
commanders helped in the creation o f another
(fasiq), (Sijzi [1322] 1990, 342-3)
set o f binaries— the Delhi Sultanate, where
T he contrast could not have been blunter. Islam was protected by the Turks, against the
The Sufi Shaykhs teachings were in a dialogic infid el M on gols; two co n tra stin g regimes
relationship with court chronicles, which they amongst whom there was little but frontier
systematically dismantled. T h e homogenization conflict. It needs to be kept in mind, however,
o f the slave ruling elite within the artificially that the Mongols were not altogether Toreign
constructed Turkish ethnonym, made it easier people to the residents o f the Sultanate. W hile
for Nizam al-Din Auliya to use that exonym the regimes might have been in conflict, these
to underline the disabilities that inhibited the hostilities were not a bulwark to com m uni­
‘Turk’ from ever appearing as a noble, a s h a r if cation, especially once the coherence o f the
(Kumar 1994). Sultanate order started to dissipate. As Sultanate
Soon after the death o f lltutm ish, while commanders competed with each other, several
detractors used the discursive gloss o f the Turkish bandagan turned to the Mongols for
eulogists to question the moral rights o f the military assistance and/or sanctuary.
Turks to power, Persian chroniclers also found Luminaries like Jalal al-D in, the margin­
it increasingly difficult to sustain the fiction o f alized son o f lltutm ish and the brother o f
the monolithic ruling elite. In the middle o f the the reigning Sultan, and important military
13th century, when internal conflict amongst commanders like Qutlugh Khan, Kushlu Khan,
the Turkish slaves was a common occurrence, and even Shir Khan, the cousin o f the future
Juzjani tried to present them as exceptional, Sultan Ghiyas al-D in Balban, sought their
unnatural moments: help. T h e Mongols were always forthcoming
in assisting disgruntled Sultanate elites but
....the armies came close to each other-all brothers seeking their assistance, in the protocol o f the
and friends of each other, two battalions of one dy­
day, meant recognizing the suzerainty o f the
nasty (datdat)y two armies of the same capital (had-'
Great Khan and accepting the status o f vassal.
rat)y [belonging to] the same mansion (khana), two
Thus, when the Mongols installed Jalal al-Din
parts of the same [saddle-?] lining - it was impossible
as a rival Sultan in the recently despoiled city
for there to be a more amazing case. They were all
of one purse, partakers of one dish between whom o f Lahore, he had to accept a Mongol shahnUy
accursed Satan introduced much discord. (Juzjani an intendant (Juzjani [ca 1260] 1 9 6 3 -4 , 2: 73,
[ca 1260) 1963-4,2: 73) 8 8 -9 , 1 1 1 -1 4 ).
92 Asian Encounters

D espite Ju z ja n i’s harsh portrayal o f the Juzjani*s knowledge o f Mongol custom and his
Mongol hordes and their destruction o f the sensitivity that the usage o f the Delhi Sultan did
‘lands o f Islam*, mingling with the Mongols was not prescribe to Mongol sensibilities o f hierarchy.
not crossing the Rubicon. There were diplomatic W e have already rem arked on F ak h r-i
engagements between Hulegii (II Khans), Batu Mudabbir and Juzjani*s unique knowledge o f
(Golden Horde), Sultan Naslr al-Din, and his the steppe people and their customs, but this
premier commander Ulugh Khan (the future fleeting insight into diplomatic relations helps
Sultan Balban). T h e details o f the negotiations to redirect our attention away from frontier to
are lost In the eulogistic dissimulation o f the trans-regional contacts at this time. O ne aspect
Delhi chroniclers who suggest that the Mongols o f this contact concerned migrants, displaced
were so Impressed by the display o f Sultanate mil­ people, and traders who moved to the sub­
itary might that they ordered their contingents continent leaving family, social networks, and
to avoid campaigns In the territory o f the Delhi markets behind in Afghanistan, eastern Iran and
Sultan (Juzjani [ca 1260] 1963-4, 2: 8 3 -8 ). But Transoxiana (Richards 1983). Contacts between
In the fulsome record o f Juzjanis narration o f one people separated by geographical distance were
such engagement is the inadvertent admission not difficult; but negotiating the arenas o f
o f Sultanate awareness o f Mongol diplomatic conflict where travellers and traders were fair
etiquette. This is contained in a long anecdote prey needed careful preparation. T he evidence
where Juzjani described the presentation o f letters for these co n ta cts abounds in ch ro n icles,
from Ulugh Khan to Hulegu, the II Khanid travelogues, and In sufi m alfuzat. The casualness
monarch. T he letter to the Mongol monarch was with which it is sometimes mentioned makes
in Persian and when it was translated into M on­ it clear that different types o f trans-regional
golian the emissary replaced Khan in Balbans contacts were hardly exceptional even during
title with Malik. Juzjani clarified: ‘the custom o f times o f great hostilities.
Turkistan \qaida~i Turkistan] is this that there is An anecdote in the mystic saint Nizam al-Din
but one Khan, no more, and all the others have Awliyas m alfuz recalls how the imam o f a mosque
the title o f M alik\ In Juzjani’s narration, Hulegu in Multan was pulled up by the sufi Hasan
Khan knew o f Balbans usage o f the Khan title Afghan because rather than reading namaz^'vUtx
and honoured him sufficiently to protest its full Intent, he was dreaming o f bringing slaves
omission when his letter was read out with the from Delhi to Khurasan where they could be sold
honorific missing. He asked for the title o f Khan fora profit (Sljzl [1322] 1990, 15). T he fact that
to be restored. Juzjani concluded his report: ‘the Khurasan was very much under the control o f the
titles o f all o f the Khans from the lands o f Hind Mongols caused the imam no nightmares. That
and Sindh who went to the presence o f the Khan the anecdote reported events from Multan is also
were altered [tabdilkard\ in all o f the documents significant since after the destruction o f Lihore
proffered to the Mughal and they were referred to in 639/1241, Multan emerged as an important
as M a lik . But they confirmed the title o f the great centre for trade with Khurasan and Transoxiana.
Ulugh Khan without change [as in] the original* As it happened, Juzjani had occasion to test the
(Juzjani [ca 1260] 1963-4, 2: 87). The veracity services available in this city. He had a sister
o f the incident is hardly o f as much Interest as resident In Khurasan and in 648/1251 she sent
 An Inconvenient Heritage 93

messages to the author about being in dire straits. c 1260] 1 9 6 3 -4 ,2 :1 2 3 - 4 ; Morgan 1 9 5 4 -2 0 0 5 ,

Juzjani appealed to his patrons and was given 7: 234). T he traders could use this p a iz a to travel
slaves and goods by Sultan Nasir al-Din and undeterred in Mongol territories and they were
Ulugh Khan to send to her. W hen the author aware that its receipt implied an acceptance
reached Multan that summer, it was in the midst o f Mongol overlordship. W hile the p a iz a and
o f a tripartite struggle between two Shamsi slaves m ith al-i am an gave merchants the opportunity
(Kushlu Khan and Shir Khan) and the Qarluq, to trade with the upper lands', where so many
Saif al-Din Hasan, a Mongol ally. Multan was Sultanate residents still had families, it also left
eventually captured by the Qarluqs who had a them— as the Lahore merchants discovered at
Mongol shahna present in the city, but this con­ their cost— as servants o f two masters residing
flict over the city between different commanders in a politically fluid border land. Under the pro­
and regimes did not seem to complicate Juzjani s tection o f the Sultanate commander. Qaraqush.
life in the slightest. He successfully dispatched his the Lahore traders were the subjects o f the Delhi
goods to Khurasan and stayed on in Multan until Sultan. But as recipients o f the Mongol p a iz a
the weather improved before making his way they were also subjects o f the Mongols and. as a
back to Delhi. Despite the military engagements result, did not want to participate in a conflict
between rival groups the commercial life o f the where they had to choose between masters.
city remained undisturbed and, so far as our They therefore provided only the most lethargic
information allows us to gauge, Juzjani could support in the defence o f the city. W ithout the
travel undisturbed through the region (Juzjani support o f the residents o f the city, the Shamsi
[ca 1260] 1963-4, 1: 4 8 3 - 4 ; 2: 61). military commander withdrew and left the city
So how did these merchants traverse the to its fate. Unfortunately for the Lahore traders,
trade routes into the upper lands’ weaving their the Mongols made little distinction between
way amongst different combatants? We do not opposition, energetic or otherwise, and as was
have inform ation from M ultan but Lahore customary with subjects who had defied their
provides a clue. W hen the Mongols besieged authority, the city o f Lahore was plundered and
Lahore in 639/1241, the city was defended by left in ruins.
Malik Ikhtiyar al-D in Qaraqush, his retinue, M ongol and D elhi Su ltan ate regim ents
and the residents o f the town led by the qadis crossed swords in the Punjab and Sindh regions,
and its notables, m a a r if. T h e latter were hardly a situation fraught with great danger to those
enthusiastic in resisting the Mongols and Juzjani individuals who were invested in defending
explained that this was because the city’s notables either one o f the two regimes. It is not always
included a large number o f merchants involved easy to find such people because prudence and
in trade with Turkistan and the ‘upper lands. entrepreneurship commingled adroitly amongst
They visited these areas constandy and each had those who saw in the vicissitudes o f border con­
a p a iz a and a m ithal-i am an (literally, a tablet frontation, immigration, and displacement, the
and an order o f protection) from the Mongols opportunities to make their fortunes. Consider
(Doerfer 1 9 6 3 -7 5 , 1 :2 3 9 —41; Juwaini [ca 1280 the example o f Juzjani, a jurist and chronicler
1958, 1: 158. 255. 257; 2: 48 7 . 4 8 8 , 48 9 , 499, whose text, as much as anything else, would
500. 5 0 8 -9 . 5 1 9 -2 0 . 523, 551, 5 9 8 ,6 0 6 ; Juzjani suggest com plete com plicity in the making
94 Asian Encounters

o f the Sukanate regime. He could, however, T he confusion concerning the background o f

wear a different hat as well. As an individual the Khalaj is perhaps best resolved by Mahmud
looking for commercial services he traversed Kashghari who included the Khalaj not amongst
the Sindh region amidst its rival contesters, and the twenty-two Oghuz but the twenty-four
unhindered by the political turbulence in the Oghuz-Turkman tribes, where Turkman meant,
region, successfully remitted funds to Khurasan. ‘like the Turks*. In other words, Kashghari felt
Beyond the political structures and their dis­ that the Khalaj did not belong to the original
cursive representations as monolithic regimes, stock o f the Turkish tribes, but had associated
there were other trans-regional connections that with them, and therefore, in language and dress
strengthened, not weakened, with the passage o f often appeared Tike the Turks’(Anonymous
time. The next section studies immigration o f [982] 1937, 3 4 7 - 8 ; D an koff 1972; Doerfer
Mongol auxiliaries into north India at the turn 1 9 5 4 -2 0 0 5 , 4: 9 1 7 - 8 ; M inorsky 1940). Yet,
o f the 13th and the early I4th century and their the fact that Turkish ethnicity was not entirely
impact on the Delhi Sultanate. superficial for the Khalaji dynasts in Delhi was
evident in their systematic usage o f Turkish
Mongol Auxiliaries, Frontiersmen, and titu latu re to express status— for exam ple,
Late 13th Century Sultans o f Delhi Ulugh, Alp, Yughrush, Qutlugh Tegin, and Ikit
The experience o f the Sultanate with ruling elites (Kumar 2 0 0 9 ).
o f Central Asian provenance did not end with the T h e origin o f the Tughluqs was equally
Slave regime and the Turkish bandagan in 1290; convoluted. It is the M oroccan traveller, Ibn
it continued well into the early I4th century. Battuta, who informs us that Ghiyas al-D in
Both the Khalajis and the Tughluqs were eth­ was a Qara una Turk, a detail also confirmed
nically o f Turkish origin. Muhammad b. Najib b y ‘Isami (Ibn Battuta [1355] 1976, 4 7 ; I 9 7 I ,
Bakrans Jih a n nam ah, written circa 1 2 0 0 -2 0 , III: 6 4 9 ; Tsami [ca 1350] 1 9 4 8 , 179, 180;
clearly recognized the Turkish background o f the Jackson 1999, 3 2 8 ). T h e Q araunas were the
Khalajis (Anonymous [982] 1937,348). T he fact armed contingents o f Neguder, and known as
that at the turn o f the 13th century, II Khanid the Negiiderids in II Khanid sources. Neguder
authors like Rashid al-Din Fazl Allah referred was a military commander affiliated with the
to the Khalaj as Oghuz Turks is also suggestive G olden H orde, who escaped from Iran to
o f their antecedents, which, as Bosworth and avoid the persecution o f the II Khans. Unable
others have argued, probably belonged to the to return to the trans-Caucasian steppes, the
Hepthalite confederacy (Bosworth 1965, 8 -9 ; Negiiderids made their way into the frontier
1 9 7 3 ,3 5 -6 ,2 1 0 - 1 8 ). But perhaps more relevant m arches o f K h u ra sa n -A fg h a n ista n where
for our discussion is that in the 10th and 13th they were surrounded by hostile states; the
centuries, some chroniclers referred to them as Chaghatayids in Transoxiana, 11 Khans in Iran,
Turks, others did not. Juzjani, for example, never and the neighbouring Delhi Sultanate to the
identified the Khalaj as Turks, but he was also south-east. Q uite inadvertently, their location
as careful not to refer to them as Afghans’; they made the Neguderids into a buffer against any
were always a category apart from the Turks, large scale M ongol invasions into Sultanate
Tajiks (Persian speakers > Iranians), and Afghans. territories in the middle o f the 13th century
 An Inconvenient Heritage 95

(Aubin 1969; Jackson 1999, 1 1 9 - 2 2 ,2 1 7 - 2 7 , arrived in the subcontinent without members o f

3 2 8 ; Manz 1990, 1 5 9 -6 1 ). their families; as Fakhr-i Mudabbir put it, they
As details In the previous section suggested, were ‘[distant from their] homes, their mother
although Mongol Incursions continued, these and father and relations’. T h eir households
were, for the moment, more locaHzed engage­ expanded over the generations to include
ments even though they sometimes exacted descendents; at their Inception, these would
a heavy cost: in 684/1285 Balbans eldest son not have included parents, brothers, cousins,
was slain during one such raid. Nevertheless, or uncles.^ As a result, in the beginning of the
during the reign of Sultan Ghiyas al-Din Balban 13th century, slave households were nucleated
(6 6 4 -8 6 / 1 2 6 6 -8 7 ) the control o f the Sultanate around the deracinated slave commander, his
expanded into the Punjab and Sindh areas: recently wedded and other acquired women,
Lahore was regarrisoned and Multan eventually minor children, slaves, and confederates. T he
secured under Sultanate commanders. T he revi­ com pulsions o f ‘natal alienation’, therefore,
talization in Sultanate fortunes contrasted with would have made the constitution of these
the vicissitudes o f many Mongol auxiliaries. The households fairlv diverse and multi-ethnic. The
loss o f patronage and reversals on the battlefield slave commander might have retained some o f
led some Mongol groups and their dependents his primordial cultural practices, but the frag­
to seek their fortunes with the Delhi court. Some mented social fabric of his household might have
Mongols made their residence in Delhi (Barani made the cultural reproduction o f many steppe
[ca 1357] 1 8 6 0 -2 , 1 3 3 ^ , 2 1 8 -9 ), other groups traditions very difficult (Kumar forthcoming). As
like the Khalajis— at one time dependents o f the Fakhr-i Mudabbir noted, Turkish continued ro
Qarluqs, Mongol allies— continued to reside be one o f the languages used in the households
on the frontier. Sometime in the early 1290s o f these slave commanders (Fakhr-i Mudabbir
segments from the Negiiderids, the Tughluqs, 1210] 19 2 7 ,4 3 - 4 ) , but the materials from this
also sought service with the Delhi monarch and period make it very difficult to gauge the extent
settled on the frontier as well (Kumar 2 009). to which particular steppe traditions prevailed
I'h e evidence may be scattered and scanty but in the more public spheres o f Sultanate society.
the increasing presence o f military personnel o f Peter Jackson has argued that in aiding and
Central Aslan antecedents. Including the Khalajl acknowledging Raziyya, lltutmishs daughter, as
and Tughluqid ruling families themselves, can Sultan, the Turkish commanders may have been
no longer be discounted. While the presence of influenced by customs familiar to them, especially
Turkish elements in the Sultanate may suggest the greater freedom, even public responsibility,
a degree o f continuity between the Slave regime accorded to women by Turkish tribes such as the
and its successors, there were also important Khitan and the Yemek/Klmek/Olperll (Jackson
discontinuities between the two. From the 1998, 2 006). And yet, the choice o f Raziyya by
point o f view o f my arguments in this essay, lltutmishs slaves could just as easily be explained
perhaps the most significant transition at the as a search by the Shamsi bandagan for the most
turn o f the century was in the composition o f pliable o f their masters successors; Juzjani notes,
the households o f the ruling elites. T h e unfree for example, that Raziyya was in veiled seclusion
condition o f the Turkish slaves meant that they (mastura) at the rime o f her accession (Juzjani
96 Asian Encounters

ca 1260] 1 9 6 3 -4 , 1: 458). T he early events households had enlarged generationally through

o f her reign do suggest that her fathers slaves procreation and affinal relationships. Already by
assumed that she was particularly incapable the reign o f Sultan Kaiqubad (6 86-89/ 1287-90),
o f functioning independently. In other words, Barani noticed the size and influence o f the
she does not appear to have been the choice o f households {khailkhanas) o f the ‘sons o f slaves*
the Turkish slaves because o f her competence; {m a w la za d a s) in the city o f D elhi (Barani
their decision was prompted by the limitations ca 1357] 1 8 6 0 -2 , 134). As we have already
placed upon her by her gender. Certainly, in noticed, it was also during this period that a
their search for enhanced political and social large number o f Mongol émigrés, and frontier
status the military slaves paid close attention to feudatories, like the Khalajis and the Tughluqs
women and profitable asymmetrical matrimonial from the Afghanistan-Punjab and Sindh marches
relationships. Starting with Iltutm ish, who and their retinues, started arriving in Delhi.
married his masters (Qutb al-Dins) daughter, Unlike the Turkish slaves, these bodies o f
his own slaves, Altunia married his daughter people appeared in Delhi as large social units:
(Raziyya), Ikhtiyar al-D in Ai-tegin married their households included extended families,
another (unnamed) daughter o f the monarch, confed erates, their households, even their
and, more unusually, Qudugh Khan married livestock. Delhi reportedly possessed a settlement
his master Iltutm ishs widow (Kumar 2007a, nam ed‘C hinggisi' where these émigrés had
1 3 5 -8 , 261, 273). Implicit in the choice o f the settled (Jackson 1976, 210). Barani and ‘Isami
woman as Sultan by Iltutmishs slaves was an describe how M ongol families, women, and
attempt to maintain the political status quo. In children, were executed in Delhi by Ala al-Din
that context, when Altunia married Raziyya, he Khalaji after the M ongol contingent in the
destabilized the fragile political balance amongst Sultanate army rebelled in 6 9 8 -9 / 1 2 9 9 -1 3 0 0
the Turkish slaves and in his attempt to gain (B aran i [ca 1 3 5 7 ] 1 8 6 0 - 2 , 2 5 2 - 3 ; ‘Isam i
additional leverage through his marriage, was [ca 1350] 1 9 4 0 ,2 5 3 -5 ). Two decades later, Amir
immediately challenged by his peers (Juzjani Khusrau identified the confederates o f Ghiyas
ca 1260] 1 9 6 3 -4 , 1: 462). It is not difficult to al-D in Tughluq (7 2 0 -4 / 1 3 2 0 -4 ) as ‘troopers
read Raziyyas accession and inhibited patriarchal [who] were mainly from the upper-lands {iqlim -i
controls as a consequence o f Turkish traditions, bala) and not Hindustanis or local chieftains.
especially when Sultanate chroniclers purposely They included Ghuzz, Turks and Mongols o f
direct their readers attention towards the Turkish Rum and Rus and some Khurasani Persians
ethnicity o f the ruling elite. But it is important to (tazik) o f pure stock {pak asl)\Pim\v Khusrau
keep in mind that in so doing, Sultanate sources ca 1320] 1933, 84)."^ W hen Ghiyas al-D in
were also deliberately eliding the unfree status o f Tughluq marched from the frontier and seized
the Shamsi bandagan and how this system might power in Delhi, he brought this contingent,
have created a political culture where women o f together with their families to the capital; it
the ruling house could play significant elevating seemed for a moment that the new Sultan had
roles in the lives o f slaves. brought the frontier with him to the capital.
The nature o f elite households altered notice­ Q u ite in contrast to the Turks, valorized
ably by the second half o f the 13th century. Slave by Persian litterateurs as examples o f people
 An Inconvenient Heritage 97

who acculturated quickly to Islamic ways, the ingrate Khusrau Khan Barwari in Delhi. Even
M ongols and o th er fro n tier ém igrés were as Amir Khusrau described the composition
demonized. Regarding the Mongols ‘Isami noted: o f frontiersman that comprised the forces o f
Ghiyas al-D in, he tried to make sure that no
In this huge Mongol army, now on the march,
personal detail of his protagonist s early history
women as well as men rode on horseback. They had
escaped to blemish an otherwise glorious record.
fixed an owl’s feather in their caps and their feet
And yet Amir Khusrau did let one curious piece
were as inauspicious as those of an owl. They wore a
o f inform ation through: the author recalled
hideous look; their features were repulsive and their
language rude and impolite ....Their countenance, Ghiyas al-D ins statement about his early years
their hair and their nature were repugnant and their as a nomad {awara mardi) when the patronage
sweat smelt fowl ....T-heir hands were ghost-like and received from Sultan Jalal al-Din Khalaji was the
their feet highly ominous. Wherever their feet went, first step in altering his fortune (Amir Khusrau
desolation and ruin followed as a matter of course. [ca 1 3 2 0 ] 1 9 3 3 , 1 3 6 ). T h is in fo rm atio n
I'hey had flat noses and protruding faces. They bore coincides remarkably with Ibn Battutas who
an angry and fatal look. Their eyes were so small mentioned that Ghiyas al-Din worked in his
that they were completely hidden under their long youth for a merchant as a humble keeper o f
drawn-out brows. Everyone felt dismayed on seeing the horses, perhaps a cattle-driver (gulwaniya
them. Their bodies were scarred by the bites of the lice
> guala) (Ibn Battuta 1971, III: 649; [1355]
that they carried on themselves, each louse feeding
1976, 47).^
itself on their blood. (‘Isami [ca 1350] 1948, 456;
T h e social histories o f these heroes o f Islam
1977. 2: 427-8)
had to be retold with the greatest care. While
Amir Khusrau was one Persian litterateur who Sultanate chroniclers sought to bleach the
was personally quite familiar with the Mongols histories o f their Sultans to remove traces o f their
having been briefly captured by a Negiiderid past Mongol, peripatetic associations, they were
in 683/1285. In his elegy written at the death far more unrestrained in their condemnation
o f Balbans son (683/1285), Amir Khusrau had o f the new Sultanate elites that inhabited the
described his captor as a Qara una, a coarse capital. Ziya' al-Din Barani derided the Mongols
detestable being: in particular as nau-MtislamanSy new-Muslims,
an epithet that usefully summed up their late
He sat on his horse like a leopard on a hill. His open arrival to both, Islam as well as Hindustan, the
mouth smelt like an arm-pit, whiskers fell from his ‘land o f Islam’. Sultanate favour shown to social
chin like pubic-hair. (Amir Khusrau [1285] 1868,
menials was a subject o f constant moralization
1: 153)
and Muhammad Shah Tughluq’s recruitment o f

Thirty-five years later Amir Khusrau wrote social menials was held up as an example when

the Tughluqnam a, a eulogy e x to llin g the the ‘lowest and basest o f the low and base born

victories o f Ghiyas al-D in Tughluq, the ‘Helper (sifatarin wa razalatarin-i siflagan wa razalagan)
o f R eligion, a particularly apposite title for a brought ruin to the realm (Barani [ca 1357]

military commander who had rescued Islam as 1 8 6 0 -2 , 505; Kumar 2006).

a ‘Holy Warrior {ghaziY from Mongol invasions W hat Sultanate chroniclers elided in the

into the Punjab, and from the apostasy o f the retelling o f this history was the social history
98 Asian Encounters

of their elites, the ways in which the new elites his surprise when the Queen mother, Malika-i
and their households carried steppe and frontier Jahan placed the younger sibling on the throne
traditions with them to their new hom es. (Barani [ca 1357] 1 8 6 0 -2 , 238).
Unlike the bandagan o f an earlier generation, B aran i’s in a b ility to com preh end these
the households o f the new elites were large developments is apparent from his cliched,
assemblages o f kin and kindred groups, tied gendered remarks about Malika-i Jahan. She
together with blood, natal, and service relations. was somewhat o f a shrew, Barani informs us,
W hat aspects o f their frontier milieu did the a stubborn, wilful person who had dominated
recent confederates of the Mongols carry with her husband while he was alive (Barani [ca
them into their new homelands? 1357] 1 8 6 0 -2 , 1 9 6 -7 , 2 21). T he impetuous
Although Persian chroniclers possessed con­ act o f placing the young Qadr Khan on the
siderable information on the social affiliations throne and assuming the regency herself was in
and geo-political dispersal o f the Turkish and keeping with her naïve, foolish character. She
Mongol people in the steppes o f Central Asia did not consult anyone and as her experiment
their narratives did not always want to develop led to disaster for the dynasty, Barani had
the close affinities o f their masters with the M alika-i Jahan confess the folly o f her actions.
steppe world. But beyond dissimulation, there According to Barani the queen admitted: ‘1 am
were also occasions when Persian chroniclers a woman and women are deficient in judgement
were not familiar with the traditions practised by [n a q isa t'i ^aqlY (Barani [ca 1357] 1 8 6 0 -2 ,
the recent immigrants who were now their rulers. 245).^ Tenuous as the explanations provided
Occasionally they would translate customs and by the author may be, they were rendered even
rituals in a form intelligible to their cultural more fragile at Barani s recounting o f the older
milieu. T h e two following examples illustrate sons reactions at the loss o f the throne. T h e
the level o f incomprehension faced by Persian energetic, valiant Arkali Khan who once had the
chroniclers as they narrated their histories o f the sufi saint Sidi Muwallih crushed by an elephant,
Khalajis and the Tughluqs. accepted his exclusion from the throne as a fait
The first example concerns Ziya al-Din Bara­ accompli. Instead o f disputing the succession,
ni s account o f the circumstances that led to the he retreated to his appanage in Multan. There
brief enthronement o f Qadr Khan, the younger he remained despite the apologies and entreaties
son o f Sultan Jalal al-Din Khalaji, in 695/1296. o f the queen to return to Delhi and oppose
At the time o f Jalal al-Dins murder, o f his two the rebel ‘Ala’ al-Din Khalaji (Barani [ca 1357
sons, Qadr Khan was too young to have received 1 8 6 0 - 2 ,2 1 2 , 2 3 9 , 2 4 5 -6 ).
any prior political appointment. By contrast, T he Khalajis ruled for three generations and
Jalal al-Dins older son, Arkali Khan, had the every succession during their rule o f thirty years
old monarchs trust. He was given considerable (6 8 9 -7 2 0 / 12 9 0 -1 3 2 0 ) was disputed. Obviously
authority over armies, territories, and in the the assumption o f high office was never resolved
punishment o f rebels (Barani [ca 1357] 1 8 6 0 -2 , to the satisfaction o f rival claimants. Important
1 8 2 -3 , 2 1 2 -3 , 243). At Jalal al-Dins murder, to keep in mind is the fact that these claimants
Barani expected that the competent Arkali Khan were alw ays members of the ruling family and
would succeed his father and could not restrain in attempting to curtail intra-lineage conflict.
 An Inconvenient Heritage 99

the fou rth dynast, M ubarak Shah K halaji 1990; Grousset 1970, 2 5 5 -6 ). Tantalizing as the
(7 1 6 -2 0 / 1 3 1 6 -2 0 ), incarcerated many o f his evidence might be, in its scantiness it remains
siblings, eventually blinding and executing them hardly compelling. A careful prosopographical
(Barani [ca 1357] 1 8 6 0 -2 , 313). In this miheu, analysis o f the Khalaji family may provide
Malika-i Jahans placing o f young Qadr Khan on additional information on the subject but, for the
the throne— Barani s horror notwithstanding— moment anyway, more germane for our present
was one accession that remained unchallenged by discussion is to notice Barani s complete inability
his sibling. Arkali Khan seemed to accept— for to fathom what the regnant Sultans o f Delhi were
the moment anyway— the right o f his younger about. W hile his diatribe against Malika-i Jahan
brother to the throne. reveals the authors own gendered location, it
This was in contrast to ‘Ala al-D in Khalaji s also underlines the Persian litterateurs inability
own experience. After seizing the throne he to comprehend the cultural world o f his Khalaji
was generous to many o f his relatives and gave protagonists, recent émigrés to the Sultanate but
them high positions, but he also progressed now its rulers.
toward an exclusive segregation o f authority in Equally new to the cultural traditions o f Delhi
his own person. Sometime around 700/ 1301, were the Tughluqs, and although no Persian
an attem pt was made on A la’ a l-D in s life. chronicler ever made anything of the disjunction
T h e perpetrator was Ikit Khan, Ala al-D in between the past careers and present fortunes
K h a la jis y ou n g est b ro th er's son (B a ra n i o f the members o f the early Tughluq political
[ca 1357] 1 8 6 0 -2 , 2 7 3 -6 ) . Barani attributed dispensation, the travelogue o f Ibn Battuta
base am bition as the motive for Ikit Khans suggests that the Tughluqs placed considerable
animosity but it should not escape our scrutiny premium that their notables acculturate rapidly
that in seizing power, A la al-D in K halaji to ‘Muslim ways'. He noted that in Muhammad
had reversed the order o f succession that had Tughluq's reign (7 2 4 -5 2 / 1 3 2 4 -5 1 )
prevailed a generation earlier. If Malika-i Jahan
all [courtiers] were required ro show a knowledge of
had appointed the youngest son to the throne
the obligations of ablution, prayers and the binding
by excluding the older sibling, Ala’ al-D in was
articles of Islam. They used to be questioned on these
the oldest sibling and his right to the throne
matters; if anyone failed to give correct answers he was
was challenged by the disaffected descendents
punished and they made a practice of studying them
o f his youngest brother. with one another in the audience hall and the bazaars
Barani s reportage makes it extremely difTicult and setting them down in writing. (Ibn Battuta
to comprehend the working o f Khalaji customs [ca 1355] 1971,111:693)
o f inheritance. Certainly one o f their traditions
seemed to privilege the rights o f the youngest This was an unusual requirement to demand
son. It is hard to say whether these traditions o f practicing Muslims unless, o f course, the ritual
o f ultimogeniture are reflective o f the rights o f praxis o f the recently transited frontiersman was
the 'hearth-prince’ [ot teginlotcigin] recognized regarded as somewhat deficient.
by some Turkish tribes and the Chinggisid W hile Persian chronicles gloss over most
family (Bosw orth 1962, 1 977; Boyle 1971, uncom fortable details about their lords and
1 6 3 ; D oerfer 1 9 6 3 - 7 5 , 1: 1 5 5 - 9 ; G olden m asters, the am ateur ethnography o f Ibn
100 Asian Encounters

Battuta carries interesting details about Tughluq Bahri Mamluks o f Egypt (with a military elite
court rituals and ceremonial. He provided the o f Qipchaq origin) (Anonymous 1 9 5 4 -2 0 0 5 ,
following description o f Muhammad Tughluqs 2: 1020; Holt 1975, 245). At least in Syria and
royal procession on festivals: Egypt it was accepted as a ritual associated with
royalty and performed by the Kurdish Ayyubids,
On the morning of the feast all the elephants are
who learnt o f it from their Turkish patrons, the
adorned with silk> gold and precious stones. There
Zangids. W ith the Ayyubids, it was integrated
are sixteen of these elephants which no one rides,
as a part o f their accession ceremony together
but they are reserved to be ridden by the Sultan
with the ritual pledge o f allegiance, bay^a, and
himself, and over them are carried sixteen parasols of
silk embroidered with jewels, each one with a shaft the investiture from the Caliph (Holt 1 9 7 7 ,4 7 ).
of pure gold .... The Sultan himself rides on one of Detailed descriptions o f the ghashiya ritual
these elephants and in front of him there is carried exist from the Mamluk Sultanate o f Egypt where
aloft the ghashiyUy that is his saddle-cover, which is Ibn Taghribirdi clarified that it was a part o f
adorned with the most precious jewels. In front of the accession ceremonies o f the monarch and
him walk his slaves and his mamluks. (Ibn Battuta repeated on major festivals. Its performance in
[13551 1971.111:663-4) Egypt mirrors Ibn Battutas description o f the
ceremony from Muhammad Tughluqs court,
Ibn Battuta added further details regarding
and al-Q alqashandi provided the following
the ritual at the time o f the Sultans entry into
description:
the capital:
ghashiya] is a saddle cover of leather, decorated
... On some o f the (sixteen) elephants there were
with gold so that the observer would take it to be
mounted small military catapults and when the Sultan
made entirely of gold. It is borne before him (the
came near the city, parcels of gold and silver coins
Mamluk Sultan) when riding in state processions for
mixed together were thrown from these machines.
parades, festivals, etc. The rikabdariyya (grooms, i.e.,
I'he men on foot in front of the Sultan and the other
ghulams) carry it. the one who holds it up in his hands
persons present scrambled for the money, and they
turning it right and left. It is one of the particular
kept on scattering it until the procession reached the
insignia of this kingdom. (Holt 1975, 243)
palace .... (Ibn Battuta [1355] 1971, III: 668)
An important common feature between the
W hile ghashiya has an Arabic etymology,
Mamluk state in Egypt and the Delhi Sultanate
meaning to cover, veil/ the origin o f the cere­
was their common reliance upon Turko-Mongol
mony lies in the accession and ceremonial rituals
personnel from the trans-Caucasion steppes, the
o f the early Turks where the ‘Lord o f the Horse’
dasht-i Q ipchaq . T he Sultanates link with the
would be identified with the newly enthroned
Eurasian steppe, already present in lltutmishs
leader, and the procession would celebrate the
reign, continued into the reign o f Ghiyas al-Din
conquest o f the four quarters by the Universal
Tughluq who, as we noticed, was o f Qara’una/
Emperor (Turan 1955; Esin 1970, 1 0 8 -9 ). The
Negiiderid background, and had a retinue that
tradition was followed in some o f the major
included, amongst others, ‘Turks and Mongols
steppe-descended polities in the central Islamic
o f Rum and Rus’.
lands: by the Seljuqs, the Zangids, and the
 An Inconvenient Heritage 101

W hile the Persian chronicles mentioned the forms either through ignorance or because o f
émigré composition o f Ghiyas al-D ins retinue their own class and cultural prejudices?
they paid little attention to the social or cultural Barani was a contemporary o f Ibn Battuta and
traditions that might have trooped in with his both authors were in Delhi during Muhammad
body o f confederates, at one time residents o f Tugluqs reign. I f the Moroccan visitor could
the trans-Caucasian steppes, d ash t-i qip ch aq. notice and learn about the ghashiya during his
Since Ibn Battutas observations remained largely visit, so, theoretically speaking, could Barani. He
unsubstantiated’ in the accounts o f the Persian noticed other Turkic and Mongol practices by
literati, they did not draw the attention o f the Delhi Sultans, not least o f all their titulature,
modern scholars. Yet, Barani s description o f Ala’ without further comment. But these details did
al-D ins triumphant march to Delhi after Jalal not complicate the larger point that the author
al-D ins murder (695/1296) does possess some wanted to make about Ghiyas al-D in in his
o f the elements present in Battutas description, history. In Barani s narrative Ghiyas al-Din was
although completely different motives to the dis­ a ‘Saviour o f Islam’, a morally righteous Muslim,
charge o f gold coins {panj-m an akhtan five m am renowned for his com bat w ith the infidel
o f gold stars) amongst the crowds observing the Mongols and against the apostate usurper that
Sultans march are ascribed by the author (Barani was suddenly threatening Delhi. The challenge
ca 1357] 1 8 6 0 -2 , 243). Equally selective was to Islam appeared when the slave Khusrau Khan
Yahya Sirhindis early 15th century account o f Barwari, a recent convert, killed his master and
Muhammad Tughluq’s celebratory procession his heirs, despoiled his m asters harem, and
after his accession. T he narrative is close enough apostatized. Just as Ghiyas al-Din Tughluq had
to Ibn Battutas description o f ghashiya ritual saved the Sultanate from the M ongols, this
for us to follow its main features but the elisions conflict with Khusrau Khan Barwari was over the
are important as well. Sirhindi noted: future well-being o f the Muslim community. By
incorporating details about the Turko-M ongol
...the lanes were decorated with coloured and em­
antecedents o f Ghiyas al-D in and the com ­
broidered cloth. From the time that the Sultan set
position o f his retinue, or noting the practice
his foot in the city till he entered the imperial palace,
o f [unlslamic] steppe rituals by the frontier
gold and silver coins were rained from the back of
commander, Barani would have complicated the
the elephants among the populace, and gold was
simple binaries around which he had framed the
scattered in every street, lane, and house. (Sirhindi
[1434] 1932, 99) qualities o f his protagonist— the Muslim hero
versus the non-Muslim— and his narration o f
In Barani and Sirhindi s accounts, the Sultans the triumph o f rectitude over evil. The author
triumphal processions receive due recognition preferred not to tread these waters. O nce the
but there is no reference to the ghashiya. Was social and cultural backgrounds o f Ghiyas al-Din
the omission deliberate or was it an aspect o f Tughluq and his frontier retinue were erased
T u rk o-M ong ol practice quite unfamiliar to what was left was a relatively monochromatic
Persian secretaries? Were they, in other words, picture o f a Muslim Delhi Sultanate valiantly
just inadequate historians translating the practice battling a sea o f infidels, holding aloft the banner
o f their subjects, the Delhi Sultans, into familiar o f Islam even as the Mongol deluge swept away
102 Asian Encounters

the civihzation o f the D ar al-Islam elsewhere. In Muslim society and culture unadulterated— their
this narration, the complex connections o i the accounts therefore appropriated the bandagan
Tughluqs with regions and cultures outside the as Turkish heroes where God's intervention
subcontinent were completely erased. and the slaves natal alienation allowed for their
discursive assimilation into a Perso-lslamic world
Conclusion as Muslim heroes.
T he social and cultural proximity o f Sultanate But at the turn o f the 13th century, this
elites and their political and administrative reinvention was much harder to accomplish
practices with the adjoiningTurko-M ongol uni­ when Mongol and other frontier groups started
verse should be hardly surprising. Following the migrating into the Sultanate with their intact
Mongol incursions, most o f the central Islamic social networks. W hile their ‘foreignness' in
lands carried the imprint o f steppe customs. Even Delhi elite circles made the déraciné frontiersmen
areas relatively unscathed by Mongol campaigns valuable subordinates to their patrons, urbane
like Mamluk Egypt were deeply tied into this new Persian litterateurs were hardly captivated by
world through close diplomatic and commercial their alien custom s and rustic deportm ent.
links with the Golden Horde. By contrast how­ But none o f this would have mattered very
ever, modern historians o f the Delhi Sultanate much— after all Delhi had hosted immigrants oi
have assumed that it remained somewhat o f an a variety o f hues— but the problem was acute and
island, threatened repeatedly but continuing to embarrassing for the Persephone elite since these
honour the ‘Abbasid Caliphs and adhering to strange émigrés went on to become Sultans and
a pre-Mongol codex o f political thought and their relatives and servants manned the highest
conduct even as the adjoining regions altered political and military positions in the Sultanate.
irrevocably. Conventional historiography on The Mongol frontier provenance o f these elites
the Sultanate has also argued that its Turkish' meant that their ethnicities and their social
experience ended with the establishment o f the backgrounds could not be subjects o f discussion
Khalaji dynasty in 689/ i 290. The Sultanate then in the historical records o f the time. Instead
proceeded ro root itself in its subcontinental uncomfortable details regarding their inconven­
milieu by the deployment o f increasing number ient heritage were systematically ignored. Or, as
o f local converts to Islam. we have noticed, sheer incomprehension o f the
Many o f these conclusions originate from customary traditions o f the new ruling elites
the nature o f the evidence and from the from the frontier could also lead to unwitting
presentist concerns o f modern scholars. T he silences about these migrants. But coming from
Persian taiifarikh o f the 13th and I4th centuries two separate ends, Persian litterateurs ultimately
focused primarily on the military engagements produced an extremely sanitized history o f the
between the Delhi Sultans and their heathen 13th and I4th century Delhi Sultans, which was
antagonists, internal as well as external. When successful in its project because it systematically
Mongol migrants were described at all, they were dismantled the trans-regional connections o f the
universally derided and treated as despicable Sultanate ruling elites.
creatures. In these Persian narratives it was Paradoxically, as the epoch o f the great his­
important to underline the principles that kept tories o f Delhi, the taw arikh o f Juzjani, Barani,
 An Inconvenient Heritage 103

