Sri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanes ...

Mulavarman Nala Dewa (spelled Mulawarman in

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

), was the king of the Kutai Martadipura Kingdom located in eastern

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

around the year 400 CE. What little is known of him comes from the seven Yupa inscriptions found at a

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

Kutai Kutai is a historical region in what is now known as East Kalimantan, Indonesia on the island of Borneo and is also the name of the native ethnic group of the region (known as ''Urang Kutai'' or "the Kutai people"), numbering around 300,000 who ...

East Kalimantan East Kalimantan (Indonesian: ) is a province of Indonesia. Its territory comprises the eastern portion of Borneo. It had a population of about 3.03 million at the 2010 census (within the current boundary), 3.42 million at the 2015 census, and 3. ...

. He is known to have been generous to

brahmins Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru o ...

through the giving of gifts including thousands of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

and large amounts of gold.

Reign

He was the grandson of

Kudungga Kudungga (read: ''"Ku-ṇḍu-ṅga"'', honorific title: Maharaja Kudungga Anumerta Devavarman) was the founder of the Kutai Martadipura kingdom who ruled around the year 350 AD or 4th century AD. Kudungga first ruled the kingdom of Kutai Marta ...

, and the son of Asvavarman, according to one of his inscriptions. The sanctuary bears the name of the founder of the dynasty, Vaprakesvara. The inscriptions of Mulavarman in

Brahmi script Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' o ...

on ''" yūpa"'' sacrificial posts are the earliest known evidence of Indian influence in the Malay World, in the fourth century CE, long before the region was Indianized. The inscriptions of Mulavarman were followed about fifty years later by the inscriptions of another king, Purnavarman, in West

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

Inscriptions

The inscriptions of Mulavarman in

were found on ''" yūpa"'' sacrificial posts. File:Prasasti-Yupa02.jpg, One of the yūpa Mulavarman inscriptions from

, at the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

in Jakarta File:153 Mulavarman Inscription, Muara Kaman, Kalimantan, 5th c (23406879131).jpg, Mulavarman inscription on a yūpa, 5th century CE File:154 Mulavarman Inscription, Muara Kaman, Kalimantan, 5th c (22862209853).jpg, Mulavarman inscription on a yūpa, 5th century CE File:The word Yupa in the 154 Mulavarman Inscription, Muara Kaman, Kalimantan, 5th century CE.jpg, The word "''Yūpo''" in Brahmi in a Mulavarman Inscription, Muara Kaman, Kalimantan, 5th century CE

References

{{reflist Year of birth missing Year of death missing 4th-century monarchs in Asia Hindu monarchs Indonesian Hindu monarchs

Reign

Inscriptions

See also

References