Kedukan Bukit inscription

Kedukan Bukit Inscription
	The inscription displayed in the National Museum of Indonesia.
Material	Stone
Size	45 cm × 80 cm
Writing	Pallava script
Created	1 May 683 CE
Discovered	1920; Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, Indonesia
Discovered by	M. Batenburg
Present location	National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta
Registration	D. 161

The Kedukan Bukit inscription is an inscription discovered by the Dutchman M. Batenburg on 29 November 1920 at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, Indonesia, on the banks of the River Tatang, a tributary of the River Musi. It is the oldest surviving specimen of the Malay language, in a form known as Old Malay.[1] It is a small stone of 45 cm × 80 cm. This inscription is dated 1 May 683 CE. This inscription was written in Pallava script. The inscriptions contain numerous Sanskrit words.[2][3][4]

Content

Transliteration

Line	Transliteration
1	svasti śrī śaka varṣātīta 605 ekādaśī śukla-
2	pakṣa vulan vaiśākha ḍapunta hiyaṃ nāyik di
3	sāmvau maṅalap siddhayātra di saptamī śuklapakṣa
4	vulan jyeṣṭha ḍapunta hiyaṃ marlapas dari mināṅa
5	tāmvan mamāva yaṃ vala dua lakṣa daṅan kośa
6	dua ratus cāra di sāmvau daṅan jālan sarivu
7	tlu ratus sapulu dua vañakña dātaṃ di mukha upaṃ
8	sukhacitta di pañcamī śuklapakṣa vulan āsāḍha
9	laghu mudita dātaṃ marvuat vanua ...
10	śrīvijaya jaya siddhayātra subhikṣa nityakāla

Modern Malay translation

Svasti! Pada 11 hari bulan separuh Vaiśākha tahun 605 Śaka, Dapunta Hiyang menaiki sampan untuk mendapatkan siddhayātra. Pada hari ke tujuh iaitu 15 hari bulan separuh Jyeṣṭha, Dapunta Hiyang berlepas dari Mināṅa membawa 20000 orang bala tentera dengan bekal-bekalan sebanyak 200 peti di sampan diiringi 1312 orang yang berjalan kaki banyaknya datang ke hulu Upang dengan sukacitanya. Pada 15 hari bulan separuh āsāḍha dengan mudah dan gembiranya datang membuat benua ... Śrīvijaya jaya siddhayātra subhikṣa nityakāla!

English Translation

Om swasti astu! All hail and prosperity. In the year 605 of the Saka calendar, on the eleventh day at half-moon of Waisaka, Sri Baginda took dugouts in order to obtain siddhayatra.[5] On Day 7, on the 15th day at half-moon of Jyestha, Sri Baginda extricated himself from minānga tāmvan.[6] He took 20,000 troops with him ... as many as 200 in dugouts, with 1,312 foot soldiers. They arrived at ... Truly merry on the fifteenth day of the half-moon..., agile, happy, and they made a trip to the country ... Great Sriwijaya! Prosperity and riches ...

Notes

Guy, John (7 April 2014). Lost Kingdoms: Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Early Southeast Asia. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 21. ISBN 9781588395245. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
Colette Caillat; J. G. de Casparis (1991). Middle Indo-Aryan and Jaina Studies. BRILL. p. 36. ISBN 90-04-09426-1.
J. G. De Casparis (1978). Indonesian Chronology. BRILL Academic. pp. 15–24. ISBN 90-04-05752-8.
Andrea Acri (2016). Esoteric Buddhism in Mediaeval Maritime Asia: Networks of Masters, Texts, Icons. ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. pp. 256–258. ISBN 978-981-4695-08-4.
According to Coedès, siddhayatra refers to some "magic potion". An alternative translation, however, is possible: Zoetmulder's Dictionary of Old Javanese (1995) renders it as "a prosperous journey". If so, the sentence may be taken to read: "Sri Baginda took dugouts in order to spread Buddhism, the successful way."
Meaning not clear.