'Isami, and A iif tapered to an end in the l4th making o f subcontinental Muslim society as
century, the subcontinent went on to experience much as the formation o f the Delhi Sultanate
its largest frontier migrations from the north was grounded on the manner in which these
west. These were the migrations o f the Afghans trans-regional connections were assimilated or
who founded and provided the ruling elites o f the rejected in the long duration. To ignore this
Lodi (8 5 5 -9 3 2 / 1 4 5 1 -1 5 2 6 ) and Sur dynasties dialectic and the Sultanates extensive ties with
(9 4 7 -6 2 / 1 5 4 0 -5 5 ) and, following them, the regions beyond its boundaries would sublimate
Turks and M ongols from whom cam e the the politics o f the age into a synchronic, ahis-
dynasts and many o f the great nobles that held torical homogeneity. Although we can appreciate
power during Mughal rule (9 3 2 -4 7 / 1 5 2 6 -4 0 ; the historical contexts and compulsions that
9 6 2 -1 2 7 4 / 1 5 5 5 -1 8 5 7 ). T h e histories o f the led Persian litterateurs to create the picture o f
Afghans started to be penned during Akbars a monolithic social and political world under
reign and their retrospective accounts carried rhe Delhi Sultans, there is little reason for us
a strong sense o f nostalgia for the period o f to continue to peer into the past through the
Afghan dominance under the Lodis and the same lens.
Surs. Ethnicity and tradition were not subjects
that were obliterated in these texts; they were Notes
romanticized instead and were hence sometimes 1. Nor was Juzjani s knowledge unique; decades
prone to considerable exaggeration (See Digby earlier Fakhr-i Mudabbir had included a long list of
2 0 0 1; Green 2 012; Kumar 2014). Turkish tribes in his Shajara-i Ansab . Here too, later
In their emphasis on genealogy, heritage, and scribal errors had corrupted rhe name Ölperli, but
birthright, the Mughals were also a marked con­ the names of the Qipchaq, Qanqali, Yimak. and Rus
trast to rhe Delhi Sultans. Their Timurid rights remained uncorrupted (Fakhr-i Mudabbir [1210]
to authority as Universal monarchs a n d Ching- 1927, 47 and for further comments on the gradual
corruption in the writing ofTurkish names and titles
gisid sons-in-law {guregin) were assiduously
see Kumar 2009, 6 6 -9 and 76-7).
developed by their historians (Balabanlilar 2012;
2. This detail was however of some significance to
Faruqui 2 0 1 2 ; Richards 1998; Subrahmanyam
modern scholars for whom restoring genealogical and
1994). As a result, their pan-regional claims to
dynastic harmony were critical analytical accessories.
authority were an intrinsic part o f their royal See for example, Tripathi, chapter 3. ‘Experiments of
ideology. All o f this was carefully calibrated to the AlbariTurks [sic]\ 1978; Nigam, Chapter 2, The
ensure that it was not their Chinggisid Mongol Ilbari Nobility as King-makers, 1968.
heritage, but rheirTimurid ancestry that was the 3. 'rhe only exception to this rule was Sultan
principal focus in their tracts o f kingship. The Ghiyas al-Din Balban whose younger brother and
negative memories associated with the steppe cousin were also enslaved in the steppes and sold to
monarchs depredation o f Islamic homelands Sultan Shams al-Din Iltutmish. Juzjani clarifies that
were not something that the Mughals wished the two brothers were enslaved together (Juzjani
to associate with. [1260] 1963-4, 2: 45) but there is no information
regarding rhe cousin. It is also unclear if transpor­
Clearly Chinggis Khans invasions triggered
tation and sale of the three happened concurrently
developments that directed the history o f the
or separately.
subcontinent in some unusual directions. The
104 Asian Encounters

4. To this group ‘Isami added the Khokars, a Juzjani, Minhaj-i Siraj. Tabaqat-i Nastri, 2 vols.
body of frontier pastoralists, forever in conflict Edited by Abdul Hay Habibi. Kabul: Anjuman-i
with Sultanate armies and at least one Afghan Tarikh-i Afghanistan, [ca 1260] 1963—4.
commander (*Isami [ca 1350] 1948, 3 8 2 -3 ). Khusrau, Amir. Wasat al-H ayat. Cited in ‘Abd
Although Amir Khusrau ignored the Khokars in al-Qadir Bada’uni, Muntakhab al- Tawarikh, vol. 1,
this list, he gave them a prominent role in the edited by Maulavi Ahmad Shah (Calcutta: Asiatic
battle with Khusrau Khan (Amir Khusrau [ca 1320] Society of Bengal, [ca 1285] 1868).
1933, 128). ----------. Tughluq Nama. Edited by Sayyid Hashmi
5. The travelogue, however, has Ulugh Khan, Faridabadi. Aurangabad: Urdu Publishing House,
brother of Ala’ al-Din Khalaji as the future monarch’s [ca 1320] 1933.
first patron and not Jalal al-Din Khalaji as mentioned Mudabbir. Fakhr-i. S hajara-i Ansab. Edited by
above by Khusrau. E. Denison Ross, Tarikh-i Fakhr al-D in M ubarak
6. Barani provides the incidental information Shah. London: Royal Asiatic Society, [1210]
that Qadr Khan was married to Sultan Nasir al-Din 1927.
Mahmuds grand-daughter. He does not suggest, Sijzi, Amir Hasan. F aw aid al-F u ad . Edited by
however, that the affinal link with the old ruling Khwaja Hasan Thani Nizami Dihlawi. Delhi;
family strengthened the young princes claim to the Urdu Academy, [1322] 1990.
throne (Barani [ca 1357] 1860-2, 196). Sirhindi, Yahya ibn Ahmad. T arikh-i M ubarak
7. Sec also the Qur an. chapter 88, al-ghashiya. Shahi. Edited by S.M. Hidayat Hosain. Calcutta:
Bibiotheca Indica, [ca 1434] 1931.
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1922. 1997.
Religion, Rituals, and Monuments
 CHAPTER 6

Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice

Dong Duang at the Intersection of Asian Cultures

Parul Pandya D har

A grand Buddhist temple and monastery complex in Paris.^ These sculptures and architectural
once stood at D ong Du’o’ng in the present-day fragments have survived the ravages o f time
Q u ang Nam Province o f central V ietnam , and war to offer a unique view into the history
Built during the late 9th-early 10th centuries, o f the site. This paper engages with some o f the
this majestic complex had, in the remote past, complex processes o f cultural interaction that
proclaimed the importance o f D ong Du’o’ng as transpired in and around D ong Du’o’ng during
the religious and political hub o f an important the late 9th and early 10th centuries. Seen in the
Campa polity that ruled from ancient Indrapura. light o f the French archaeological documentation
Inscriptions from the site reveal that its most at the beginning o f the 20th century'^ and the
illustrious ruler was King Jaya Indravarman II inscriptions from the site, the D ong Du’O’ng
or Laksmindra-Bhümisvara-Gràmasvâmin, also art remains are a vital source for understanding
known as Paramabuddhaloka— his posthumous the significance o f this ancient centre at the
name in line w ith his Buddhist leanings.^ intersection o f a vibrant international cultural
Ravaged at first in 982 C E by a Dai Viet attack, traffic in pre-modern Asia.
D ong Du’O’ng survived in a relatively ruinous
state until the utter apathy o f m id-20th century
Nature of Religious Practice at
wars razed to the ground most o f its monumental
0 6 ng DJONG
vestiges.^ A substantial portion o f the art remains
from this site are now in the Dà Nàng Museum Although 5>aivism was the dom inant estab­
o f Cham Sculpture in central Vietnam, while the lishment religion in ancient Campa, historical
remaining objects are part o f other collections in sources reveal that Campa was also an important
Europe and Vietnam, notably the Musée Guimet participant in an Asian Buddhist culture since
112 Asian Encounters

early times.^ Mahayana (with some T antric bringing to earth o f the lihga o f Bhadresvara
elements) ultimately was the principal form o f through sage Bhrgu and the mythical Uroja,
Buddhism practised in Campa, and the worship its (re)establishment by the king, and tracing
o f Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (also known as the ancestry o f Indravarman 11 to the family o f
Lokesvara or Lokanatha)^ had gained impor­ Paramesvara (the supreme lord, Siva) have been
tance.^ Avalokitesvaras compassionate nature asserted in the inscription.*^
and his propensity to alleviate the sufferings o f T antric influence had begun to make its
others— even o f those dwelling in hell^— were presence felt in Southeast Asian Mahayana
ideally suited to offer a parallel for the king as Buddhism from about the 7 th -8 th century.*^
god on earth,’^ who could alleviate the sufferings Given the fragmentary nature o f evidence, it is
o f his subjects. There are clear references to this difficult to determine with precision when and
in the D ong Du’o’ng stele inscription*^ (^aka how Tantric practices merged with Mahayana
797/ 875 C E) and also in the inscription from Buddhism in Campa. However, the An Thai
An Thai ($aka 834/ 90 2 C E ),*' which is located inscription m entions the V ajrad hatu , P ad -
near D ong Du^o’ng and is also part o f the Quang m adhatu, and C akradhatu , revealing familiarity
Nam Province. with the concept o f the three Buddha families
T he D ong Du’o’ng inscription begins with found in the M ahd-vatrocan a sutra (Woodward
salutations to Lokesvara,*^ to whom the grand 2 0 0 4 , 3 2 9 -5 4 ) . Close in time, location and
temple and monastery complex was dedicated by dynastic affiliatio n to D o n g D u’o’ng, this
King Indravarman II. Lokesvara (Avalokitesvara) inscription provides a useful clue about the
is described in this inscription as a compassionate possible nature o f Buddhism practised at
being whose mind is always engaged in releasing Indrapura or D o n g Du’O’ng.*^ T h e type oi
the suffering o f all creatures.*^ T he king is men­ Buddhist practices mentioned in the An Thai
tioned as having made the statue o f Lokesvara inscription are known to have prevailed almost
with his own hands,*^ and the construction o f contem poraneously in Java, C am bodia and
the temple and monastery complex is stated as C h i n a . T h i s makes deductions about the
being for the benefit o f the Dharma (Buddhist directional flow o f Buddhist influence to D ong
law) and Sangha (community o f monks), and Du’o’ng very complex. More recent research,
not for economic gain.*^ however, suggests a fresh impulse o f Buddhist
D o n g D u’o’ng was unique in being the influence from China during the late 9th and
grandest m onum ental com plex in Cam pa early 10th centuries.
to have represented Buddhism as the official T h e Buddhist texts that are likely to have
religion o f an im portant ruling polity. T h e played a key role at D o n g D u’o’ng remain
site also marked a climax for state patronage debatable. Alexander Studholmes research on
to Buddhism at a time when this religion had the K arandavyuha-sutra (Studholme 2 0 0 2 ) and
registered a temporary decline in other parts Hiram Woodwards correlation o f some verses
o f Southeast Asia. O ther than this brief period from this text with those in the D ong Du*o’ng
o f glory. Buddhism in Campa, though existing stele inscription (Woodward 2 0 1 1 ) suggest
alongside Saivism, was subsidiary to the latter. the possible awareness o f this siitra at D ong
Even at D on g Du’o’ng, the worship o f Siva, Du’o*ng. T he K arandavyuha-sutra centres on the
 Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice 113

essential compassionate nature o f Avalokitesvara, leaving no space for circumambulation. Among

Exploring the historical and doctrinal processes the subsidiary structures, there were seven small
that influenced the formulation o f this sutra, shrines arranged along the inner circumference of
Studholme has demonstrated its affinities to the enclosure wall and five temples surrounding
the principal tower. In addition, there were four
(non-Buddhist) Puranic literature and under­
other structures— one to the south-western
lined the ways in which it reveals the intimately
corner, another twin-chambered structure to
connected nature o f Buddhist and ^aiva practices
the south-eastern corner, a third one to the
during the middle centuries o f the first millen­
north-eastern corner, and the fourth located
nium CE. Given that the ‘Buddhist encounter between the third one and the principal tower.
with ^aivism is one o f the su tras recurrent On the analogy of the arrangement at My So’n
concerns’ (Studholme 2 0 0 2 , 3 0 ), this would (in the vicinity), some of these may have served
have rendered the K arandavyuha-sutra especially for rituals associated with royalty and divinity. The
attractive and well-suited to the politico-religious first enclosure could be entered through a grand
m ilieu that prevailed in Indrapura-Cam pa. entrance (gopura no.l). The layout of the main
In terestin g ly , in the K aran d av y u h a-su tray and subsidiary buildings within this enclosure
Avalokitesvara is addressed as Mahesvara (the suggests a majestic arrangement that housed
great Lord) thrice, which, as is well known, is not just the principal deity but also a complete
ritualistic and iconological ensemble. Parmentier
also an epithet for ^iva.^*
(1909, 2: Planche XCVIII, XCIX) also recorded
A rchitectural F eatures some unexcavated structures located immediately
to the north and south of this enclosure.
Constructed in brick and now completely in 2. Enclosure 2 (Figure 6,2; also Parmentier 1909, 2:
ruins, the chief structures o f the grand D ong Planche C): This housed a rectangular hall with
D u’o*ng com plex were organized along the windows and stairways in the cardinal directions.
east-west axis w ithin three enclosures, each It connected with Enclosure 1 through a gopura
entered through zgopu ra (gateway) (Figures 6.1 (no. 1) at its western end and with Enclosure 3
and 6.2).^^ Further eastward along the E—W or the vihàra complex through a second gopura
axis, znoi\\Qx gopura led to a long causeway that (number 2) at its eastern end. A row each of seven
tall and ribbed columns with bases was organized
terminated in a water-body at the easternmost
on its northern and southern sides.
end, with the column o f Xuan-so’n a little to
3. Enclosure 3 (Figure 6.2; also Parmentier 1909, 2:
its west (Figure 6.1). The three main enclosures
Planche Cl): This was the vihàra complex with
with brick structures included, from west to east:
a large pillared assembly hall, which could be
1. Enclosure 1 (Figure 6,2; also Parmentier 1909, 2: entered through agopura (number 2) at its western
Planche XCIX): This included the main temple end and also through znoxhcv gopura (number 3)
complex with a principal sanctuary, a central tower to its east. Smaller entrances were located on the
and associated subsidiary structures. The principal northern and southern sides.
sanctuary faced east, while the central tower was
A long pathway on the eastern side connected
a sarvatobhadra (open on all four sides) structure
gopura no. 3 with gopura no. 4. Between these
with a raised platform and stairways on all sides.
two gopuras, Parmentier’s drawings show some
An elaborate pedestal (with an altar) was attached
to the back (west) wall of the principal sanctuary. unexcavated brick structures (Figure 6.1).
 Colum n o f Xuan>son

Figure 6.1 Plan of the 0ong DUcfng Temple and Monastery Complex including the water-body and the column of Xuan So'n. Adapted after Henri
Parmentier's drawing, reproduced in Bolsselier (1963a).

1 c t P n rln ciire
2nd Enclosure 3rd Enclosure

* • •
%

•V
• m~
■ m~m~m
nn* » *• m m~ m i

y. i m
u à n n n u utm

Figure 6.2 Detail of Figure 6.1. Ground plan of the first three enclosures at Oong Duong. Adapted after Parmentier (1909, 2 : Plates XCIX-CI).
 Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice 115

Figure 6.5 Colossal head of Buddha {Guimet Buddha-head) found at Dong Dixang, Musée national des arts
Asiatiques, Guimet-Paris, Photo: Parul Pandya Dhar.

T h e principal sanctuary in Enclosure I and (Figure 6.5 ), while another colossal Buddha head
the vihàra in Enclosure 3 had large pedestals is located in the Museum ofVietnamese Flistory
carved with narrative sculptures.These pedestals in Hanoi (Figure 6.6).
once supported images o f Buddha, bodhisattvasy T h e architectural organization at D o n g
monks and other figures found from the site. Du*o’ng, particularly that o f Enclosure 1, shares
They are now housed in the Dà Nàng Museum many features in common with other religious
o f Cham Sculpture in central Vietnam (Figures structures in Champa, which were in this case
6.3 and 6 .4 ; see colour plate section). Some re-oriented to a Buddhist context. There is
other significant sculptures, including a colossal considerable similarity, for example, in the
Buddha head, are in the Musée Guimet in Paris layout o f Enclosure 1 at D ong Du’o’ng and the
116 Asian Encounters

Figure 6.6 Archival photograph of a colossal head of Buddha (Hanoi Buddha-head] found at Dong Duong,
© École française d'Extrême-Orient, Paris, fonds Vietnam VIE 00383.

arrangement o f structures in the predominantly southern Indian ^iva temples in plan (but not in
^aiva groups at My So’n, although stylistic elevation). T he arrangement o f smaller shrines
traits differ. These, in turn, bear similarities along the inner circumference o f the rectangular
with southern Indian temple complexes from courtyard is also a feature in com m on with
the 8th century onwards. T h e organization southern Indian temples.
o f an enclosure wall (pràkàrd) punctuated by However, som e architectu ral features at
gateways {gopuras) and the arrangement o f a D on g Du’O’ng seem to draw their inspiration
main temple surrounded by smaller temples, from a different tradition and are plausibly
for example, are shared features.“^ Also, the o f Chinese a ffilia tio n .A m o n g these are the
central tower o f Enclosure I, which is open on tall, ribbed columns or pylons which flanked
all four sides, resembles the 'H znòì-m andapa o f the g o p u r a s } ’^ F u n ctio n in g like boundary
 Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice 117

posts, similar elongated and ribbed stupaA\V.Q this Buddha, is now located in the Museum o f
structures also bordered and demarcated the Vietnamese History in Hanoi (henceforth called
space occupied by the different structures. the ‘Hanoi-head’) (Figure 6.6).
But the Indian and Chinese influences just T h e colossal Buddha just discussed wears a
discussed have been integrated and localized lower garment, antaravdsakuy and an upper one,
in the arch itectu re o f D o n g D u ’o’ng in a uttarasanga. His manner o f sitting, the thickly
manner which is essentially Cham. Moreover, pleated lower garment and the arrangement
the cultural context within which the varied o f the upper drape over his right shoulder and
religious and artistic influences have been arm is stylistically affiliated to Chinese examples
assimilated and the artistic genius that created o f the art o f the Six Dynasties, Sui (5 8 0 -6 1 8
this magnificent complex, are distinctly Cham. C E) and early Tang (6 1 8 - 9 0 7 C E) periods.
T h ere are also C ham elem ents w hich are Dupont (1 9 5 1 ,2 7 1 - 2 ) had conducted a detailed
not encountered elsewhere, as for example, comparative stylistic analysis to demonstrate
the peculiar treatment o f the stone pedestals C hinese influence. T h e thick pleats o f the
(Figures 6.3 and 6 .4 ; see colour plate section). garment; the antaravdsaka which descends very
The architectural ornamentation and style are low; the manner in which the upper garment
so distinctive that one o f the important stylistic covers the arm; the curvilinear and oblique lines
phases in ancient Cham art derives its name o f the upper garment and the strong vertical
from this site and is well-known as the ‘D ong folds o f the lower one; the manner in which
Du’o’ng style’ (Boisselier 1963a, 8 7 -1 1 8 ). the cloth uniformly falls along the knees o f the
seated Buddha; and finally, the way in which the
P ie c i n g a P u z z l e : T h e C o l o s s a l B u d d h a s upper drape {sanghdti) setdes lightly on the right
Damaged parts o f colossal Buddha images were shoulder and arm, reveal stylistic affinities with
recovered from D ong D uo’ng during the French Chinese or ‘Sino-Japanese’ parallels.
excavations o f 1 9 0 2 -4 . T h eir significance is During clearance o f the site by Parnientier and
obvious by their grandeur and their larger than his team in September 1902, the torso o f this
life presence. A colossal Buddha, which survives in Buddha with a detached head (the ‘Hanoi-head’)
several broken parts pieced together, is seated on placed on his shoulders was found in the central
a stool with his legs pendant {pralambapdddsana/ tower o f the first enclosure.^^ T h e legs were
bhadrdsana, or the ‘European’ pose), with the legs found later during excavations among the debris
parallel and apart below the knee, and with the o f the vihdra pedestal in the third enclosure,
palms cupping the knees. Such pendant-legged situated at a distance o f about 100 metres to the
Buddha images have been found throughout east. The torso and legs fit well together along
Southeast Asia and are believed to convey royal the lines o f breakage and appear to be o f a piece.
symbolism (Revire 2 0 1 1 , 3 7 -4 9 ). This Buddha Parmentiers team reconstituted the image by
sculpture is displayed presently in the Da Nang transporting the legs from the third enclosure^®
Museum (Figures 6 .4 and 6 .7 ) and is about to the central tower o f the first enclosure. The
1.54 metres tall in the seated position, excluding earth beneath the torso in the central tower was
the decapitated head. A separated head, which dug out to accommodate the legs beneath the
was once wrongly assumed to have belonged to torso. T he reconstituted colossal seated stone
118 Asian Encounters

Figure 6.7 Archival photograph of the reassembled Dong Duong pedestal with the Hanoi Buddha-head ill-
fitted on the colossal body of the Buddha, ® École française d’Extrême-Orient, Paris, fonds Vietnam VIE 00380.

Buddha can be seen in a photograph taken by École française d'Extrême-Orient (E FE O ) pho­

Carpeaux in November 1902.^^ tographic archive, which came to my notice in
This colossal Buddha {sans the head) is a June 2 0 1 2 , shows the (Hanoi) head fitted above
prized possession o f the Da N ang Museum, the shoulders o f this colossal seated Buddha
where he is placed on the re-assembled D ong in the Dà Nàng Museum (Figure 6 .7 ). It also
Du’o’ng vihdra pedestal (Figure 6 .4 ). Based on reveals a disproportionate fit o f the head with
the visual premise o f photographs taken by the body. T h e archival photographs point to the
Carpeaux, it is evident that the (Hanoi) head greater likelihood that the Hanoi Buddha head
does not fit proportionately with the broken does not belong to the colossal Buddha now
neck and the rest o f the body {M A FV 200$, housed in the Dà Nàng Museum. It appears that
1 2 8 -9 , pi. 9 6 -7 ). Another photograph in the the Hanoi Buddha head belonged to another
 Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice 119

colossal Buddha, perhaps o f slightly greater These attempts at piecing together the puzzle
proportions than the pendant-legged colossal o f the two colossal Buddha heads are further
Buddha in the Dà Nàng Museum. complicated by the documented presence at the
A second colossal Buddha-head (Figure 6.5; site o f a second colossal body o f a Buddha (see
now in Musée Guimet, Paris, and henceforth Figure 6.8).^ ' Parmentier had reported that the
called the ‘Guimet-head') is remarkably similar Guimet-head corresponded with the discovery
to the Hanoi-head (Figure 6.6).^^ Both show o f a colossal body, seemingly o f a Buddha seated
distinctive features o f the Buddha as rendered cross-legged, unfortunately much damaged,
in D on g Du’o*ng art— eyebrows that flow in with only the hands and a part o f the body
a continuous bow-shaped curve and meet at surviving. T h e palms o f the hands were joined
the centre, thick and fleshy lips, small chin, together and the fingers were interlaced.
flared nostrils, elongated ear lobes {m ahà- T h is body o f a colossal seated Buddha was
purusa-laksanay mark o f a great being), gently discovered am ong several oth er fragm ents
upturned lips, moustache, prominent side burns near the principal tower o f the first enclosure,
and a curved hairline o f multiple arcs. T he hair towards the south-east. From Parm entier s
is made up o f small snail-shaped curls (also a and Carpeauxs notes and photographs, the
mahà-purusa-laksana)y carved in a localized hand gesture with intertwined fingers can be
version o f the Indian manner and organized in identified as the hodhydgri mudrdy suggesting
tiers that culminate in the usnisa (top-knot). The that this colossal Buddha was perhaps Vairocana
umîsa is shaped innovatively as a lotus bud, and (Chutiwongs 2 0 0 5 , 6 5 -8 7 ) . T h e detail visible
has several holes around its base, presumably ro in Carpeauxs photograph reaffirms this strong
affix a ceremonial ornament, as is clearly visible possibility (Figure 6 .8 ). T h e G uim et-head
on the Guimet-head. Both have a serene yet (which may have belonged to the colossal body
powerful visage and are outstanding examples o f Vairocana) is flattened at the back with the
o f Campa art. ends o f a vertical tenon (Baptiste and Zephir,
There are also some differences between the 2 0 0 5 , 2 1 3 ). As per Parmentiers notes, the rear
two colossal Buddha heads. W hile the Hanoi- side o f the colossal cross-legged seated Buddha
head has a prominent ùrtià (circular mark on the also had a projection which must have been
forehead, a mahà-purusa-laksand)^ the Guimet- used to affix it to the masonry.
head does not. Another minor difference lies It has been proposed that there was a third
in the peculiar arrangement o f the snail-shaped colossal Buddha and that the Hanoi-head actu­
curls. It is difficult to say if the Guimet-head fits ally belonged to the body of this third Buddha
the Buddha with pendant legs displayed in the who was perhaps A m itabha (B ap tiste and
Dà Nàng Museum but such a possibility cannot Zephir, 2 0 0 5 , 2 1 3 ). Such a hypothesis seems
be ruled out. W ith the body in Dà Nàng and inspired by the m ention o f the three Buddhas
the head in Guimet-Paris, it is not possible to in the An Thai inscription: Sakyamuni, Vairo­
conclusively prove whether each belongs to the cana and A m i t a b h a . A s two Buddhas, Sak­
other. Only accurate measurements and a close yamuni and Vairocana, are known from D on g
scrutiny after placing the two pieces together D iro’ng, it is certainly tempting to imagine the
could provide a conclusive answer. presence o f the third, Amitabha, particularly
120 Asian Encounters

Figure 6.8 Archival photograph of a colossal body of Buddha (Vairocana?) in bodhyagri mudrà among
architectural fragments at Dong Duong, ® École française d'Extrême-Orient, Paris, fonds Vietnam VIE 00344_b.

since Lokesvara (to whom the monastery is coiffure) is well attested to (Chutiwongs 2 0 0 5 ,
dedicated) belongs to the family o f Amitabha. 83). Am itabhas presence at D o n g Du’o*ng is
Baptiste has proposed that Amitabha would perhaps best identified with Lokesvara and
have occupied a dom inant position in the not separately.
principal tower o f the first enclosure; Vairocana As regards Vairocana (?), the evidence carefully
would have been located in the central tower documented by Parmentier and Baptiste, and
o f the same enclosure; and ^aky amuni would stated in the foregoing, suggests that the rear o f
have been on the vihdra pedestal in the third this image was most likely aifixed to a wall. This
enclosure. Available archaeological evidence important detail makes it improbable that the
for this hypothesis, however, is fragile and the central tower, which is a sarvatobhadra structure
presence o f a colossal Am itabha Buddha at with door-like openings on all sides (Figure
D on g Du’o’ng cannot be scientifically ascer­ 6.1 ), could have housed a colossal image (that
tained. Further, we do not have any evidence is, Vairocana) with its back attached to a wall,
o f a separate Amitabha cult at D ong Du’o’ng or although the possibility that it was affixed to the
elsewhere in Campa, although the worship o f back-rest o f a throne placed in the centre o f the
Lokesvara (who carries Amitabhas image in the central tower cannot be ruled out.
 Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice 121

W here then, do we find ourselves in our the left one holding the ends o f his garment.
efforts to piece this puzzle o f the colossal D ong Cast in the best traditions o f ritual iconic art,
Du o’ng Buddhas? Did the Guimet Buddha-head its delineation concurs well with descriptions
belong to the now-disappeared body o f the in Indian iconographic treatises. Several mahd-
colossal Buddha (Vairocana?) seated in the purusa-laksanas — the elon gated earlo b es,
cross-legged stance? Perhaps it did, going by the usnisa (the top knot), and urnd— are visible
clue o f the projecting tenons discussed earlier. (see Figure 6.9). In terms o f artistic style and
But we are not in a position to take this further iconography, it is affiliated to the Amaravati
until the two pieces are examined together. School o f south-eastern India, which also had
Could the Guimet Buddha-head have fitted the a following in Sri Lanka. Substantial scholarly
colossal Buddha with pendant legs displayed literature has been generated around its prove­
in the Da N ang Museum? T h is possibility nance and period.^"^ Stylistically, it is certainly
too cannot be conclusively ruled out until the not a local manufacture but appears to have
two pieces are examined together. Could the reached the coasts o f Campa from Sri Lanka at
H anoi Buddha-head have belonged to the some point during the 8th century C E or earlier.
Buddha seated cross-legged (Vairocana)? In the An observation made by Thierry Zephir about
present state o f information, this too cannot be this bronze has implications that could also be
ascertained. Did the Hanoi Buddha-head fit the extended to interpret the plausible role o f this
colossal Buddha with pendant legs displayed in image at Dong Du’o*ng (Baptiste and Zephir,
the Da Nang Museum? This is most unlikely, 2 0 0 5 ,2 0 6 -9 ) . Zephir observes that the eyes and
as the mism atch observed in the foregoing eyebrows o f this image had been (re)incised at a
discussion has shown. Finally, did the Hanoi stage subsequent to its creation, perhaps for the
Buddha-head belong to a third colossal Buddha ritual o f netronmilanam (opening o f the eyes)
(Amitabha)? This surmise, while conceptually during image consecration, a rite prescribed in
attractive, is difficult to prove in the absence Indian ritualistic treatises. T he incised eyebrows
o f adequate archaeological evidence. Further are bow-shaped and trace a continuous curve, a
clarity could only be achieved by (actually or stylistic detail peculiar to Campa art from about
virtually) bringing the dispersed parts o f the the 8th century. If this image was imported to
colossal Buddhas together and conducting a Campa from Sri Lanka, Zephirs observation
close scientific analysis— an effort that calls for points to a consecration ritual that appears to
active collaboration between different collections have taken place in Campa at a time after the
spread across two continents! beginning o f the 8th century. This prompts us
to propose that the ‘Amaravati’ style bronze
Two B r o n z e s : 'A m a r a v a t i 'B u d d h a a n d Buddha found at D ong Du’o’ng may have been
A F e m a le Bodhisattva re-consecrated at D ong Du’o’ng and may have
An exquisite bronze Buddha (ht. 119 cm) played a role in the rituals enacted there.
found at D on g Du’o’ng and now in the Ho T he identity ot an enigmatic female bronze
Chi Minh City Museum, Vietnam, stands in bodhisattva (ht. 114 cm) has been a subject o f
samapada (equipoise), with the right hand in debate ever since it was accidently discovered in
vitarka-mudra (gesture o f argumentation) and 1978 in the D ong Du’o’ng temple compound,
122 Asian Encounters

Figure 6.9 Bust of the 'Amaravati style' bronze Buddha found at Dong Duong, Ho Chi Minh City Museum,
Hanoi. Photo: Chedha Tingsanchali.

about 50 metres south o f the principal sanctuary could only be only be Laksmlndra-Lokesvara
(Figure 6.1 0 ; see colour plate section). Almost as (Trian Nguyen 2 0 0 2 , 5 -3 8 ).
tall as the bronze Buddha, she has variously been T h is female b od h isattv as face has a quiet
identified as Tara (Boisselier 1 9 8 4 ,3 1 9 -3 7 ; Bap­ strength and the eyes (with inlay work) register
tiste and Zephir 2 0 0 5 ,2 1 0 -1 1 ), Prajnâpâramitâ-^^ an immediate presence (Figure 6 .1 1 ; see colour
(mother o f all tathâgatas^^ and perfection o f plate section). T h e continuous curve o f the
wisdom), and a female Laksmîndra-Lokesvara'^^. eyebrow was inlaid as may be inferred by the
A dramatic find o f the two missing attributes in deeply incised eyebrows. The inlay is a signif­
the hands o f this deity (left: conch, right: lotus) icant detail and Boisselier (1 984, 3 1 9 -3 7 ) has
was published by Trian Nguyen, who used this suggested that this points ro Chinese influence.
evidence to conclude that this unique image T he forehead is marked by a diamond-shaped
 Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice 123

caviry which must have once held a precious C E) and the evidence o f similar practice at a
stone or jewel. Her elaborate coiffure has holes to later period in Cambodia (period o f Jayavarman
accommodate detachable jewels along the tiered V II, c. 1 1 8 1 -1 2 1 9 ), there is a possibility that
curls o f her locks and at the pinnacle o f the jatd the king may have intended to honour a royal
(top-knot). She wears a two-piece pleated lower lady. However, in the absence o f any substantial
garment and her torso is bare. Stylistically, this evidence to establish a female Lokesvara cult in
is a highly refined piece o f local workmanship. Campa, these arguments remain inconclusive."^^
Sheltered within her coiffure is an image o f
Buddha protected by a seven-hooded serpent Iconography, Inscription and T ext :
(M ucalinda). T h is miniature Buddha wears Inter-relationships
an ubhaydnsika-sanghdti (drape covering both H iram W oodward has recently drawn our
shoulders), is seated cross-legged {padmdsana or attention to some passages in the D ong Diro’ng
sukhdsand)y and is in the dhyana-mudrd (gesture inscription which draw a close parallel with por­
o f meditation).^® Boisselier had identified this tions from the Karandavyuha-sutra (Woodward
bronze as Prajnaparamita in 1963, but in 1984 he 2 011, 33—42). This suggests the possibility that
drew a comparison with other Campa sculptures this text may have been known in D ong Du*o*ng
(such as the one from Dai Hu’u) and (re)identi- during the period o f Indravarman II. A close
fied her asTara.-^^ Chutiwongs is o f the opinion reading o f some o f the textual passages with the
that this female bronze is Prajnaparamita as it ties relevant portions o f the inscription could help
up well with the evidence from neighbouring us in understanding some o f the iconographic
Cambodian inscriptions and also because Tara riddles at the site.
does not figure in any o f the inscriptions from T he D ong Du*o’ng inscription refers to those
Cambodia or Campa (Chutiwongs 2 0 0 5 , 86). languishing in hell [naraka) who constantly long
T h e sculpture o f Lokesvara, which is men­ (satatam kdnksanti) to see (darsanam) (the lord).
tioned in the D ong Du’o’ng stele inscription T h e effect o f quenching their thirst is likened
as having been made by the king with his own to cool {sitala) water in the heat o f summer."^*
hands, had never been found and it is this miss­ Woodward (2 0 1 1, 3 3 -4 2 ) has shown that this
ing image o f Laksmindra-Lokesvara that Trian passage from the inscription compares well with
Nguyen, Tran ky Phu’o’ng and Ngo \^n Doanh a section from the Kdrandavyuha-sutray which
have sought in the female bronze. Trian Nguyen speaks o f cool water flowing from the fingers
has proposed that this exceptional representation o f the compassionate Avalokitesvara to satiate
o f the bodhisattva in female form may be linked the thirst o f those suffering in hell."^^ T h e com ­
to three factors (Trian Nguyen 2 0 0 5 , 15): First, passionate act o f Avalokitesvara in which water
the presence ofT antric or Vajrayana Buddhism flows from his fingers is represented visually
in Campa by the 9th century fits well with the by the gesture o f pretasamtarpita (the satiated
deification o f the female form. Second, Indra- hungry ghosts) and is also known in early 10th
varman U s desire to address and honour the century Khmer Avalokitesvara iconography."^^
native matriarchal system may have resulted in According to Woodward, the conch placed in
honouring the deity in female form. And finally, the hands o f the female bodhisattva at D ong
on the basis o f the Nhan Bieu inscription (911 Du'o’ng relates well with the idea o f an endless
124 Asian Encounters

Figure 6.12 Seated figure igrahal), Museum of Cham Sculpture, Oa N3ng. Photo: Parul Pandya Dhar.

supply o f water. This interpretation concurs and surrounding the principal sanctuary, and
with her identification as Tärä and also as the seated deities recovered from the site, could
female Avalokitesvara. The author also points well have represented the planets listed in the
to a striking Hindu-Buddhist analogy: as ^iva inscription (Figures 6.2 and 6.12).
to Gaiiga, so Avalokitesvara to Tärä (Woodward T h e iconographic attributes in the hands
2 0 1 1 ,3 5 ). o f the fem ale b o d h isa ttv a — the lotu s and
Yet, another passage from the D ong Diro’ng conch— are usually associated with Vlsnu, whose
stele describes the qualities o f the king as one consort is Laksmi. Laksmi has been depicted
who shines forth in wisdom {p rajh a) and is more than once at this site. Among the D ong
protected by the planets (Woodward 2 0 1 1 , Du’o’ng remains is a pediment depicting Laksmi
35 ) 44 suggests a greater correlation o f the lustrated by elephants (Figure 6.13). Laksmi is
bronze with Prajnäpäramitä, who best epitomizes also repeated on the base o f one o f the smaller
wisdom. W hat is more, the subsidiary shrines su rrou n d in g tem.ples {M A F V 2 0 0 5 , 1 4 3 .
lining the inner circumference o f Enclosure 1 pi. 112). Given that one o f the names o f the king
 Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice 125

Figure 6.13 Gajalak5mi pediment, Museum of Cham Sculpture, Oa NSng, Photo: Parul Pandya Dhar.

was Laksmlndra (Laksmi plus Indra), this may its fires are extinguished and lotuses the size
also have been an intentional visual pun. Could o f chariot wheels appear in a pool o f water,"^^
this female bodhisattva be better understood as a T h e same text also mentions that ^akyamuni
localized female deity bringing together multiple Buddha in the Jetavana vihdray surrounded by
divine energies— Buddhist and Hindu in arhats, bodhisattvas and others, was visited by
association with the Cham practice o f female Avalokitesvara after the bodhisattva emerged
worship? from Avici hell (Studholme 2 0 0 2 , 122).
Som e aspects o f the layout o f the D o n g At the easternmost end o f the D ong Du’o’ng
Du*o’ng complex need to be understood in the complex is a water body and near it, along the
light o f a passage from the K drandavyiiha-sutra. causeway leading to this water body, is the
T h e second prakaran am (chapter) o f the first column o f Xuan-so’n (Figure 6.1). In 1902,
n irv yu h a (part) o f this siitra speaks o f the Parm entier had reported an unusual stone
‘destruction o f helF by Avalokitesvara. T he text sculpture from this site {M A FV 2 0 0 5 , 182,
states that when Avalokitesvara enters Avici hell. pi. 153). It was carved in the shape o f lotus leaves
126 Asian Encounters

and appeared to be a portion o f a huge spherical Mâra who tried to obstruct Buddhas quest for
lotus which crowned a tall (c. 5 - 6 m) and enlightenment."^^ Maras attack is also a theme
wide (c. 1 m in diameter) column surrounded carved in the narrative reliefs on the pedestal
by five or six snakes. A portion o f one o f the o f the principal sanctuary (Figure 6 .1 5 ). If
stone snakes was discovered by Carpeaux in the the personage is identified as Màra, then the
adjacent rice fields (A M F V 2005, 182). iconography has clearly been borrowed from the
T h e large lotus which once crowned the depiction o f Ravana in a Saiva context. O n the
column could have stood for ‘lotuses the size other hand, given that there are ample references
o f a chariot w heel’ {sakata-cakra-pram dna- to Siva and other Hindu gods in the D o n g
mdtrdni padmdnl),v^\nc\i sprang forth from a Du’o’ng inscription,"^® it is not improbable that
pool o f water {puskarini) when Avalokitesvara this fragment actually represents Ravana, with
entered Avici hell. T h e snakes surrounding the the portion above, which would have shown Siva
column o f Xuan-so’n at D ong Du’o’ng would and Umà in Kailasa, now damaged and lost.^^
then represent the poisonous hell. T he water It is useful to draw parallels between Ravana
body at the easternmost end connected with in a Saiva context and M àra in a Buddhist
the vihdra o f Enclosure 3 through a causeway context. Both were demons whose pride was
(near the column o f Xuan-so’n). In this vihdra, humbled by Siva and Buddha respectively. As
(Sakyamuni) Buddha, surrounded by arhats, we already know, a close correlation exists in
bodhisattvas and other worshippers, was seated the D o n g Du’o’ng stele inscription between
on an elaborate pedestal. This may have repre­ Saivism and Buddhism, and between gods in
sented the textual description o f the assembly the divine realm (Saiva as well as Buddhist) and
o f Sakyamuni Buddha in Jetavana vihdra. The earthly gods (kings). In the event that this small
relative positions o f the water body, the column pedestal was placed in association with Buddha,
o f Xuan-so’n and the vihdra at D ong Du'o’ng the multi-headed and multi-armed personage
lend further credence to the correlation o f the could be seen to represent Màra, through an
text with architectural layout (Figure 6.1). Such appropriation o f the iconographic traits o f Ravana.
a correlation, I propose, establishes another In accordance with references in the D on g
im portant link between the D o n g Du’O’ng D u ’o ’ng in sc rip tio n and th e Kdraridavy-
complex and the Karandavyuha-sutra. ùha-sütra, the representation just discussed may

M
ara? or RAvaijja?
have been intended as a deliberate slesa (double
entendre) by employing Saiva iconography first
A small pedestal recovered from the vihdra in a Buddhist context, and next, in relation
enclosure depicts a four-headed and eight-armed to the king. As discussed earlier in this paper,
being attempting to lift something above him borrowings from Purànic Hinduism are in evi­
(Figure 6 .1 4 ; see colour plate section). T he dence in the Kdrandavyüha-sütra, which adapts
iconography is clearly inspired by the standard these to a Buddhist context. Ravanas reference
Ravananugrahamurti"^^ co m p o sitio n .lt has too appears in the Kdrandavyùha-sùtray in the
also been suggested that at D ong Du’o’ng, in use o f the term ^m ahd-rdvaria-pratidvandi
a Buddhist context, this m ulti-headed and (Studholme 2 0 0 2 , 122). Such an overlap o f
multi-armed personage represents the demon meanings also emerges in a concurrent reading
 Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice 127

Figure 6.15 Narrative reliefs carved on the pedestal of the Principal Tower, depicting Mara's attack, Mara's
army (?) and Mara's daughters. Museum of Cham Sculpture, Oa NSng. Photo: Parul Pandya Dhar.

