Sanjaya Dynasty

The Sañjaya Dynasty was a Javanese dynasty of Hindu extraction. This dynasty has been claimed as the predecessor of the Old Mataram.

This dynasty appears to have been founded in 732 by Sañjaya. There are two possibilities - that the dynasty was a branch of the Sailendra Dynasty, or that it was a predecessor. Some evidence has a local context with Sailendra Dynasty's origin in Sumatra. The center of authority of the dynsasty seems to have been in South Kedu (around Magelang, North of Yogyakarta]

Based on Canggal Inscription which has been dated as ( 732 A.D. ). It appears that the Sanjaya Dynasty then was forced to the north of Java by the Sailendra Dynasty which arrived around 778 A.D.- the evidence for this coming from the (Kalasan Inscription). The Sanjaya Dynasty is also found in the Balitung inscription of (708 A.D.). If a ruler died according to the Balitung inscription - the ruler transformed into divine form. From the inscriptions found to date a possible sequence might be:

* Sanjaya (732 - 760 A.D.)
* Panangkaran (760 - 780 A.D.)
* Warak (800 - 819 A.D.)
* Garung (819 - 838 A.D.)
* Pikatan (838 - 851 A.D.)
* Kayuwangi (851 - 882 A.D.)

Rakai Pikatan, who was the crown prince of the Sañjaya Dynasty, wedded Pramodhawardhani (833-856), a daughter of Samaratungga, king of the Dynasty of Sailendra. From that time onwards, the influence of Sañjaya who was a Hindu began to emerge in Mataram, replacing Buddhism. Rakai Pikatan even toppled king Balaputradewa. As a result in 850, the Sañjaya Dynasty was the sole ruler in Mataram.

In 910, king Tulodong began with the construction of the Prambanan temple complex. Prambanan is the largest significant existing Hindu temple in Southeast-Asia.

It was also during the reign of the Sañjaya Dynasty that the Old Javanese Kakawin Ramayana was written.

But in 928, Mpu Sindok moved the palace of Mataram from Central-Java to East-Java. It is not entirely clear why he did that. There are some possible reasons: the Merapi volcano erupted or the Sriwijaya empire attacked Mataram. What is clear is that it was the end for the Sañjaya Dynasty. From then on a new dynasty emerged, namely the Isyana Dynasty.

ee also

* Candi of Indonesia

External links

* http://www.indonesia-tourism.com/central-java/klaten/prambanan/us.html