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Sunda Kingdom
The Sunda Kingdom (Old Sundanese: ᮕᮢᮠᮏᮡ ᮔ᮪ ᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ, romanized: Prahajyan Sunda, Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈsunda]) was a Sundanese Hindu kingdom located in the western portion of the island of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, Lampung, and the western part of Central Java. The capital of the Sunda Kingdom moved several times during its history, shifting between the Galuh (Kawali) area in the east and Pakuan Pajajaran in the west.
The Sunda Kingdom reached its peak during the reign of King Sri Baduga Maharaja, whose reign from 1482 to 1521 is traditionally remembered as an age of peace and prosperity among Sundanese people.
According to primary historical records such as the Bujangga Manik manuscript, the eastern border of the kingdom was the Pemali River (Ci Pamali; the present-day Brebes River) and the Serayu River (Ci Sarayu) in Central Java. Most accounts of the Sunda Kingdom come from primary historical records from the 16th century. The kingdom's inhabitants were primarily the eponymous ethnic Sundanese, while the majority religion was Hinduism.
The name Sunda derives from the Sanskrit prefix su- which means "goodness" or "possessing good quality". The example is suvarna (lit: "good color") used to describe gold. Sunda is also another name for Hindu God Vishnu. In Sanskrit, the term Sundara (masculine) or Sundari (feminine) means "beautiful" or "excellence". According to Reinout Willem van Bemmelen, a Dutch geologist, the name Sunda was derived from Sanskrit term Shuddha, which means 'white' and 'pure'. The term Sunda also means 'bright, light, purity, cleanness, and white'.
The name Sunda is also known in Hindu mythology of Sunda and Upasunda, as one of the powerful Asura brothers that received the boon of invulnerability from Brahma. It is not clear, however, whether the eponymous Sunda was derived from this Hindu myth.
It seems that by the 10th century, the name Sunda was used by foreigners, possibly by early Indian explorers, Malay Srivijayan traders and colonizer, as well as Javanese neighbours, as a toponym to identify the Western parts of Java. The Juru Pangambat inscription, dated from 854 Saka (932 CE), confirmes this. The name is similarly used by the Javanese to identify their western neighbour, also rival and enemy, as mentioned in Horren inscription (c. 11th century) from Kediri.
An early 13th-century Chinese account reported the pepper port of Sin-t'o (Sunda), which probably referred to the port of Banten or Sunda Kalapa. By the 15th to 16th century, after the consolidation of the kingdom by Sri Baduga Maharaja, the name Sunda had shifted from a toponym, into a name that identified a kingdom and its people. The Sunda Strait is named after the Sunda Kingdom, the latter having once ruled the area on both coasts of the strait.
Knowledge of the kingdom among Sundanese people has been kept alive through Sundanese Pantun oral tradition, the chant of poetic verses about the golden age of Sunda Pajajaran, and the legend of Prabu Siliwangi, the most popular king of Sunda.
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Sunda Kingdom
The Sunda Kingdom (Old Sundanese: ᮕᮢᮠᮏᮡ ᮔ᮪ ᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ, romanized: Prahajyan Sunda, Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈsunda]) was a Sundanese Hindu kingdom located in the western portion of the island of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, Lampung, and the western part of Central Java. The capital of the Sunda Kingdom moved several times during its history, shifting between the Galuh (Kawali) area in the east and Pakuan Pajajaran in the west.
The Sunda Kingdom reached its peak during the reign of King Sri Baduga Maharaja, whose reign from 1482 to 1521 is traditionally remembered as an age of peace and prosperity among Sundanese people.
According to primary historical records such as the Bujangga Manik manuscript, the eastern border of the kingdom was the Pemali River (Ci Pamali; the present-day Brebes River) and the Serayu River (Ci Sarayu) in Central Java. Most accounts of the Sunda Kingdom come from primary historical records from the 16th century. The kingdom's inhabitants were primarily the eponymous ethnic Sundanese, while the majority religion was Hinduism.
The name Sunda derives from the Sanskrit prefix su- which means "goodness" or "possessing good quality". The example is suvarna (lit: "good color") used to describe gold. Sunda is also another name for Hindu God Vishnu. In Sanskrit, the term Sundara (masculine) or Sundari (feminine) means "beautiful" or "excellence". According to Reinout Willem van Bemmelen, a Dutch geologist, the name Sunda was derived from Sanskrit term Shuddha, which means 'white' and 'pure'. The term Sunda also means 'bright, light, purity, cleanness, and white'.
The name Sunda is also known in Hindu mythology of Sunda and Upasunda, as one of the powerful Asura brothers that received the boon of invulnerability from Brahma. It is not clear, however, whether the eponymous Sunda was derived from this Hindu myth.
It seems that by the 10th century, the name Sunda was used by foreigners, possibly by early Indian explorers, Malay Srivijayan traders and colonizer, as well as Javanese neighbours, as a toponym to identify the Western parts of Java. The Juru Pangambat inscription, dated from 854 Saka (932 CE), confirmes this. The name is similarly used by the Javanese to identify their western neighbour, also rival and enemy, as mentioned in Horren inscription (c. 11th century) from Kediri.
An early 13th-century Chinese account reported the pepper port of Sin-t'o (Sunda), which probably referred to the port of Banten or Sunda Kalapa. By the 15th to 16th century, after the consolidation of the kingdom by Sri Baduga Maharaja, the name Sunda had shifted from a toponym, into a name that identified a kingdom and its people. The Sunda Strait is named after the Sunda Kingdom, the latter having once ruled the area on both coasts of the strait.
Knowledge of the kingdom among Sundanese people has been kept alive through Sundanese Pantun oral tradition, the chant of poetic verses about the golden age of Sunda Pajajaran, and the legend of Prabu Siliwangi, the most popular king of Sunda.