o f the inscriptions and art remains from D ong see colour plate section). They are depicted as
Du*o’ng— As 5iva is to Ravana; Buddha is to beings o f ferocious demeanor with bulging eyes,
Mara; Avalokitesvara is to the demons in hell; exaggerated frown, taut and strained neck, flared
and the king is to his enemies. Interestingly, this nostrils and protruding teeth. I'heir stances and
small pedestal also has lotuses on the upper rim the weapons in their hands indicate their com­
and multi-hooded serpents projecting trom the bative spirit as they victoriously trample some
sides, which may have represented the poisonous creature under their feet. Each o f them has been
hell, Avici, from which Avalokitesvara emerged uniquely conceptualized. T he closest parallels
after satiating the hungry ghosts or demons. can be found with the Buddhist guardian figures
o f the'Iang period in China, although the facial
Some Other S ignificant Sculptures features, physiognomy and several other stylistic
D v arap afas/D h arm ap alas Each o f the four features are uniquely Cham, Dupont (1 9 5 1 ,
D ong gopuras was guarded by two large 273) has shown stylistic affinities with Chinese
guardians, making a total o f eight (Figure 6 .1 6 ; examples and Woodward (2 011, 36) has related
128 Asian Encounters

references in the Kàrandavyùha-sùtra these bodhisattvas, monks, and adorers. A very fine
guardians. The image o f a dvàrapàla trampHng beheaded sculpture o f a figure holding a lotus
a buffalo, with a human form in an attitude o f in his hand and standing on a lotus pedestal is
combat emerging from the jaws o f the buffalo undoubtedly o f a monk (Figure 6.4; see colour
(Figure 6 .1 6 ; see colour plate section) has a plate section). T h e thick folds o f the drapery, the
striking similarity with Indian representations strapped sandals on his feet and the strained lines
o f Durga Mahisasuramardini. on the neck point to Chinese influence (Dupont
1951, 272).Yet another head o f a monk was also
G rahas A group o f figures found in the first found among the debris. It has been suggested
enclosure are most likely planetary deities or that the two m onks may have represented
grahas.Thcy are seated on pedestals with their Mahakasyapa and Ananda.^*
right knee raised and holding a dagger in the
left hand (Figure 6 .1 2 ) and were originally Narrative Reliefs on the Two Pedestals
housed in the smaller shrines on the inner
Two large ped estals, frag m en ted and re­
periphery o f the principal sanctuary. According
assembled, provided the base on which sculp­
to a verse from the D ong Du’o’ng stele which
tures o f deities, monks and others were placed in
mentions the king as shining forth in wisdom
the principal sanctuary o f the first enclosure and
(Jaya-indravarma vidito dedipyateprajnaya) and
in the vihdra complex o f the third enclosure
protected by the planets, these figures could
(Figures 6,3 and 6.4; see colour plate section).
represent Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, M oon, Sun,
Both are carved with narrative scenes. Some o f
Venus and Saturn.^®
these are narratives from the life o f the historic
Bodhisattvas(?) Two seated bodhisattvas{^.), Buddha. M ost o f the identifiable scenes show
w ho p re su m a b ly w ou ld have fla n k e d a episodes from Buddhas life up to the attainment
colossal Buddha (^akyamuni) in the vihdra, o f enlightenment, or Mzvz-vijaya (victory over
are similar in appearance to the grahas. They M ara). These include scenes o f birth, great
are, however, not placed on pedestals and departure, removal o f the hair, and those relating
instead have projections at the back, which to Mara and his army at the time o f Buddhas
suggest that they may have been fitted into enlightenment (Figure 6 .1 5 ). These are well-
a wall. Unlike grahas, the bodhisattvas have a known from the Lalitavistara and other textual
distinct diamond-shaped {urnd) mark on the narratives from ancient India (Chutiwongs 2011,
forehead and sport halos carved with flame-like 1 2 -2 7 ). Among the narratives from Buddhas

patterns. They were found among the remains life, the encounter with Mara and his army
in the vihdra complex. O ne o f them is now in culm inating in Buddhas enlightenm ent is a
the Rietberg Museum in Zurich (Boisselier dominant theme: Mzvz-vijaya is the final scene
1963b) while the other is placed atop the vihdra on the pedestal of the principal sanctuary o f
pedestal in the Dà N àng Museum, Vietnam the first enclosure (Figure 6 .15). It is significant
(Figure 6 .4 ; see colour plate section). that episodes up to the enlightenment have been
portrayed and not those beyond the enlighten­
Arhats The colossal Buddha (^akyamuni) of ment. As we know, this Buddhist complex was
the vihdra was in all probability surrounded by dedicated to the bodhisattva Lokesvara. whose
 Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice 129

compassion compels him to stay on in this site demonstrate a process o f ‘iconographic

world for the release o f all beings, including transference’ between Hindu and Buddhist
those dwelling in hell. There appears to be a deities. Regarding the plausible textual basis,
connection between (escape or rescue from) given that the process o f localization led to
Maras hell (o f desire and temptations) and the several regional adaptations, a fully satisfactory
role o f Lokesvara in releasing the down-trodden explanation for complex iconographies is not
from the travails o f hell. Interestingly, Maras likely to be found in a single text that reached
hell and the rescue o f beings from it (but in this through a circuitous route from a distant land.
case, by Vajrapani) are also emphasized in the Yet, there is good reason to believe that the
An Thai inscription.^^ T h e An Thai inscription, Kàrandavyùha-sùtray Lalitavistara and some
we have already noted, holds some clues to the other Buddhist texts such as Mabàvairocana-
iconographic riddles at D ong Du’o’ng. sùtra had guided the layout and iconography
o f the complex.
D is c u s s i o n Understanding the original intent o f the
With the establishment o f the Dong Diro’ng tem­ architectural and sculptural configuration at
ple and monastery complex at Indrapura and its D on g Du’O’ng is becoming more possible now,
dedication to bodhisattva Laksmindra-Lokesvara although some speculation is inevitable due to
(Avalokitesvara), K ing Jaya Indravarman II the inconclusive nature o f available evidence.
sought to proclaim the distinctive character o f his T he colossal Buddha with pendant legs appears
kingship and at the same time, also integrated the to have been seated on the vihàra pedestal
prevailing belief systems o f the people o f Campa. surrounded by bodhisattvas, monks and other
His rule marked the return to prominence o f devotees, quite in the manner o f Sakyamunis
the Thu Bon valley region^^ under a new ruler assembly in the Jetavana vihàra as described in
with a distinct identity. T h e king consecrated the Kàrandavyùha-sùtra. T h e water body at the
Laksmindra-Lokesvara as the presiding deity at easternmost end and the archaeological find o f a
D ong Du’o’ng and also re-established the lihga portion o f a large lotus above a column entwined
o f Bhadresvara as the ultimate god to whom with serpents corresponds with the scene o f
all Campa kings were beholden. It is through the transformation o f Avici hell on account o f
the grace o f ^iva Bhadresvara and bodhisattva Avalokitesvaras presence. This reaffirms links
Lokesvara that the king aspired to successfully with the Kàrandavyùha-sùtra and creates a direct
rule Campa. Lokesvara as the bodhisattva o f relationship o f the water body at the far eastern
compassion and saviour o f all sentient beings end with the assembly o f (Sakyamuni) Buddha
was worshipped along with other Hindu deities, in the vihàra.
notably Siva, and their divine qualities were in T h e second colossal Buddha appears to
turn reflected upon the king as the protector o f be Vairocana in bodhyàgri mudrà and in all
the people o f Campa. likelihood occupied an im portant position
T h e art rem ains and in scrip tio n s from in the first enclosure. I f there was a third
D on g Du’o’ng suggest a religious mix, Bud­ colossal Buddha (Am itabha), this would fit
dhist and Hindu, and the local beliefs o f the well with the description given in the An Thai
people o f Campa. Some sculptures from this inscription but the archaeological evidence
130 Asian Encounters

for such a hypothesis is scarce. T h e narrative d 'E x trêm e -O rien t. Paris for perm ission to
sequences on the two pedestals depict scenes reproduce three early 20th century photographs
from the life o f Sakyamuni Buddha. T h e visual from the E FE O photo-archives. Special thanks
narrative culminates in the M ^vz-vijaya scene are due to Arlo G riffiths, Justin M cCarthy,
at the time o f the enlightenm ent and corre­ and Sanjay Dhar for their help and support at
sponds with the L alitav istara and other known various stages o f writing this paper. I would also
textual narratives. like to acknowledge the Dà Näng Museum o f
T h e id e n tity o f the e n ig m a tic fem ale Cham Sculpture, Vietnam, especially Vo Van
bronze b od h isa ttv a still remains uncertain, Thäng, and the Musée Guimet, Paris, especially
the possibility swinging between a localized Pierre Bapriste, for their help during my visits to
Cham version o f Prajnàpàramità, Tara, and photo-document the D ong Du’o’ng collections
a fem ale Lokesvara. C u rren t V ietn am ese at the two museums.
scholarship, however, is convinced that she is
Laksmlndra-Lokesvara, to whom the temple N o tes

was dedicated. T h is fem ale b o d h isa ttv a is 1. Campa Inscription no. C .66. See Études
perhaps best understood as a localized hybrid épigraphiques sur le pays Cham [EEPC], 1995,41-57:
female deity. Such a reading corresponds well M.L. Finot, 'Notes d’epigraphie (inscriptions du
with the larger processes o f localization and Quang Nam, I. Premiere stele de Dong-duong .
hybridization that can be observed in much Also see Majumdar (1927, 7 4 -8 8 of Book 111).
o f the D on g Du’O’ng art remains and inscrip­ [Inscription no. C.66 is Majumdars No. 31 dated
tions. Another bronze, the ‘Amaravati* Buddha, Saka 797/ 875 CE]: This inscription records the name
of the king as Laksmindra-Bhùmîsvara-Grâmasvàmin
is m ost likely an im p ort from Sri Lanka,
and his sovereign name as Indravarman. His posthu­
and may have played a role in the rituals at
mous name is recorded as Paramabuddhaloka in the
D ong Du’o’ng.
Dong D u ’O’n g stele inscription of Jayasimhavarman
T h e religious, textual and artistic vocabulary
I (Majumdars Inscr. No. 36: Face B, Book III), p.
at D ong Du*o*ng draws inspiration from Indian, 101. Unless specifically stated otherwise, all references
C hinese, Sri Lankan, and Southeast Asian to the Dong Du’o’ng inscription in this paper are
traditions, the varied influences having been to the one dated Saka 797/875 CE, the period of
assimilated and localized within the dominant Indravarman II,
substratum o f an essentially Cham culture. 2. Local opinion relates that the French Indo-
T h e connected histories o f an ancient past China war (1946-54) and the Vietnam-Amcrica
which had once shaped the magnificent D ong war (in 1967) caused grave damage to the site. As is
Du’o’ng monumental complex are gradually evident from the French archaeological documenta­
becoming more accessible to us today, but only tion during 1902-04, the site was in a much better
state of preservation in the early years of the twentieth
through an informed reconstruction o f its sadly
century. Sec Parmentier (1909, 1: 439-505) and
fragmented present.
Parmentier (1909, 2: pis XC V llI-C V ). Before its
‘discovery’ by the French, the area finds mention in
A ckn o w led g em en ts
the Nguyen dynasty records.
My gratitude extends to Franciscus Verellen 3. The Museum ofVietnamese History in Hanoi,
and Isabelle Poujol at the É cole française Ho Chi Minh City Museum ofVietnamese History
 Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice 131

and Rietberg Museum in Zurich also have Dong suggest a pan-Southeast Asian Buddhist culture. For
Du’o-ng sculptures in their collections. example, a sandstone stele found at My Thanh in the
4. See Parmentier (1909» 1 and 2) and Missions Phu Yen province of Vietnam, showing Buddha seated
archéologiquesfrançaises au Vietnam {MAFV) (2005). on a lotus and flanked by stiipas with tapering chattras,
The photographs by Charles Carpeaux and the with ú\<t ye dharma ... verse inscribed on it, reveals
archaeological documentation, notes and drawings links with similar ones from Thailand which gained
by Henri Parmentier aifbrd the most complete record currency in the Southeast Asian regions during the
of the site available to us today. 6th-10th centuries (Skilling, Southworth and Iran
5. Dong Du*o*ng stele inscription of Indravarman Ky Phúoñg (2010, 487-98]).
II (C.66, dated ^aka 797/875 CE): See Finot 1904: 6. These names, often found in Campa inscrip­
84-99; Études épigraphiques sur le pays Cham {EEPC)y tions. translate as *lord of the world,’ a term better
41-57; and Majumdar (1927,74-88 of Book 111). For suited than ‘Avalokitesvara for drawing parallels with
a comprehensive discussion on Buddhism in Campa, the king.
see Mabbett ( 1986, 2 8 9 -3 13). Chinese records speak 7. Several bronze images found from the region of
of an invasion in the northern parts of Campa by ancient Campa have been dated stylistically to about
a Chinese general, Liu Fang, who sacked Trà Kiêu the 7th-10th centuries and several inscriptions from
in 605 and took away as many as 1,350 Buddhist the region mention Lokesvara or Lokanatha. See
works in 564 bundles. Significantly, these works are Chutiwongs (2002); also Majumdar (1927, Book
mentioned to have been written in Kunlun characters. III, Inscr. nos 37 [An 'Ihai] and 43 [Nhan Bieu]),
Inscriptions record some Campa kings as being among other references.
proficient in Buddhist systems. Some kings of Campa 8. See, for example, in a Buddhist context, refer­
are also known to have taken posthumous Buddhist ences in the Dong Du’o’ng inscription ro the release
names, as was the case with King Jaya Indravarman of beings suffering in hell, Majumdar (1927, 79,
II (Paramabuddhaloka). Buddhist monks are known Inscr. 31. B.VIII): {duhkhenábhihatá nardsca narake
to have travelled across the Southeast and East kecit tathá nárakd, rátrau vá ca diva tadd ca satatam
Asian regions and it is highly unlikely that Campa kánksanti te darsanam/tarsabhika nará divákarahatd
with its long stretch of coastal line and strategically grismejalam sitalam, ye te drastumanekaduhkhavihatá
located ports could be excluded from the process. In vecchanti bhümau yathá)! The An Thai inscription
particular, there are references to several monks who refers to sinful men being surrounded by the hosts
travelled from Funan to China. In the earlier part of of Mára: Majumdar (1927, Inscr. 37, A.III, p. 106):
the 5th century, Gunavarman, a Buddhist teacher (mdrairugraih paritasciramapi, ..).
from Kashmir, is known to have spread Buddhism and 9. See Majumdar (1 9 2 7 , Inscr. 3 1 . verse
gained converts in Java and Lin yi (Snellgrove [1978, A.VIII): hhuvi sam sthitah suragandh ksem endra
36], as given in Mabbett [1986]). I Tsings account of (kings, the gods who dwell on earth). In the same
the late 7th century mentions the Buddhists of Lin inscription, verse A.X, the divine link of the kings
yi as belonging to the Àrya Sammiti-nikâya, with of the Indrapura dynasty is established through the
few followers of the Sarvâstivâda-nikâya (I Tsing, mythical Uroja who is sent by the great god l5ambhu
A Record o f the Buddhist Religion, tr. J. Takakasu, himself {sam bhussm itam ukhanayanah presitoroja
Oxford 1896, p. 12, as mentioned in Majumdar eva) to the earth with the dust of the feet of the
[ 1927, 210]). The formal composition, iconography guru {gurucaranarajah) o f ^ambhubhadresvara
and style of some Buddhist terracotta plaques and (sam bhubhadresvarasya)^ to gain the kingdom
stelae found in Ckmpa bear strong affinities to those (grdhyamrdjyam). Again, comparisons are struck
from centra! lliaiiand of the 6th-7th centuries and between Indra in heaven and Indravarman on
132 Asian Encounters

earth (verse B.VI): ... ràjàbhavatvekastvam prth- 16. The 23 lines of the inscription on Face A of
vindravarmmavidito devendrakalpah ksitau (tr. you, the stele are largely devoted to the linga of áambhu-
known as Prthivindravarmman [or, Indravarman Bhadresvara and its importance for the prosperity of
of the earth] are the unique king of the world, the king and the people of Campa.
almost equal to Indra). Also B.X, which compares 17. See Woodward (2004). Monk Punyodaya
the king with Indra and includes the king as part (who hailed from Central India and had spent time
of a world order: yàvad dharm m anayena raksati in China and Zhenla-Cambodia) is known to have
divam devendrá istyàjnayà/yàvac cám bunidhirjalàn i been instrumental in spreading úvt Mandalásta-sútra
saritàm gàm bhiryyato dhàrayan/yàvad vàyndharo of the Mantrayána during the mid-7th century.
ia ià h k a ra v ik a u tàràg a(1 2 )n àn so p i va tàv ad Archaeological and inscriptional evidence for the
buddhadhuram padañca nayatu sridhiraràjàsadàlf presence in Cambodia and Java of an important and
(tr. as long as Indra protects heaven in accordance early Mantrayána text, the Káraridavyüha-sütra has
with dharma, as long as the ocean in its profundity also now been well-established.
holds the water of the rivers, as long as the skies 18. It is significant to note here that the
are adorned with the sun, moon and stars, so long M ahavairocana sütra was translated into Chinese in
may the pious and auspicious king bear the yoke 7 2 3-4 CE. See Woodward (2004, 338).
and dignity o f Buddha). 19. Huber, as mentioned in Mabbett (1986.297).
10. Majumdar (1927, Book III, Inscr. 31» 20. The most detailed and updated study relating
verse B.IV): abam lokesvaram kartum jagatàm syám to the flow of esoteric Buddhism across Southeast
vimuktaye (tr. in making (establishing) Lokesvara, I Asia is by Hiram Woodward (2004). Woodward is
shall contribute to the deliverance of (the beings oO of the opinion that the nature of Buddhism at Dong
the world. Du’o’ng reveals Chinese influence.
11. Majumdar (105-9. Book III, Inscr. 37): The 21. Studholme (2002: 3 8 -4 1 ). Studholme is
An Thai stele inscription records the establishment of the opinion that this sütra perhaps originated
of the image of Lokesvara by monk Nagapuspa of the in Kashmir and subsequendy moved northwards.
monastery of Pramudita-Lokesvara. Indravarman II is Although the earliest recorded Chinese translation
described in this inscription as karunàmrtasarasikah of the Kárandavyüha-sütra dates to 983 CE, Lokesh
kevalameva prajàhitàspadakrt (tr, having drunk the Chandra has pointed to the existence of two dharants
nectar of mercy and being solely devoted to the good (extended incantations) to the thousand armed
of his subjects). Avalokitesvara which were translated to Chinese
12. Majumdar (1 9 2 7 , 7 5 , Book III): $ ri characters at least 300 years earlier and which
Laksmindra-Lokesvaraya namah. Lokesvaras name is accompanied the development of this iconographic
prefixed with the first name of the king. form in China.
13. Majumdar (Inscr. 31. verse B.V): ke devàh 22. The architectural details of the Dong Du’o’ng
karunàtmakàh prthudhìyà trànesu satvesu ca! complex are known to us from the documentation
14. Majumdar (Inscr. 31, verse B.V): Lokesam by Henri Parmentier and Charles Carpeaux.
param àrthatattvaviiado hastena sovakarot (tr. being See Parmentier (1 9 0 9 , 4 3 9 -5 0 5 and Planche
skilful in finding out the essence of supreme truth, X C V I I I - C V ) ; Parm entier (1 9 1 8 , Planche
he made Lokesa with (his own) hands). See also CXXV-CXXVI); and M A F V {im . 91-183). The
note 10. entire length of the Dong Du’O’ng complex along
15. Majumdar (Inscr. 31, verse C,I): dharmàrt- the E -W axis covers 1,300m and the first enclosure
ham vihàra sthápito ... (rá)jño n atvàkaràdàn àd measures 326m x 155m (Tran Ky Phu’o'ng 2008,
bhiksusañgham prayojanamff 50-1).
 Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice 133

23. Ihls is true in the case of several Dravida tem­ 31. This colossal body is now in a private
ples of the 8th century, for example, the Kailasanatha collection in Vietnam, as per information provided
at Kâncipuram» Virûpâksa at Pattadakal and Kailàsa by Pierre Baptiste in his paper presented at an
at Ëllorâ. Ihere are many more examples from this international conference, “New Research in Historical
period onwards. Campa Studies” at EFEO-Paris during 18-19 June
24. For details, see Dupont (1951, 273) and 2012 (proceedings yet to be published).
Boisselier (1963a, 96). 32. Parmentier, as quoted in Baptiste and Zéphir
25. For Dupont, these fluted or grooved {stùpa- (2005,212-13).
like) posts are reminiscent of the storied stùpas found 33. The system o f Buddha worship in the An
in China. Boisseher suggests that these singularly Thai inscription (902 CE) mentions Vajradhatu,
evoke the stùpa-x.ov^^Ts of China and Vietnam, and the Buddha receptacle born by the grace o f
the tiny stùpas that flank the Buddha images on a Sakyamuni and the efficient cause of Vajradhara
number of reliefs and votive tablets of Dvâravatî or Vajrapani; Padmadhàtu, the Buddha receptacle
and of Campa. For visuals, see MAFV 113, born by the grace o f Amitabha and the efficient
pis 78 and 79). cause o f Avalokitesvara, and Cakradhatu, the
26. Dupont (1951, 272) specifically mentions Buddha receptacle born by the grace of Vairocana
the Buddha images in the Longmen caves and also and the efficient cause o f Vajrasattva). (See
the Bhaisajyaguru of Nara (697 CE) for stylistic Majumdar 1927: 105-7, Book 111, verse A .V llI-X;
comparison. Even if it is difficult to correlate and Mabbett 1986.)
with specific examples, his larger line of argument 34. See Baptiste and Zéphir (2005, 206-9) for
that the stylistic affiliations are Sino-Japanese, is an assessment of the views of A. Coomaraswamy,
difficult to dispute. Recent archaeological research D. Barrett, P. Dupont, A. Grisworld, and others by
has revealed that the material culture ofTra Kiçu Thierry Zéphir.
from the second and third centuries reflects the 35. Nandana Chutiwongs is o f the opinion
significance of early Chinese influence alongside that this image represents Prajnâpàramità and is
Indian influence in the region. See Yamagata Mariko likely to have been housed in one of the shrines
(2011, 81-101). flanking the principal shrine in the first enclosure.
27. Henri Parmentier, Jon rn al de fouilleSy 22 See Chutiwongs (2005, 65-87). Also Woodward
novembre 1902, as reported in A£4fV(2005, 129). (2 0 1 1 ,3 3 -4 2 ).
28. Henri Parmentier, 22 Nov 1902, as quoted 36. This is stated in the 6th chapter of the second
by Pierre Baptiste in M AFV(2005, 129). nirvyùha of the Kàrandavyùha-sütra^ as given in the
29. The reproduction charges for this archival annotated précis by Studholme (2002, 147).
photograph as quoted by thev^ence Photographique 37. Trân Ky Phu’o’ng published the image in
de la Reunion des Musées Nationaux et du Grand 1979 and proposed that the statue may have been
Palais, Paris, were unaffordable for me. The reader is the main cult image. Ngo Van Doanh in the same
therefore requested to refer to it in MAFV(2005,129, year measured the base under the feet of the deity and
pi. 97). In the accompanying notes, Parmentier is declared that the image would have fitted perfectly at
also mentioned as having observed that while dicing the centre of the altar piece in the principal sanctuary.
the ground to accommodate the legs, it appeared as SeeTrian Nguyen (2005, 5-38).
though the ground of the central tower already had 38. This has been mistaken for the bhümis-
been dug at an earlier period. parsa-m udrà (earth-touching gesture)by some
30. See also Baptiste and Zephir (2005, 212-13). scholars. SeeTrian Nguyen (2005,10) and Woodward
The Guimet-head measures H. 68, L. 41, P. 46 cm. (2011,34).
134 Asian Encounters

39. Compare Boisselier (1984, 3 1 9 -3 7 , pi. Kailasa-Ellora).

XXXV b); and Boisselier (1963a, fig. 6.68). 47. ITie caption for this piece as displayed in the
40. Unlike China, where female Avalokitesvara Da Nang Museum labels it as ‘Mara?’
representations are known, no female Lokesvara 48. See note 1.
image is known from Campa. 49. The presence of a tiny human figure on one
4L Majumdar (1927,79; Inscription 31, B.VllI). side of the pedestal suggests something more above
See note 8. or just in front of the pedestal. Other possibilities
42. The third section of the first nirvyuha of which may be considered are: (i) it was placed in
the Kàrandavyùha-sütra gives a very similar account front o f a larger sculpture, (ii) a metal image or
of Avalokitesvaras compassion and its effect on some other object was placed above it, or (lii) both
the thirsty prêtas. See Woodward (2011, 34); possibilities (i) and (ii) co-existed. Pierre Baptiste
Studholme (2002,123); and http://dsbc,uwest.edu/ has drawn parallels with some Chinese and Indian
node/4335, accessed on 24/10/2011. bronzes and suggested the possible use of this
43. Significantly, the mantra om m anipadm e pedestal* as an altar or offering table, in his paper
hum, which first made its appearance in the presented at an international conference, ‘New
Kâraridavyùha-sütray is inscribed on the back-side of Research in Historical Campa Studies' at EFEO-
the Khmer Avalokitesvara image with thepretasamtar- Paris during 18-19 June 2012 (proceedings yet to
pita gesture (Woodward 2007, 70-83). be published). Even so, since the specific stance and
44. {EEPQ 89). Also Majumdar (1927, 80) of iconography of the demon/monster/ figure carved on
Book IH: llie English translation o f the relevant this Dong D u ’O’ng mini-pedestal distinctly imitates
passage from the inscription (stanza B13) reads as the Ravananugrahamurti, the deliberate use of this
follows: Adorned with the riches of fortune, without iconographic formula needs to be explained.
equal in respect of royal glory, knowledge, wisdom, 50. Majumdar (1927, Inscr. 31, B.XIII).
splendor, fame, sacred learning, polity, renown, and 51. This monk, as suggested by Baptiste, may
conduct; protected by Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, the be Mahakasyapa, who in comparison to Ananda,
Moon, the Sun, Venus and Saturn; the illustrious the other well known disciple of Buddha, was the
Jaya Indravarman shines forth in wisdom.’ more austere one. It has also been suggested that
45- yadàvalokiteivaro bodhisattva mahasattvah another head found at the same site may perhaps
pravisati, tadâ tasmin sakatacakrapram ànam àtràni have belonged to Ananda. See Baptiste and Zephir
padm àni pràdurbhütàni / sà ca kum bhi visphutità / (2 0 0 5 ,2 1 6 -1 7 ).
tasminnevàgnikhadàyàrn madhoh puskarini pràdurb- 52. The An Thai inscription (Majumdar 1927,
hütà !/ (Source: Kàrandavyüha-sütra, http://fiindolo. 105-9 of Book III, Inscr. no. 37). translation of
sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/l_sanskr/4_rellit/ verse III, Mdrairagraihparitdsciramapi... ‘Sinfiil men,
buddh/bsuO 19_u.htm, accessed on 24 October 2011. attached to their works in former lives, and without
Translation based on Studholme [2002, 122]). any hope of deliverance, were eternally surrounded by
46. The Râvanânugrahamürti composition the terrible hosts of Mara, and overpowered by hunger
images Ràvanas attempt at lifting Kailàsa, the and thirst, on account of their want o f liberality and
mountain abode o f !5iva and Umâ, and Sivas aversion to Sugata (i.e. Buddha) in former times. But
benediction towards a penitent Râvana. One may being rescued by Vajrapani from hell, they secured
mention briefly some examples of the portrayal of the way (to salvation) pointed out by the Buddha.’
this theme in the art oi Campa (e.g. a pediment from 53. Both My So’n and Dong Du’o’ngare located
My So’n F l) and India (e.g. at Siva cave, Jogesvarï, in the Thu Bon Valley region, in the present-day
^iva cave, Elephanta, Virüpâksa-Patudakal and Quang Nam Province of Central Vietnam.
 Buddhism, Art, and Ritual Practice 135

54. Majumdar (1927, Inscr. 31, A.XVI and Études Epigraphiques sur le pays Cham [EEPC],
B.V II). Thus Valabhit (Indra), Brahma,Visnu, 19 9 5 ,4 1 -5 7 .)
Vasuki, Sankara, Sun, Moon. Agni, Varuni, ^ is , K àrandavyùha-sütra based on P.L. Vaidya, éd.,
and Abhayada are mentioned, whose descendants Mahàyàna-sûtra-samgrahaipy Part 1, Sùtra No. 12,
appeared for the deliverance of the world. pp. 258-308, Darbhanga: The Mithila Institute,
1961(Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, 17). Sanskrit text
B ibliography as given on http://fiindolo.sub.uni-goettingen.
de/gretil/l_sanskr/4_rellit/buddh/bsu019_u,htm
Baptiste, Pierre and Thierry Zéphir, dir. Trésors d art
du Vietnaryi: la sculpture du Champa. Paris: Reunion and http://dsbc.uwest.edu/node/4335.
Mabbett, lan. ‘Buddhism in Campa. In David C
des musées nationaux-musée Guimet, 2005.
Marr and A.C. Milner, eds. Southeast Asia in
Boisselier, Jean. Tndrapura et le Style de Dong Du’o’ng
the 9th to ¡4th Centuries, 289-314. Singapore:
(ca. 875-ca. 915).* In La Statuaire du Champa^
ISEAS, 1986.
87-118. Recherches sur les cultes et l’iconogra­
Majumdar, R.C. Ancient Indian Colonies in the
phie, Vol. LIV. Paris: Publications EFEO, 1963a.
Far Easty Vol. 1: Campa (Greater India Society
----------. ‘Les sculptures de Dông Du’o’ng du Museum
Publication No. 1). Lahore: The Punjab Sanskrit
Rietberg de Zurich’. Artibus Asiae, 26. no. 2
(1963b): 132-50. Book Depot, 1927.
Mariko, Yamagata. ‘Tra Kiçu during the Second and
----------. ‘Un bronze de Tara du Musée de Dà-Nàng
Third Centuries CE: The Formation of Linyi
et son importance pour l'histoire de l'art du
from an Archaeological Perspective*. In Trân Ky
Champa. BEFEO 72 (1984): 319-37.
Phu’O’ng and Bruce M. Lockhart, eds. The Cham
Chutiwongs, Nandana. The Icono^aplry o f Avalokitesvara
o f Vietnam: History, Society an d Art, 8 1 -1 0 1 .
in M ainland Southeast Asia. Delhi: IGNCA and
Singapore: NUS press, 2011.
Aryan Books International, 2002 [1984].
MAFV [Missions Archeolo^ques Françaises au Vietnam:
----------. ‘Le Bouddhisme du Champa’. In Pierre
Les monuments du Cham pa, Photographies et
Baptiste and Thierry Zéphir, eds. Trésors d'art du
itineraries I902~I904\. Paris: Musée national des
Vietnam: la sculpture du Champa, 65-87. Paris
Arts Asiatiques, 2005.
Musée national des Arts Asiatiques, 2005.
Parmentier, Henri. Inventaire Descriptif Des Monu­
. ‘Narrative Reliefs on the Two Image Pedes-
ments Cams De LAnnam, Tome Premier: Descrip­
tals at Dong-duong’. Lettre de la Société des Amis
du Champa Ancient 14 (2011): 12-27. tion des Monuments (2 vols: Text and Plates). Paris:
Imprimerie Nationale, Ernest Leroux, 1909.
Dupont, Pierre. ‘Les apports chinois dans le style
bouddhique de Dông Du o’ng. In Btdletin de ----------. Inventaire DescriptifDes Monuments Cams De
E Annam, Tome II Etude De LArt Cham (2 vols: Text
l'École fran çaise d'Extrême-Orient. 44, no. 1,
and Plates). Paris: Editions Ernest Leroux, 1918.
(1951): 267-81.
Revire, Nicholas. ‘Some Reconsiderations on
Etudes Epigraphiques sur le pays Cham [EEPC].
L. de Finot, E. Huber, G. Coedes, and Paul Pendant-legged Buddha Images in the Dvaravati
Tradition. Bulletin o f the Indo-Pacific Prehistory
Mus [réunies par C. Jacques. Paris: EFEO, 1995
[réimpression no. 7]. Association 31 (2011 ): 31 -49.
Skilling, Peter, William Southworth, and Trân
Finot, M.L, ‘Notes d’ epigraphie (Inscriptions du
Ky-Phu’o’ng. ‘A Buddhist Stele from My Thanh
Quang Nam I. Premiere stele de Dong-Duong)
in the Phu Yen Province of Central Vietnam*. In
BEFEO (B ulletin École fran çaise d ’ Extrêm e
Orient) no. IV (1904), 8 4 -9 9 . (Reprinted in Leelananda Prematilleke (editor-in-chief), Pisit
136 Asian Encounters

Charocnwongsa. Kalpakam Sankaranarayan> and of Cham Art and a New Interpretation. Artibus
Umbul Haryano.cds, Ahhinandammald: Nandam A siae^^yiio. 1 (2005): 5-38.
Chutiwon^ Felicitation VolumCy 487-98. Bangkok, Woodward, Hiram. ‘Esoteric Buddhism in Southeast
2010 . Asia in the Light of Recent Scholarship: A Review
Sneilgrove, David L., ed. The Image o f the Buddha. Article, Jou rn al o f Southeast Asian Studies 35,
London: Serindia Publications and UNESCO, 1978. no. 2 (2004): 329-54.
Studholme, Alexander. The Origins o f Om Man- ----------. ‘I ’he Karandavyuha-Sutra and Buddhist An in
ipadme Hum: A Study o f the Karandavyuha- 10th-Century Cambodia’. In Pratapaditya Pal, ed..
Sutra. Albany: State University of New York Buddhist Art: Form and Meanings 70-83. Mumbai:
Press. 2002. Marg Publications, 2007.
Tran Ky Phiro’ng. Vestiges o f Champa Civilization. ----------. ‘The Temple of Dong Duo’ng and the
Vietnam: They Gioi Publishers, 2008. Karandavyuha-Sutra\ In Beyond the Eastern
Trian Nguyen. ‘Laksmindralokesvara. Main Deity Horizon: Essays in Honour o f P rof Lokesh Chandra.
of the D o n g D u ’O’ng Monastery; A Masterpiece Satapitaka Series. Vol. 68, 33—42, 2011.
 CHAPTER 7

Durga and Siva at Banteay Srei

Blurring Boundaries between Monument,
Image, and Practice

SouMYA J ames

This essay focuses on representations o f Siva T h e significance o f the Durga image in

and Durga portrayed on Banteay Srei, a late particular should be viewed within the context
10th century K hm er tem ple. Perform ance o f how the feminine was portrayed, particularly
traditions play a central role in my interpreta­ in colonial scholarship. Given the predomi­
tion o f these two images. T he individual and nantly male-centric narrative, the role o f the
collective significance o f these deities, their feminine was often relegated to the peripheries
dynam ic representation at this temple and o f colonial scholarship. W hile acknowledging
their strategic locations over two doorways their significant contribution to Khmer history,
suggest ways o f perceiving the functionality it is also necessary to revisit older interpretations
o f sacred art, that is, how images step beyond about the status o f the female in Khmer history
their identity as abstract ideas and reveal the and culture that continue to be repeated in
cultural processes they embody. In this paper, som e o f the more recent co n trib u tio n s to
sources like images, inscriptions, performance the field. T h e role o f the feminine in Khmer
traditions, and architecture are assumed to have historiography is no doubt the outcome o f how
permeable boundaries, enriching and informing researchers connect or disconnect the sources
each other. Consequently, the feminine deity to compose their narrative. To illustrate this
(Durga) assumes a critical presence, challenging point, 1 begin with a brief summary o f select
the dominant perspective on the divine femi­ colonial observations on the feminine in Khmer
nine in Khmer art— that it is peripheral and/ art, followed by more recent scholarship on
or powerless. the topic. T his sets the context for my own
138 Asian Encounters

approach to sources to study the significance Interest and curiosity generated in France
o f the Siva and Durga images at Banteay Srei. about other cultures, namely those o f India,
Images are intimately connected to the built Egypt, and Southeast Asia, led to the creation
form, site, and humans, all o f which, I argue, o f institutions like the Musée Guimet and the
are interconnected elements in the plane o f Ecole Française d’E xtrêm e-O rien t (E F E O ).
Khmer history. It is also necessary to keep in G eorge G roslier, H enri Parm entier, H enri
mind autochthonous influences on beliefs and Marchai, George Cœdès, L P Briggs, and Éveline
practices that may have originated in India, a Porée-Maspero, a few o f the well-known French
process that is termed localization. As Oliver scholars who wrote about Khmer history and
Wolters defined it, localization was a process by cultural practices, were also associated with the
which foreign concepts were ‘...fractured and E F E O . W hile this is by no means an exhaustive
restated and therefore drained o f their original survey, a few examples from their scholarship
significance’ (Wolters 1999, 55). are suggestive o f the status o f the feminine in
their writings. In 1913, Groslier authored a
L ocating the G o d d ess in C olonial book on Cambodian dance, titled D anseuses
H istoriography C am bodgiennes A nciennes et M odernes? a rare
T h e first attem pt at com piling a history o f attem pt by a colonial scholar to focus on a
C am bodia com b in in g visual, w ritten, and subject other than chronological history or
some practical sources was made during the the restoration o f monuments. Groslier’s other

c o lo n ia l period th at co m m en ced around work, A ngkor y published in 1924, focuses largely

1863.^ T h e historiographical narrative and on the monuments drawing out for example,
various acco u n ts on C am b o d ia’s cu ltu ral elements related to the king’s court, the royal
elements were compiled by an eclectic group entourage, battles waged by rhe monarch, and
o f writers that included historians, government his weapons. His brief note on the role o f women

employees, travellers, architects, novelists, and in Khmer politics mentions the wife o f King
scholars interested in foreign cultures. They Rajendravarman and some other women who
based their w ritings on sources includ ing had held positions as judges. Henri Parmentier,
im ages, m onu m ents, in scrip tion s, an cien t who was an architect at the E F E O and later its
travel accounts, and contem porary religious director, also wrote many volumes on the art and
practices. T h e restoration o f material remains, architecture o f Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam
writing o f Cam bodia’s history and showcas­ (Cham remains). In his discussion on the divine
ing it to the world by way o f exhibition s, feminine in A ngkor: Guide^ Parmentier (1950,
museums, and expositions were closely tied 10) identified the sakti o f each o f the male gods
to the building o f the colonial project, and as their higher source o f thought and energy, but
therefore were implicated in the ramifications he did not elaborate any further on this point.
o f that political and social process. W hile the He also appeared to have preferred to focus on
academic writings sought a ‘scientific’ study o f the architectural elements, finding the sculptural
their subjects, some o f the more imaginative elements decorative and excessive (Parmentier
com p ositions appeared to lend a sense o f 1950). Similarly, Groslier also appeared to have
vitality to the past. viewed the bas-reliefs and sculptures, including
 Durga and Siva at Banteay Srei 139

the female images on the temples, as somewhat in purely masculine terms. For example, the
diversionary. In the many descriptions o f Angkor political history of Cambodia focused almost
Wat, the 3,000-odd female divinities are viewed exclusively on activities o f its male rulers like the
as ornamentation, decorative elements that exist succession of kings, irrigation projects, building
ultimately for the viewing pleasure o f their male o f temples, and so on.^ Trudy Jacobsen (2008,
admirers (Groslier 1924, 94 and 1 1 4 -1 5 ). 19; 2 0 0 3 , 3 5 8 ), using epigraphic evidence,
W h y was o r n a m e n ta tio n regard ed as points out that queens ruled Cambodia at vari­
superfluous and why was the fem inine labeled ous periods, issuing inscriptions in their name,
as ornamentation? Jessica Rawson in her book, while some others were venerated by their male
C hin ese O rn am en t: T he Lotus a n d th e D ragon descendants:^ W ith the primarily male-centric
(1 9 8 4 ), pointed out that since the end o f the focus on kingship, these female rulers and other
19th century, the ornament has been criticized influential women were overlooked or treated
as superficial, vulgar, and even immoral, and fleetingly as anomalies. Coedes acknowledged
was equated with primitivism."^ O rnam enta­ that the kind o f history that remained ignorant
tion on ancient and medieval architecture was about the social environment, popular beliefs,
subsequently considered by many as obfusca- and customs was only skeletal in nature.
tory elements that prevented one from true Eveline Poree-Masperos scholarship on the
reflection, while restraint and sim plicity were local custom s and rites o f Cam bodia was a
projected as the aesthetic ideals o f Western rarity at the tim e." W hile describing the ritual
art. O rnam entation (in speech or art) was o f calling the spirits, Poree-Maspero (1 9 5 1 ,
declared ‘not only a wasteful indulgence, it was 1 4 5 -6 and 149) mentioned the belief that good
an offence against reason (G om brich 1984, and evil spirits resided both in humans as well
1 7 - 1 9 ) . D uring the N eo-C lassicist period, as in their surrounding physical environment
a ‘crowded o rn am en t’ was id entified with (for example, in trees, mountains, and water),
fem inine tastes (G om brich 1984, 2 3 ). Such suggestive o f interconnections between the
notions about ornam entation may have had animate and inanimate worlds. Nevertheless,
a deep influence on 20 th century criticism , as Penny Edwards (2 0 0 7 , 26) notes, in their
as G om brich suggests, which can be perceived attempt to homogenize the history o f Cam bo­
in colonial writings on Khmer art, as Groslier dia, colonial writers disconnected the legends
and Parmentier s scholarships indicate. and multiplicity o f meanings from its past. In
George Coedes remains one o f the most pro­ the effort to reconstruct the history o f Cambodia
lific scholars on Southeast Asian history whose through a ‘rational’ and ‘scientific’ process, most
extensive legacy continues to be a relevant source writers appear to have reduced the monuments
o f information and knowledge. Nevertheless, his and images on them to a set o f lines, blueprints,
scholarship also reveals the biases and predilec­ and figures, shearing them from the landscape
tions o f the time. The history o f Southeast Asia and people w ith w hich these m onum ents
was described by Coedes (1966, 2 2 0 -1 ) as the seemed to share an intim ate and sym biotic
‘history o f events’, understood in the light o f relationship. As more formal scholarship tended
certain aspects such as wars, conquests, and inter­ to ignore, and perhaps hesitate to acknowledge,
nal insurgencies, activities that were portrayed the vital connections between the animate and
140 Asian Encounters

inanimate worlds, imaginative writing in the E uropean R eactio ns to th e F eminine in

form o f travelogues and fiction ventured to K hmer A rt
articulate them. T h e relationship between the colonizer and
the colonized, predicated on the connection
Imaginative L iterature on C am bodia between knowledge and power, determined the
Edward Said wrote that ‘imaginative Hterature’ framework within which much o f the French
had an important role to play in the construction colonial scholarship was compiled. According to
o f ‘Orientalist* notions.® Travelogues, novels, Nicholas Dirks, cultural technologies o f rule had
and semi-academic compilations not only offer as much a part in establishing colonial conquest
insights about the land and the people but are as political power, greater military strength, and
interesting as their writings are somewhat unfet­ econom ic prowess, and in certain significant
tered by the demands to be ‘logical’. Despite ways, knowledge was what colonialism was all
being often guilty o f exoticising the ‘O rient’ about (Cohn 1996, ix). Ashis Nandy (1 9 8 8 )
and creating a prejudiced and fantastic image suggested that Western colonization was also
o f the country and its culture, some o f these founded on sexual and m oralistic ideology.
writers infused their descriptions (particularly Nandy (1 9 9 8 , 4) wrote that the hom ology
o f the monuments) with a certain vitality. For between sex and political domination was not
example, in A Pilgrim age to AngkoTy the travel an accidental by-product o f colonialism but that
writer and exotic novelist, Pierre Loti (1996), colonialism ‘ ...w as congruent with the existing
viewed the female divinities (termed as apsard Western sexual stereotypes and the philosophy
and devatd) at Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom o f life they represented. It produced a cultural
not as objects frozen in time but as though they consensus in which political and socio-economic
were real dancers, who came alive to the sound dominance symbolized the dominance o f men
o f music, enlivening the monument through and masculinity over women and femininity.’*^
their movements. W hile w atching a dance According to Elizabeth Grosz (1 9 9 4 ), the
performance at the palace, Loti superimposed basis o f W estern p h ilo so p h ical trad itio n s
those bedecked dancers to the images on Angkor compartmentalized mind and body, reason and
Wat and through this association and descrip­ passion, psychology and biology, and thought
tion, brought the monument alive.‘^ The artist and extension, and cast them as dichotomously
Auguste Rodin also appreciated the beauty o f the opposed pairs. Grosz (1994, 3 -5 ) suggests that
feminine in his writings and drawings; Rodin, the binarization o f the sexes and the world
who saw the royal Khmer dancers perform in had been effected at the ‘threshold o f Western
Paris as part o f the exposition in 1906, was reason, and that these opposing terms implicitly
ecstatic about their dance m ovements and function to define the body in ‘non-historical,
gestures, perceiving, in the rhythm o f the music naturalistic, organicist, passive, inert terms,
and the slow, fluid gestures, an intimate con­ seeing it as an intrusion on or interference
nection with nature. Nevertheless, the feminine with the operation o f the mind which requires
in Khmer culture was hardly associated with overcoming a connection with animality and
political or economic potency, and remained at nature that needs transcendence’. In this view,
the margins o f scholarship. womens bodies are presumed to be weaker.
 Durga and 5iva at Banteay Srei 141

incapable o f mens achievements, with female and cosmological is blurred, that it is not easy
sexuality and reproduction prescribed to be her to draw the line separating the two. O ne reason
defining characteristics (Grosz 1994, 1 3 -1 4 ). for the distinction might relate to how one
If these views were indeed prevalent during the views their sources and connects them to each
time, it can be argued they might have influenced other. I f the various receptacles o f history, that
the way in which European scholars in the early is, monument, image, landscape, and indeed
20th century perceived and wrote about the the devotee are perceived as sym biotically
masculine and feminine in Khmer art. connected to each other, then the narrative that
emerges from such a ‘reading would suggest that
C urrent C ontributions on the S tatus classifications such as ‘political,’ ‘economic’, and
OF THE F eminine in C am bodia ‘cosmological’ would have more fluid borders.
T h e Siva and Durga representations at Banteay
Barbara Watson Andaya (2006, 5 2 -5 ) suggests
Srei are two examples that personify these
that the greatest obstacle to writing womens
histories in Southeast Asia is the absence o f interconnected networks.

accounts written by women themselves. Most o f

B anteay S rei—T he monument
the evidence on women was transmitted through
men, therefore recording only second-person Banteay Srei, a 10th century Angkorian temple
experiences. Nevertheless, as David Chandler has been praised as the ‘Jewel o f Khmer Art’
observes, while the female voice is mostly absent (Freeman and Jacques 2 0 0 3 , 20 6 ) because o f
in accepted versions’ o f Khmer history, this is its miniature size, its delicate pink hue, and its
not necessarily a reflection o f the passivity or high quality, nearly three-dimensional carved
unimportance of women.*' Encouragingly, there reliefs. These features also set it apart from other
has been a small but growing body o f work on Angkorian monuments (Figure 7.1; see colour
women and the feminine presence in Khmer plate section). T h e temple is situated a little
history in general.'^ Jacobsens work on women more than 20 kms north o f the Angkor group
and power in Cambodia (Jacobsen 2 0 0 3 , 2 0 08) o f temples, close to the foothills o f the Kulen
focuses on the pre-classical* and classical’. I n mountain range. Its present name translates as
her recent book. Lost Goddesses: The D en ial o f ‘Citadel o f Women but is a relatively recent one;
F em ale Pow er in C am bodian Flistory, Jacobsen the original name o f the temple, designating the
(2 0 0 8 , 5) recognizes that conceptually, power central linga was Tribhuvanamahesvaruy which
maybe defined and perceived differently in means ‘Great Lord o f the Threefold W orld’
different cultures. She observes that in a narrow (Freeman and Jacques 2 0 0 3 , 206).
sense, ‘Western meanings o f power as solely Among the distinguishing features o f Banteay
relating to economic production and political Srei are the num erous scenes from H indu
d ecisio n -m ak in g are not approp riate to a mythology portrayed with a dynamic flourish
discussion o f women in Southeast Asia’ and on various pediments o f the structure. These
instead, the concept o f power in this region include the battle between Sugriva and Valin
has been and continues to be associated with (Figure 7 .2 ), Krsna killing Kaitisa, Ravana
supernatural and cosmological forces. I argue shaking Mount Kailasa (Figure 7.3; see colour
that this differentiation between the political plate section), and the burning o f the Khandava
142 Asian Encounters

Figure 7.2 Battle between Sugriva and Valin, West pediment of gopura I (West). Photo: Soumya James.

forest (Figure 7.4 ; see colour plate section). The $ivA AND D urga — Im ages set in
dancing Siva is depicted prominently on the East S tone an d in M otion
face o f gopura I. The representation o f Durga
T h e dancing Siva is portrayed on the eastern
M ahisasuram ardini portrayed on the W est
face o f the East gopura, which is the central
face o i gopura I (on the opposing pediment) is
structure one encounters after stepping into the
also compelling, and has not attracted much
second enclosure. T h e deity is the main figure
scholarly attention. Both the ^iva and Durga
(Figure 7 .5 ; see colour plate section) on this
images are located on pediments above narrow
pediment, framed by whorls and dancing lions.
doorways, which, given the small scale o f the
Siva stands with his knees bent, legs splayed, feet
temple, could effectively fit only one person
planted firmly on the ground, and his ten arms
at a time. I suggest that these two images are
arranged on either side with fingers depicting
sign ificant both individually as well as an
various m udrds (hand positions, typically in
interactive whole.
 Durgâ and 5iva at Banteay Srei 143

dance). W ith a half-smile playing on his lips, that the latter is unimportant; such elements
he looks serene and calm. T he kinetic quality o f establish the figures in relation to one another,
this scene is reflected in Sivas swinging swash and our eyes use such settings as a means to make
and the raised arm o f the musician on the lower a bridge from figure to figure' (Rawson 1984,
right side o f the scene, as though he is about to 2 2 -3 ). T he commonality o f the lions, whorls,
strike the drum. Sitting to Sivas right is an image and the frame help us to place the Siva and Durgâ
that appears to be the goddess Camunda.*"* representations in relation to one another. Durga
T h e iconography o f Sivas image including his was created out o f the special energies o f the
posture shares similarities with that o f his fierce gods each o f whom provided her with weapons
female counterpart, Durga, featured on the to vanquish the undefeated demon king Mahisa.
western pediment (Figure 7.6; see colour plate T h e moment o f the majestic triumph o f this
section). The goddess is featured on this temple goddess known as Mahisâsuramardinï (roughly,
with a wonderful dynamism, rarely encountered ‘the one who killed the demon Mahisa ) over the
in her earlier portrayals (particularly from the buffalo-headed demon is one o f the most popular
pre-9th century period). It is also one o f her visual depictions o f this goddess, and the Banteay
most powerful depictions in Khmer art. She is Srei pediment is an exemplary representation o f
shown almost in mid-step with her head tilted to the precise moment o f victory o f the goddess over
one side, back arched, and her eight arms spread the demon. The popularity o f Siva and Durga in
out around her. W ith her knees bent and left leg Cambodia has a long history with visual evidence
raised as though in mid-movement, her foot is dating back to pre-Angkorian times.
pressed down on the head o f the buffalo, lying at
her feet.*^ A multi-headed serpent entwines the Representation of É iva in the A ngkor P eriod
upper section o f the buffalos body in its coils. Until the end of the 12th century, nearly all
The human form o f Mahisa (one o f his arms Khmer temples were Hindu with a large number
is visible) emerges from the upper part o f the o f them dedicated to Siva. In Khmer art, Siva
animal. The spear in one of Durgas right arms is represented as the dancer, the ascetic, as Umâ
pins the helpless animal down while her left hand Mahesvara seated with his consort Umâ on
holds the tail o f the buffalo. Her gentle smile Nandi the bull, or in an abstract form as the
belies the violence o f her action. T he goddess lihga usually encircled by its female counterpart,
with her arched body and swaying skirt is framed the yoni. Together they represent a symbol o f
by swirling whorls and prancing and grimacing fertility. This last appears to have been the most
lions, as though they are enflamed by the energy preferred representation among all. From the
radiating from the presence o f Durga. These pre-Angkorian period, there is perhaps only one
elements, including the lions, whorls> and the anthropomorphic image o f Siva prior to the 9th
undulating pediment frame, should be viewed century style o f Preah Ko*^ (Lavy 2 0 0 3 , 2 5 -6 ).
as intrinsic aspects o f the entire composition, In his uniquely anthropomorphic form, Siva
and not as peripheral ornamentation. Rawson began to appear in considerable numbers from
argues that even though we tend to concentrate the late 9th century CE.
on the main figures and pay less attention to D uring the Angkor period, the dancing
ornamentation around them, it does not mean Siva was a popular representation on temple
144 Asian Encounters

Figure 7.7 Dancing $iva, Banteay Samre, c. first half of the 12th century. Photo: Soumya James.

pediments but depicted in a more muted and and Brahma as in the depiction at Bayon. In
‘harmonious choreography (Giteau 1965, 14) Hindu mythology, Durga is also named as one
than the south Indian Coja Nataraja. Kapila o f the sakti o f ^iva. Her history in Cambodia is
Vatsyayan (1984, 192) describes diva’s dance as somewhat shrouded in mystery but visual sources
cosmic, eternal, and timeless, moving in space indicate that the goddess had a prom inent
and beyond the space and the spheres into an presence in religion and art.
eternal nothingness o f the void’. The dancing
^iva in ancient Cambodia was represented on T he G enealogy of D urga in C am bodia
the pediments o f many monuments including Kamaleswar Bhattacharya (1 9 6 1 , 92) rightly
Phimai, Phnom Rung, Phnom Chisor (where observes that although pre-Angkorian inscrip­
he appears to play the flute), Wat Baset, Angkor tions do not seem to mention Durga, it is in
Wat, Beng Mealea, Preah Pithu, Bayon, Banteay this epoch that one finds the best sculptures
Samre (Figure 7.7), Preah Khan, and Narai Jaeng o f the goddess. These free-standing images o f
Waeng. He is portrayed with two, four, or ten the goddess suggest that she was worshipped
arms. At times, the god is flanked by Visnu as a separate entity in temples. In many o f
 Durgà and $iva at Banteay Srei 145

the pre-A ngkorian rep resen tation s, she is o f the bas-reliefs in which she appears during
depicted as wearing a diadem, four-armed and the Angkor period have an energetic quality to
standing on the head o f a buffalo. According to them as well, depicting the goddess engaged in
Bhattacharya (1961, 92), there are few statues the act o f killing the demon, for example, in the
o f Durga Mahisàsuramardinï from the Angkor two nearly identical bas-reliefs at Banteay Samre
period although there are several references to and Bakhong.
her in inscriptions. This contradicts Jacobsens
observation that there are perhaps not more Bala n cin g with F eet
than two references in inscriptions to Durga The Durga image at Banteay Srei also shares sim­
Mahisàsuramardinï between the 9th and the ilarities with other bas-reliefs at the same temple:
I4 th centuries. There are also several images T h e feet become the focal point o f the scenes.
identified as the goddess dating after the 9th Consider these examples: At least one representa­
century. T h e Bakong stele dated 8 8 1 C E tion o f Sugriva pressing Valin (who also has his
mentions that the king Indravarman ordered or foot on the former) with his foot as Rama takes
designed an idol o f Mahisàsuramardinï which aim to kill the latter (Figure 7.2 ), Krsna bringing
was consecrated together by all the women o f down his uplifted foot on Kamsa as he prepares
the palace (Cœdès 1937, 32). This gesture could to kill him, Siva steadying M ount Kailasa with
perhaps be interpreted as a conjoint act o f creat­ his foot (brought even more into focus with
ing a sacred entity by the king and the women two flanking figures pointing towards the gods
o f the palace: W hile the king was responsible foot) (Figure 7 .3 ; see colour plate section), the
for giving form to the entity, the goddess was ndga with its tail anchored to the earth as well
brought to life by the king s collective sakti at the as Indra with his uplifted foot atop Airavata
temple. O f the five images that were dedicated (Figure 7 .4 ; see colour plate section ), Siva
at the time to the temple, this was the only one with his two feet planted firmly on the ground
specifically mentioned as designed by the king, (Figure 7.5; see colour plate section), Durga in
perhaps to underscore the connection between the act o f pressing down the buffalo with her
political power and the goddess. foot (Figure 7.6; see colour plate section), and
T h e free-standing sculptures depict Durgà Bhima using his leg/foot to tear asunder the body
as calm and rather inert. The only indication o f o f Jarasandha. Many o f the scenes described
the violence associated with her is the head o f above revolve around a common theme, that o f
the buffalo, her hapless victim, which forms her terminating the element o f danger, a danger that
footstool in many o f the images. An exception to has the potential to upset a state o f equilibrium,
this rather static depiction is the pre-Angkorian and the restoration o f order. T he foot becomes
7th century Durga image from Sam bor Prei the agent or tool that enables the restoration
Kuk where the goddess is portrayed with great o f balance. Let us consider the circumstances
sensuality and suppleness, one leg slightly bent that culminate in the scenes portrayed on the
and with a swaying skirt, as though caught in m onum ent: Mahisa attem pting to take over
mid-movement. The damaged state o f the statue the world o f the gods, Ravana trying to perturb
does not detract from the beauty and vitality M ount Kailasa and its various residents but
with which the artist chose to portray her. Some chiefly 5iva and Parvati, Karhsas many attempts
146 Asian Encounters

to end the Hfe o f Krsna, Jarasandhas endeavours under them (in this case, under the feet o f the
to take control o f Mathura and challenge Krsna, deities) and at that moment and in that space we
and Valin taunting and then unjustly banishing also become part o f the mythological event; we
his brother Sugriva from his kingdom. take the place o f Mahisa, pinned under Durga’s
diva’s fit into this thematic template is harder spear, or we become the platform on which Siva
to ascertain. W ith his two feet securely and places both his feet as he performs his dance.
evenly planted on the ground, and strategically Far from being ‘polluted’ by the feet touching
placed as a centre-point,*® surrounded by these one’s head, it requires a sense o f great humility
other images which clearly depict a state o f flux, to place oneself at the feet o f the deity as Philip
could ^iva then represent a point/state o f equilib­ Rawson (1973, 85) explained with relation to
rium? That could be one possible interpretation. Visnupada, much like King Bali who offered
It could be suggested that perhaps Siva denoted his head to V is n u .T h e r e fo r e , the devotee is at
the anchor that visually locks the monument in once the worshipper but is also incorporated into
place, cotmterbalancing the surrounding, more the iconology o f the images that she/he interacts
animated representations. T he question to pose with in that space. In this way, the devotee forms
at this juncture is: W hat is the relevance o f an intimate link with the monument and image.
placing images o f Siva and Durga on opposing Let us now consider the significance o f the
pediments over the doorways at Banteay Srei, Siva and Durga images as an interactive whole.
particularly with reference to the focus o f the For this, contemporary performance traditions
feet in both representations? provide a way to flesh out the interactive
dynamic between these forms, particularly in
P assing through L iminal S paces : Images light o f the inter-relationship o f the male and
over D oorways female principles in Khmer culture. No doubt,
this is a precarious approach, as there is no clear,
Pediments, like lintels can also be described
connecting thread between contemporary dance
as ‘boundary markers’ (Polkinghorne 2 0 0 7 ,
5 ), separating the secular world (outside o f and drama practices and those o f the past, nor
what they symbolized at diflcrent times.
the temple) from the divine (spaces inside the
monument). Positioned between the two, these
P erformance P ractices as a
lintels mark the liminal space between the two
H istorical S ource
worlds. David Shulman in his book, The K ing
a n d the Clown in South In dian M yth a n d Poetry Preferring written records, historians sometimes
(Shulman 1985, 3-5)» wrote that liminal spaces sideline additional sources such as performances,
arc believed to contain ‘hidden presences’ that textile traditions, and oral histories. David
are transitory, imbued with power, but also Hanlon (quoted in Andaya 2 0 0 6 , 61) remarked
intimately connected with externalized forms that the past can also be ‘sung, danced, chanted,
associated with them. In other words, the two spoken, carved, woven, painted, [and] sculpted’
maybe ‘distinguished but never fully divorced’, and thereby, as Andaya (2006, 61) writes, ‘the
recalling the notion o f permeable boundaries documentary dominance o f men can to some
once again. As we pass under images sculpted extent be countered by attentiveness to other
on lintels, for a brief moment, we are positioned receptacles for historical memories’.^*^ Andaya
 Durgà and Éiva at Banteay Srei 147

also points out that the ephemeral nature o f has skillfully demonstrated that although it is
performance could in part contribute to the virtually impossible to make direct correlations
reluctance o f the historian to accept it as a part between current deposit practices in Bali and
o f a ‘textual amalgam*, that it cannot be locked discoveries from the distant past, it is useful to
down to a specific historic moment— the only draw analogies, if only to shed possible light on
significant inform ation that can be gleaned underlying motivations’.
from performances being shifts in choreography,
deportment, and dress. T h e argument about the P ower an d P erfo rm a n ce T raditions
amorphous nature o f performance is problematic In Phim and T h o m p so n ’s book, D an ce in
as cryptic verses and panegyric poetry that con­ C am bod ia (1 9 9 9 ), the authors point out that
stitute inscriptions are also often enigmatic and dance has played a primordial role in Khmer
laden with symbolism (much like performance, culture. A reference in the 7th century Chinese
dance imagery, and m yth), necessitating an account, H istory o f Sui that describes a royal
attentive approach to tease out and acknowledge funerary involving dance and drums suggests
the multiple meanings embedded in them. Cam bodia’s long history o f performance. A
Paul Cravath (2 0 0 7 , 3 3 4 ), who has worked Khmer inscription o f 611 C E mentions dancers
on dance and drama traditions o f Cambodia, and musicians donated to a god in a temple as
points out that examples o f similarities between well as to a tree god (Phim 1994, 4). Cravath
the bas-reliefs o f Angkor and certain dance (2 0 0 7 , 25) states that dance in Southeast Asia
postures are rare and that there is no proof appeared to have always been a magico-religious
that these poses reflected actual performances activity. Some o f the key symbolic elements in
during the time. Phim and Thom pson (1 9 9 9 , Khmer dances are references to stones, water,
9) also point out that it is unknown what forms and earth, all possessing ancient traditions
o f dance existed at the tim e. Nevertheless, perhaps dating back to pre-Hindu times and
Alessandra Iyer (1 9 9 8 ,4 ) suggests that although which are expressed as either m asculine or
dance choreography may not aid in recon­ feminine (Cravath 2 0 0 7 , 1 7 -1 8 and 38). These
structing choreographic pieces o f the ancient natural elements seemed to have had special
past, their reliability in relation to movement significance related to fertility and prosperity,
techniques cannot be denied. In the context and their interplay in gendered roles, Cravath
o f dance imagery at the Prambanan temple in suggests, in confrontation with each other as
Java, Iyer (1 9 9 8 , 38) suggests that the artists well as in seeking spirits who could influence
might have been given specific guidelines on the outcome o f their interactions, have been the
the design by those skilled in that particular basis o f Cambodian dance. Performances by the
dance style, implying that that specific dance king’s dancers at the Royal Palace were believed
style was part o f co n tem p o rary p ra ctice. to be particularly capable o f communicating
Therefore, it is more than possible that dance with the spiritual world to ensure the prosperity
iconography is undeniably and inevitably tied o f the kingdom. Phim ( 1994, 4) also points out
to the contem porary forces that brought it that performance in and o f itself was considered
into existence. Kaja M cGowan (2 0 0 8 , 24 1 ) an offering to the gods. W ith the adaptation
in her study o f Balinese ritual deposit boxes o f Hindu rites since the 5th century, local
148 Asian Encounters

traditions likely amalgamated Hindu idioms as tension between male and fe m a le... and a
they came to be represented in art, architecture, concern for social and sexual harmony are some
and the performances themselves. o f the characteristics associated with the spirit
world and fertility rites (Cravath 1986, 189)
Ritual F unction of D ance that might have translated to the dance and

An interesting feature o f the ^iva and Durga drama performances themselves. Would this
images at Banteay Srei is their affinity to imply that their interaction is one o f balanced
dance. In the case o f Siva, the connection equilibrium?
to dance is apparent by the position o f his Cravath suggests that the distinguishing
legs and the m udrdSy and the presence o f the feature o f Angkorian art (including dance) is
seated drummer. Durga is depicted in the act its generative balance’ between the masculine
o f killing the buffalo-demon, a representation and the feminine.^^ His interpretation suggests
that is not obviously related to dance. How a notion o f symmetry where the status o f the
then does her representation on this monument masculine and the feminine is invariable. If,
justify her association with dance? W ith her on the other hand, one were to perceive the
swaying skirt and her body arching backwards, interaction between the masculine and feminine
balanced by her flexed knees and hands, forces to be more dynamic, like a contest or a
there is an undeniable sense o f coordinated battle’, as Cravath him self had described, then
movement in Durgas depiction. From casual the exchange is not so much equanimous but
observation, one sees strikingly similar postures continually shifting. Viewed this way, gender
in contem porary C am bodian dance. These hierarchies and status cannot be fixed, but are
features o f the Banteay Srei Durga also set it constantly dismantled, put together only to be
apart from other bas-relief representations o f dismantled once again. T h e ‘generative’ energy
the goddess, for example, the ones at Bakong between ^iva and Durga is created through
(Figure 7 .8 ) , Banteay Sam re (Figure 7 .9 ) the reciprocative nature o f their interaction.
and Sikhoraphum, which present Durga in a Therefore, visual representations such as the
more aggressive posture, juxtaposed with each Siva and Durga images, the churning o f the
other, the Durga and ^iva seem to take on the sea o f m ilk (another popular depiction on
characteristics o f a pair o f dancers partnering Khmer temples), and others could represent
with each o t h e r . A s noted earlier, dance in an on-going activity, a continual ritual process,
Cambodia was and continues to be intimately a perpetual performance o f an offering and
connected with fertility, the powers o f the earth, not simply the culm ination point or a frozen
and invoking the blessings o f ancestral spirits. moment. A process like that, like a y an tra}^
Cravath (2 0 0 7 , 38) points out that whether presents a haptic experience for the devotee who
the primary forces were expressed as male and can sensorily perceive the powerful forces that
female, earth and water, or light and dark, animate and inhabit sacred spaces. Therefore,
their interaction was conceived as ‘a contest at Banteay Srei, the interaction between Siva
or battle expressible in dance, which was the and Durga could be perceived as one in which
em bodim ent o f their rhythms’. A hypnotic the two vital forces are perpetually engaged in
tempo, *a pervasive concern for the creative the ‘generative’ forces.
 Durgà and $iva at Banteay Srei 149

Figure 7.8 Bas-relief of Durgà Mahiçàsuramardini, Bakong temple. Photo © and courtesy:
Kamaleswar Bhattacharya.

$ivA AND D u r g A— F u s i o n o f 18-19). Ancestor worship and fertility cults have

G e n e r a t iv e P o w e r s ancient roots in C^lambodia, particularly the worship
o f tree, stone, and serpent, elements that are intrinsic
Cravath ( 1986,189) emphasizes that the repertoire, or part o f the iconography o f many Khmer temples,
music, and formal elements o f the dance and including Banteay Srei. Nevertheless, unlike most
choreography do indicate an indigenous origin other temples, at Banteay Srei, the proRision and
that is linked to fenility rites or the spirit wodd. almost life-like depiction o f plants and flowers
Among the ways in which ‘life-power'^^ from sculpted on the temple walls reach exuberant
spirits and ancestors was received and proliferated heights. Punctuating the flow o f winding vines
in Cambodia was through dance, sex, and the use and plants are figures o f young men and women
o f stone lihga or statue-portraits (Cravath 2007, that have drawn praise for their extraordinary
150 Asian Encounters

Figure 7.9 Bas-relief of Durgà Mahisâsuramardinï, Banteay Samre temple. Photo © and courtesy:
Kamaleswar Bhattacharya.

youthfulness and beauty o f form (Figure 7.10). that stand amidst creepers and serpents winding
As Madeliene Giteau (1965, 83) describes them, around doorways together enclose the door ascend­
the niche figures are youthflil and slim, and in the ing in an unbroken continuity of swaying creepers,
cusp o f mamrity, bringing attendon to their fertile superposed and in panels, each filled with a sinuous
pattern of limbs rounded with the sap of youth; all
youth. The various mythological scenes are also
these are sculptural metamorphoses and elaborations
framed within animated whorls o f vines, creepers,
of the theme of the river-goddesses for it is from their
and sinuous snakes.^^ Stella Kramrischs quote on
waters that they rise. (Kramrisch 1946, 314)
images at thresholds and niches aptly sums up
this lavish display o f fecundity when she says that Furthermore, she writes that the transfor­
images in which life is young and quick mation that the devotee is meant to undergo
 Durgà and Siva at Banteay Srei 151

Figure 7.10 Youthful feminine niche figures, Banteay Srei. Photo; Soumya James.

by entering the sacred presence inside the Siva and lihga worship in Cambodia. Jacobsen
temple is ‘promoted by the divinities carved (2008) points to the possible identification o f a
on the door-jam bs’ (Kramrisch 1 94 6 , 3 1 4 ). queen with an image o f Mahisàsuramardinï as
Kramrischs descriptions eloquently elucidate a commemorative act after the queens death.
the connections between humans and imagery, Jacobsen (2008, 5 0 -1 ) explains that many royal
and the latters transformative powers. women o f the Angkor period were posthumously
$iva and Durgà are also linked to themes given the title o f kanlong kaniraten an, and were
o f fertility and temporal power in Cambodia. referred to by place and not name, indicating
Stones that were half-embedded in the earth the relationship between women and land. One
were venerated in Cambodia. Further, spirits o f popular funerary cult refers to the veneration
the ancestors who had the power to bestow life oV kan lon g kam raten an AnveTonle’ (queen o f
to all beings and ensured the prosperity o f the the lake o f Anve ) and was especially associated
land^^ were believed to reside in the mountains. with the reign o f King Rajendravarman and his
Aeusrivongse (1976) argued that these beliefs son Jayavarman V, which was also the period in
might have made it more conducive to accept which Banteay Srei was built and consecrated.
152 Asian Encounters

Several donations were made to the kan lon g 2Sià (Finot et al. 2 0 0 0 , 73). T h e coalescing o f forms
in 9 7 9 C E, a Bhagavatl Mahisasura was erected is also facilitated by the architectural elements
there in the image o f the kanlong kam raten an o f the structure: T h e walls that connect and
Anve Tonle. Jacobsen (2 0 0 8 , 51) asserts that surround the images channel the flow o f energies
it cannot be a coincidence that this powerful between the two deities, infusing the structure
queen was immortalized in the tradition o f with sacred power. The creative tension between
early Cambodian autonomous goddesses’. It is Durgâ and Siva is maintained by the architectural
tempting to think that the goddess Durgâ also elements that at once connect and hold apart the
represented a potent autochthonous feminine two images. T he monument is thus not merely a
force identified with royal women. Therefore, canvas for the display o f images; it is an intrinsic
it is possible that Durgâ was a composite being, part o f the images themselves and vice versa.
a fusion o f Indian and local sacred powers. The T he boundaries between image and structure
Siva and Durgâ representations thus articulate a thus become blurred with a reciprocative flow
coming together o f fecund and temporal forces. o f energies between them.^^
I also suggest that these two images are also T h is notion o f permeable boundaries has
an expression o f a ritual(ized) performance, already been propounded by Paul Mus while
whose interaction had the power to contact discussing a concept he called ‘bi-presence’
benevolent spirits. In this perspective, these two in his essay on the local cults o f Campa (and
forms can no longer be viewed as separate and Southeast Asia in general). Spirits o f the locality
unconnected, or as a result o f random choice exist in objects like stones^® in their concentrated
by the patron of the monument. Instead, they essence, which at times will pass into the form
can be seen as a divine couple whose energetic o f an officiant/priest. W hen this happens, the
interaction with each other will ensure the stone does not cease to be the god, rather the
prosperity o f the land and its people. Cravaths stone is both god and officiant at the same time.
and Phim and Thom psons studies on Khmer Mus clarifies, T h e re is no contradiction in this,
dance and drama suggest that the coupling o f the because it is the formless and permanent being
male and female forces is a dominant theme in that the stone-god in the stone retains, while it is
most performances.^® If one can hypothesize Siva a personality o f a different order, projected upon
and Durgâ as two performers personifying the a different plane, corporeal and impermanent.. . ’
male and female forces, then their relationship (Mus 1975, 1 3 -1 4 ). T he implication is that
also includes a sexual component but one that is distinct boundaries between object and concept
subtle rather than overt. T h e sexual interaction become blurred and entities link and ‘flow* into
between these two entities in this particular one another, dismantling totalities o f identity and
representation requires the viewer to conjoin the form. Similarly, in his analysis o f Cham ancestor
deities in their mind in order to activate their cults, Mus (1 9 7 5 , 1 7 -1 8 ) points out that stone
intimate relationship. Indeed, in the opening tablets named ku t are believed to embody the
line o f one o f the inscriptions found at the site amorphous spirits o f the soil, thus fusing the
and dated to 969 C E , Siva and Sakti are invoked material and immaterial together; they are rwo
saying that the devout look upon them as manifestations arbitrarily brought together. The
indistinguishable from each other as fire and heat stone becomes god and god is part o f the stone.
 Durgá and Siva at Banteay Srei 153

Likewise» in present-day Klungkung, Bali, spirits Durgá forms are highlighted through the actions
are believed to dwell in gongs that would sound that they embody, namely a performative inter­
when danger was near (Wiener 1 9 9 5 ,4 5 and 48). action that engenders the fertility and prosperity
As Margaret Wiener explains (1995, 50), every o f the kingdom. T he walls o f the monument
Balinese is aware o f two worlds, the palpable both connect and separate the two images. As
reality {sakala) perceived through the senses, interactive entities in this context, there is no
as well as the invisible and numinous {niskala) fixed hierarchy between them; positions are set
and ‘[t]here is little o f human importance that up only to be re-arranged. Positioned above the
does not partake o f the n isk a ld . Therefore, the doorways, Siva and Durgá also incorporate the
permeability o f boundaries between objects, devotee into the iconology that transforms the
concepts, and energies in Angkorian Cambodia latter into the deity, at the same time maintaining
was likely part o f a larger network o f pre-Hindu his/her identity as a devotee. T he permeability
beliefs that encompassed other Southeast Asian o f boundaries between these various elements—
cultures. T he Durga and Siva forms at Banteay image, monument, location, and devotee— links
Srei, both individually and through their asso­ them not only to each other but also to the larger
ciation with each other, other images, and the network that constitutes the religious, historical,
monument are vital links in our understanding o f and cultural practices o f the period. The presence
not only Khmer religion and culture but perhaps o f the divine feminine in this extended network
also some aspects o f this larger network. emerges as a substantial and critical force.

C onclusion N otes
Goddess Durga occupies a prominent status 1. I define ‘practical’ in the sense of the practice
in the pantheon o f gods in ancient Cambodia. of rituals and traditions.
Popular since the pre-Angkor period and into 2. Other foreign accounts well preceded the
the Angkorian era, this mighty goddess appears colonial writings on Cambodia: Chinese accounts
to have been a synthesis o f an Indian divinity on Cambodia are among some of the earliest written
(or divinities^*) and a local spirit, although it is records and these were important sources for the
not certain how far back in time this coalescence French scholars. During the Angkor period, the
transpired. A sole reference in an inscription only non-epigraphic written source was by Chou Ta
Kuan, a C'hinese traveller who visited Cambodia in
suggests that it may have dated at least to the
the late 13th century CE. In the mid-15th century,
10th century C E. Her individual images are
a Portuguese trader, Diogo do Cuoto, who visited
suggestive o f her status as an independent deity.
Angkor wrote about his experiences. Later in the
Her status in other Southeast Asian regions
19th century, a French missionary Charles Emile
notwithstanding,^^ Durga in Cambodia emerges Bouillevaux also visited Cambodia and Vietnam and
as a potent force associated with fertility and penned his travel memoires. However, it was Henri
possibly temporal power. Mouhot’s travelogue on Cambodia that captured the
T h e monument o f Banteay Srei provides a attention of Europeans, and he was proclaimed as the
unique canvas that eloquently articulates the person who ‘rediscovered the ancient Khmer civiliza­
potency o f Durga in relation to ^iva as well tion for the western world’ (Mouhot 1966, xi). While
as other images. T he relevance o f the ^iva and there were other foreign accounts on C>ambodian art
154 Asian Encounters

and architecture, colonial scholarship was the most 9. He also used the term ‘goddess’ to describe
comprehensive effort of them and greatly influenced them, difl^ering from the typical academic descriptions
contemporary and subsequent perceptions of Khmer of the images as decorations.
history and culture. 10. Nevertheless, the basis for such a philosophy
3. This book, reviewed by Henri Parmentier, was could be traced much further back in time at least
termed a ‘Khmer ornament’, and criticized for the to the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In her
excess of poetic descriptions and lack of more precise book. Decolonizing Methodologies, Linda Tuhiwai
information. Parmentier (1914, 54-7) also criticized Smith (1999, 32) suggested that many o f the
Groslier for attempting metaphysical’ explanations German philosopher Hegel’s ideas were ‘predicated
for the dance gestures, preferring to view them only on a sense of otherness* and that his views drew
as body movements. on comparisons with something or someone who
4. For a detailed discussion on the bias against rhe existed on the outside, like the ‘Oriental’, the
ornament in Western thinking, see Rawson (1984, ‘Negro’, and so on.
19-22). 11. Quoted in Jacobsen (2008, 2),
5. Cœdès (1966. 221) wrote that the symbol of 12. A few examples include Ledgerwood (2006);
divine kingship was the lihga (consecrated at the tem- Lilja (2008); and Phim and Thompson (1999).
ple-mountain, often located at the summit of a natural 13. According to the definition (Jacobsens 2008,
or man-made hill) and the king was the source and 9), the ‘pre-classical’ period dates between the 3rd and
sum of all authority’, whereas Coedès’ own translations the 9th centuries, while the ‘classical’ period dates
of Khmer inscriptions contained numerous references from the 9th -l4th centuries.
to the importance of the divine feminine in afl^ording 14. Eric Bourdonneau. personal communication.
spiritual and political authority to kingship. A female image with emaciated body, protruding eyes,
6. Jayadevî ruled jointly with her husband fangs, and pendulous breast sometimes appears as part
Nrpaditya and after his death, continued her reign of the Dancing Siva iconography on Angkorian tem­
alone. Some queens of the Angkor period like Jyestha ples and is often mistaken for Kàraikkàl Ammaiyir.
and Indrânü were venerated by their male descendant She often wears a skull in her hair and carries a severed
rulers, with statues erected in their honour (Jacobsen leg in her hand. In the Banteay Srei representation,
2008, 30). Càmundà has a skull in her right hand and the
7. Some of the topics on which Poreé-Maspero object in her left hand, although in a damaged state
wrote include local rituals (‘La Ceremonie de I’Appei presendy, could well be a severed leg.
des Esprits Vitaux chez les Cambodgiens’, 1951 ), oral 15. For an account of the creation of Durga, sec
traditions (‘Traditions orales de Pursat et de Kampot’, Pargiter (1904. 473-4).
1961), and agrarian rites {Etude sur les Rites Agraires 16. Maurice Glaize in his description of this relief
des Cambodgiens^ 1962-9). terms this as nàga pasa. See http://www.webcitation.
8. Said (1979,2-3) argued that‘Orientalism’ was org/5uhBcFLQA. accessed on 25 Februaury 2014 .
a style of thought put together not only by academic 17. 5iva was represented as one half of the
scholarship but also through the imaginings of poets deity Harihara (the other half being Visnu) in the
and novelists who created distinctions between the pre-Angkor period. Paul Lavy (2003, 22-3) argues
East and the West through their stories, epics, and that this composite deity might have had specific
travel accounts. According to him (1979, 4), it was political and historical significance for the northern
a process by which the West came to terms with its and southern rulers during the 7th and early 8th
colonies through various mechanisms including social centuries CE. For a more detailed argument, see
descriptions, political accounts, novels, and theories. Lavy (2 0 0 3 ,2 1 -3 9 ).
 Durga and $iva at Banteay Srei 155

18. The Siva image is depicted on the Hastconflict between the deva and asura also represents
pediment on gopura I which is located in the front the duality of forces, left and right, moon and sun.
and centre of the temple. Masculine and Feminine, which is intrinsic to Khmer
! 9. Due to the extraordinary spiritual prowess of mythology. He explains: ‘Clearly both sides are neces­
the King Bali, the gods were deprived of their offerings sary and equal. Their action is marked by symmetry
and sacrifices. When they complained to Visnu, he and balance, they work together and symbolize the
took on the incarnation of Vamana, the Brahmin, and creative action of the central figure (king) upon the
went to set things right in the world. Vamana attended waters (Cravath 2007, 38-9 and 47-8).
a horse sacrifice conducted by Bali and asked him 24. Anna Dallapiccola describes a yantra as a
for three paces of land for his own sacrificial ground. diagram that is believed to contain magical powers
Against the advice of his spiritual guide Sukra, Bali and used to aid meditation. She explains that all
agreed, and poured water into Vamanas hands. deities have ^yantra into which they ‘descend' when
Immediately, Vamana grew tremendously in stature it is meditated upon. Rawson (1973, 69-70) writes
and with two steps covered the entire universe. Seeing that a mantra can be understood as a ‘...nucleus or
this, Bali realized who Vamana really was and bowing gathering point for energy’ using syllables, a yantra
before him, offered his own head as the third pace. is a visual analogue to that concept. He also points
Vamana placed his foot on Bali s head and pressed him out that the human body is often called the ‘best of
down to the nether world where he reigned as king yantras’. Therefore, a yantra could be a sculpture,
in recognition of his great deeds. See Soifer (1991, an inscription placed at a doorway, a diagram or
2-3) and Dallapiccola (2002). the human body, anything that guides the (Tantric)
20. Nevertheless, Andayas description of these practitioner to achieve liberation.
sourccs as other’ implies their secondary status, 25. Aeusrivongse (1976, 111-12) describes a
essentially setting them apart from ‘regular (docu­ pre-Hindu belief in Bali where people believed that
mentary) sources. the spirits of their ancestors lived in hidden sources
21. Phim and Thompson (1999, 6) have also of rivers on mountains whose waters were vital to the
remarked on the similarity of images on Banteay growth of rice. Further, these ancestral spirits also
Srei to contemporary dance postures. For example, a bestowed magical ‘life-power’ to animals, humans,
monkey combat scene showing one of them putting and plants. These beliefs may have been pervasive in
its foot on the other resembles dance sequences from other parts of Southeast Asia as well.
the Ramayana as they are performed today. 26. Bosch (1960, 19-20) points out that the
22. A 10th century image of a female divinity, lotus scroll motif (kalpalatd) is abundantly common
possibly in a dance pose, was found next to a massive in Indian and Southeast Asian art. The winding
image thought to represent Siva dancing. Phim and plants and vines on Banteay Srei are examples of this
Thompson (1999,3) suggest that the female was most motif This particular design has remained relatively
likely the consort of the dancing male. Therefore, unobserved because it is viewed merely as a partition
there might have been a precedent to pairing dancing between narrative reliefs. Bosch suggests that the
Siva with his consort, also in a dance pose. choice of the plant (the lotus) is no accident but plays
23. Cravath elaborates that the element of balance a significant role in Hindu religious philosophy. The
is present in the architectural features of the monu­ biological nature of the plant (a rhizome) without
ment itself, for example, the balustrade of the deva a central taproot but with its horizontal root-stock
and asura leading up to the gates of Angkor Ihom. and nodes, and flowers and leaves arising directly
According to Cravaths interpretation of the churning from the rhizome is analogous to its use in art.
of the sea of milk representation at Angkor Wat, the Bosch (1960, 235-7) argues that the lotus scroll
156 Asian Encounters

functions not just as a trame for narratives but like given by Phim and Thompson of the puppet theatre
a rhizome, is connected to and provides the rasa or performance, all the elements— the puppets, narra­
life-giving essence to each character and object in tors, music, narration, and audience— seemed linked
those narratives. In other words, the animals, people, to each other by the cadence of the performance. For
and other objects are like the flowers and leaves of the more details, see Phim and 'Ihompson (1999,28-32).
rhizome. Boschs argument beautifully illustrates the 30. Mus (1975, 14) stresses that here, the stone
intcrconnectivityofall entities, much like the plants, is not a lodging of the god but is the god himself, a
vines, gods, goddesses and animals featured on the stone-genie.
walls of Banteay Srei. 31. Gary M 'lartakov and Vidya Dehejia (1984)
27. See note 25. suggest that there may have been two related but
28. Chapter VI o f Cravath (2007) contains difl^erent traditions associated with the goddess: the
descriptions of themes and stories of contemporary Durga Mahisasuramardini and a more localized
Khmer dances and dance dramas. Cravath suggests Tamil tradition surrounding the goddess Kottravai,
that the persistent theme in Khmer dance drama who came to be associated with the former in the
is one of control of the Feminine. He says ‘On the Cilappatikàram.
realistic level the struggle concerns the timeless, 32. Durgá worship was also popular in Java and
painful passing of the female from the father to Laos. See Brakel (1997).
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Trade, Icons, and Artefacts
 CHAPTER 8

Sri Lanka and Maritime Trade

Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara as the Protector of Mariners

O smund B opearachchi

Sri Lanka’s central position in the Indian Ocean Inland, but each had one port on the coast.
made it an important player in the long distance Manthai, the most active port in ancient Sri
maritime trade in the region. The most important Lanka, is located close to the Aruvi Aru river
characteristic o f ancient ports around the island (Malvathu-oya or Kadamna Nadi) which linked
is their geographical situation at the mouths the port to the inland capital o f Anuradhapura.
o f rivers, lagoons, and waterfronts (Map 8.1).* Likewise, the geographical situation o f the
T he location o f emporia along rivers must have ancient capital o f Polonnaruwa on the banks
facilitated transactions with the interior regions. o f the Mahaveli river, which flows to the sea at
Archaeological data obtained from excavations Gokanna, is not a coincidence. In the same way,
and surfacc explorations provide much needed Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka’s ancient city in the
evidence for ‘international’ contacts established south, blossomed due to its location on the left
between the Western and South Asian traders bank o f the Kirindi-oya, which connected the
on the regional trade network between south town to the ancient port o f Kirinda (Map 8.1).
India and Sri Lanka. This paper discusses the It is well known that, unlike brahmanism.
impact o f the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara as the B udd hism looked favourably upon trade
protector o f mariners whose shrines were erected activities. As revealed by epigraphic and literary
at the port sites when Maháyána became popular evidence, the earliest donors and im portant
on the island. patrons o f the Buddhist establishments o f South
T he starting point o f our investigation was Asia were caravan merchants and wealthy seafar­
the spatial distribution o f ancient ports along ing traders.^ The spread o f Buddhism from India
the south Indian coasts. Like in India, the most to Southeast Asia is closely connected with the
important ancient capitals o f Sri Lanka were growth o f trade routes by merchants, travelling
162 Asian Encounters

PALK STRAIT
a Location of Coin Finds and Ancient Ports
« SOkBi

Trincofiiakc

Gokaiitia

Nari}
SaUvauou (ChUaw)

Mccgomuwa (Ncgombo)

^Mmnvaoioda
Waltala (KcJaniyu) \

Diy
KaUiiUha (KaliUant)

Bhiniatiuha (B en to u )

BalaptUyft?

GimhatiUha (GifWota)
GoUwpabboU (Godavayi)

MahaVBluktgama (WcUgima)
am CDevundva)
Niiwilatiuha (M atifs) Sri Lanka
CapDomlra

Map 8.1 Location of coin finds and ancient ports of Sri Lanka.
 Sri Lanka and Maritime Trade 163

monks, and teachers. A pürvayoga text found a Mahâyàna Buddhist shrine dedicated to the
among the recently discovered Gandhârî scrolls bodhisattva Avalokitesvara and his consort T arà.
presumably from Hadda (Afghanistan), now in This bodhisattva is com m only mentioned in
the British Library, narrates how the Buddha, the literature and epigraphs o f the island as
in a previous birth, was a merchant o f the great Lokesvara, Lokesvara-nàtha or Nàtha, and the
ocean who set out to sea with the supplies he present document clearly names the bodhisattva
had collected (Lenz 2 0 0 3 , 150). as Avalokitesvara (Paranavitana 1943, 157).
T he earliest Buddha images and some portable This caused Paranavitana to conclude that in
marble reliefs found in Sri Lanka, depicting the 7th or 8th century, the ancient monastery at
various Buddhist themes, were originally executed Tiriyaya was inclined towards Mahâyânism, if not
in Amaravati-Nagarjunakonda and were brought avowedly Mahâyânistic (Paranavitana 1943, 157).
to the island by pious traders or pilgrims as T he exactitude o f his observations was proven
offerings.^ It was during this period that south in 1983 when the Department o f Archaeology
Indian traders who were playing the intermediary undertook an excavation at the site. O n 6 April
role between Roman traders and Sri Lankans 1983, 30 statues o f Buddha, 11 o f bodhisattvas,
came from Andhra and Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka three o f Tàrâ, and a casket stûpa top with four
in search o f merchandise (Bopearachchi 2008 d h y à n ï-b u d d h as on the circum ference were
and 2012). Some donors ot the caves, the earliest found buried under a paving stone o f a ruined
dwellings o f the Buddhists monks, were n à v ik a é meditation hall. Among them, two bronze statues
(mariners) or vanijas^ (traders). An inscription o f standing Avalokitesvara o f the ascetic type,
containing eleven lines and written in the Grantha bearing a small effigy o f Tathâgata Amitàbha in
script dated to the 7th or 8th centuries, chiselled the head-dress (von Schroeder 1990. 2 5 2 -3 , nos
on a rock-surface atTiriyaya, 29 kilometres north 6 1 C and D ), two bronze statues of Avalokitesvara
o f Trincomalee, records an account o f a company seated in râja lilâ san a (von Schroeder 1990,
o i sea-faring merchants named Trapussaka and 2 8 4 -5 , nos 7 8 E -G ), and two solid cast bronze
Vallika. They are cited as the founders o f the statuettes ofTârà standing in tribhahga along with
Girikandi caitya (Paranavitana 1943, 1 5 1 -6 0 ). a beautiful statue o f Adibuddha or Vajradharma
Senarath Paranavitana believed that Irapussaka with an elaborately worked jatam u ku ta àc}p\cimg
and Vallika are corruptions o f Trapusa (Tapassa the five Tathâgatas {dhyânî-buddhas)— ^Aksobhya.
in Pali) and Bhalika, the two merchants who Amitàbha, Amoghasiddhi, Ratnasariibhava, and
offered food to the Buddha few weeks after his Vairocana— were discovered on the same day.**
enlightenment.^ Since these two merchants are T he solid cast bronze image o f Buddha seated
also mentioned in the P ü jd v alio(the 13th century in vajràsana, displaying the bhùm isparsa-m udrâ
as builders o f the Grihandi stupa enshrining the o f the Pàla style (von Schroeder 1990, 194, no.
hair relics o f the Buddha, Paranavitana argues that 49A), and the statue o f Padmapani-Avalokitesvara
the record does not imply that the Girikandi cai^ a seated in Lilitâsana displaying the varada-m udrà
was built during the time o f the Buddha, but some were certainly imports from north-eastern India.^
Buddhists in the 7th century believed that it was7 The fact o f Tiriyayas location on the right bank
T he same Sanskrit inscription from Tiriyaya o f the Yan-oya, one o f the main openings to the
refers to companies o f merchants who endowed sea routes o f the east, suggests that it may have
164 Asian Encounters

accumulated souvenirs o f mariners and merchants shall never sink down in the king o f waters.’
who were frequent visitors to the Buddhist shrine. It is also narrated in the S ad dh arm apu n d arika
These observations lead us to the main theme siitra (24. I ) that ‘in case, a young man o f good
o f the present paper— the role o f the bodhisattva family, [or] creatures, carried o ff by the current
Avalokitesvara as the protector o f mariners o f rivers, should implore the bodhisattva maha-
and the maritime trade in the Indian Ocean. sattva Avalokitesvara, all rivers will afford them
Although the vast majority o f modern scholar­ a ford’. Evoking the destiny o f a young mariner,
ship takes for granted that ancient Sri Lanka was ‘sailing in a ship on the ocean, should see
the home o f theTheravada Buddhism, the evi­ bullion, gold, gems, pearls, lapis lazuli, conch
dence o f materials such as those examined in this shells, stones (?), corals, emeralds, m usdragalvas
paper prove that, by the 6th century, Mahayana (read pearls ?), and other goods lost, and the
had gained a decisive victory over the orthodox ship by a vehement, untimely gale cast on the
tendencies o f Theravada Buddhism.*^ In this island o f giantesses ...’ T h is Mahayana siitra
form o f Mahayana Buddhism, the bodhisattva further emphasises that ‘if in that ship [even] a
Avalokitesvara was worshipped either as the single being implores Avalokitesvara, all will be
curer o f the sick* * or as the saviour o f mariners saved from that island o f giantesses’.
from shipwreck. T he reputation o f Avalokitesvara as a saviour
T he healing power o f Avalokitesvara is men­ o f mariners from shipwrecks gained much
tioned in the S ad dh arm apu n d arika siitra (24, popularity in Indian art, especially in Buddhist
19): ‘Birth» decrepitude, and disease will come cave sculptures as well as in the fifth century
to an end for those who are in the wretched paintings o f the Western Deccan. Ajanta cave 1
states o f existence, in hell, in brute creation, has a painted version o f the Simhaia avaddn a, in
in the kingdom o f Yama, for all beings (in which Avalokitesvara, in the form o f a magical
general).* It is well-known that the m onolithic white horse (Balaha), rescued the prince Sirhhala
colossal statue o f Avalokitesvara fashioned out and some o f his fellow merchants, who were
o f crystalline lim estone at Dambegoda was shipwrecked and cast upon the shores o f the
erected by King Aggabodhi IV (6 6 7 -8 3 ), who, island o f Tamradvlpa. The merchants who were
in Kanagama (the village o f the blind), built not rescued were devoured by the cannibalistic
hospitals for the blind and sick {C ulavarnsa, ogresses in the guise o f beautiful, charming
XLV, 4 3 - 4 ) . T h e Mahayanist images erected w om en (Behl 1 9 9 8 , 2 1 0 - 1 5 ) . A group o f
in sanctuaries built at the mouths o f rivers or sculptures, especially in the Buddhist caves
bays facing the sea or inland along the navigable o f Kanheri, Ajanta, Ellora, and Aurangabad,
rivers are those o f Avalokitesvara in his role depict the A stam ahdbhaya Avalokitesvara*^ in
as the patron o f mariners who confronted which the bodhisattva comes to rescue human
the inevitable perils o f distant voyages (de beings from the eight great perils. Among these
Mallmann 1948, 2 8 - 3 0 and 3 3 -4 ) . According dangers, his reputation as a saviour o f mariners
to the S add harm ap u n darika siitra (24. 6), ‘If from shipwreck is given a prominent place. The
one happens to fall into the dreadful ocean, the most evocative sculpture o f the so-called ‘litany
abode o f ndgaSy marine monsters, and demons, o f Avalokitesvara’ *^ is the one carved to the left
he has but to think o f Avalokitesvara, and he o f the sanctum o f cave 7 at Aurangabad.’"^ On
 Sri Lanka and Maritime Trade 165

Figure 8.1 a 'Litany of Avalokitesvara' Aurangabad cave 7. Photo: Osmund Bopearachchi. Courtesy:
Archaeological Survey of India.

this panel. Avalokitesvara, with a lotus in the left 4. evil spirits or demons (in front of the demonic
hand and with his right hand in abhaya-m udrds is figure, a [weeping?] mother holding a child seated
shown protecting his devotees from the following next to a standing man);
dangers (read clockwise from the top right hand 5. shipwreck (two men and probably a woman sailing
a ship with two masts);
corner, see Figure 8.1a):
6. captivity and slavery (an image [partly broken]
1. enraged animals (behind the keeling couple, a lion behind two male figures);
with the raised left foreleg); 7. sword of the enemy (behind a couple in distress
2. poisonous reptiles (behind a kneeling couple, two [one carrying goods on the head], a man threat­
cobras with reared-up hoods); ening with a sword); and
3. vvild beasts (behind an imploring couple, an 8. from devouring fire (in front of the blazing flames,
elephant emerging from the jungle); a pleading couple).
166 Asian Encounters

Figure 8.1 b Detail of the shipwreck, Aurangabad, cave 7. Photo: Parul Pandya Dhar. Courtesy:
Archaeological Survey of India.

These eight perils are explicitly described in coins o f the Satavahana dynasty o f the reign
the Saddharm apuncLirika sutra^^ and must have o f Pulumavi (Pulumayi) (Chakravarti 1930,
been known to the artists who executed the 6 4 9 , no. 2). O n these coins, as well on the
‘litany o f Avalokitesvara not only at Aurangabad, relief from Aurangabad depicting the ‘litany o f
but also in many other caves o f Maharashtra.'^* Avalokitesvara’, two forestays are attached to the
T he literary as well as sculptural evidence clearly very top o f the each mast. T he end o f each stay is
indicates that Avalokitesvara appears in this con­ then attached to the hull o f the vessel, preventing
text as rhe patron o i travellers, traders, pilgrims, the mast from falling backwards. Although the
and mariners. The simple evocation o f his name sail is nor clearly visible in these depictions,
saves them from perils (Chutiwongs 2 002, 34). there is no doubt that, given the way the mast is
The role o f Avalokitesvara as the saviour o f positioned, the sails are attached to the forestays.
shipwrecks is given prominent place in the ‘litany’ The painting depicting the Sirhbala avaddna in
scenes. The vessel depicted on the Aurangabad Ajanta cave 1 features rwo ships that also have
panel is a sailing ship with two masts (Figure two masts (Behl 1 9 9 8 ,2 1 1 ). On the Aurangabad
8.1b). Ships o f this type are also found on some relief, a man seated at the back o f the hull is
 Sri Lanka and MaritimeTrade 167

shown holding a steering oar and struggling to necklaces, armlets, and anklets (Figure 8.4 ).
control the direction o f the ship. These details yogi Avalokitesvara is essentially an ascetic
o f the masts and the man with the steering oar figure that can be distinguished by the ajinUy
are not visible on the reliefs from the caves o f the hide o f an animal such as an antelope or
Kanheri and Ajanta. Out o f the two sculptures tiger, tied around the waist to hold the dhoti.
depicting the ‘litany’ scenes in Ajanta cave 26, T h e high crown on his head complements a
the well-preserved upper sculpture*® depicts two slightly elongated face. Two braids o f hair fall
mariners standing in anjali-m udrd. However, the across his shoulders (Figures 8.6, 8.8, and 8.9).
ship is devoid o f masts. T h e same observation D K Dohanian sees a parallel between this
also applies to the sculpture on the right side o f type o f ascetic Avalokitesvara and Siva o f the
the door o f the Ajanta cave 4. In this sculpture, early Pallava style depicted in the Trimùrti cave
the ship holds two mariners, most probably a temple at Màmallapuram (D ohanian 1977,
man and a woman standing in anjali-m udrd, and 3 3 -4 ) . I f this hypothesis is correct, the stone
has no masts at all (Figure 8.2).*^ Among the Avalokitesvara images cannot be dated before
depictions o f the ‘litany scenes in the Kanheri the 7th century, because the Pallava sculptures
caves, two sculptures are in a faidy good state o f at Mamallapuram are generally dated to the
preservation.^® Once again, the shipwreck scene reign o f Narasiriihavarman I (6 3 0 -6 8 C E).^’
carved at the bottom on the right hand side o f O ne has to bear in mind that these two types o f
the panel in the cave 66 (Figure 8.3) and the one Avalokitesvara, one ascetic ox yogi and the other
at the bottom on the right hand side in cave 2 princely or bejewelled, are found earlier in the
have no sign o f masts. Despite these absences, the Gupta period and post-Gupta cave temples o f
many carvings in the caves o f Maharashtra make Ajanta, Ellora, and Aurangabad.^^ Compared
it abundantly clear that the idea o f Avalokitesvara to the Sri Lankan or ‘Sinhala type as labelled
as a saviour o f mariners in distress gained much by Dohanian (1 977, 35), the Maharashtra type
popularity from the 5th century onwards. Like­ is characterized by the krsnajinay with head and
wise, Avalokitesvara enjoyed esteem in Sri Lanka paws thrown over the left shoulder.^'"^
when Mahayanism reached its apogee around A study o f the distribution pattern o f the
the eighth century CE. This important episode AvalokitesVara images must be considered as
in Sri Lankan history coincides with the arrival one o f the important elements o f the dynamics
o f Vajrabodhi ( 6 7 1 - 7 4 1 ) to Anuradhapura. o f trade during the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries.
Vajrabodhi, who belonged to a south Indian T h e follow ing sea ports on the west coast
brahmin family, was a Buddhist monk and an were first subjected to our investigations, and
esoteric Buddhist teacher in la n g China. they all are situated at the estuaries o f rivers:
A p art fro m th e b ro n z e s ta tu e tte s o f Salavattota (Chilaw) at the Deduru-oya, Wattala
Avalokitesvara discussed earlier, two main types at the Kelani Ganga, Kalalittha (Kalutara) at
o f stone images o f standing Avalokitesvara are the Kalu Ganga, Bhimatittha (Bentota) at the
attested in Sri Lanka. T h e first is the yogi or Bentota Ganga, Gimhatittha (Gintota) at the
ascetic type and the second is the princely or G in-G anga, Mahavalukagama (Weligama) at
jewelled type. T he latter wears royal garments the Polwatta Ganga, and Nilwalatitrha (Matara)
and elaborate ear-rings {m a k a ra kundala)^ at the Nilwala Ganga. We obtained positive
168 Asian Encounters

Figure 8.2 'Litany of Avalokitesvara', Ajanta, cave 4. Photo: Osmund Bopearachchi. Courtesy: Archaeological
Survey of India.

results from the excavations and explorations Pilapitiya, on the right bank o f the Kelani Ganga,
conducted at Giribawa on the left bank o f the about 7 kilometres from the ancient sea port o f
Kala-oya> which flows to the sea at Uruvelap- W attala.“^ However, apart from M an th ai,
attana;^^ at Panirendava, on the left bank of Kobeigane (Kurunagala District), and Weligama,
Daduru-oya/^ which flows into the sea at the no images o f Avalokitesvara were found on the
ancient port o f Salavattota and at the village o f west coast. All the other known images are so
 Sri Lanka and Maritime Trade 169

Figure 8.3 litany of Avalokitesvara' Kanheri, cave 66. Photo: Osmund Bopearachchi. Courtesy:
Archaeological Survey of India.

far attested only in the south and east coasts development o f urban centres. It is necessary
o f the island. T his may be explained by the to carry out systematic investigations to trace
fact that compared to the sparsely populated the images o f Avalokitesvara dispersed in these
scattered villages on the southern and eastern densely populated areas.
plains, the west coast is distinguished by a dense B road ly speaking, there are two m ajor
population which, during colonial times and clusters o f Avalokitesvara images on the island.
after independence, led to an increase in the O ne is on the east coast around Trincomalee,
size and quantity o f villages, as well as to the considered the fifth largest natural harbour in
170 Asian Encounters

Figure 8.4 Bodhisattva image at Kustarajagala. Photo: Osmund Bopearachchi. Courtesy: Department of
Archaeology, Sri Lanka.
 Sri Lanka and MaritimeTrade 171

the world, and is referred to as Gokanna in capital city o f Anuradhapura connected with
PàÜ (Sanskrit, Gokarna). The second cluster is Manthai by the Malvatu-oya has brought to
situated on the southern coast around the ancient light many Avalokitesvara images. T h e most
ports o f Kirinda, connected with the ancient recent find in this context is the bronze statuette
city o f Tissamahàrâma by the Kirindi-oya and o f Avalokitesvara, dressed both in ascetic attire
Godavaya.^^ Before discussing the importance o f and in princely garments, found accidentally by
these two areas, let us examine other sites where a fisherman in the Malvatu-oya, inside the old
Avalokitesvara images have a relationship with city o f Anuradhapura (Figures 8.5a and b).^®
the ancient emporia. A headless ascetic Avalokitesvara image o f dolo­
T he well-preserved image o f the bodhisattva mite marble was found in the Jaffna peninsula
carved in sunken high relief at Kustarajagala (von Schroeder 1990, 2 5 6 , no. 63 C). It should
(meaning literary ‘king with skin disease’) near the be remembered that the famous port site o f
ancient sea port o f Mahavalukagama (Weligama) Jambukolapatuna (Kankesanturai) is situated
is still subject to controversy (Figure 8.4). There to the east o f Jaffna where the sapling o f the
are depictions o f four dhyani'bu ddhas scared Bo Tree was brought by Sanghamitra from
(Amitabha) in the head-dress. T h e presence o f Tamralipti in India in the 3rd century BC E.
Tathâgata Amitabha depicted in the head-dress An ancient road attested in the chronicles gave
is a clear indication that the image represents access to Anuradhapura from the ancient port
Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva o f compassion and o f Jambukolapatuna. It is also written that in
the spiritual emanation o f Amitabha.“^ Accord­ Tantirimalai, also known as Thiwakka Bamunu-
ing to the Sàdhauam àlây Sirhhanàda-Lokesvara gama, the local ruler Thiwakka hosted the royal
in this aspect is the curer o f all diseases. Dressed procession carrying the sacred Bodhi sapling to
in princely garments and wearing different types the capital city. Tantirimalai was also a Mahayana
o f necklaces, armlets and earrings, the bodhisattva centre in the 7th and 8th centuries, as is revealed
stands frontally, displaying the vitarka m udrà by its rock-carved unfinished bodhisattva images
with the right hand and the àhvàhn a (gesture o f (von Schroeder 1990, 1 3 6 -7 ).
beckoning) m udrà with the left. T he fact that the T he image house o f Mudij Mahavihara dis­
statue is situated about 500 metres as the crow covered under the dunes o f the sea shore near the
flies from the ancient sea port o f Mahavalukag­ town o f Potuvil, is a place o f Mahayana worship,
ama at the estuary o f the Polwatta Ganga may indicated by the two images o f Avalokitesvara
also indicate that he was established there as the facing a standing Buddha. O ne Avalokitesvara
protector o f mariners. image is in the form o f an ascetic (Figure 8.6),
A dolomite statue o f (ascetic) Avalokitesvara while the other bears the royal paraphernalia o f a
was discovered in K obeigane (K urunagala prince.'^' This shrine also has direct contact with
District) not far from the Daduru-oya which the rock carvings at Budupatunna, situated near
flows to the sea at the ancient port o f Salavattota the Wila-oya river, which flows to the ocean a few
(von Schroeder 1990, 2 5 2 , no. 61 B). O ne miles south o f the MudCi Maha-vihara complex.
broken statue o f Avalokitesvara was reported Here again, we see on either side of the central
to have been found at the most im portant Buddha image, two Avalokitesvara images,
port site o f Manthai. T h e first and long-lived standing and facing the viewer under a stone
172 Asian Encounters

Figures 8.5 a and b. Bronze statue of Avalokitesvara found in the Malvatu Oya, inside the old city of
Anuradhapura. Photo: Osmund Bopearachchi. Courtesy: Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka.
 Sri Lanka and Maritime Trade 173

Figure 8.6 The ascetic image of Avalokitesvara from Mudu Mahavihara. Photo: Osmund Bopearachchi.
Courtesy: Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka.

chatra. T he ascetic image displays abhaya m udra played an important role as an active sea port
with the right hand and katakd m udra with the on account o f the Mahaveli river which flows to
left. T h e d h oti is held in place by an animal hide the sea at Gokanna. Though Gokanna became
tied around the waist. T h e bodhisattva, clad in a flourishing harbour from the 11th century
princely garments and jewellery standing to onwards when the royal capital was transferred
the right o f the Buddha, is also Avalokitesvara from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa, there is
(von Schroeder 1990, 25 6 , no. 63 A). sufficient evidence to show that it was known as
Let us now discuss the two clusters o f early as the 4th century C E to merchants who
Avalokitesvara images found in the Trincomalee reached the island from the east. T he ancient
area and in the vicinity o f Kirinda. Apart from port site o f Lahkapattana (Illankathurai) is also
being an important natural harbour, Trincomalee situated at the estuary o f one o f the distributaries
174 Asian Encounters

M ap 8.2 Distribution pattern of the archaeological sites around the Trincomalee area.
 Sri Lanka and Maritime Trade 175

o f the Mahaveli river (Map 8.2). It is believed trained in Nagarjunakonda (Figure 8.7).*^'^ Like
that Princess Hemamali and her husband, Prince Tiriyaya, the Kuchchaveli complex was in all
Dantha> on the instructions o f her father, King probability a Mahayana centre during the 7th
Guhasiva, hid the Buddhas tooth relic in her and 8th centuries, as indicated by an inscription
hair ornam ent and set sail from Tamralipti, engraved on a boulder. T he sloping side o f the
the port at the mouth o f the river Ganges, and boulder reveals an area o f four square feet which
landed in Sri Lanka at the port o f Larikapattana has been partitioned into sixteen compartments
during the reign ol King Kirthi Sri Meghavarna o f equal proportions, each of which features a
(3 0 1 -2 8 ). R. L. Brohier was correct to assume depiction o f a stupa carved in low relief The
that the section o f the Mahaveli Ganga between inscription consists o f eight lines in Sanskrit
the island o f Kalinga in Polonnaruwa and the written using an early Grantha alphabet. This
sea o ff the coast o f Trincomalee was o f sufficient text explains that the pious wish o f the author
depth at all times to be navigable by small vessels is to gain merit by making the representations o f
(Brohier 1 9 3 4 -5 , 12). Several images o f princely stupas and become a Buddha in the future to free
and ascetic types o f Avalokitesvara were found humanity from suffering (Paranavitana 1933b,
in Polonnaruwa. Some statues o f Avalokitesvara 1 5 8 -6 1 ). S Paranavitana correctly observed,
are also attested in many archaeological sites ‘T h e Bodhisattva ideal thus extolled and the use
around Trincomalee, especially at Seruvila, a o f the Sanskrit language may perhaps justify us
temple complex founded during the reign o f in believing that its author was o f Mahayana
King Kavantissa (c. 2nd century BCE).^^ tendencies’ (Paranavitana 1933b , 160). T h e
I have already discussed the importance o f desire to become a Buddha is a function of the
the ancient site ofTiriyaya, 29 kilometres north Mahayana conviction that all sentient beings
o f Trincomalee and near the Gaivaraya, at the are potential Buddhas and that they win their
mouth o f the Yan-oya (Yan aru). Apart from its way to universal salvation through the great
rivers, lagoons and backwaters, its eastern coast compassion which animates the universe. The
seems to have played an important role in the excavations conducted by the Department o f
internal trade. A broken statue o f Avalokitesvara Archaeology and the French Archaeological
was found in 2 011 by the D epartm ent o f Mission at Kuchchaveli in the summer o f 2011
Archaeology not far from the Mulathiv lagoon. have clearly shown that, apart from being a
T he most significant discoveries revealing active monastic complex, the site was also an ancient
trade activities were made at Kuchchaveli (or sea port. T he discovery o f Black and Red Ware,
Kuchaveli), a small coastal town located north­ Grey Ware, Rouletted Ware, Chinese porcelain,
west o f Trincomalee. In 1955, while digging and Roman coins found in the test pits denote
the foundations for the Rest House, workers active trade activities.
discovered a torso o f the Buddha made o f lime­ Fragments o f three other Avalokitemra statues
stone imported from A n d h r a .W h ile restoring were found in two sites close to Kuchchaveli.
an ancient building in 1984, the officers o f the Two heads o f the princely type were found in
Department o f Archaeology found two Buddha Namalwatta. A torso o f a^£»f/Avalokitesvara statue
heads and a torso most probably executed in came to light from Nilaveli when constructing the
situ using local dolom ite stone by sculptors infnistructure for the German Voice Radio Station
176 Asian Encounters

'' ->.- \

--i

y ^ -.i

Figure 8.7 Head of a Buddha image from Kuchchaveli. Photo: Osmund Bopearachchi. Courtesy: Department
of Archaeology, Sri Lanka.

(Figure 8.8). These are just few examples showing In D ecem b er 2 0 0 1 , in Tissam aharam a,
the importance o f the Avalokitesvara cult in the not far from the Sandagiri StQpa, a Buddha
areas around Trincomalee. statue and two small bodhisattva images— most
The second cluster o f Avalokitesvara images probably o f Avalokitesvara— were accidentally
are found in the area con n ected with the found in a private land known as Badu Watta.
ancient sea ports o f Kirinda and Godavaya. T he Buddha statue resembles the ones found
Tissam aharam a, which is connected to the at Kuchchaveli and M aha-Illuppallam a and
ancient sea port o f Kirinda by the Kirindi-oya, has all the characteristics o f the late Amaravati
was established as the capital o f the Sinhalese t r a d i t i o n . T h e white marble used for the
kingdom o f Ruhuna as early as the third century execution o f this statue is not found in Sri Lanka,
BCE. Excavations conducted by the Department but is available in Amaravati-Nagarjunakonda. It
o f Archaeology with German archaeologists is fashioned in the round. O f the two hands, the
at Akurugoda brought to light much needed left is holding the uplifted hem o f the robe and
evidence o f international trade in this region the right, which is unfortunately damaged, most
with India and other countries.^^ likely made the abhaya m udra. T he treatment
 Sri Lanka and Maritime Trade 177

Figure 8.8 Ascetic image of Avalokitesvara from Kuchchaveli. Photo; Osmund Bopearachchi. Courtesy;
Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka.

o f the drapery, which featured declining parallel the image house built on the terrace o f the Yatala
shallow grooves, is closely linked stylistically to stupa?^ All three statues are o f the jewelled or
the Amaravati-Nagarjunakonda schools. From princely type and are very similar to the colossal
a stylistic, chronological, and technical point of statue o f the same bodhisattva at Dambegoda.
view, this Buddha statue is different from the O ne is very clearly characterized by the kirt-
two bodhisattva images. T he latter belong to the tim u k h a decorating the ja td m u k u ta }^ Two
Mahayana sculptural style which began to flourish statues o f Avalokitesvara, one ascetic (Figure 8.9)
in Sri Lanka from the 8th century onwards. and the other princely were found in the image
More than six statues o f Avalokitesvara are so house at Situlpahuva, not far from the Kirinda
far known from this area. Two statues are kept in sea port. T hese two types o f Avalokitesvara
the Yatala Museum, and one is conserved inside appear as a pair, as we have discussed earlier,
178 Asian Encounters

Figure 8.9 Ascetic image of Avalokitesvara from Situlpahuva. Photo: Osmund Bopearachchi. Courtesy:
Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka.

at the sites like MudQ Mahavihara and Budu- is clearly Avalokitesvara (von Schroeder 1990,
patunna. Also as mentioned earlier, the yogi 2 4 8 -9 , no. 59 D ). T he two torsos, one wear­
Avalokitesvara shares most o f the characteristics ing princely garm ents and jew ellery (von
o f the Siva sculpture of the early Pallava style Schroeder 1 9 9 0 , 2 4 8 - 9 , no. 59 C) and the
o f the Trimurti cave temple in Mamallapuram other with an animal hide around the waist (von
(Dohanian 1977, 3 3 -4 ). Schroeder 1990, 2 4 8 -9 , no. 59 B), also belong
At Girihandu Saya at Ambalantota on the to Avalokitesvara images. Significantly, the
right bank o f the Walwe Ganga, two torsos and Walawe Ganga falls to the sea at Godavaya, an
one head o f three different Avalokitesvara statues emporium or port described in an inscription on
were discovered. T h e head containing a small a boulder next to the ancient stupa. The epigraph
effigy ofTathagata Amitabha in the jatà-m u ku ta states that regular and minor duties in the port
 Sri Lanka and Maritime Trade 179

or emporium o f Godapawata were given to the Sri Lanka (Department o f Archaeology), United
(Buddhist) monastery (by) King Gamini Ahhaya States o f America (Institute o f Nautical Archae­
(Gajabahu [1 1 4 -3 6 CE]).^^ ology (IN A), University o f Texas A & M , and
Among the finds at Godavaya were megalithic University o f California at Berkeley), and France
Black and Red Ware (big bow'ls, maybe used by (Centre national de la recherche scientifique).
monks) that are dated to the 3rd century BC E For almost six weeks from early December
and therefore might solve a delicate question 2 0 1 2 until the middle o f January 2013, a multi­
concerning cultural and social life in south India national team o f archaeologists and students from
and Sri Lanka. From 1993 to 1996, the Depart­ the United States, France, Sri Lanka, and Turkey
ment o f Archaeology and French Archaeological launched an underwater excavation at Godavaya.
Mission in Sri Lanka carried out systematic T h e collaborative project is spearheaded by
explorations and excavations at Ridiyagama, a principal investigators Osmund Bopearachchi
region about 12 kilometres upstream from the (C N R S, Paris), Deborah Carlson (INA, Texas
mouth o f the River Walawe. In 1995, the excava­ A & M University), Senarath Dissanayake (Direc­
tion brought to light slags, mica, burnt charcoal, tor General o f Archaeology, Sri Lanka), and
early Black and Red Ware, Roman Third Brass, Sanjyot Mehendale (University o f California at
terracotta objects, and beads. In 1996, more than Berkeley) and made possible with funding from
2 0 furnace structures were excavated. Some o f the National Endowment for the Humanities.
these furnaces may have been used for forging The 2 0 1 2 -1 3 team o f more than 20 archaeologists
iron or for cementation (Bopearachchi 1999). included INA staff from the US and Turkey,
T he recent discovery o f a shipwreck. 3 miles graduate students from the Nautical Archae­
from the ancient site o f Godavaya, at a depth ology Program at Texas A&M University, and
o f 30 metres has revolutionized our knowledge numerous Sri Lankan archaeologists and interns
o f the history o f maritime trade in South Asia, representing both the Maritime Research Unit o f
particularly between India and Sri Lanka. The the Department o f Archaeology and the Maritime
accidental find by fishermen o f a stone object with Archaeology Unit o f the Central Cultural Fund.
auspicious symbols engraved on it (Nandipada, Among the handful o f artefacts raised during the
Srivatsa, and fish) has aroused the curiosity o f the brief 2012—13 campaign were: a black glass ingot
Department o f Archaeology. A surface excavation that parallels green and blue glass ingots recovered
was carried out by the divers o f the Department from earlier explorations, a globular ceramic pot
o f Archaeology and the Central Cultural Fund (Figure 8.12), another bench-shaped stone quern,
in November 200 8 to make an assessment o f the and a cylindrical handheld grinding stone.
archaeological potential o f the site. They brought T h e C arbon 14 analyses carried out on
to the surface some samples o f Black and Red three wood samples dates the shipwreck to the
Ware and purified glass ingots (Figure 8.11; see second century B C E (Figure 8 .1 0 ; see colour
colour plate section). These archaeological finds plate section). This chronological frame is now
enable us to date the site back to the 3rd or 2nd proven to be accurate, thanks to the C 14 analyses,
century BC E. Two test dives were carried out in pottery typology, and glass testing. Therefore, this
December 2010 and January 2012 by an inter­ shipwreck should be considered the oldest so far
national team o f divers and archaeologists from attested in the Indian Ocean. T h e preliminary
180 Asian Encounters

investigation on glass ingots from the Godavaya south Indian origin for the Godavaya glass, with
shipwreck carried out by James Lankton and a particular focus on such unexplored sites as
Bernard Gratuze opens the door to the study o f Manikollai and Appur.
glass exchange in South and Southeast Asia. These G odavaya, like K irin d a. G o k an n a, and
samples are exactly the type o f archaeological Manthai, was clearly an important port site, so
material essential for a more complete understand­ there is no wonder why so many depictions o f
ing. In addition to microscopic examination, they Avalokitesvara, the mariner guardian, have been
have performed chemical compositional analysis found along the Waive Ganga. This preliminary
o f the two glass samples using LA -IC P-M S investigation on the spatial distribution o f the
(laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass Avalokitesvara statues in Sri Lanka as a whole
spectrometry) at IRAMAT (Institut de Recherches shows the importance o f the role played by
sur les Archéomatériaux, Centre Ernest-Babelon, Avalokitesvara as the protector o f mariners.
CNRS/Université d’Orléans). Among the trace Although the research on this subject is still in
elements measured, the most striking is Vanadium its initial stage, it is obvious that the cult worship
(V). Its content is elevated in both samples, o f the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara as the healer
although considerably higher in GVA 1, the ingot o f the sick and protector o f mariners was very
block fragment. Up to now, these high Vanadium popular in Sri Lanka, The Pàli chronicles written
concentrations are characteristic for glass found by the Buddhist monks o f the Mahàvihàra o f the
in southern India at lam il coastal sites such as Theravada tradition were primarily concerned
Alagankulam, Arikamedu, Karur, Amaravati, with using religious and political events to illus­
and Manikollai, although glass from none o f trate the importance o f Theravada Buddhism.
these had the same very high V /Fe203 ratios as Although the Mahàvamsa does not make any
the Godavaya glasses. O n the other hand, glass reference to doctrinal or institutional mani­
most likely produced at such contemporaneous festations o f Mahàyàna, the epigraphic"^* and
Sri Lankan site as Giribawa is much lower in archaeological evidence discussed in this paper
Vanadium and V/Fe203 ratios, making Sri Lanka show very clearly that, like Saivism, Vaisnavism,
an unlikely source for the Godavaya ingots. In and Jainism , Mahàyàna Buddhism played a
summary, the glass from both GVA I and GVA 2 significant role in the history o f the island.
falls into the broad category m-Na-Al, as defined Although King Paràkramabàhu is popularly
by Dussubieux (2 0 1 0 ). Although the closest credited with reunifying the three rival groups
subtype would be m-Na-AI 1 (high Barium-low o f the Buddhist orders (the Theravada order o f
Uranium), the GVA glass is not a perfect fit for the Mahà-vihàra, the order o f the Abhayagiri-
this category since it contains less Barium and vihara and the order o f the Dakkina-vihàra)
Potash, and more lime, than the typical m-Na-Al into one order in the 12th century, this paper
1 glasses. Using the trace element contents, it demonstrates that the Mahàyàna cults remained
appears that the Godavaya glass samples shared in practice until the present day. It is quite
many chemical features with glasses found or possible that by the 8th century the so-called
produced on the Tamil coast o f south India. heterodox monks o f Abhayagiri-vihàra developed
When looking at particular trace element ratios or into a full-fledged Mahàyàna community when
whole compositions, the results strongly suggest a the Buddhists o f Kanchi supported the secret
 CA

D
TT
Ol
Q)
D
Q.

Q.
0>
Figure 8.12 Globular ceramic pot from the shipwreck at Godavaya. Photo: S. H. Snowden. Courtesy: INA, University of Texas A&M.
00
182 Asian Encounters

and mystical beliefs o f the esoteric and exoteric 3. This point has been discussed in the light of
sub-sects o f the G reat vehicle."^^ From this new discoveries made in recent years in Sri Lanka.
period onwards the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara See Bopearachchi (2008 and 2012).

gained great popularity as attested by the large 4. The inscription in early Brahnu script on a
boulder in the area to the north-west of the ancient
num ber o f his images erected all over the
Abhayagiri stupa at Anuradhapura records that the
island. T h e Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara who
terrace was of the Tamil householders and was made
is also known as Lokesvara, Lokesvara Nàtha,
by Samana, the Tamil, ofllubarata. The same record
Lokanàtha, or Nàtha is venerated today as God
states that Karava, the mariner, was entitled to the
Nàtha (Nàthadeviyo). T he same Nàtha is also
seat of honour See Paranavitana (1970, no. 94).
mentioned as Siva Nàtha, Brahma Nàtha, Visnu Another inscription from the same place refers to
Nàtha, Gaurï Nàtha, Matsyendra Nàtha. Bhadra Bhojakatka-navika, that is the mariner of Bhojakatka
Nàtha, Bauddha Nàtha. and Gana Nàtha."^^ (Paranavitana 1970, no. 105). The donor of the
In ancient Sri Lanka, Buddhist art underwent cave at Handagala, the upasika named Sumana
drastic changes as the focus o f trade changed is introduced as the mother of the ship-captain
from one horizon to the other. In many cases, (Paranavitana 1970, no. 1131). The cave of the chief
even without precise textual evidence, artistic Mala at Bagavalena is given to the monks by the
expressions show the effects o f different cultures. mariner sailing to Bharukaccha (Paranavitana 1970,
In short, the em ergence o f new M ahàyàna no. 1183).
5. Merchants or traders are mentioned as vanija
iconography must be seriously considered when
with a variant of vanica. Two Brahmi inscriptions
studying the historical diversity o f different cul­
from Periya-Puliyankulama, are both of the same
tures. It is thus important to launch a systematic
personage, a Tamil merchant named Visaka, referred
study o f images o f Avalokitesvara, or Lokesvara,
to as a householder: ‘'Fhe cave of the householder
Lokesvara Nàtha, Lokanàtha, and Nàtha erected Visaskha, the Tamil merchant’; ‘The work of the flight
in the sanctuaries at the river mouths facing the of steps is of the householder Visaskha, the Tamil
sea and also inland along the navigable rivers. merchant’ (Paranavitana 1970, no. 357). Perhaps
the most evocative inscription in this context is the
A ckno w ledgem ents one from Kuduvil in the Ampari District: ‘The cave
The author would like to thank the Archaeological of the merchants who are the citizens of Dighavapi.
of the sons o f . . . and of the wife Tissa, the Tamil.’
Survey o f India for permissions to photograph
(Paranavitana. 1970. no. 480).
Figures 8 ,1 , 8 .2 , 8 .3 , and 8 .4 . T h e author
6. Paranavitana (1 9 4 3 , 154). Trapusa and
also thanks the team at Institute o f Nautical
Bhallika, two merchants from the north, offered
Archaeology (INA), University o f Texas A & M
honey, cakes and sugarcane to the Buddha in
for Figures 8.10 and 8.12. the seventh week after his enlightenment; see
Lalitavistara, ch. XXIV, 82, pp. pp. 3 1 7 -1 8 . This
N otes episode is vividly narrated in the Lalitavistara and
1. Bopearachchi ( 1998 and 1999). 1 am indebted is depicted on some Gandharan pieces. See, for
to Alexandra Kaloyanides, Yale University, who example, the sculpture of the fasting Siddhartha
reviewed the draft of the manuscript very patiently. from Takht-i-Bahi, now in the Peshawar Museum.
2. For a recent account of this subject, see J. See Ingholt (1957, no. 53). Two traders are shown
Neelis(2011). on the bottom register.
 Sri Lanka and MaritimeTrade 183

7. For the controversy between S. Paranavirana terminology as oppo.sed co miracles of Avalokitesvara

and B Ch. Chhabra about the interpretation of these used by de Mallmann (1948, 136-43).
two names, see Paranavitana (1943, 312—19). 14. Ihis panel is described at length by Brancaccio
8. von Schroeder (1990, 2 7 6-7, nos 73F and (160-7, figs 71-9); also see Berkson (1986, 122-7).
73G). According to the Sàdhanamàlà (Siidhana, no. and de Mallmann (pi. Ill, a).
10), this image represents Vajradharma (a form of 15. Saddharmapundarika^ ch. XXIV. See ‘The
Avalokite^ara whose eyes are dilated with joy). It could Litany of Avalokitesvara’, in Gupte (1964, 81-3).
also be ÀdJbuddha or the supreme Buddha. According to 16. For an exhaustive list, see Schopen (293—4,
Manjiisribhàsìta-CAtrakamj/isàstra, this image could 43) and Brancaccio (160,2). According Spink (1981,
also be of Samanrhabhadra. Sec Marasinghe (1990). 123, 6) such ‘litany’ scenes appear in paintings in
9. Bronzes bouddhicjues et hindotis de lAntique caves 2, (upper) 6, 11, and 17, and in sculpture in
Ceylan, no. 17, p. 82. caves 4, 20, and 26. 'Ihis scene also appears in Kanheri
10. One century after the introduction of cave 66 and thrice in Ajanta cavc 26. See Gupte (81;
Buddhism during the reign of Devànàmpiyatissà pis 7b and 7c).
(c. 3rd century BCE) Mahàyànism was given an 17. On the litany scenes carved on the left wall of
authoritative form by Nàgàrjuna, the founder of the tront chamber of cave 4 at Ellora, the shipwreck
Màdhyamaka SchooL In rhe reign of Voharikatissa scene depicted at the bottom of rhe left side is
(2 1 5 -3 7 CE), the D ham m aruci monks o f the completely damaged, and neither the ship nor the
Abhayagiri Vihàra put forward the Vaittdyapitaka% mariners are visible; see Gupte (82, pi. 7c).
as the true word of the Buddha. In rhe reign of 18. Ih e shipwreck scene on the lower panel is
Gothabhaya (254-67), the Dhammaruci sect of the totally damaged.
Abhayagiri Vihàra again put forward the Vaitidyaxmda 19. On the Aurangabad sculpture the eight perils
as the true word of rhe Buddha. Sanghamitra, a monk are carved four on either side of the main standing
from south India, was appointed by Gothabhaya figure of Avalokitesvara, However, apart from two
as tutor of his rwo sons. Mahasena (second son) scenes, other dangers are carved in a different order.
became rhe king, after the death of his elder brother If we follow rhe clockwise order from the upper right
(Jetthatissa). The king was soon persuaded that scene, we sec: 1. a couple in grief in front of blazing
Vaitulyavada was the true doctrine. *Ihe monks of fire; 2. a couple being chased by cobra with a reared
the Mahavihara were ordered by Mahasena ro accept up hood; 3. a man holding to the fetters of captivity
rhe Vaitulyavàda, The Vaitulyavàda introduced to Sri of a woman; 4. behind a kneeling figure, perhaps a
Lanka in the reign of Silakala (526-39) appears ro demon with an evil face: 5, a couple in distress in a
have flourished rill rhe dme of Aggbodhi (564—98). ship; 6. a couple carrying goods being chased by a
See Paranavitana (1933a, 35-48). man holding a sword; 7. a couple being pursued by
11 According to rhe Saddharmapundarika sùtra a lion; 8. a couple being attacked by a wild elephant.
(24. 17): ‘He (Avalokitesvara) with his powerful Scene no. 6 is misunderstood by Gupte (1962, 72),
knowledge beholds all creatures who are beset with who interprets it as follows: ‘In this frieze, three
many hundreds of troubles and afflicted by many figures arc shown, rwo male and one female. A male
sorrows, and thereby is a saviour in the world, figure carrying a heavy burden is seen panting for
including rhe gods’. breath. Ihe couple behind him is also shown carrying
12. For recapitulation of rhese depictions in heavy burdens. But they both seem to be in a joyful
various eaves, sec Brancaccio (2011, 161). mood. They are walking happily.’ On the contrary,
13. Gupte (1962, 72; 1964, 81), Chutiwongs the couple is frightened to death by the third man
(2002, 34), and Schopen (2005, 81) prefer this following rhem with a sword. Here we see one of the
184 Asian Encounters

eight Astamahabhayas of Avalokitesvara: ‘deliver us creating layers composed o f slags in voluminous

from the sword of the enemy. blocs, fragments of furnace walls, and tuyères filled
20. The sculpture in cave 45 is much damaged with solidified impurities and charcoal. The carbon
and the shipwreck scene is not at all clear. 14 analysis carried out on seven P.R.l. samples by
21. Dohanian (1977, 34). It should be under­ the Beta Analytic Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory
lined here that the Pallava King Narasimhavarman II in Miami, Florida, revealed that the centre was
and the Sinhalese dynast Manavarman, who spent a active during the 10th and 11th centuries. Aside
long period of exile at Kanchi as a general, owed his from the carbon samples, several elements of the
kingdom to the Pallava army of Narasimhavarman furnaces were taken to France to be analysed at the
Us grandfather Narasimhavarman I; see Sundberg University of Montpellier II Sciences. These samples
(201 1, 153). This close relationship between had been collected from the debris in the heaps
the Pallava and Sri Lankan kings had a great disposed in the form of a horseshoe. The two most
impact on Sri Lankan art. The sculpture of ascetic interesting samples correspond to ferruginous slags
Avalokitesvara is only one among many inspirations and tuyères (SL.P 1 & SL.P.2-c). Two other samples
of Pallava art of the 8th century. Holt (1991, 84) are ferruginous slags mixed with clay earth (SL.P.2-a
insists upon the artistic similarities between insular & SL.P.2-b). The fifth and sixth samples are glass
Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka pointing to a common fragments (SL.P.2-d & SL.P.3) and the last one, a
source of religious and cultural inspiration, south crystallised element (SL.P4).
Indian Pallava culture. 26. Concerning the sondages in the summer of
22. See Brancaccio (2 5 1 , fig. 8.19), depicting 1997 at the village of Pilapitiya close to Kelaniya,
rwo Avalokitesvara images on either side of shrine see Bopearachchi (1999, 10-13). Even today, rafts
entrance of cave 2 at Aurangabad, de Mallmann can go up to Sitawaka, about 40 kilometres from the
(1948, 147-56) identifies these two figures as river mouth, where one of the short-lived capitals of
'^hvAo\n\\.civdiïdi-dvàrapàla richem ent p are and the 16th century was situated, H. W. Cave (1908)
"K\d\o\Cnciyzïdi'dtfàrapâLi en costume simple', has described how, even at the beginning of the 20th
23. Brancaccio (2011, 252. fig. 8.21), depicting century, sailing craft carried chests of low-grown teas
Avalokitesvara in cave 2 at Aurangabad, to the right 60 miles down this river to the sea and thence to the
of the shrine’s entrance. harbour and the warehouses of Colombo.
24. Concerning the explorations conducted in the 27. On the importance of Tissamaharama. see
area around Giribawa. see Bopearachchi (1999, 16). Bopcarachchi and Wickremesinghe (1999).
25- For the excavations conducted at Panirendava 28. One can well imagine that the fifth dhyàni
in 1998, see Bopcarachchi (1999, 8). In 1998. buddha would have been carved on the backside of
the Department of Archaeology and the French the head-dress if the statute was in the round.
Mission of Archaeological Co-operation opened 29. Some art historians consider him to be
two test pits over a distance of 100 metres, llie Samantabhadra. For an exhaustive bibliography
sondage P.R. 1 enabled the excavation of an unused on this enigmatic figure, see von Schroeder (1990,
furnace wall to which six conical-shaped tuyères 294-5).
were fixed. The second sondage, P.R.2, revealed the 30. This statue o f yogi Avalokitesvara, still
existence of a U-shaped furnace entirely made of unpublished, is now kept in the headquarters of
refractory walls. 'Ihe furnaces where iron ore was the Department o f Archaeology, Colombo. I was
reduced are situated in the cavity in the middle of able to examine it personally. The most interesting
the heap of slags. After each reduction, the furnace characteristic of this statue is the presence of animal
was broken and the slags and scarps were piled up. hide over the dhoti and the presence of a frontal
 Sri Lanka and Maritime Trade 185

animal face on the right thigh (Figure 8.5b). It could heads and the torso. A life-size standing Buddha
be a tiger face, in consequence a tiger skin. N. image in the round discovered at the M ahàstüpa at
Chutiwongs (2002, 61-2) draws attention to some Amaravati is a good example to show the stylistic
statues found in Sri Lanka where this aspect can be and iconographic characteristics of this school, see
observed. 1 hope to discuss the iconography of this Sarkar and Nainar (2003, pi. 1).
statue elsewhere in the near future. Perhaps the most 35. The excavations were conducted under the
beautiful statue of Avalokitesvara ever anested in the supervision of Dr Nimal Perera» Deputy Director,
island was from Veragala, near Anuradhapura. See Department of Archaeology and the present author.
Bronzes bouddhiques et hindotis de lAntique Ceylan, Director of the French Archaeological Mission in Sri
no. 26. 100-1. Lanka. Reports of this excavation will be published
31. von Schroeder (1990. 270-1, nos 70A-H) in the forthcoming Ancient Ceylon,
wrongly interprets the jewelled type statue as being 36. Weisshaar and Wijeyapala (1993 and 2011).
that of a king. Also, Bopearachchi and Wickremesinghe (1999) for
32. von Schroeder (1990, 248, no. 59 A). Ihe seals, sealings, coins of foreign origin, and other
ascetic type of Avaloidtesvara wearing a dhoti instead artefacts from the Tissamaharama area.
of the usual animal hide is now in the Colombo 37. This discovery was made on 23 March 1946,
National Museum. Two more statues of the same at Maha-Illuppallama in the Anuradhapura District.
Bodhisattva, one ascetic the other princely types are When building a model farm, the bulldozer used
now kept in the Seruvila Museum. The princely type for levelling the land hit the statue which lay buried
is wrongly attributed to Maitreya or king by von for centuries. Senerat Paranavitana, who was then
Schroeder (1990, 262, no. 66 A). the Archaeological Commissioner, at the request of
33. For a detailed bibliography on this statue, see the villagers decided to leave the statue at the site
von Schroeder (1990, 106). (Paranavitana, 1959, 265-6); also, von Schroeder
34. von Schroeder (1 990, 106). Contrary (1990, 106). For a detailed description and a photo­
what has been written by von Schroeder, these graph of the Buddha statue found in December 2001
three elements were not found in 1955. but in in Tissamaharama, see Bopearachchi (2012, 53-7).
1984, in the presence o f Siran Deraniyagala 38. See von Schroeder (1990, 2 6 2-3, nos 66
under whose supervision these statues were E and 66 F), who wrongly attributes this statue to
removed. Schroeder, who could not examine Maitreya or the king. Vajrabodhi may have persuaded
the fragments of these statues personally, relied the king of Ruhuna to accept the principles and deities
on the black and white photographs produced of the Mahâyàna. See Perera (2001, 237-68).
by the Department of Archaeology and wrongly 39. Wrongly attributed to Maitreya or king by
attributed them to Andhra school of Buddhist von Schroeder (1990, 262, no. 66 B).
art. The mistake is revealing, because the close 40. Paranavitana (1983, 101, no. 104) translates
resemblance o f these heads to the Andhra style is the term 'patand as port’, while Falk (2001, 328),
remarkable. Well-conserved Buddha statues from who proposed a revised translation, uses the term
Amaravati-Nagarjunakonda are characterized by emporium’ where commodities arrive by land or sea.
the following features: left hand holding the hem 41. For an analytical discussion on epigraphic
of the sanghdti at the chest level; the sanghdti with evidence related to Mahàyàna Buddhism in Sri Lanka,
prominent folds is draped over the left shoulder; see Dohanian (1977. 2-29).
the urnd, a circular protuberance on the forehead; 42. Dohanian (1977. 18). based on the discoveries
and the usnisa, covered with snail-shell curls. made at Kanchipuram by Gopinatha Rao (1915). The
Some of these characteristics are found on the two main purpose of Amoghavajras visit to Sri Lanka, very
186 Asian Encounters

particularly to Abhayagiri-vihàra at Anuradhapura. Brohier, R.L. Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon,

was to acquire a library of esoteric texts (Sundberg 3 vois. Colombo: Ceylon Government Press.
2011, 194, n.lOO). Amoghavajra (705-74), born in 1934-5.
Samarkand of an Indian father and Sogdian mother, Bronzes bouddhiques et hindous de lAntique Ceylan.
who later became a disciple of Vajrabodhi, went Chefs-d’œuvre des musées du Sri Lanka, Musée
on a pilgrimage to gather texts, visiting Sri Lanka, national des Arts Asiatiques-Gulmet, 23 octobre
Southeast Asia, and India, 1991-23 février 1992. Paris.
43. Paranavitana (1993a, 60-2), Avalokitesvara Cave H. W. The Book o f Ceylon. London: Cassel & Co.
later emerged as Nàtha in the role of a powerful C ulavam sa: Being the M ore Recent Part o f the
national deity’ during the Gampola era in the 14th Mahavamsa. Translated by W. Geiger and C.M.
and 15th centuries. Holt (1991, 202-13) has dis­ Rickmers. London; Pali Text Society, 1930.
cussed at length the transformation of this bodhisattva Chakravarti. P.C. ‘Naval Warfare in Ancient
to a local deity. India. Indian Historical Quarterly 4, no. 4 ( 1930):
645-64.
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Bopearachchi, O. and R.M. Wickremesinhe. Ruhuna.
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Oxford: Oxford University Press. 19 9 1.
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Ingholt, H. Gandhàran Art in Pakistan. New York: Perera, L.S. The Institutions o f Ancient Ceylon Jrom
Pantheon Books, 1957. Inscriptions, vo\, I (3rd Century B.C. to 8 3 0 A.D.).
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ma-Pundarika, Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XXJ 2001.
(General Editor, R Max Mueller). Oxford: Oxford Sarkar, H. and S.P. Nainar. Amaravati. New Delhi:
University Press, 1884. Archaeological Survey o f India, 2003 (new
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Archaeology, Ceylon, 1983.
 CHAPTER 9

Viewing our Shared Past through

Buddhist Votive Tablets
Across Eastern India, Bangladesh, and PeninsularThailand

S u c h a n d r a G h o sh

T he production o f images on a mass scale was all such type o f objects. In this paper, however,
a significant ritual practice o f the Buddhist 1 have used the term ‘votive tablets’ to discuss
world. Image worship played a seminal role a set o f such artefacts made from moulds or
in the spread o f Buddhism. It has been said seals found in eastern India, Bangladesh, and
that across Asia, images multiplied and played Thailand, and to distinguish them from the
multiple roles-bringing rain, warding o if disease, more common sealings with x\\c ye dham m a or
offering protection and victory in war, and acting y e dh arm a verse stamped on them.*
as tribute in diplomatic missions (Skilling 2011, T h ese were diffused across Asia, thereby
3 75). Clay images from moulds or seals, often suggesting the m obility o f these tablets as
with x\\t y e dham m a verse popularly referred to voyaging objects or for copying o f moulds to
as the ‘Buddhist creed’ stamped on it, have been satiate the thirst for merit o f the devotees o f
found at many Buddhist sites, both in South Asia Buddhism. A closer look at some o f the pieces
and Southeast Asia (Figure 9.1; see colour plate recovered from Buddhist sites would show that
section). These are known as 'sealings’ generally there is much more to these tablets apart from
and as Votive tablets’ to be more precise. The them being a source o f merit. They could be
use o f the nomenclature Votive tablet’ to define studied from the perspective o f different motifs,
a certain set o f sealings has been questioned by art styles, style o f writing, and their use in
Peter Skilling (Skilling 2 0 0 5 ,6 7 7 -8 ) . According society as ritual objects. In spite o f their smaller
to him, as these objects were not produced as a size, some votive tablets possess incomparable
result o f a vow, they should not be called votive beauty and craftsmanship. It is important that
tablets. He prefers the nomenclature ‘sealings’ for we appreciate them as art objects and that they
190 Asían Encounters

should find their way to the museum galleries. an umbrella the size of a bakula flower - and were to
Even beautiful pieces o f votive tablets often lie put in it the verse of the Dharma relic of Pratityas-
neglected before other sculptural representa­ amutpàda, he or she would generate 'Brahmic’ merit
tions in many museums. {Brahmapunyamprasavet). (Bentor 1995, 251)
T h e term used in Indian texts for such tablets
T h e m ention o f this verse confirm s the
was sam cà or saccà, derived from san caka. The
presence o f Buddhist ideology. It was delivered
Tibetan loan word is tsha tsha, Tucci (1 9 8 8 ,
to the public in the form o f sacred words and
5 5 - 7 ) suggests that the term sacca is from
in symbolic objects such as Buddha images and
sat-chàyày perfect image, and also reproduced
inside stùpas. Peter Skilling mentions that the
image. T he common Thai term for a clay tablet
B odhigarbhàlan kàra recommends the practice to
is p h ra p h im {brah bim ), sacred printed image.
‘monks, nuns, lay men and lay women and again
The act o f making votive tablets or sealings as a
‘sons or daughters o f good family (Skilling 2005,
part o f meditation practice, religious exercise, or
6 80). The idea behind the insertion o f dhàranîs
merit making was in itself the main reason for its
is explained in an inscription, which states that
production. The motivation for the practice o f
the construction o f a single caitya (stùpa) with
making saccà can be understood from a passage
a deposit o f a dh àran ï inside it confers on the
o f the Lotus Sùtra which says that persons or
donor the merit o f the erection o f one lakh
children who erect stupas and make or draw
Tathâgata (Ghosh 1985, 1 7 1 -4 ). This is
Buddha images gradually accumulate merit and
called the Sarvatathàgatàdhisthàna sùtra. Thus
they achieve the path o f the Buddha, Thus, the
the ideological position here favours texts over
emphasis was on making and venerating Buddha
relics, for it is the texts that give rise to, and are
images and stùpas in early Mahàyâna Buddhism.
the source of, all the Tathàgatas (Cœdès 1926,
These tablets are intimately connected with
1 -2 4 ). We have representations o f stùpas with
the y e d harm a verse which is encountered in
the Buddhist creed from Nalanda, Bodhgaya,
votive tablets, pedestals, or the back o f Buddha
and other sites (Figure 9.2).
and b o d h isa ttv a images, clay sealings, etc.
Regarding the nature o f the votive tablets
throughout the ancient Buddhist world. Known
or sealings, Cœdès, following Foucher, opined
as the verse o f ‘interdependent o rig in atio n ,
that poor persons desirous o f acquiring merit
(Boucher 1991, 11), it was considered to be the
to ensure their rebirth under more prosperous
epitome o f Buddhist teachings. According to
conditions, found in the impression o f an effigy
Boucher, ‘this verse became a manifestation o f
upon a lump o f potters* clay, the means o f
Buddhas real presence at cultic centres —in the
accumulating such merit without the assistance
same way as relics were thought to infuse the
o f superior intelligence or wealth. It was thus,
living presence o f the Buddha in stùpas (Boucher
according to him, a pilgrims memento later on
1991, 15). It is said in the Pratìtyasam utpàda
turned into a holy icon, the cheap fabrication
sùtra that.
o f which enabled even the poorest people to
If a devoted son or daughter ol good family were to acquire a modest share o f merit (Kinnard 2 0 0 1 ,
make on an un-established place, a stupa the size of 1 -2 4 ), This view o f Cœdès has been questioned
an àm alaka fruit -with a yasti the size of a needle and by Peter Skilling (2008, 2 4 8 -6 2 ). According to
 Viewing our Shared Past through Buddhist 191

signifying son o f a noble family, and so, it could

not be a poor mans road to heaven.
As argued by Skilling, the sealings were truly
products o f a ritual ideology o f mass production.
This ritual ideology spread across the Bay o f
Bengal. We would like to suggest that they
could be both pilgrims’ mementos as well as
the products o f a ritual ideology manufactured
locally. We know that pilgrims travelling to
im p o rta n t religious cen tres carried hom e
mementos relating to a particular sacred space.
Therefore, votive tablets could be a very good
choice considering their size and portability.
Specimen o f such tablets could have been used
as models for further replication or innovation
in their own locality.
Another agency through which votive tablets
Figure 9.2 Tablet with stupas and the Buddhist
creed written all around, c. 8th-9th centuries CE. found their home in distant lands was that o f
Courtesy: Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, Kolkata. the traders. This relates to the strong connection
Photo: Suchandra Ghosh. between Buddhism and trade. Thus votive tab­
lets, like amulets, were voyaging objects and were
him, these sealings were not pilgrims* mementos. often carried from one place to another either by
He argues that Buddhist sealings are not the poor pilgrims or by traders. Textual references suggest
persons road to heaven. Many o f these were that it was mainly the monks who produced
produced by kings, members o f the court, and these sealings. We have the example from Xuan
senior monks. T h e repeated mention o f good Zang, as quoted by Skilling (2 0 0 5 , 6 8 0 ), that
family’ by the Buddha raises a question. How Jayasena, a master o f the sdstrasy a native o f
do we qualify good family’? We know that the Surashtra and an updsakuy in a period o f thirty
term ku la has been used to denote the family years, made seven kotis o f Dharma-relic stupds.
(Ghosh 1985, l7 3 ).T h e re area number ofways Xuan Zang was a disciple o f Jayasena for two
in which the ku la figures as a unit in the system years and studied a treatise, the Vidyd-mdtra-
o f stratification o f Buddhist society. It has been siddhi-mstrUy among many other texts (Beal
shown by Wagle that there were four kulas, khat- 1973, 153—4). Interestingly, Harsacarita^ also
tiya, brdhmamiy vessa, and sudra (Wagle 1966, mentions that while searching for Rajyairi in the
119). It is said that those who are born in high Vindhyan forests, Harsha met Divakaramitra,
kulas (ucca kula) are identified as the khattiya, a Buddhist monk, and he noticed models o f
brdhm am y and x\\cgahapati. This then indicates caityas stamped on pink clay set up in the
that making o f tablets was a prerogative only o f hermits’ huts (Cowell and Thomas 1993, 233).
the people belonging to high ku la if we take the We learn from I-tsing’s account that the Buddhist
expression ku la pu tta as used in the inscription monk, Sheng-chi, made one hundred thousand
192 Asian Encounters

Buddha images every day, according to the model and they will be occasionally referred to. In
o f the Lord» with clay, and recited one hundred case o f Thailand, the case studies are from the
thousand Hokas from the M ahà-prajfià-pàram ità peninsular region and are largely drawn from
sütra (Lahiri 1986, 45). the writings o f Pattaratorn Chirapravati (1997;
We would now like to discuss in this essay, 2 0 0 0 , 1 7 2 -9 3 ) and my visits to museums in
a few votive tablets from eastern India and Thailand. T h e choice o f peninsular Thailand is
southern Thailand, where one notices a shared guided by the prevalence o i M ahayana Buddhis­
preference in the depiction o f images from the tic tradition there from about the 8th century
Buddhist world. As mentioned earlier, these C E, M ost o f the tablets have been found from
tablets were voyaging objects and thus played the Nakhon SiTham m arat, Songkhla, and Surat
some kind o f role in the diffusion o f artistic Thani provinces. A comparative study o f some o f
traditions in South and South-east Asia and the tablets suggests that complex iconographies
China. By eastern India, we mean the present depicted on the votive tablets in eastern India
states o f Bihar and West Bengal. We also include were shared in the Peninsula, perhaps with some
Bangladesh as a culturally contiguous zone. innovations. T hese included representations
Art, sculpture, language, religion, and even o f Avalokitesvara, a central Buddha flanked
political authority helped to unite these regions by eight bodhisattvasy Buddha flanked by two
(Asher 1980, 5), identified here as eastern India bodhisattvasy images o f Tara, etc. T he tablets
and Bangladesh'. These regions were a part o f discussed here mostly conform to the period
the Pràcya desa o f the purànas. T h e Pràcya or from the 8th to 12th centuries CE.
eastern country o f the purànas may be broadly A tablet o f the teardrop type from eastern
defined as the basins o f the lower Gahga and India (exact provenance not know n) finds
Brahm aputra rivers. Along these rivers, we mention in the catalogue entitled Leaves from
have num erous ja n a p a d a s . T h e ja n a p a d a s the B odhi Tree (Huntington and Huntington,
o f the middle G angetic valley were M alla, 1990, 181, n .l) . T h e seated male figure has
Videha, Magadha, and Aiiga. To the east o f the been mentioned as a bodhisattva. T h e catalogue
middle Gangetic valley, we have reference to says, 'Bodhisattva sitting in a relaxed pose with
Paundra, Variga, and Malada. T h e Pràcya-desa his legs bent up and rested on his lotus pedestal’.
was generally distinguished from M adhya-desa, He holds the varada mtidrd. Just in front o f his
though in the Buddhist texts, interestingly, right arm is a worshipper. A branch o f a plant
Magadha in south Bihar is referred to both in is seen around the head. He is bejewelled and
the M adhya-desa and Pràcya-desa (Sircar 1967; the drapery also is extremely decorated. We are
Chaudhury 1969, 194). tempted to identify the figure as Khasarpana
T h e discussion will revolve around votive Lokesvara, with Suclmukha and Hayagriva on
tablets found from Nalanda and Bodhgaya, the his right and left. We know that in one o f the
rwo important centres o f Buddhism in Bihar seated varieties o f Avalokitesvara, Suclmukha
during the time o f the Pala dynasty. A few to the right and Hayagriva to rhe left are the
other tablets are also from eastern India but usual attendants (N. Bhattacharyya 1996, 45).
their provenance is not well-defined. There are The textual description in sadhan a no. 14 o f the
many more from Buddhist sites o f Bangladesh S adhan am ala more or less suits the image on the
 Viewing our Shared Past through Buddhist 193

tablet (Benoytosh 1925, 1: 3 9 -4 1 ; Donaldson

2 0 0 1 , 1 :3 5 3 ).
According to the above text, Khasarpana
Lokesvara wears the jatdm u ku ta, has the image o f
Amitabha on his head and sits on a double lotus
in the ardhaparyahka attitude. He is decked in all
sorts o f ornaments, has a smiling face, exhibits
the varada gesture in the right hand and holds the
lotus with a stem in the left hand. He distributes
the stream o f nectar that flows from his hand and
Suclmukha, who stands below with an uplifted
face, receives the same. T he cult o f Avalokitesvara
was very popular in South Asia and also in the
regions o f Southeast Asia. Nandana Chutiwongs’
study dem onstrates the wide prevalence o f
sculptures d ep ictin g Avalokitesvara across
mainland Southeast Asia (Chutiwongs 2002).
Fig u re 9.3 Four-armed Avalokitesvara. c. 9th-10th
Avalokitesvara was looked upon as a saviour. We centuries CE. Courtesy: Nakhon Si Thammarat
have the famous anecdote o f Fa-Hsien where he Museum, Thailand. Photo: Suchandra Ghosh.
narrates how Avalokitesvara emerged as a rescuer
when his ship was in the midst o f deep peril and from Yala and four types were recovered from
an impending shipwreck on his way back from Trang. A four-armed bejewelled Avalokitesvara,
Sri Lanka to China (Legge 1991, 112). Thus, seated on a double lotus pedestal in vajräsana
apart from the monks, lay devotees like traders has been found (Figure 9.3). T h e lower right
prayed to him while braving the sea. Osmund hand performs the varada m udrä and the left
Bopearachchi (2014, present volume, 1 6 1 -8 8 ) hand placed on the left thigh holds the stalk o f
has shown that in the Sri Lankan tradition, he a full blooming lotus flower. His upper right
was regarded as protector during sea voyages. hand holds an aksam älä and the upper left hand
Between the 8th and 11th centuries C E, holds a book. Some tablets o f this kind have the
Avalokitesvara images are prolific. In images y e dharm a stanza written in Nagarl script and
from the Pala period, the compassionate nature have been dared to the 9 th -1 0 th centuries. The
o f Avalokitesvara as saviour remains prominent, above-mentioned piece bears a close resemblance
conveyed by a variety o f iconographic details. to examples from Nalanda (Chirapravati 1997,
We learn that during royal processions, in the 35). Holding o f a book by Avalokitesvara gained
Samatata region o f present-day Bangladesh, the primacy in the Pala period in eastern India.
monks and lay devotees, followed by the king, There are several examples o f the six-armed
would carry an image o f Avalokitesvara, in front Avalokitesvara from Mahasthangarh, Gaya, etc.,
o f the procession (Lahiri 1986, 45). in which he holds a book. It has been suggested
Avalokitesvara was extrem ely popular in that Avalokitesvara’s iconographic scope is
peninsular Thailand also. Five types were found expanded in the Pala period to include, at times,
194 Asian Encounters

an unambiguous reference to Prajna (Kinnard

2001, 167). This iconographic expansion found
expression in a votive tablet from the Peninsula.
Thus, according to Kinnard, although Prajna is
not a primary part o f Avalokitesvaras character,
there does seem to develop in the Pala period a
sense o f Avalokitesvara as in some way a conveyor
or perhaps more in character, a protector, of
Prajna (Kinnard 2 001, 167).
Worship o f eight bodhisattvas was important
for a period o f several centuries over a wide
region. Ritual practices connected with the eight
bodhisattvas spread from eastern India to the
Peninsula and the practice entailed the installation
o f the plaques in caves (Skilling 2011, 377). The
central figure is usually Buddha or Vairocana.
The presence o f M ahd-vairocana-m andala tablets
and tablets o f male and female Buddhist deities
clearly confirm that Vajrayana Buddhism was
Fig u re 9.4 Tablet with representation of eight
practiced in the Peninsula by about the 9th
bodhisattvas, c. 9th-10th centuries CE. Courtesy:
century (Chirapravati 2 0 0 0 , 192). They bear Nakhon Si Thammarat Museum, Thailand. Photo:
strong stylistic influence from eastern India. The Suchandra Ghosh.
eight bodhisattvas are Avalokitesvara, Maitreya,
Akasagarbha, Samantabhadra, Vajrapani, Man- practice in the Peninsula, which was largely
jusri, Sarvanivaranaviskambhin, and Ksitigarbha influenced by eastern India. A round votive tablet
(B Bhattacharyya 1968, 8 2 - 9 9 ; M itra 1999, from Nalanda housed at the Ashutosh museum
3 1 -5 3 ). These eight bodhisattvas are represented (Figure 9 .5 ; see colour plate section) bears a
in different art media in the Buddhist world, representation o f this m otif Presently in a broken
votive tablets being one o f them. Tablets with condition and effaced, this tablet depicts all the
eight bodhisattifas have been found from Trang bodhisattvas found in the A sta-m aha-bodhisattva
and Surat Thani provinces in the Peninsula. A iconography, with Buddha as the central figure.
tablet from Wat Khao-Khrom is o f teardrop shape Another interesting iconographic representa­
(Figure 9.4). Vairocana is seated in the centre tion which bears testimony to interactions between
in dharm acakra-pravartana mudrà. Eight other the two regions is a standing or seated Buddha,
bodhisattvas encircle him, forming a mandala. flanked bv two bodhisattvas. The two bodhisattvas
Vairocana, together with these eight bodhisattvas, may represent Avalokitesvara and Maitreya. From
symbolize the universe. On the reverse, five seals Khon Kaen National Museum, Thailand, we have
bearing the ye dharyna formula are stamped. In the representation o f Buddha flanked by two
the opinion o f Chirapravati, these tablets are bodhisattvas, with branches o f a Bodhi tree above
significant records o f the development o f religious the halo (Figure 9.6; see colour plate section).
 Viewing our Shared Past through Buddhist 195

o f standing bodhisattvas are found in central

Thailand and also in the Peninsula. W hat is
unique about these images is that three cross-
legged Buddhas seated in m editation float
above the arch over the central Buddhas head
(Figure 9.8 ). The depiction o f this scene has not
been found in South Asia and so Peter Skilling
thinks that it is a Southeast Asian innovation
(Skilling 2 0 11). T he basic theme o f ‘Buddha
flanked by two bodhisattvas has been given a
Southeast Asian dimension by the addition o f
three floating Buddhas.
In votive tablets (provenance not known)
from eastern India, we have the depiction o f
Syama Târâ seated in a relaxed posture atop
a double-lotus pedestal. She leans against her
left arm, while her bent right arm is extended,
with her hand in the gesture o f (boon) offering
{varada m udrà). Behind her head, a halo with a
beaded rim indicates her divine status. Her left
Fig u re 9.7Buddha in vyôkhyàna mudrà flanked by hand holds the stem o f a (blue) lotus that rises to
two bodhisattvas; c. 9th-10th centuries CE. Courtesy:
Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, Kolkata. Photo: her left and identifies her as ^ yzrm T zrz. A stüpa
Suchandra Ghosh. appears above her right arm. An inscription,
probably the Buddhist consecratory formula, is
stamped around the edge of the design (Hun­
In the Asutosh Museum co llectio n , one tington and Huntington, 1990, 181, n .l). One
comes across a tablet representing Buddha in the cannot but appreciate the beauty o f this piece. It
vyàkhyàna mudnu flanked by two bodhisattvas, is comparable with the female type epitomized in
Avalokitesvara and Maitreya, each with a halo early Pala art. The overlapping folded rim is very
around the head (Figure 9.7). Buddha is seated interesting. Here we have the mould technique
on the central lotus and the bodhisattvas are with hand finishing at the edge. Tàrâ is the great
standing in flexion, each on a smaller lotus. The saviour, the guide. She is called ''jagat tàrim in
figures are surrounded with rows of miniature the Vipulasrimicra inscription from Nalanda.
stupas. T h e tablet is not well-fired, is o f whitish Bronze sculptures depicting Târâ have also been
colour and a little effaced. A similar type o f found trom the Peninsula (Krairiksh 1980, 178).
tablet, partly broken, as yet unpublished but one Large numbers o f terracotta votive tablets
that I had the occasion to see, has been unearthed bearing stüpas and stùpikàs have been found at
from the site o f Moghulmari in West Bengal. Ban Prawae in Pattani. Tablets with stüpa design
Similar type o f images depicting a central have also been found in eastern India during the
Buddha seated on a throne, flanked by a pair period under discussion. We have representations
196 Asian Encounters

votive tablets with representations o f Buddha

surrounded by stupas, and a tablet with eight
stùpas, surrounding a central one. T h e style
o f the stùpas is similar to the ones found from
Bodhgaya. Four lines o f the y e d harm a creed
are inscribed in clear legible form on stùpas o f
various shapes and types.
These tablets thus form a significant aspect
o f Buddhist interactions between eastern India
and peninsular T h ailan d . It may also give
us some idea o f the role these tablets played
in creating and sustaining the networks o f
cross-cultural exchanges in Asia. T h e location
from where most o f the pieces in the Peninsula
have been found deserves our attention. They
were mostly found in caves high up in the
m ountains, far from the maddening world,
and other such places deemed appropriate for
Mahàyàna practices. T h e sites were also often
very near the coast. Were these places then
pilgrim sites for monks and also for Buddhist
traders who frequented the coast during their
Figure 9.8 Representation of three cross-legged journey across the sea? This question arises from
Buddhas above an arch over the Buddha's head, a very insightful statement by Skilling: Tt is
c. 9th-11 th centuries CE, Courtesy Nakhon Si interesting to reflect that the hinterlands o f the
Thammarat Museum. Photo: Suchandra Ghosh.
Peninsula were the sources o f many o f the ingre-
dients-arom atic woods and fragrances-used in
o f different kinds o f stüpa% on these tablets. A Indian and Buddhist rituals’ (Skilling 2 0 1 1 ,
teardrop shaped votive tablet represents the 3 7 7 ). We know that the idea behind pilgrimage
Buddha seated on a lotus in bhüm isparsa m udrä relates to salvation and therefore pilgrims made
flanked by two stùpas (Figure 9.9). There is a halo arduous journeys for merit. It is not unnatural
around his head. A kind o f square tablet from that they would visit these sites in spite o f their
Yarang depicts a Buddha seated on a double-lotus remoteness. For the traders, these caves could
pedestal under the Bodhi tree, flanked by a act as halting stations where they could rest,
pair o f stupas. W hat we see here is that though perform religious practices, as well as collect
there is commonality in the theme, the artistic ritual ingredients for their next port o f call. Here
affiliations differ and the stupas from Yarang we may recall a source which is o f a later period
are closer to the Dvâravatî style o f stùpas from but may be useful for understanding the trade
central 'I'hailand and the stüpikäs from Yarang contacts o f the Peninsula. From Zhao Ruguas
itself From Nalanda and other sites too, we have (1 2 2 6 C E) entries o f the Zhu Fan Zhi on the
 Viewing our Shared Past through Buddhist 197

in trade as the Isthmus offered an alternative

route to the G u lf o f Siam. The Isthmus o f Kra
region, which featured in the earliest accounts
o f East-W est trade as an important entrepot
area, re-emerged as an alternative to the sea
passage through the Straits o f Malacca (Guy
1986, 6 - 7 ) . The land passage across the isthmus
was employed whenever disturbances in the
straits threatened the security o f merchants. In
the 9th to l l t h centuries C E , people started
travelling by the trans-peninsular route from
Ta Kua Pa to Ban Don Bay. A site called Thung
Tuk occasionally identified as Takola perhaps
linked the trade systems on the west and east o f
the Thai-M alay peninsula (Chaisuwan 2 0 1 1 ,
1 0 7 -9 ). Near Chaiya, there was a seaport in the
G u lf o f Thailand, called Laem Pho. Thus, the
western side o f the Peninsula traded with ports
on the eastern coast o f India and finally, through
the trans-peninsular route, commodities were
Fig u re 9.9 Buddha flanked by two stupas; brought to the ports o f the eastern peninsula. A
c. 7th-8th centuries CE. Courtesy: Asutosh Museum
port like Laem Pho could help in the transferring
of Indian Art, Kolkata. Photo: Suchandra Ghosh.
o f goods that were collected from India as well as
from the hinterlands o f the Peninsula to China
and countries like Vietnam.
trading ports o f the Malay world, at least six The tablets were recovered mainly in limestone
ports were known ro have exported laka wood caves on the east coast o f the Peninsula, that is,
in cen se-S h ep o (Java), Sanfozhi (Srivijaya/ Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phattalung,
Palembang), Boni (Borneo), Foluoan (possibly Songkhla, Yala, and Pattani. T h eir location
Kuala Berang, Trengganu), and D anm aling suggests a high probability for a coastal trade
(Ligor, now in peninsular Thailand) (Hirth and network among these areas. Thus, a merchant
Rockhill 1 9 1 1 ,2 1 ). ship having monks on board, moving along the
T h u s Ligor was an im portant source o f coast could probably use these caves as halting
laka wood, which was gradually gaining in stations and a place for ritual activities. Moreover,
importance in the Buddhist world. T h e role these sites share shapes and types o f votive tablets
o f the Isthmus o f Kra in this regard needs to which suggest regular interaction. O ne may
be interrogated. T h e trade network linking probe into this further and try to understand the
peninsular Thailand with eastern India has not importance ot the location o f these cave sites. In
yet been fully explored. Control o f the Isthmus case o f eastern India, however, they were mostly
o f Kra was crucial for any power interested found within the monastic complex.
198 Asian Encounters

jatd bh d ra (hair-knot) and three-quarters profile

view o f the face (Figure 9.10). An oval-shaped
votive tablet from N alanda housed in the
Asutosh museum bears a more-or-less similar
iconographical composition (Figure 9 .1 1 ; see
colour plate section) Avalokitesvara is depicted
with four arms, the upper right hand resting on
his head, indicating a pensive mood. He is seated
on a double-petalled lotus seat. T he lowest right
hand shows varada mudrd and the left hand rests
on the lotus seat. He is bejewelled. A beaded
halo can be seen around his head. Two lines o f
the Buddhist creed are visible at the bottom o f
the tablet. Thus, iconographic formulae o f the
sculptures influenced che making o f these tablets
with required innovations to suit the location o f
the object.
Along with these objects, amulets were also
som etim es recovered. T h e idea o f am ulets
was to ward o ff danger, or, for prosperity. Is
Figure 9.10 Plaque depicting Avalokitesvara from it possible to suggest that in some cases votive
Mainamati, c. 9th century CE. Courtesy: Mainamati
tablets could also perform the role o f an amulet
Site Museum, Bangladesh. Photo: Suchandra Ghosh.
for monks and merchants in the sea? This idea
comes from the fact that the most popular
Some o f the votive tablets from both eastern image to be represented on a votive tablet in
India and the Peninsula were so beautifully made both eastern India and the Peninsula was that
that they appear co be objects o f art. In such cases, of Avalokitesvara, who is regarded as a saviour,
it is not an ordinary lay devotee but a wealthy a protector. Some other Buddhist deities may
person who could have afforded to employ a be recalled in this context. Tara is also another
skilled person to make such objects. Preparation deiry who repels all fear and has been found from
o f metal moulds needed the skills o f a metal the coastal areas. Images o f Dipatikara Buddha
smith which was not possible for a lay devotee. calming the waves have come to light at Nakhon
There could have been monks who were trained Si Thammarat (Figure 9.12). Diparikara literally
and tablets or sculptural pieces brought from means a mariner who crosses the sea to reach
South Asia could have served as models for these islands and is actually an epithet for Buddha
monks. From South Asia itself, an example can him self (Chakravarti 2 0 0 4 , 3 1 2 ). Diparikara
be cited. A plaque from Mainamati, Bangladesh, Buddha could be related to merchants as these
depicts a four-armed Avalokitewara seated on the tablets were found from coastal areas where
principal lotus with attendants o f the deity upon people braved the sea in quest for riches and
smaller lotuses. Avalokitesvara is distinguished by these tablets could be used by them as a symbol
 Viewing our Shared Past through Buddhist 199

an important element for understanding shared

cultural practices across Asia.

A ckno w ledgem ents

1 am gready indebted to Dr Peter Skilling for

his unstinted support in my study o f votive
tablets. I sincerely offer my gratitude to the
authorities o f the Asutosh Museum o f Indian Art
(M r Shyamal Santra in particular), University o f
Calcutta; Indian Museum, Kolkata; Mainamati
Site Museum, Bangladesh; Khon Kaen National
Museum and Nakhon Si Thammarat National
Museum, Thailand, for allowing me to take pho­
tographs o f the tablets. Visits to sites in Thailand
were made possible through a financial grant
received from the University o f Calcutta under
the University Grants Commission-University
o f Potential Excellence project, ‘India’s Past
Cultural Fabrics in Southeast Asia: A Study o f the
Dvaravati Civilization o f Ancient Siam’. I thank
Professor Lipi Ghosh, principal investigator o f
the project, for her support.
Figure 9.12 Buddha Dipankara; c. 9th century CE.
Courtesy: Nakhon Si Thamnr^arat Museum,
Thailand. Photo: Suchandra Ghosh. N otes
1. Hiram Woodward also retains the term
Votive tablet’ in his article, ‘A Dvaravati Votive
o f protection. A study o f the tablets from the Tablet Reconsidered.’ even though he recognizes
Peninsula also reveals that the extremely popular that these tablets served functions akin to those of
device o f Buddha sitting in meditation within other images of the Buddha and were not necessarily
the Bodhi temple at Bodhgaya is curiously not votive (that is, expressing a wish, desire or vow)
represented much in the Peninsula. Nalanda, (Woodward 2009).
2. 'Ihe Nalanda copperplate of Devapaladeva is
rather than Bodhgaya. seems to have exerted
suggestive of the close interaction between the Palas
in flu en ce in case o f Peninsular T h a ila n d .
and the Sailendra dynasty of Java and Sumatra. From
T his perhaps relates to the proximity o f the
this inscription we learn that both Sumatra and Java
Peninsula to Srivijaya and in turn its relation to
were under the sway of the Sailendras during the
Nalanda. In this case, political relations played 9th century and the king Balaputradeva requested
a significant role in the dissemination o f artistic for a grant of five villages to Devapaladeva for the
trends.^ T hus, votive tablets, albeit a minor monastery founded at Nalanda by Balaputradeva
object in the vast repertoire o f artistic or religious himself. This may indicate interactions between the
expressions, also need to be taken into account as rwo areas (Shastri 1924, 322).
200 Asian Encounters

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 CHAPTER 10

Early Modern Indian Carpets as Media for

Cross-Cultural Interaction

Y umiko Kamada

India is famous for its textile production and it is was published.^ From 1986 to 1991, Nobuko
well known that during 1 5 0 0 -1 8 0 0 C E cotton Kajitani and Kojiro Yoshida carried out research
textiles were a global com m odity dispersed on imported textiles used in the decoration o f
through long-distance trade. In contrast to festival floats for the Kyoto Gion Festival (Figure
the history o f cotton textiles, which have been 10.1; see colour plate section).^ Their report
studied in detail by various scholars in the fields about their research published in 1992 includes
o f history, economic history, and art history,* 35 pre-m odern carpets from Persia. India,
Indian carpets have not been studied in-depth and Anatolia.^ T hen, in 1997, Daniel Walker
as a commodity. W hile most studies about published images o f 5 o f these Indian carpets
Indian carpets have focused on high-quality in Kyoto and attributed them to the Deccan
north Indian carpets, which were produced for for the first time (Figure 10.2; see colour plate
the Mughal court,^ carpets produced in parts o f section).^ In 1999/ 2000, Franz Sindermann
south India known as the Deccan, which appear tentatively attributed 3 carpets from Asar Mahal
to have had more significance as trade goods, and the Archeological Museum in Bijapur to late
have not received enough scholarly attention.-^ 17th-century or early 18th-century Deccan.^
W ith respect to carpet production in the Some years later, in 2 0 0 7 , Cohen and Jessica
Deccan, since the 1908 publication. M onograph H allett contributed a catalogue for a book
on the C arpet W eaving Industry o f Southern In dia entitled The O rien tal C arpet in Portugal, and
by Henry Harris,"* no comprehensive review was attributed 7 carpets in Portugal to the D eccan.’®
attempted until 1986 when Steven Cohens arti­ M ost recently, in 2 0 1 1 , Cohen published an
cle, ‘Textiles , in Islam ic H eritage o f the D eccan article entitled, ‘D eccani Carpets: C reating
 Early Modern Indian Carpets as Media 203

a Corpus’, in which he reproduces images o f Among them, more than 20 wool-pile carpets
4 silk carpets and 10 wool-pile carpets and were identified as belonging to an unusual
attributes them to the Deccan (Cohen 2 0 11). group o f carpets, different from both Persian
My dissertation entitled, ‘Flowers on Floats: The and typical north Indian carpets (Kajitani and
Production, Circulation, and Reception o f Early Yoshida 1992, 5 6 -6 9 , nos 1 1 -3 3 ). In 1997,
Modern Carpets’, focuses on Deccani carpets this group was named the ‘Kyoto Group’ by
(Kamada 201 la). Thus, it is only in the last 30 Walker, who proposed a Deccani origin (Walker
years or so that Deccani carpet production has 1997, 1 3 6 -4 6 ).
started to become the focus o f scholarly research. In terms o f technique and design, the carpets
However, it is not yet fully understood how o f the ‘Kyoto Group’ are similar to carpets from
and in what circumstances early modern Dec­ the Deccan. As exemplified by several carpets in
cani carpets were produced by Indian weavers, the Victoria and Albert Museum*^ and related
circulated by European traders, and received pieces elsewhere which can be safely attributed
in different cultures. T his paper will attempt to the Deccan, Deccani carpets are characterized
to document the ways in which this specific by angular scro llin g stem s and geom etric
group o f carpets was produced, distributed, and designs. In general, they have the following
u se d J' First, based on research on carpet collec­ technical features: the warp has 4 to 7 z-spun
tions in the United States, Europe, and Japan, undyed cotton yarns plied in the S direction
the stylistic and technical characteristics o f (Z 4-7S ); each weft usually consists o f 3 shoots
Deccani carpets will be briefly explained. Next, o f 2 to 5 Z'Spun (Z 2-5) beige or brownish cotton
the circulation o f Indian carpets by the English yarns; and, on average, Deccani carpets have 89
and Dutch East India Companies during the knots per square inch, which is lower than that
17th to 18th centuries will be described. Finally, for Persian and north Indian c a r p e t s .M o s t
this will be followed by an explanation o f how o f the carpets in the Kyoto Group have 4 to
Deccani carpets were brought to Japan by the 11 Z-spun undyed cotton yarns plied in the
D utch East India C om pany and how they S direction (Z4-1 IS ), 3 shoots o f Z 2 -7 beige,
were distributed in Edo-period Japan during pink, brown, or blue cotton weft, and 61 knots
the time o f Japans national seclusion policy. per square inch on average.*"* Such technical
As will be shown, Deccani carpets connected features are closer to carpets from the Deccan
India and Japan, through the conduit o f Dutch than to those from north India (Table 10.1).*^
traders, and thus functioned as a medium o f T h e Kyoto Group carpets also have similar
cross-cultural interaction. geometrized designs and some motifs in com­
mon. Therefore, as Walker suggests, the Kyoto
Carpet Production in the Deccan Group can be safely attributed to the Deccan.
These carpets in Kyoto are important because
Stylistic and Technical Characteristics
they are one o f the largest groups o f surviving
As mentioned above, in 1986, a research study Deccani carpets in the world and, in some
was conducted on textiles used for decoration cases, the purchase years o f specific Deccani
o f the floats that appear in the Kyoto Gion carpets can be identified from the Japanese
Festival (Kajitani and Yoshida 1992, 4 8 -7 1 ) . records.*^ T h e Kyoto Group is therefore an
204 Asian Encounters

excellent resource through which to expand and For Export

improve our knowledge o f carpets produced in
As will be discussed below, quite a large number
the Deccan.
o f wool-pile carpets with a variety o f designs seem
to have been woven in the Deccan specifically
Types of Deccani Carpets
for export. In this section, 2 types o f exported
As C o h e n m e n tio n s, th ere is h is to r ic a l carpets will be discussed: the star-medallion
evidence to support the assumption that the carpet and carpets with a pattern o f a scrolling
cities o f Ellore, W arangal, M asu lipatnam , serrated leaf.
and elsewhere in the Deccan were prominent
carpet-weaving centres (Cohen 2 0 1 1 , 13 and Star-Medallion Carpet
notes 5 - 8 ) . T h is section describes several O ne type o f exported D eccani carpet is the
types o f Deccani carpets that were probably star-medallion carpet, which was often depicted
produced in these centres; some o f these carpets in late 17th-century Dutch genre paintings. In
were made for local use and some were specially 1959, Brigitte Scheunemann made a diagram
woven for export. o f the layout o f the star-medallion carpet based
on such paintings.“^ W hen Scheunemann wrote
For Local Use
her article, no carpet with this design was known
In his d escrip tion o f the D eccan i city o f to exist, so she callcd them *eine u n bekan n te
Daulatabad during the reign o f Muhammad ibn teppichgattung [an unknown type o f carpet]’
Tughluq (r. 1 3 2 5 -5 1 ), Ibn Battuta mentions (Scheunemann 1959). Later, O nno Ydema also
the lavish use o f carpets in the bazaar (Cohen conducted research on this type o f carpet depicted
1986a, 113; Sastri 1972, 2 2 8 ). As depicted in Dutch paintings o f the late 17th century and
in 16th-century paintings from Bijapur and elaborated on Scheunemanns findings (Ydema
Ahmadnagar, carpets were essential furnishings 1991, 106, diagram 1). However, after the dis­
in the Muslim court in the Deccan.'^ Wool-pile covery o f Indian carpets in Kyoto, it became clear
Deccani carpets in Asar Mahal attest to the con­ that the carpets o f this ‘unknown type’ matched
tinued use o f locally woven carpets in the 17th 2 sta r-m e d a llio n ca rp ets, o n e ow ned by
century.*^ 5i^ carp ets or multiple-niche prayer K anko-boko (Figure 1 0 .3 ; see colour plate
carpets were also used in the Deccan.*^ A huge section) and one owned by Kita-kannon-yama
wool-pile Deccani carper with motifs derived o f the Kyoto Gion Festival.^-^ T h e Tokugawa
from Kirman carpet was probably used for the Art Museum also has a carpet o f the same type
d a rb a r (court) o f local s u l t a n s . I n addition (Figure 10.4; see colour plate section). Indeed,
to wool-pile carpets, fine silk-pile carpets were the diagram made by Scheunem ann bears a
also produced in the Deccan. A carpet dated clear resemblance to the actual design o f the
AH 1192 (1 7 7 8 -7 9 CE) in the Cincinnati Art medallion carpet in the Tokugawa Art Museum
Museum is a typical example o f silk-pile carpets (Figure 10.4; see colour plate section) with the
attributed to Warangal in the Deccan.^' These design o f the borders being strikingly similar.
silk-pile carpets were probably made for local Moreover, a painting by Jan Steen (1 6 2 6 -7 9 ) in
rulers or the well-to-do*. the Fine Arts Museums o f San Francisco (Figure
 Early Modern Indian Carpets as Media 205

10.5; see colour plate section) depicts a carpet A related Deccani carpet with a similar design
closely related to the carpet in the Tokugawa Art and woven structure has been used as a float
Museum.^^ In fact, there are many paintings in cover for another festival in Nagahama City in
which this type o f carpet is depicted.H ow ever, Shiga Prefecture. T he Gekkyu-den float o f the
to date, these 3 carpets are the only ones o f this Nagahama Hikiyama Festival uses fragments o f
type that are known to still exist. In terms o f a carpet with a pattern o f a scrolling serrated
technique, material, texture, and motifs, these 3 leaf (Figure 10.7; see colour plate section) as
carpets can be safely attributed to the Deccan.^*^ the side cover o f their float which was built in
Given the fact that the star-medallion carpet 1785.^* These fragments appear to have come
owned by Kita-kannon-yam a was purchased from a large carpet. The same pattern o f stylized
in 1791 (Kajitani and Yoshida 1992, 58), all 3 blossoms and buds in the border o f the carpet
carpets were probably woven in the late 17th to appears in a genre painting o f around 1664 by
18th centuries. the Dutch artist, Pieter de Hooch (1 6 2 9 -8 4 )
(Kersten and Lokin 1996, Figure 202).
Carpet with a Pattern of a Scrolling Serrated Leaf Additionally, Knole House in Kent, England
There are carpets in Japan and England which owns a carpet (Figure 10.8) which is related
indicate that Deccani carpets were not just to the carpet o f the G e k k y u - d e n .I n the
exported to the Netherlands. Three carpets Ballroom o f Knole, there is a large Indian
in Kyoto and Nagahama C ity in Japan and carpet (approximately 7 .9 6 x 4 .1 7 m) on the
in K en t in E n gland are exam ples o f the floor. W hile this carpet has been attributed to
same type o f exported Deccani carpet, with 17th-century north India (Walker 1997, 138),
a pattern o f a scrolling serrated leaf The it has the following features: a Z 7 -8 S white
design o f these carpets appears to have been cotton warp, a Z 3 -4 pinkish brown cotton
derived from 17th-century Persian sickle-leaf weft, a low degree o f depression, a low knot
carpets.^** T h e H oka-boko o f the Kyoto G ion count (81 knots per square inch), and granular
Festival owns a carpet with such a pattern appearance, indicating that it is o f Deccani
(Figure 1 0 .6 ; see colou r plate se ctio n ). origin. T h e scrolling serrated leaf design and
T h e woven structure, material, and texture technical features o f the carpets discussed here
all point to a Deccani origin. According to are commonly found in other Deccani carpets,
K ojiro Yoshida, docum ents preserved in the which strongly suggest that these 3 carpets can be
H oka-boko, which date back to 1744, do not attributed to late 17th- to 18th-century Deccan.
m ention this carpet. Since it is highly unlikely As described below, from the late 17th century,
that these docum ents would have om itted the Deccani carpets such as these seem to have been
reference to the purchase o f this carpet, it was more popular as trade goods than carpets from
probably acquired by the H oka-boko before Persia and north India.
1744 (K ajitani and Yoshida 1 992, 6 9 ). Thus,
this carpet can be attributed to the first half o f Circulation of Carpets by the E nglish and

the 18th century. A carpet closely resembling Dutch East India Companies
the one owned by the H oka-boko was sold at As is well known, from the 17th to the 18th
auction in Kyoto in 1910.^® century, the English East India Company (EIC )
206 Asian Encounters

Figure 10.8 Carpet, Knole, Kent. England. © National Trust. Photo: Yumiko Kamada.

and the Dutch East India Com pany traded Carpet Trade in North India and Persia
with Asia and distributed Asian products such
as spices, silks> cotton textiles, porcelain, and The English East India Company
tea across the world. A variety o f artefacts were
In 1608, the E IC arrived at Surat in Gujarat,
made in accordance with the demand and taste
north India and established a factory there in
in the West; for instance, in the 17th and 18th
1612, As early as 1615, the first consignment
centuries, Chinese and Japanese porcelain were
o f ‘Lahore carpets’ was transported from Surat
made after Dutch models for European clientele
to England. In 1616 these Lahore carpets were
and functioned as a medium o f cross-cultural
auctioned in London.^"* Later, in 1625, another
interaction.-^^ W hile little attention has been
30 Lahore carpets were mentioned along with
given to carpets from this point o f view, these
various kinds o f textiles as goods to be sent to
companies also traded carpets woven in Persia,
E n g la n d .H o w ev er, the E IC soon faced some
north India, and south India as trade goods, and
difficulty in its carpet trade in north India.
these carpets were used in both the West and the
As early as 1619, the E IC employees at Agra
East in different contexts.
 Early Modern Indian Carpets as Media 207

complained that large carpets were not available where he became president o f the local E IC
in local markets, but needed to be specially made council. Bell requested that the carpet include
and this took a long time and was expensive.^^ his initials, the coat o f arms o f the Girdlers’
In 1630. the president and council o f the EIC Company, and 2 crests with eagles that repre­
factory at Surat were instructed that: ‘Quilts and sented Eagles House in Wimbledon, a country
carpets should not be sent till asked for\^^ T he house built by Bell in 1613 (Irwin 1962, 2 and
E IC exported Persian carpets as well but faced 8), A record dated 25 January 1633 states that
similar difficulties with their procurement. In this carpet was shipped to M r Bell from Surat."^*
1622, a Dutch account o f trade at Surat and T h e minutes o f a meeting o f the directors held
neighbouring areas reported that the E IC annu­ in London on 2 April 1634 clearly describes this
ally sent 2 ships home with 500 to 800 bales o f carpet as a ‘Lahoare Carpett’.'^^ This carpet was
Persian silk, indigo, a lcatiji [carpets], and textiles used as a table cover by the Girdlers’ Company
o f various kinds.^^ From 1622 to 1 6 2 4 ,1 3 ships and consequently has some ink stains, but aside
arrived in England laden with Persian carpets from that, it looks like it is virtually brand new.
along with silks, cotton yarns, indigo, spices, Its high knot count enabled the weavers to fijlly
sugar, rice, and diamonds (Khan 1923, 16). represent the meticulous design o f the coat o f
However, these Persian carpets were expensive arms o f the Girdlers’ Company. Members o f
to purchase. A document o f 7 December 1626, the EIC also appear to have purchased Persian
which was sent by President Kerridge and the carpets on their own account quite frequently
E IC council at Surat to the factories in Persia, after 16 3 1, when they were allowed to deal in
states that carpets from Persia were so expensive ‘rich carpets o f Persia’ as private trade.
that ‘the C om pany had forbidden further
purchases’. B y the 1680s, the selling price o f The Dutch East India Company
these expensive Persian carpets in London had T h e D utch East India Com pany {V erenigde
become disappointing, so, in 1686, the London O ostindische Compagniey hereinafter V O C ) also
directors ordered the E IC representatives not to engaged in carpet trade in Persia and north India.
send any more Persian carpets."^® As early as 1616, the V O C established a factory
While the EIC was unwilling to deal in carpets in Surat in India (Boxer 1979, 16) and in the
from Persia and north India as trade goods, these 1620s, it established factories at Bandar-e Abbas,
carpets were often commissioned privately by Isfahan, and Shiraz (Boxer 1979, 16; W iniusand
E IC officials and others. As early as 1617, Sir Vink 1991, 2 1). From this time onward, the
Thom as Roe ordered a carpet incorporating V O C engaged in carpet trade across the world.
his coat o f arms, which was bequeathed to his An invoice from a V O C ship, the Sampson, which
cousin, Sir Henry Roe (Roe 1990, 3 5 2 , note left Surat for Batavia (now Jakarta) in February
1; Irwin 1955, 19 and 1962, 1). T he so-called 1622, mentions 32 pieces (2 packets) o f alcatiji
‘Girdlers’ Carpet’ is the most famous example ( c a r p e t s ) .I n 1624, a V O C document from
among these privately ordered carpets. Robert Amsterdam to the factory at Surat ordered 540
Bell (1 5 6 4 -1 6 3 7 ), the director o f the Girdlers’ Persian carpets o f good quality, 500 o f which had
Company ordered a carpet through Thomas Ras- to be 4 - 5 el (2 .7 6 -3 .4 5 m) in length and 40 o f
tell, who sailed from London to Surat in 1630, which had to be 7 - 8 el (4 .8 3 -5 .5 2 m) in length.
208 Asian Encounters

and all o f which had to be 2 .5 -3 .5 el (1 .7 2 -2 .4 1 The English East India Company

m) in width, or if Indian carpets were better
In 1 6 1 1 , the E IC established a factory at
quality and a good price, they asked instead for
Masulipatnam on the Coromandel Coast in
500 Indian carpets and another 100 [Indian]
the Deccan, an area which had a tradition o f
carpets as a sample and 30 0 Persian carpets; a
producing fine cotton textiles. These textiles
total o f 900 carpets.^^ It would appear that, in
became one o f the most important trade goods
1 6 5 1 and again in 1652, the V O C ordered 200
for the European com panies. T h rou gh the
carpets from Persia or Surat.*^^ However, it was
supply o f textiles, some south Indian merchants
costly and time consuming for the V O C to order
established stable trading relations with a variety
carpets from Persia (Floor 1999, 91). Therefore
o f European traders (Arasaratnam 1968, 5 8 2 -3 )
the Dutch used such carpets as diplomatic gifts
and, by the end o f the 17th century, Madras
for rulers in Asia, such as those in Japan and
had become the major centre for the export
China (Kamada 201 la, 2 4 4 -5 ), rather than as
o f Coromandel textiles (Marshall 1997, 2 45).
trade goods for the general market. Similarly,
According to K N Chaudhuris study, between
just as the E IC officials had complained, it also
1664 and 1684, the volume o f exported cotton
appears to have been time consuming and costly
textiles from M adras to England increased
for the V O C to order carpets from north India.
sevenfold (C haudhuri 1 9 7 8 , 5 4 2 , table C .
Seventeenth-century D utch painting rarely
21). Besides Masulipatnam, Ellore was another
depicts the type o f carpet that was typically
fam ous carpet prod uction centre near the
woven in north In d ia ,w h ic h might be because
Coromandel Coast. Sir Streynsham Master, the
these carpets were not major trade goods for
chief representative o f the E IC in the Bay o f
the V O C . H ow ever, as ex em p lified by a
Bengal from 1676 to 1681, visited Ellore and
17 th -cen tu ry n orth Indian carpet in T h e
recorded in his diary o f 1679 the existence there
Tokugawa Art Museum (Walker 1997, 5 8 -9 ,
o f a flourishing carpet industry originally estab­
fig. 52), the V O C did use north Indian carpets
lished by Persian immigrants and continued by
as diplomatic gifts for rulers in Asia.
their descendants:

Carpet Trade in the Deccan This Elloor is reckoned one of the greatest townes in
this Country, the King in his last progress comeing
As shown above, both the EIC and the V O C
to see it, where are made the best Carpetts (after the
started to deal in Persian and north Indian carpet
manner of those in Persia), by a race of Persians, which
from the beginning o f the 17th century; however,
they told us came over above 100 years agoe. I'he
because it was time consuming and expensive
manner of making them we saw, and is in brief thus:
to order carpets to meet their demand, these
-The Loome is stretched right up and downe, made of
carpets could not be used as major trade goods. Cotton threads and the Carpett wrought upon them
Rather, these carpets were acquired for private with the woollen yarne of sevcrall collours by young
trade or for use as diplomatic gifts. In contrast boyes of 8 to 12 yeares old a man with the Patterne
to carpets from Persia and north India, from of the worke drawne upon paper, standing at the
the late 17th century, those from the Deccan back side of the carpett, and directing the Boyes that
appear to have circulated as trade goods for a worke it how much of each collour of ¥ varne should
much larger market. be wrought in. And every thread being wrought, they
 Early Modern Indian Carpets as Media 209

share it with a pair of sizers, and then proceed to the Initially, Dutch factories on the Coromandel
next. (Master 1911, voi. 2, 171; Irwin 1956, 36-7) Coast procured textiles mainly for Asian market
beyond M alacca (W in iu s and V in k 1 9 9 1 ,
After the production o f carpets in Ellore had
1 6 -1 7 ). Later, along with the EIC , the V O C
come to the attention o f the EIC , in 1681, they
exported elaborately painted cotton textiles
requested that 100 carpets made in Ellore be
known as chintz to Europe. The V O C employed
sent to London."^® It would appear that the EIC
local merchants as textile brokers (Brenning
recognized the potential o f Deccani carpets as
1 9 7 7 , 3 2 4 ; W inius and V ink 1 9 9 1 , 19) or
trade goods. According to a V O C document
established their own textile workshops (Terpstra
o f 1683, the E IC ordered 1,500 carpets from
1947, 6 6 - 7 ; Yamawaki 1976, 38). From the
Coromandel."*^ These carpets were probably
m id-17th century, the V O C also appears to have
produced in production centres near or on the
been interested in carpet trade in the Deccan. A
Coromandel Coast, such as at M asiJipatnam,
V O C document dated 30 January 1666 clearly
Ellore, and Warangal. Some Deccani carpets
mentions that curious {curies) short-pile carpets
were probably exported through private trade
made out o f the hair o f live animals on the
because, while there were few com m odities
Coromandel Coast at Masulipatnam were sent as
which were reserved for the Company, regula­
samples to the Netherlands.^* It is not clear when
tions up to 1674 allowed EIC employees and free
the V O C started to export carpets woven in the
merchants to trade a variety o f goods privately
Deccan. However, given the fact that the V O C
in Asia, including carpets.^® As Marshall states,
was active in the textile trade on the Coromandel
‘the most spectacular growth in English private
Coast and that, as Ydema demonstrates, the
trade during the 17th century took place on the
above-mentioned type o f star-medallion carpet
Coromandel Coast’ (Marshall 1997, 24 4 ), and
attributed to the Deccan and related pieces are
therefore, Deccani carpets must have been easily
frequently represented in Dutch paintings o f the
accessed by these traders.
1660s, 1670s, and I680s,^^ it appears reasonable

The Dutch East India Company to assume that a large number o f Deccani carpets
were exported to the Netherlands and elsewhere
T he textile production o f the Coromandel Coast from the late 17th century onwards. A late
was important for the V O C as well. T h e V O C 17th- to early 18th-century Deccani carpet that
established a factory at Masulipatnam in 1605 was once found in Utrecht is probably one such
and several other factories on the Coromandel example.^^
Coast. In 1612, Hendrik Brouwer o f the V O C By the late 1680s, Bengal had become the
stated that: ‘The Coromandel Coast is the left focus o f V O C activity in India, remaining so
arm o f the Moluccas, because we have noticed for the next century (Winius and Vink 1991,
th at w ith ou t the textiles o f C orom an d el, 53—4). However, up to the mid-18th century,
commerce is dead in the Moluccas’ (Terpstra the Coromandel Coast was still an important
1 9 4 7 ,4 0 ; Winius and Vink 1 9 9 1 ,1 3 ). In 1619, place for the Dutch textile trade (Arasaratnam
the V O C established its central headquarters at 1997, 146). Given that the quality o f the carpets
Batavia; from here, the V O C could easily gain woven in the major carpet production centres
access to lucrative trade with China and Japan. such as Ellore, Warangal, and Masulipatnam
210 Asian Encounters

were praised in England as late as the mid-19th small amount o f Persian and Indian carpets were
cen tu ry ,carp ets woven in the Deccan appear to imported from the beginning o f the 17th cenmry.
have been available to the EIC, V O C , and private According to the diary o f the head o f the
traders throughout the 18th century. V O C s factory at Hirado, from the 1630s, the
A carpet in the Museu Nacional de Arte V O C occasionally brought Persian carpets o f
Antiga in Lisbon attests the wide distribution o f so-called ‘Polonaise type’ along with other gifts
Deccani carpets (Figure 10.9).^^ This carpet with for the Shoguns and high officials. For exam­
an overall pattern o f lattice and blossoms, which ple, in 1 6 3 4 , the D utch had an audience with
used to be in a convent in Evora in Portugal, is the Shogun Tokugawa lemitsu (r. 1 6 2 3 -5 1 )
closely related to an 18th-century Deccani carpet and presented him with a Persian carpet with
owned by Minami-kannon-yama o f the Kyoto gold and silver thread, a fine carpet with a deer
G ion Festival (Figure 1 0.2; see colour plate hunting scene, a Persian dress, a Persian table
s e c tio n ).T h is carpet type appears to have been cloth, a fan with silver handle from Surat, and
popular in India as well; for instance, the Jaipur other r a r i t i e s . N o r t h Indian carpets were
City Palace also used to own at least 9 carpets o f also used as gifts for the Shogun and other
this type.^^ Around 1786, a British portrait o f high officials in Edo (present day Tokyo).^*
Grant Heatly (1 7 5 1 -9 3 ), who joined the EIC Even in the late 18th century, carpets seem to
in 1766, by Arthur William Devis (1 7 6 2 -1 8 2 2 ) have been regarded as an appropriate gift for
depicts the same type o f carpet in the interior o f a Shogun.
a British residence in Calcutta (Figure 10.10).^® In contrast to these Persian and north Indian
These carpets can be attributed to 18th-century carpets, which were used mainly as gifts for
Deccan. It is highly likely that similar carpets Shoguns and high officials, som e D eccani
were imported into Japan by the Dutch in the carpets appear to have been brought to Japan
18th century to the beginning o f 19th century, privately by V O C officials, mainly in the 18th
as indicated by the fact that at least 1 carpet century. W hile the V O C had prohibited private
with a closely related pattern was auctioned in trade by its employees, the Japanese government
Japan some years later at the beginning o f the allowed V O C employees in Japan to engage in
20th century.^^ private trade within certain limits (Yamawaki
1988, 9 9 -1 0 0 ). Moreover, in 1670, Japanese
C a r p e t s b r o u g h t to J apan by t h e VO C translators working for the Dutch were allowed
d u rin g th e 1 7 th to E a r ly 1 9 th C en tu r y to set up a guild that offered a range o f benefits
to V O C employees engaging in private trade
During the national seclusion policy o f Japan
and the former acted as go-betweens, receiving
from 1639 to 1854, only Dutch and Chinese
commissions from Japanese p u r c h a s e r s .I n
merchants were allowed to trade in Japan. In
the same year, the V O C governor in Batavia
1609, the Dutch established a factory at Hirado
issued an edict ordering V O C employees not to
but from 1641 onward, they were forced to live
take certain commodities, including carpets, as
on a small island called Deshima in Nagasaki.
W hile the Japanese peoples encounters with private trade goods for sale in Japan.^"^ This edict
would appear to show that carpets frequently
foreigners and imported goods were limited, a
arrived in Japan through private trade.
 Early Modern Indian Carpets as Media 211

Fig u re 10.9 Carpet, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon (94Tp), with permission of Museu
Naclonal de Arte Antiga. Photo: Yumiko Kamada.

According to the 1741 diary o f the head o f Indian carpets were regarded by local officials in
the V O C s factory in Deshima, a local official, Nagasaki as suitable gifts for high officials in Edo
Takagi Sakuemon, personally asked the Dutch at that time. In the early 19th century, the Dutch
to sell him 6 ‘Bengali’ carpets because he was frequently brought carpets to Japan to fulfil the
desperately in need o f the carpets as a gift for orders o f various Japanese officials, especially
high officials in Edo. T h e D utch decided to those in Nagasaki who had strong connections
supply carpets because ‘Sakuemon is a true friend with V O C officials. For instance, according to
o f the Company and that refusal could have Chihiro Ishida. in 1837, 13 Nagasaki officials
very unfavourable consequences'/’^’ Probably received 23 large and small floral carpets (Ishida
these ‘Bengali’ carpets were not produced in 2 0 0 5 , 3 0 -4 7 ) . In 1838, 7 Nagasaki officials
Bengal, which was not known as a centre for received 12 carpets (Ishida 1997, 1 5 9 -6 3 ) and,
carpet production. Rather these carpets could in 1839, 7 Nagasaki officials received 18 carpets
have been Deccani carpets that were exported (Ishida 1997, 1 6 4-9). Then, in 1 8 4 0 ,4 Nagasaki
from ports in Bengal. This record indicates that officials received 6 carpets with floral design
212 Asian Encounters

Figure 10.10 Arthur William Devis (1762-1822), Portrait of Judge Suetor)ius Grant Heatly and Temperance
Neatly with Their Indian Servants, in an Interior in Calcutta, c. 1786. Private Collection. © Christie's Images/
The Bridgeman Art Library.

(Ishida 1997, 1 7 0 -2 ). Ishida points out that be attributed to the 18th to early 19th-century
many o f these ordered goods were later sold at the Deccan.*^^ Considering this fact, while it is not
official chamber o f commerce at Nagasaki (Ishida certain where the carpets ordered by Nagasaki
2005, 5 0 -2 ). Thus, some o f these carpets ordered officials were actually woven, some o f them are
personally by Japanese officials might have likely to have been made in India, and probably
been resold in the general market. Interestingly, in the Deccan.
more than 50 carpets that were once owned by Since wool was not locally available, there
several descendants o f Japanese feudal lords or was no tradition o f carpet making in Japan. The
prominent merchants were auctioned in Japan rarity o f wool-pile carpets increased their value
in the early 20th century and most o f them can and therefore people in the ruling class appear
 Early Modern Indian Carpets as Media 213

to have used imported carpets as a symbol o f and exotically beautiful material with which to
authority. For instance, the photographic portrait embellish what for them was the most important
o f Tokugawa Yoshikatsu (1 8 2 4 -8 3 ), a feudal Shinto festival/*
lord o f the Owari domain, shows him sitting on Reacting to Japanese taste and demand, the
a carpet in a dignified pose.^® Interestingly, the Dutch provided carpets with certain designs more
design o f the carpet is almost identical to that o f frequendy. For instance, carpets with a geometric
a Deccani carpet used on the Iwato-yama float o f palmette design on red ground (Figure 10.12; see
the Kyoto Gion Festival (Figure 1 0 .1 1).^^ colour plate section) was one o f the most popular
T he use o f imported carpets was not restricted types, probably because the dye used to make
to the ruling class. Long before the portrait o f such a vivid red was not easy to obtain in Japan,
Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, from the 18th century, and at least 30 pieces o f this type o f carpet were
dominant merchants in Kyoto started to use brought to Japan in the Edo period (Kamada
Persian and Indian carpets as decoration for 2011a, 1 5 4 -7 , pis 3 0 1 -3 1 ). Occasionally, in
their festival floats for the Kyoto Gion Festival. accordance with its use in Japan, the size o f the
This festival celebrates the Yasaka Shrine which carpet was designed to match that o f the Japanese
was built to honour the God, Gion Tenjin, who tatam i mat, which measured 0.95 x 1.91 m and
was famous for the power to protect the people was used in modular form in Japanese residences
from the plague (Tokoro 1996, 124). In the I4th (Kamada 2011a, 158, n .279). Carpets with a
century, when merchants increased their eco­ pattern of scrolling meandering palmettes and
nomic strength, those residing in the Shimogyo racemes were also popular (Kamada 2 0 1 1 a ,
area in Kyoto built large floats cdWcd y am a-hoko 1 4 7 -9 , pis 2 5 5 -6 3 ). The field pattern on this
and paraded them during the festival. According type o f carpet was derived from typical Persian
to Yoshida, the depictions o f the Kyoto Gion carpet design o f scrolling vines and palmettes, but
Festival on folding screens in various collections it was randomly selected to fit into smaller-sized
indicate that during the 15th to 17th centuries, carpets for the Japanese marker.
along with domestic textiles, imported Chinese
and Korean textiles decorated the floats (Yoshida C onclusion
1 9 9 3 ,8 6 ). However, as indicated by the descrip­ Earlier studies on Indian carpets mainly focused
tion o f the guidebook o f the Gion Festival, G ion-e on those from north India and, before the mid-
S a ik i (ll^ m ^ i^ s Q ), published in \ 75l7^ and 1980s, Deccani carpet production was not the
the depiction ot floats in an early 19th-century focus o f in-depth research. However, as demon­
folding screen (Kyoto 1998, 1 3 4 -5 ), Indian strated here, after the late 17th century, Deccani
carpets were used as float covers in the 18th carpets appear to have been preferred as trade
century. T his tradition was also followed by goods over those from Persia and north India.
merchants in Nagahama who decorated floats for Since major Deccani carpet production centres
the Nagahama Hikiyama Festival. Probably, these such as Ellore, Warangal, and Masulipatnam
rich merchants used Deccani carpets for their were located on the Coromandel Coast and
festivals not only because they wanted to display European companies had factories there and
their wealth, but also because they regarded these were already engaged in the textile trade, it was
rare foreign carpets as appropriately sophisticated probably convenient for them to deal in carpets
214 Asian Encounters

Figure 10.11 Carpet, Iwato-yama, Kyoto (no. 25). © Kyoto Gion Festival Association.

that were also produced in the Deccan. Deccani royalty, and wealthy m erchants. T h ey used
carpets were extensively distributed through these carpets to embellish their churches or
international trade networks by both the Dutch residences, and included them in their portraits
and the English, and used in different settings as a symbol o f their wealth, power, and status.
by Indians, Portuguese, English, Dutch, and At the beginning o f the 17th century, the EIC
Japanese. T he design and size o f these traded and the V O C started to trade carpets from Persia
Deccani carpets reflected the tastes and demands and north India, but they were still expensive.
o f the societies that actually used them. For W hen Deccani carpets started to be exported
instance, as mentioned above, many small-sized in greater quantities to Europe from the second
red ground carpets with designs o f geometric half o f the 17th century, carpets became available
palmettos were exported to Japan, whereas some to a growing merchant class, and became an
Deccani carpets for the European market have a affordable commodity that gave a sense o f the
border design which is similar to that found on exotic to everyday existence. As Maxine Berg
chintz which was very popular in the Netherlands points out, at that time, products manufactured
and England in the 17th and 18th centuries in Asia were ‘luxuries associated with a civilized
(Kamada 201 la, 1 7 3 -4 , pis 4 2 3 -4 ). way o f life, appealing to the middling classes’
In Europe from the I4th to the 16th cen­ (Berg 2 0 0 4 , 94). Similarly, in Japan, from the
turies, carpets from Turkey, Egypt, and Persia 18th century onward, imported carpets, espe­
were initially an extremely expensive luxury cially Deccani carpets, which had initially been
object only available to religious authorities. highly valued by the ruling class and received
 Early Modern Indian Carpets as Media 215

by them as diplomatic gifts from the Dutch, depending on the context in which they were
became available not only to the ruling class, used. Yet at the same time, these Deccani carpets
but also to the wealthiest merchants in Japan. maintained their characteristic Persian-derived
To display their wealth and sophisticated taste, designs or indigenous patterns. While the Jap­
merchants in Kyoto and Nagahama used Indian anese in the Edo period were not allowed to go
carpets including Deccani carpets as decoration abroad and their trade activities were restricted,
for their festival floats. nevertheless they were able to enjoy the design,
As internationally distributed trade goods used colour, and texture o f Indian carpets made for
in both the West and the East, Deccani carpets the Japanese market and accepted them in their
were modified in terms o f not only their size and own right. It can thus be seen that early modern
design by the traders for export, but also by their Indian carpets from the Deccan functioned as a
buyers in relation to function and significance medium o f cross-cultural interaction.

Table 10.1: Technical characteristics of carpets from the Deccan, north India and Persia

Warp Weft Pile Knot count Degree of No. of

warp Colours

Deccani carpcts Z4-7S Z2-5 beige/ Z2-3 wool 89 knots per square low to 7-9
in the V&A and undyed pinkish beige/ asvmm. inch (average) moderate
related pieces^ cotton brownish beige / knotted
brown cotton x 3

Deccani carpets Z4-11S Z2-7 beige/pink/ Z2-4 wool 20-132 knots low to 6-11
in Kyoto^ undyed brown/ blue asymm. per square inch moderate
cotton cotton (wool) x 3 knotted (average 61 knots)

Girdlers’ Carpet Z7-9S Z3 beige/pink Z2-4 wool 238 knots per moderate 11
from Lahore undyed cotton X 3 asymm. square inch
cotton knotted

Fremlin Carpet Z4S Z3 undyed Z2 wool 195-221 knots per moderate 10

from North undyed cotton X 3 asymm. square inch
India cotton knotted

Persian carpets Z4S Z2 undyed Z2 wool 184 knots per low 11

(MMA 22.100.77 undyed cotton X 3 asymm. square inch
and 53.214) cotton knotted (average)

Note: 1: V&A IM 147-1924, V&A IM 50-1 9 4 3 , V&A IM IS 05306, V&A IS 0770. V&A IM 148-1924, V&A IS
2 4 5 -1 9 6 4 , V&A 05312, TM R 63.00.15, MNAA 12Tp.

2: The numbers for the carpets in Kyoto are based on Kajitani and Yoshida (1992). no. 8, no. 9, no. 10, no. 11,
no. 13, no. 14, no. 15, no. 16, no. 17, no. 18, no. 19, no. 20. no. 21. no. 22, no 23, no. 24, no. 25, no. 26, no. 27,
no 28, no 29, no. 30, no. 31, no. 33.
216 Asian Encounters

A ckno w ledgem ents 9. Sindermann (1999/2000,32). Furthermore, in

2004, Sindermann and Bonani published the results
I would like to thank those in charge o f the
of radiocarbon dating for 7 carpets from Asar Mahal.
Kyoto Gion Festival and Nagahama Hikiyama See Sindermann and Bonani (2004, 18).,
Festival who kindly allowed me to publish images 10. Pereira and Hallett (2 0 0 7 ,174-9,cat. 1,8,25,
o f their carpets. I am also grateful to M r Kojiro 3 9 ,5 4 , 56,63). In this publication, there is a chapter
Yoshida, President o f the Kyoto Gion Festival by Cohen entided, *Iran or India?: The Relationship
Association, who kindly let me use the original between Their Carpet-Weaving Traditions’, which
photographs o f the carpets in Kyoto for this describes the technical features of Deccani carpets,
paper. This work is based on my dissertation and in which he states: ‘our knowledge of this subject
and was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid is far from complete. (Pereira and Hallet 2007, 128).
for Scientific Research (K A K EN H I). 11. This paper, which is based on research for
my dissertation, Kamada (2011a), was read on 1
Notes November 2011 at the University of Delhi during the
International Conference entided ‘Asian Encounters:
1. For recent studies on this aspect, see Riello and Networks of Cultural Interaction . Since then, related
Roy (2009) and Riello and Parthasarathi (2009). For articles, Kamada (2012) and Kamada (2013), have
an art historical approach to Indian textiles, see Irwin been published.
(1955 and 1956), Irwin and Schwartz (1966), and 12. Steven Cohen recently published images of 5
Grill (2008). Deccani carpets in the Victoria and Albert Museum
2. For the most extensive study on north Indian which were known or said to have come from the
carpets, see Walker (1997). Deccan in museum records. See Cohen (2011. figs
3. Even the principal book on the art of the 1.2, 9. 11. and 26).
Deccan, that of Michell and Zebrowski (1999), does 13. For the technical information about each
not mention the areas carpet production. carpet, see the catalogue section of Kamada (201 la).
4. Harris (1908) is a practical working handbook 14. Carpets numbered 8-10 are classified as north
about the carpet industry in the Deccan. Indian carpet in Kajitani and Yoshida (1992); how­
5. Cohen (1986b). In this article, he includes ever, as discussed in Kamada (201 la, 168-77), these
images of 5 pile carpets and 3 durries and assigns carpets are more closely related to Deccani carpets.
them to the Deccan. 15. Also see Kamada (201 la, 422, chart 2) and
6. Every float used in the Kyoto Gion Festival has
Kamada (2012. 118-19).
been maintained and managed by each foundation 16. According to Yoshida, a carpet owned by
of the same name. Kita-kannon-yama was purchased by Kyoto merchants
7. Kajitani and Yoshida (1992, 48-71). Daniel in 1752. Sec Kajitani and Yoshida (1992.64—5, no. 26).
Walker and Charles Ellis also joined this research 17. For instance, see Michell and Zebrowski
in 1986 and an English summary o f Daniel (1999, 152, fig. 112) and Hutton (2006, pi. 12).
Walkers analysis of these carpets is attached to their 18. See Sindermann (1999/2000, esp. 32). See
report. For a revised edition, see Kajitani and also Sindermann and Bonani (2004, 18, Table 1).
Yoshida (2012). 19. For examples of this type of carpet, see Pereira
8. Walker (1997. 136-46). Additionally, Walker
and Hallett (2007, 120-1. no. 49). Walker (1997.
published images o f 6 more carpets in various 134-7. figs 130-3). and Cohen (201 1, 125, fig. 26).
collections as Deccani examples. See Walker (1997, 20. At present, this carpct is in the collec­
122-3, 134-7, 144-5, and 148-9). tion of the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha. For
 Early Modern Indian Carpets as Media 217

images of this carpet, see Cohen (2011, 122-3, 2.55 X 1.28 m. I would like to thank Mr Kojiro Yoshida,
figs 2 2 -3 ), Walker (1997, 122-3, figs 119-20), President of the Gion Festival Yamahoko Association,
Cohen (1986b, 126, fig. 16) and King and Sylvester who kindly provided me with this information
(1983, 101, fig. 81). and image.
21. Walker (1997, 149, fig. 144). The Victoria 31. Nagahama (1996, 119). I would like to thank
and Albert Museum has 3 Deccani silk-pile carpets. Mr Eiji Morita, the head ofTamachi-gumi (Gekkyu-
See Kamada (201 la, pis 119-24). Two of them were den) and Mr Takeo Nishikawa, the director of the
also published in Cohen (2011, 114, figs 1-2). Nagahama Hikiyama Museum, who kindly allowed me
22. Scheunemann (1959. Abb. 1) and Ydema to do research on this carpet in April 2008. The carp>et
(1991, 100, fig. 101). has a Z4-6S white conon warp, a Z4-6 pink cotton weft
23. Ydema (1991. 107) and Walker (1997. 138). and a low knot count (72 knots per square inch). See
For an image of the star-medallion carpet owned by Kamada (2012,109,119) and Kamada (2013,60-1).
Kita-kannon-yama, see Walker (1997, 143, fig. 139). 32. Kamada (2012, 110), Knole was a late
24. 'fhe Fine Arts Museums o f San Francisco medieval archbishops palace which was trans­
62.21.1. Recently, another painting by Jan Steen formed into a Renaissance mansion by Thomas
appeared at auction. It also depicts this type of carpet. Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, in the early 17th
See CNY (2010, lot 21). 1 would like to thank century. The House and collection have changed
Prof Walter Denny who kindly drew my attention little since the days of the 3rd Duke, who added
to these paintings and provided me with images of Old Masters and British paintings toward the end
them. Also see Kamada (2012, 102-3) and Kamada of the 18th century. For a brief history of Knole,
(2013, 56, fig. 4). see Sackville-W est(1998,4).
25. For instance, a painting by Gabriel Metsu 33. For a detailed discussion, see Hochstrasser
in the Frick Collection. New York, also depicts (2004).
a medallion carpet with a similar outer guard 34. Irwin (1955, 18) quoting India Office (I.O.)
border design. For the painting, see Koss (2004, Archives, Court Book IV, 39, 69-70, 433.
112). Also see Kiers and Tissink (2000, 2 6 8 -9 , 35. Foster (1909, 93). Goods to be Provided
334, no. 180). for England. 1625 (Factory Recordsy Surat, vol.
26. Walker was the first to attribute these 1, 100 ).
star-medallion carpets to the Deccan. See Walker 36. Irwin (1962, 2) and Foster (1906, 161).
(1997, 138. 143. 146). For technical information, Francis Fettiplace, Robert Hughes, and John Parker
see the catalogue section of Kamada (201 la, cat. at Agra to the Company, 15 December 1619 {Official
nos 28-30). Correspondencey 827).
27. For technical information on these carpets, 37. Foster (1910,9). The East India Company to
see Kamada (201 la, cat. nos 33-5). the President and Council at Surat, 9 March 1630
28. For the images of these carpets see King and {Letter Booksy vol. 1, 25).
Sylvester (1983,46, no. 80), Alaoui and Leite (2004, 38. Prakash (1984, 234-6). An account of the
188-9), and Kamada (2012, 109, fig. 16). trade at Surat and the neighbouring areas, 1622
29. Kajitani and Yoshida (1992.69, no. 33). This (VOC 1077, if. 124 11-125 II).
example has a Z5-6S white cotton warp, Z3-5 pink 39. Foster (1909, 163). President Kerridge and
cotton weft and a low knot count (64 knots per square Council at Surat to the Factors in Persia, 7 December
inch). See Kamada (2012. 109, 119). 1626 {Factory Records^ Persidy vol. I, 210).
30. KBC (1910, no page numbers). 40. Irwin (1955,20) quoting I.O. Archives, Letter
(red ground floral pattern Banreki-sen)^ BookViWy 180. See also Ferrier (1970, 395) quoting
218 Asian Encounters

E/3/91, Company to Persia, 3 Sepembcr 1686 and see 52. Ydema (1991, 99-107) especially diagram
Floor (1999> 81). 1 on p. 106 and diagram 4 on p. 120. Sindermann
41. Irwin (1962. 2) and Foster (1910, 277), mentions that carpets related to Sheunemanns
quoting President Hopkinson and Council at unknown type’ are possibly from the Deccan and date
Surat to the Company, 25 January 1633 {O fficial to the late 17th or early 18th century. See Sindermann
Correspondence^ 1428). (1999/2000. 32).
42. Irwin (1962, 2-3), quoting I.O. Archives, 53. This carpet is currently in the collection of
Court Minutesy April 2, 1634, the Austrian Museum for Applied Arts, Vienna (Or.
43. Irwin (1955, 19) Royal Proclamation 349/1896/1907 HM Nr. 16731). See Völker (2001,
(Public Records Office, London, S.P 45, vol. 10, 3 26-7. no, 120).
no, 150). 54. See Royle (1852, 375), Watt (1987, 441),
44. Prakash (1984, 193-4), quoting VOC 1076, Watson (1866. 142), and Hawley (1970. 260).
ff. 395-6. 55. Pereira and Hallett (2007, 178, cat. 51. 94
45. Dunlop (1930, 130). Van Bewindhebbers, Tp). I would like to thank Dr Jessica Hallett who
Amsterdam, aan her Kantoor, Suratte, December drew my attention to this carpet, I would also like
1624 (R.A., Kol. no. 452). Ydema (1991, 78), and to thank Dr Teresa Pacheco Pereira who enabled me
Hartkamp-Jonxis (1997, 406). One el is about to examine this carpet. This carpet has a Z5S white
69 cm. cotton warp, Z3-4 beige cotton weft and very low
46. Spuhler, Melbye-Hansen and Thorvildsen knot count (35 knots per square inch).
(1987. 15. notes 44-5) quoting ARA, VOC 102, p. 56. Walker (1997, 141, fig. 137; 173, cat. no.
165 for the record of 1651 and ARA, VOC 102. p. 41); Kamada (2013. 58-9. fig. 7)
247 for the record of 1652. 57. Formerly in the Jaipur City Palace, nos 74,
47. See Ydema (1986, esp. 206) and Ydema (1991, 91, 117, 118, 126, 135, 138, 189, 190; Kamada
81). For examples of north Indian carpets, see Ydema (2012, 107).
(1991,76, figs 72-3). 58. CLO (2005, lot 16); Kamada (2012, 107).
48. Irwin (1956, 37) quoting I.O. Archives, Letter 59. KBC (1915, lot 562). I would like to thank
Book VI, 256, a letter dated 5 January 1681, See Mr Kojiro Yoshida who kindly provided me with
also Master (1911, vol. 1, 88), who refers to Factory images of auctioned carpets.
Records, Fort St. George, vol. 19. 60. Historiographical Institute (1976, vol. 1-1,
49. Coolhaas (1971. 630) quoting Speelman, 40-2); Kamada (2013, 56).
Bore, Hurdt, Van Outhoorm, Camphuys, Pit. enz. 61. For instance, in 1640, the VOC brought 2
IX, 31 December 1683. See also Floor (1999, 77). carpets from Agra. See Hirado City Historiography
1 would like to thank Dr Isabel van Daalen for her Committee (1998, 255). As mentioned above, The
kind help in reading this document. Tokugawa Art Museum still owns a finely woven 17th
50. Sainsbury (1935, 23-4) quoting A Court of north Indian carpet. See Walker (1997,58-9, fig. 52).
Committees, 19 February 1674 {Court Book, vol. 62. For instance, in 1777, rhe head o f the
XXVIII, 398). See also Winius and Vink (1991, 58) Deshima factory, Hendrick Godfried Duurkoop,
and Farrington (2002, 77). was advised that he should present 2 carpets each
51. Coolhaas (1968, 5 0 1 -2 ). Maetsuyker, to the Shogun Tokugawa leharu (r. 1760-86) and
Hartsinck, Verburch, Pit, Overtwater, enz. XXXV, 30 his crown prince in the following year. See Van der
January 1666. See also Ydema (1991, 79). I would Velde and Vialle (1995. 165). The same issue is
like to thank Dr Isabel van Daalen for her kind help mentioned in Blussé, Remmelink, Vialle and van
in reading this document. Daalen (2004, 408).
 Early Modern Indian Carpets as Media 219

63. Yamawaki (1988, 100) and Nagazumi (1994, Singaravelu). Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya,
322-3). According to Nagazumi, around the 1660s 1968.
to 1670s. private trade constituted about 25 to 50 Arasaratnam, Sinnappah. ‘The Dutch East India
per cent of the total volume of trade. Company and Its Commercial Trade 1700-1740’.
64. Van derChijs (1886, 509-12) and Nagazumi In Om Prakash, ed., European C om m ercial
(1994,323). I would like to thank Ms Anna Koopstra Expansion in Early Modem Asia, 129-50. Vermont:
for her kind help in reading this document. Ashgate, 1997.
65- The number of carpets brought to Japan Berg, Maxine. ‘In Pursuit of Luxury: Global History
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 About the Editors and Contributors

E ditors

Upinder Singh is Professor in the Department Parul Pandya Dhar is Associate Professor o f Art
o f History, University o f Delhi. Her research History in the Department o f History, University
p u blications range over various aspects o f o f Delhi. Her research focuses on ancient Indian
ancient Indian social, econom ic, religious, sculpture and architecture, and early Asian cul-
intellectual, and cukural history; the history o f rural interactions, especially the architecture and
Indian archaeology; and the modern histories o f iconography o f cross-cultural exchange between
ancient sites and monuments. She is the author South and Southeast Asia. She has authored The
o f Kings, BrdhmanaSy a n d Temples in Orissa: An Torana in Indian a n d Southeast Asian Architecture
Epigraphic Study (AD 3 0 0 -1 ¡4 7 ) A ncient (2 0 1 0 ), edited In d ian A rt H istory: C hanging
D elhi (1999, 2nd edition 2006); The Discovery P erspectives (2 0 1 1 ), and co-edired C u ltu ral
o f A ncient In d ia: Early A rchaeologists a n d th e In terface o f In d ia w ith A sia: Religion, A rt a n d
Beginnings o f A rchaeobgy{2004)\ 3n\d A History o f A rchitecture (2004), besides contributing papers
A ncient a n d Early M edieval In dia: From the Stone on issues in Indian art historiography, architec-
Age to the Twelfth Century tural history, and artistic exchange in ancient
D elh i: A ncient H istory (2 0 0 6 ); A ncient In d ia: Asia. An alumnus o f Kalakshetra, Chennai, she
N ew Research (co-edited with Nayanjot Lahiri, is rooted in the theory and practice o f Indian
2 009); Rethinking Early M edieval In dia (2011); performing and visual arts, and has been a noted
and a book for children, M ysteries o f the Past: Bharatanaryam artiste, an aspect that deeply
A rchaeobgicalS ites in In dia (2002). In 2009, she influences her academic work. She was awarded
was awarded the Infosys Prize in Social Sciences by the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship at the
the Infosys Science Foundation, She is currently Freie Universitiet, Berlin, during 2 0 0 7 -8 , and the
working on political ideas in ancient India. Nehru Trust Research Grant, London, in 2004.

C ontributors

Osmund Bopearachchi is Director o f Research Doctoral School VI o f the Paris IV-Sorbonne

at the French National Centre for Scientific University. He has w ritten extensively on
Research (C .N .R .S ., E .N .S. Paris), and Visiting numismatics and trade. As aTrung Lam Visiting
Professor o f Central Asian and South Asian Scholar in Central Asian Art and Archaeology
archaeology and art history and member o f the ( 2 0 1 0 - 1 3 ) at the University o f C alifornia,
226 About the Editors and Contributors

Berkeley, he is working on a new catalogue o f Her PhD was on the significance o f goddess
Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek coins, and a images at three different Angkor period sites in
pubhcation on masterpieces from Gandhära Cambodia, dating between the early 10th and
and Greater Gandhära. He is Director o f the 12th centuries C E. Rather than treating source
Sri Lanka-French Archaeological Mission. His materials as isolated units, her dissertation
joint project with the Departm ent o f Near- explores how images, monuments, landscape,
Eastern Studies o f the University o f California myth, and performance have fluid boundaries,
at Berkeley focuses on Sri Lankas role in ancient connecting with and inform ing each other,
Indian Ocean trade. He is currently excavating thereby profoundly influencing the role o f
the m ost ancient shipwreck in the Indian the feminine at these sites. She works on early
Ocean in collaboration with the Department o f Southeast Asian history, religion, p olitics,
Archaeology, Sri Lanka, INA, University Texas and art; connections between built forms and
A & M , University o f California at Berkeley, landscape; gender studies; and trade networks
and C N R S. betw een S o u th ea st Asia and So u th Asia.
Since June 2 0 1 1 , she has been additionally
Suchandra Ghosh obtained her PhD from the working as the coordinator for the Science and
University o f Calcutta and is Associate Professor Society Programme at the National Centre for
in the Department o f Ancient Indian History & Biological Sciences, Bangalore.
Culture, University o f Calcutta. She has been
the recipient o f the Charles Wallace Visiting Yum iko Kam ada is Assistant Professor at Keio
fellowship, Nehru Trust U K Travel Award, and University. Tokyo, specializing in Islamic art.
visiting fellowships from the Maison des Sciences After receiving her MA from the University
de rhom m e, Paris. Her areas o f interest are the o f Tokyo (2 0 0 4 ). she entered the Institute
political and cultural history o f the north-western o f Fine Arts. New York University, and was
part o f the subcontinent and Indias involvement awarded a PhD in 2 0 1 1 . She has worked as
in Southeast Asian and Indian O cean trade a Jan e and Morgan W hitney Fellow at the
networks. She is a co-investigator in two projects Metropolitan Museum o f Art during 2 0 0 8 -1 0
related to Indias past linkages with Thailand and and subsequently at the Waseda Institute for
Vietnam. She has published more than forty Advanced Study, Waseda University, Tokyo,
articles in national and international journals. as Assistant Professor during 2 0 1 1 - 1 4 . Her
She is the editor o f volumes X X V I and X X V II publications include ‘A Taste for Intricacy: An
o f the Jo u rn a l o f A ncient In dian H istory and the Illustrated M anuscript o f M an tiq al-T ay r in
principal editor o f Revisiting Early In d ia: Essays in the Metropolitan Museum o f Art’ in O rient A5
M em ory o f D .C . Sircar(2Q\3>), Her forthcoming (2010) and ‘T he Attribution and Circulation o f
monograph is entided From the Oxas to the Indus: Flowering Tree and Medallion Design Deccani
A Politico-Econom ic Study (V. 3 rd century B C E -1 st Embroideries’ in Sultans o f the South: Arts o f
century BC E). Indians D eccan Courts, 1 3 2 3 -1 6 8 7 (2 0 1 1 ). She
is currently working on a monograph on the
So u m y a Ja m e s received her MA and PhD production, circulation, and reception o f early
in A rt H isto ry from C o rn e ll U niversity. modern Indian carpets.
 About the Editors and Contributors 227

H erm ann K ulke is Professor Emeritus o f Asian Su ltanate (2 0 0 7 ) and The Present in Delhi*s Pasts
History, Kiel University. He did his PhD in (Three Essays Collective, 2 0 0 2 ). Among his
Indology on the temple city o f Chidambaram edited publications are D em olishin g M yths or
(1 9 6 7 ) and D . Litt (H abilitation) on Gajapati M osques a n d Temples? (Three Essays Collective,
kingship and the Jagannath cult (1 9 7 5 ). He 2 0 0 8 ) , an d , w ith R ich ard E a to n , D avid
was Reader and Professor in Indian History G ilm artin , and M unis Faruqui, E x p an d in g
at th e S o u th A sia In s titu te , H e id e lb e rg F ron tiers in S ou th A sian a n d W orld H istory
( 1 9 6 7 - 8 8 ) ; Visiting Professor, Bhubaneswar (2 0 1 3 ). Professor Kumar is also joint managing
(1 978/ 79), Asiatic Society, Kolkata (1 9 8 6 ), editor o f the journal T he In d ian E conom ic a n d
and Jaw ah arlal N ehru U n iv ersity , D elh i S o cia l H istory R eview .
(1 9 8 2 ); Research Fellow, Institute o f Southeast
Asian Studies, Singapore (1 9 8 7 ), and Asia Tansen Sen is Associate Professor o f Asian
Research In stitu te, Singapore (2 0 0 7 ) ; and h isto ry and relig ion s at B aru ch C o lle g e,
Coordinator o f the Orissa Research Project o f T h e City University o f New York. He is the
the German Research Council (1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 5 ). author o f Buddhism^ D iplom acy, a n d Trade:
He was awarded the G old M edal by the T h e R ealig n m en t o f S in o -In d ia n R elation s,
A siatic Society, K olkata, in 2 0 0 6 and the 6 0 0 -1 4 0 0 (2 0 0 3 ) and co-author (with V ictor
Padma Shri in 2 0 1 0 . His publications include H. Mair) o f T rad ition al C h in a in A sian a n d
D evaraja C u lt (1 9 7 8 ); Kings a n d Cults: State W orld H istory (2 0 1 2 ). He has guest-edited
F o rm a tio n a n d L e g itim a tio n in In d ia a n d special issues o f C hin a R eport (‘Kolkata and
S o u th ea st A sia ( 1 9 9 3 ) ; T he S ta te in In d ia C hina [2 0 0 7 ] and ‘Studies on Ind ia-C hina
1 0 0 0 -1 7 0 0 (ed., 1995/ 2013); N agapattinam to Interactions Dedicated to Ji Xianlin’ [2 0 1 2 ]).
S u varn adw ipa: R eflections on th e C hola N av al W ith Wang Bangwei, he has co-edited In d ia
E xpeditions to Southeast A sia (ed., 2 0 0 9 ); znAA a n d C h in a: In teraction s through B uddhism a n d
H istory o f Indiay together with D . Rothermund D iplom acy— A C ollection o f Essays by Professor
(5th edition 2 0 1 0 ). P rabodh C han dra B agchi (2 0 1 1 ).

S u n il K um ar is Professor o f medieval history G e o f f W ade researches Asian in teraction s

in the D epartm ent o f History, University o f th ro u g h tim e , w ith a fo cu s on C h i n a -
D elhi. Amidst other visiting appointm ents, Southeast Asia relations. He developed the
he has also taught, most recently 2 0 0 8 - 1 0 , C hina-A SEA N and C h in a-In d ia Projects at
at the School o f O riental and African Studies the C entre o f Asian Studies, University o f
(S O A S), London University, and earlier at H ong Kong and subsequently worked with
the École pratique des hautes études (E P H E) the Southeast A sia-C hina C.luster o f the Asia
( 2 0 0 6 ) and É c o le des h au tes étu d es en Research In stitu te, N ational U niversity o f
sciences sociales (E H E S S) (2 0 0 1 ) in Paris. He Singapore, and the Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre
was Templeton Scholar in Residence at the o f rhe Institute o f South East Asian Studies,
University o f California at Berkeley (2 0 0 8 ). Singapore. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at
Apart from several articles, his book publi­ the College o f Asia and the Pacific, Australian
cations include: T he E m ergence o f th e D elh i National University.
 ndex

Abidin. Zainul 33 autochthonism 13

Afghans 94. 103 Ava-Burma 22 -3 , 25 -6 , 32
Ajanta caves 164, 166, 167, 183 Avalokitewara xix-xxi, 1 1 2 -1 3 ,1 2 3 -7 , 129, 131-4,
Alagakkonara 81nl3; capture o f7 0 -l 162-6, 168, 170-1, 173-4, 176-9, 192-5, 198;
Alakesvarayuddhaya 72 cult xix-xx 173; iconography of xx
‘Ala al-Din Khalaji 96, 98-9 Ayalon 90
Alaungsithu 48
Ali, Daud 14-15 Ba Shin 49
Altunia 96 Ba-bai/Da-dian 22, 2 5 -6
Aluonashun 65-7 Bahri Mamluks 100
Amaravati /Amaravati 9, 121-2, 162, 173, 178; Bai-yi (Mong Mao) polity 21, 25
bronze Buddha 121-3, 130; Buddha statue at Balaputra/Balaputradeva 46, 4 7 -8
Badu Watta 176; School of 121, 177 Balavarman 47
Amir Hasan Sijzi 90 Balban. Ghiyas al-Din Balban
Amir Khusrau 96-7 Banabhatta 70
Amitabha Buddha 119-21, 129, 133, 163, 171, 193 bandits (MW) 38
Amrtaghatesvara temple, Thanjavur 59n23 Banteay Srei in Cambodia xviii, 141—2; temple xix
Angkor 6, 12, 55-6, 138, 140, 147 Barani. SeeTAyz al-Din Barani
Angkor Vat 4 Barua, B. M. 50
An-nan 26, 28 Batu 92. See also Golden Horde
Anuradhapura 171 Bell, Robert 207
Aoyama Toru 11 Berg, Maxine 215
Arakan 48-51, 54, 59 Bhagavatl Mahisasura 152
arhats 125-6, 128 Bhima 145. /zZii?Jarasandha
Arkali Khan 98-9 Bhrgu (sage) 112
Arunasa 75 Black and Red Ware 173, 175-6. See also Godavaya
Asoka 49, 51-2 Bodawpaya 5 1
Astamahabhaya Avalokitesvara xx, 164 Bodh Gaya xvi, 46, 48-52, 56, 77; Burmese endow­
Asta-maha-hodhisattva 194 ments at 4 8-52; inscriptions at 51; Slddharthas
Asvavarman 7 enlightenment in 50
 Index 229

Bodhigarbhàlahkàra 190 Chinggisids 86, 99

Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Lokesvara or Lokanàtha) Chirapravati 192-4
xix-xx, 112, 161-3. 178-9 Chutiwongs, Nandana 119-20. 123, 128, 165, 193
bodhisattvas xx, 115, 123, 125-6, 128-9, 162-3, Cœdès, Georges xiv. 5, 7, 12. 55. 139, 145, 190
170-1. 1 7 3 ^ . 190. 192. 194-5; in female form Cohen. Steven 202-3
123 Cola xvi. 5 2-8. 65; inscriptions 53-5; invasion of
Boisselier, Jean 114, 117, 122-3, 128 Srivijaya 54, 79; kings 57; naval expedition of
Borobudur 4, 11 79; patronage 55
Bosch. E D. K. 4, 11 Colossal Buddhas 117-21, 128-9
Briggs, L. P. 6 -7 . 138 Cosmopolitanism xxii
Bronkhorst» Johannes 14 cotton textiles 202
Brouwer, Hendrik 209 Cravath, Paul 147-9, 152
Buddhism xvii-xix. xxi. 50. 54, 5 6 .7 2 -3 ,7 6 -8 . 112. Cùlâmanivarman 53
126. 16!. 189. 191-2 Cüjämanivarma-vihära 53—4
Buddhist: relics 69-70, 7 3 -9 ; sahgha 49-50; vihàra
at Nagapattinam 55 Dà Nàng Museum xviii. 111, 115, 117-19. 121.
Burmese, endowments at Bodh Gayà xvi; inscriptions 128. 130
49-52 Dai Viet Su' KyToànThu, 28
Dai Viet/Dgi Ngu. 2 2 .2 6 -3 1 .3 3 ,3 6 -7 ,1 1 1 ; Ming
Cakradhatu 112 Invasion of 26—30. 3 6 -7
cakravartin 57 Da-li 21
Calukya temples 9 dasht'i Qipchaq 88. 100-1
Cambodia xix. 112. 123, 138-41. 143-4, 147-9, Daulatabad 204
151 ; culture of xix; Durgâ in 144—6, 153; feminine de Casparis , J. G. xiv. 5
in Khmer Art 140-1; polity xviii, 111; Siva in de Hooch, Pieter 205
Angkor period 143-4; sculptures 123 Delhi Sultanate xvii, 8(>-94. 100-3; and Mongols
Campà/Champa xviii. 28. 64. 67. 111-13, 115. 94-102
119-21. 123. 129, 131-4. 152 Devahuti, D. 65
Carpeaux 118-19, 126 Devapàladeva, Pàla king 46-8
carpets of Deccan 202; characteristics o f 2 0 3 -4 ; Dhammasoka 49
circulation by East India Companies 205—7; Japan dhàranîs 190
by VOC 210-15; trade of 207-10; type o f204-5 Dharma rclic of Pratìtyasamutpàda 190
carpets, Persian 208 Dharmaràjaguru 49
Chaboheluo 66 dharmàratnas 46
Chattayadeva 57 Dharmasvàmin 46
Chaudhuri. K. N. 209 Dieng temples 14
Che-Ii 24-6 Dipankara Buddha 198
Chen Tian-ping (Trâ' n Thiên Binh) 26 Divàkaramitra 191
Chen Zuyi (pirate’) 67 Dong Diiöng xviii, 111-13, 115-21, 123-30; of
Chihiro Ishida 213 religious practice at 111-13
China: and India 62; maritime frontier of 64; Durgâ: fertility and xix; as sakti of Siva 144; and
suzerainty of 65 Siva xix. 137. 139. 141. 143, 145. 1 47-9.
Chinggis Khan 87-8, 96, 103 151-3
230 Index

Durgà Mahisàsuramardinï xix, 128, 142-3, 145 Gong Xiang 23

Dutch East India Company {Verenigde Oostindische Great Ming 20, 76
Compagniey or VOC) 208; Sampson 208; textile ‘Greater India 4, 45
production 209; carpet trade 210; Dutch textile Grihandi stüpa. See stüpas
trade 210; factory at Hirado 210; paintings of xxi; Griswold, A.B. 49
Persian carpets o f ‘Polonaise type’ 210; shifted to Guimet Buddha-head 115, 121
Bengal xxi
Dvàrapâlas/Dharmapâlas 127-8 Hall, K. R. 7
Dvàravatî style ot stfipas. See stüpas Hallett, Jessica 202-3
Hamid, Khwaja 90-1
East Indies 3 Han dynasty 21, 6 9-70, 79
English East India Company (EIC) 208; arrival at Hanoi Buddha V. 116, 118-19, 121
Surat 207; and carpet trade 207; factory at Masuli­ Harsa xvi, 63, 6 5-6, 70 -1 , 73, 80; meeting with
patnam 208; export of Coromandel textiles 209 Divakaramitra 191
eunuch-led maritime missions 30,37. See also Zheng Harsacarita 191
He Hayagriva 192
European colonialism 4 Heatly, Grant 210
excavations: at Al<urugoda 173; at Kuchchaveli 173; Hepthalite confederacy 94
at Ridiyagama 175 Hindu colonization 4
Hinduization 4, 6, 9
Fakhr-i Mudabbir 88-90, 92, 95 Hindu-Muslim encounters 86
Famen Monastery 75 Hinterindien 3
Fan lands ( voyages to 31 Hong-wu reign 24—5, 64—5
Fan Shi-man 7 Hou Xian 30, 33, 7 7 -9
Fei Xin called Xingcha shenglan 79, Hülegü (II Khans) 92, 94. See also Hülegü Khan
8 0 -ln 7 Hülegü Khan 92
female Bodhisattva 121-5, 130. See abo feminine in
Khmer Art under Cambodia Ibn Battuta 9 4 ,9 7 . 9 9 -1 0 1 ,2 0 4
‘Five Indias’ {wu Tianzlm ^ J i ^ ) 80n4 Ibn Taghribirdi 100
Flowers on Floats 203 iconography 123-6
Funan 6 -7 Ikhtiyar al-Din Ai-tegin 96
Ikhtiyar al-Din Qaraqush 93
Gaozong, Emperor 74-5 Ikit Khan 99
Ghiyas al-Din Balban 89-90, 91, 95 Ilbari/Olperli 88
Ghiyas al-Din Tughluq, 89, 91, 94-7, 101 ‘Indianization xiv, xxii, 3 -6 , 10-13
Gion Tcnjin 213 Indochina 3, 24, 62
Girdlers’ Company 207 Indo-Islamic global epicentres 86
Girikandi caitya 162 Indonesia 3 -4 , 11-12; inscriptions of 7
globalization xxii Abd al-Malik Tsami, 94, 96 -7 , 103
Glover, Ian C. xiv
Godavaya: black and red ware at 175; shipwreck 178 Jacbon, Peter 86, 95
goddess in colonial historiography 138-40 Jacques, C. 6
Golden Horde 88, 92, 94, 102 jagat tàrini 195
 Index 231

Jalal al-Din 91, 97-8, 101 Khusrau Khan Barwari 97, 101
Japan 11-12, 20, 6 4 -5 , 203; Dcccani carpets in xxi Kielhorn, F 58n6
Jaràsandha 145-46 Kita-kannon-yama 204-5
Java 9, 12, 14, 32, 46, 56. 65, 67, 112, 197 Klawc'wa 49
Javanese art 11, 14 Kojiro Yoshida 202, 205
Jaya Indravarman li 111-12, 123, 129; Laksmìndra- Koñgodamandala 8
Bhùmisvara-Gràmasvàmin, and as Paramabud­ Ksatriya 11
dhaloka 111-12 Kulasekhara Nambi 59n22
Jayakesin li 57-8 Kulottuiiga 56; Chidambaram inscription of 55
Jetavana vihàra 125, 129; Sàkyamuni Buddha in Kyanzittha 48
126, 128 Kyoto Gion Festival 202-3, 2()5y2\ò-\A\yama-hoko
Jiang Cui 23 213
Jiang Shiren 65 Kyoto Group by Walker 203—4
Jiao-zhi 24, 27, 29 Kyouktsa 48
Jibin, polity of 69
Jihan namah 94 Laem Pho 197
Jin-chi 21, 23—4 Lahore: carpets 207; merchants 93
Jiu Tangshu ^ 66-7 Laksmi 124-5
Jordaan, Roy E. 10-11 Laksmlndra-Lokesvara 122-3, 125, 129-30
Juzjani. See Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani Lalitavistara 128-9
larger Leiden plates 53-4, 57
Kadambas 57; prasastis of 57 van Leur, J. C. xiv, 4 -5 , 14
Kadàram 53-5 Li Yibiao 65
Kaiqubad 96 Liang Dao-ming 32
kalzhong system 24 Liang Q ic h a o ^ 'S S g 62
Kalhana 70 Liao Xiaojian 36
Kalpavrksa 49 Ligor 197
Kàmboja 55 Lljiang 21
Kanisa and Krsna 146 liriga of Bhadresvara 112
Kanchipuram 8-9; tempie at 9 Lokesvara/Lokesvara-natha or Nàtha 112, 120,
Kanko-boko 204, 205 129, 162, 179; in Campa 123; sculpture of 123;
Karandai copper piate of Ràjendra 1 55 worship of 120
Kàrandavyùha-sùtra 112-13, 125-6, 128-9 Lombard, D. 12
Karma-pa 77 Long-chuan 23-4
Karmay, Heather 79 longevity drugs xvii, 74
Karonasvàmin tempie 55 Lotus Siitra 190
Khalaji dynasty 102 Luce, Gordon H. 4 8 -9
Klialajis xvii, 8 7 ,9 4 -6 ,9 8 . See also ‘Ala’al-Din Khalaji;
Mubarak Shah Khalaji Ma Huan iJ^ ^ iY ingyai shenglan 79 ,
Kubilai Khan 75, 78 8 0 -1 n7
Kushlu Khan 91, 93 Mabbett, Ian xxiiin8
Khan, Preah 144 Madhurantaka 53
Khasarpana Lokesvara 192—3 Mahabalipuram, temple at 9
232 Index

Mahäbodhi: monastery 73; temple 49-50, 52, 54 Mrauk U 50

Mahakantara (Kalahandi/Koraput) 8 Mu Sheng 2 2-3, 25, 28
M ahäprajhäpäramitä sùtra 192 Mu-bang 2 1-6, 32
M aha-vairocana-mandala tablets 194 Mubarak Shah Khalaji, 99
Mahàvairocana-sütra 112, 129 Mudü Mahàvihàra 170-1
Mahàyâna Buddhism xx, 112, 162-3, 166, 179,190 Muhammad b. Najib Bakran, 94
Mahàyàna sutra 163 Muhammad ibn Tughluq, 204. See also Muhammad
Mahisa 143 Shah Tughluq
MaJiisâsuramardinî 151 Muhammad Shah Tughluq 99-101. See also Muham­
Mahmud Kashghari 94 mad ibn Tughluq
Maitreya Buddha 49, 73, 194-5 Mùlavarman 7, 12; inscriptions 7
Majumdar, R. C. xiv, 4 -5 , 11 Mus, Paul 24, 152
Malika-i Jahan 98-9 Myanmar 48
mandalas xvi. 47, 56. 58, 194
Mandate of Heaven (^ iu j) xvi, 35 Nagahama Hikiyama Festival 205, 214
Manthai 161, 168, 171, 180 Nagapattinam xvi; Buddhist vihàra at 5 2 -6 ; as
Mara 126-30 CQjàmanivarma-vihàra 53
Màravijayóttungavarman 53 Nagarjunakonda 9, 163, 175, 176-7, 185n34
Master, Streynsham 209 Nàlandà: Buddhist University of 11; copper plate
Masuhpatnam xxi, 204, 208-9, 213 inscription xvi. 46
Meng-gen 24 Naluoershapo[mei] 74
Meng-mao 24 Nan Dian 23—4
merchants 2 4 ,6 8 ,8 9 ,9 3 ,1 6 1 ,1 6 3 ^ , 1 7 3 ,182n5-6, Nandi mandapa 116
197-8, 208-10, 212-15, 2 I6 n l6 Narai Jaeng Waeng 144
merit, idea of xvi, xxi, 5 ,4 7 -8 , 51, 56, 175, 189-90, Nàràyanasvàmin 74
196 Nasir al-Din, 92-3
Minamikannon-yama 210 navikas 163
Ming dynasty/state 20-1, 24-5, 30, 32, 34—7, 64, Na-yan 68
76; colonization by 21, 3 7 -8 ; Da-hou 2 1 -2 , Nederlandsch-Indie 3
25; Gany-ai 21-5; Lu-chuan 21-5, 36; Lu-jiang Neguderids 9 4-5, 97. See also Qara’una
2 1 -3 ,2 5 ; Meng-ding 2 1 ,2 4 -5 ; Meng-yang 21-6; Ngo SÎ Lien 29
Mu-bang 21 -6 ,3 2 ; Wan Dian 21 -2 ,2 4 -5 ; Zhe-le Ngo Van Doanh 123
Dian 22 Nguyen, Trian 122-3
Ming shi-lu 31, 33 Nhan Bieu inscription 123
Mingyuan 0^:® 79 Nilakanta Sastri 4
Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani 87-96, 103 Nizam al-Din Awliya 92
Mitra, Rajendralala 53
Mong Mao 21, 23-5, 36 Ölperli 88, 89, 90, 95, 103
Mongol shahna 92-3 Onno Ydema 204
Mongols xvii, 6 4 ,8 6 -7 ,8 9 ,9 1 -3 ,9 5 -8 ,1 0 1 -3 ; inva­
sion o f87,95,97; migration xvii. Chinggis Padmadhàtu 112, 133
Khan, Chinggisids, Batuids, Golden Horde, I! Pagan 4 8 -5 1 ,5 6 . 59
Khans, Hülegü Khan, Neguderids, Qara una Pala dynasty 11. 4 6 -7 , 56, 192
 Index 233

Pallavas: at Mahabalipuram 9; Crantha script 10 Saddharmapundarika sùtra 163. 165

Paràkramabàhu 73 Saddharmaratnàkaraya 72
Paranavitana 163> 175 Sàdhanamàlà 1 8 3 .192;on Simhanàda-Lokesvara 171
Pattaratorn Chirapravati 192, 194 Saif al-Din Hasan Qarluq 93
Patterson, Orlando 89 Sailendra dynasty xvi. 11, 4 6-8. 53. 56
Paundra 192 i5ailodbhavas 8
Perera, Edward W. 72 Saivism xviii, 112
Perumbur inscription of Viraràjendra 59n23 Sàkyamuni 73. 119-20. 125
Phim, Toni Shapiro 147, 152, 155. 156 Samudragupta 8. 58; Allahabad inscription of 8
Pollock, Sheldon xiv-xv, 12-15 sañcaka 190
porcclain 207 Sanskrit Cosmopolis 14
Prajnaparamita 122-4, 130 Sarvatathàgatàdhisthàna sütra 190
Prakhyàtakirtti 50 Sàtavàhana dynasty 9, 16, 166
prasasti of Devapala 58n5 Scheunemann, Brigitte 204
Pratìtyasamutpàda sütra 190 Seijuqs 100
Preah Ko 143 Sengjiapamo 74
Püjávali 162 Senur inscription of Ràjaràja 57. See abo Ràjaràja
Pulindasena 8 Shajara-i Ansah 103nl. See abo Fakhr-i Mudabbir
Shams al-Din Iltutmish, 88-91, 95-6, 101
Qadr Khan 98-9 Shamsi slaves 93. See abo Shams al-Din Iltutmish
al-Qalqashandi 100 Sheng-chi 191
Qarauna 94. 97, 101. See abo Neguderids Shi Jin-qing 32
Qipchaq 88, 100-1 Shinto festival 213
Qutb al-Din Ai-Bcg, 89-90 shipwrecks xix-xx, 163-5. 164-7, 179-80, 183-4,
Qudugh Khan 91, 96 193; in Indian Ocean xx, 226
Shir Khan 91
Rajakcsarivarman 54 Shogun Tokugawa lemitsu 210
ràja-mandalas 56 Shwcsandaw Pagoda in Pyay 48
Ràjaràja Cója 53 S iji-fa 2 3 , 26
Ràjàvaliya 72 Si Lun-fa 21, 2 3 ,2 5 ,3 5
Rajendra 1 5 2 -5 . 57; invasion o f Srivijaya 55; Si Ren-fa 2 3 ^ , 26
Karandai copper plate 55 Sidi Muwallih 98
Ràjyasrl 191 silà-sakala-udbhedi 8
Rastell, Thomas 207 Simhala: avaddna 163, 166; sahgha 50
Ràvana 126-8; perturbing Mount Kailasa 145 ‘Sinicization xxii, 12
Ràvanànugrahamùrti 126 áiva 124; dance of xix, 142-4; and Durgà xix, 137-8.
Raziyya 95-6 141-3, 146, 148-53; and ^akti 152; steadying
Red Ware 173. 175-6 Mount Kailasa 145; and Umà in Kailàsa 126
Reid, A. 12 áiva Bhadresvara 129
religious endowments xvi, 4 5 -6 . 52-3. 55-6 Skilling, Peter 189-91, 195-6, 199
Roe. Henry 207 smaller Leiden plates 52-4
Roman traders 162 Smith, Monica L. 10
Rothermund, D. 34 ^olakulavallipattanam (Nagapattinam) 54
234 Index

Song Fazhi 73 Takagi Sakuemon 211

Sri Bajràs 48 Tang dynasty xvii, 70, 73, 7 5 -6 , 80; mission to
Sri Lanka xx, 57, 6 5 -9 . 7 2 -3 , 75-80, 121. 130, Kanauj 67, 73-4
1 6 1 ^ , 167, 169, 175-80, 182-6, 193; attack Tara 47, 1 2 2 ^ , 130, 163, 192, 195, 198
on 33; Avalokitesvara icons in xx; capture of Tàrànàtha 46
Alagakkonara in 70; Chinese expedition to 33; Tarukplyi 49
Cóla temple in 56; India and xix; invasion of 33; Tathàgata Amitabha 163, 171, 178
maritime trade networks of xix; Ming court on 73; Tathàgatas 122, 163, 190
and Pagan kings 49; Ràjàvaliya on 72; Rajendras Teng-chong 22-4
expedition ro 52; Theravada Buddhism in xx; Thailand xx-xxi, 131, 189, 192-7, 199
Zheng He and xvi, 67-9, 72-3 Thanh-tong 28
Sri Màra 7 Theravada Buddhism xx, 164, 180
Srivijaya kings 7, 197, 53-4; endowments by 55; Thiti Pavara Suddhama mahàràjàdhiràja 51
endowments at Nagapattinam xvi; inscriptions Thiwakka Bamunu-igama 171
55 Thompson, Ashley 147, 152
Srong-brtsan sgam-po 63, 67 Thung Tuk 197
Straits of Malacca 31, 197 Tiriyaya 163, 174
stupas 190-1, 195-6; Dvaravatl style 196; Grihandi 'I'irukkadaiyur inscription of Ràjendra I, 57, 59n23
stupa 163; Yatala stupa 177 Ibkugawa Yoshikatsu 213
Siicimukha 192 traders xix, xxi, 5, I5n7, 9 2 -3 , 161, 163, 165,
Sufi Shaykh 91 182n5-6, 191, 193, 196, 203, 2 0 8 -1 0 ,2 1 5
Su-gan-la of Samudera 33-4 trans-regional: connections 58, 88-94; endowments
Sultanate-Mongol relations 86, See also Mongols, 56-7; religious endowments xvi
Batuids, Golden Horde, II Khans, Hiilegu Khan, Trapussaka 163
Neguderids, Qara’una, Shams al-Din Iltutmish, treasure-ships (W ^i) 31
Ghiyas al-Din Balban, Kaiqubad, Jalal al-Din Trian Nguyen 122
Tughluq, Muhammad Shah 'I'ughluq, Minhaj-i Trimurti cave temple 167, 178
Siraj Juzjani Tughluqs xvii, 87, 9 4 -6 , 9 8-9, 102. See also Ghiyas
Sumatra 6 7 ,3 1 -3 , 199n2 al-Din Tughluq; Muhammad ibn Tughluk;
Sun Quan 27 Muhammad Shah Tughkiq
Sur dynasties 103 Turkish: bandagan 91,94; ethnicities 88-94; military
Sura Yusuf slaves xvii, 87-8, 91, 95—6
Suvarnadvlpa/Yavabhumi 47 Turks xvii, 88, 9 0-1, 94, 96-7, 103
SyàmaTàrà 195
Ulugh Khan 8 9 ,9 2 -3 . See also Ghiyas al-Din Balban
Tabaqat-i Nastri 88. See abo Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani Urojà 112
Tagore, Rabindranath 62
Tai Mao polity 21-2 Vairocana 1 1 9 -2 1 , 129, 133n33, 163, 194; in
Taizong shilu 67 bodhyagri mudra 129
Taizong 63, 67, 7 4 -5 ; for life-prolonging Vajradhatu 112
drug 74 Vajrayana Buddhism 194; in Campà 123
Taizu, Emperor 64 Vallika 162
Tajiks 94 Vanga 192
 Index 235

Vatsyayan, Kapila 144 Xuanzang 46, 63, 75-6

Vickcry, Michael 6
Vidyä-mätra-siddhisästra 191 Yalickunaier or Aliekunaicr Ai-
ÿj<
Vo-canh inscription 7 ii/Alagakkonara 33, 63, 68 -9
votive tablets xx, 189-92, 194-9 Yang Lien-sheng 69
Ydema 210
Walker, Daniel 202-3 Yebanaina 72
Wang Gui-tong 30 Yijing 75
Wang Gungwu 36, 64 Yong-le Emperor 21, 26, 29-31, 35
Wang Ji 23 You Zhong 36
WangJing-hong33 Yun-nan xv, 20-8, 3 0-3, 35-7; and Dgi Vie.t xv;
WangTong30 occupation by Ming 36; Ming military actions
Wang Xuance ì xvi-xvii, 63, 65-7, 69-75, against 20-6; polities 25
79-80; confrontation with Arunasa 69 yupa stone inscriptions 7
War Cui Dunli 74
Warangal xxi, 204, 209, 213 Zephir, Thierry 121
Wei-yuan 24 Zhao Rugua 196
Wencheng 67 Zheng He xvi, 63; abduction of Alagakkonara
Western colonization 3, 140 7 9 -8 0 , 81 ni l ; and eunuchs’ voyages 3 0 -2 ;
Wheatley, Paul xiv, 3, 5-6, 13 missions of 63-5; San-bao’, or ‘ThreeTreasures 30
Wiener, Margaret 153 Zhu Yunwen 64
Wink, Andre 86 Ziya’ al-Din Barani 95-9, 101, 103
Wolters, O. W. xiv, 12 Z/zA/ tongjian 74
Woodward, Hiram 112, 123—4
Wutoulao 69
 ;' . Upinder Siqgh (L) is Professor,■,_
^ ^DepartmentofHistory^Vniv4^^ "
/ of Delhi. Her hooks include >ön«K,.
r" - N»’ .. --..A . ’■
BrcriirrmijtK and TempßtSSJtt) Oris^ '^-|
{1994), Ancient The ' ‘
Discovery ofAn0e^tf^^i&\2Ql^),
History ofAncii
^tndia (2008)^ ^ndTiilihinklns^^Early 'v

i Mtfiieval India i^ed., 2012]

I Pan<j|y0^iM;fl® is Associate ^ ^
Professor of A lt History, Department
of History,'^niveraty of Delhi. H e rv'
books include Tororta in Indian
and Southeast Asian Architecture
(2010), Indian j ^ Histqry; Cha
Perspectives 20i;|.hiand
Interface of Ini io:A/vith i^ lä '^ ^
(co-ed., 2004).

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* Upinder Singh pi^tograbh: Courtesy o f Raghav Tankha ^:

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