Purnawarman


Purnawarman or Purnavarman was the 5th-century king of Tarumanagara, a Hindu Indianized kingdom, located in modern-day West Java, Jakarta and Banten provinces, Indonesia. Purnawarman reigned during the 5th century, and during his reign he created several stone inscriptions.
According to these inscriptions he embarked on a hydraulic project and also identified himself to Vishnu, which indicates him and his kingdom were adhering to the Vishnuite faith. King Purnawarman established a new capital city for the kingdom, located somewhere near present-day Tugu or Bekasi.
His name in Sanskrit means "perfect shield" or "complete protector". Later Tarumanagaran kings are only known from their names, all bear the name warman which suggests that all of them belongs to the same dynasty.

Historiography

Purnawarman is the most well known ruler among Tarumanagaran kings, mostly because he extensively created numbers of stone inscriptions, proclaiming his deeds and feats. He left seven memorial stones with inscriptions bearing his name spread across today Jakarta, Banten and West Java provinces. These seven inscriptions areː
  1. Tugu inscription
  2. Ciaruteun inscription
  3. Kebon Kopi inscription
  4. Jambu inscription
  5. Pasir Awi inscription
  6. Muara Cianten inscription
  7. Cidanghiang inscription
The Tugu inscription, which is written in Pallava script and is a few years older than the Ciaruteun inscription, is considered the oldest of all the inscriptions. There are more stones with inscriptions from the time of king Purnawarman, some close to Bogor city. They are Muara Cianten, Prasasti Pasir Awi, Cidanghiang, and Jambu inscriptions. Cidanghiang inscription sits further to the west at Lebak in the Pandeglang area, consisting of two lines, proclaiming Purnawarman as the example for rulers around the world. Jambu inscription, with a two-line inscription in Pallava and Sanskrit, bears the large footprints of the king. The inscription translates as:
The Wangsakerta manuscript, which experts believe to be a 20th-century forgery, notes in parwa II sarga 3 that under the reign of King Purnawarman, Tarumanagara held control over 48 small kingdoms with area stretching from Salakanagara or Rajatapura to Purwalingga. Traditionally Cipamali river was the border between Sunda and Java. However, this claim is not reliable because the Wangsakerta manuscript is not an authentic historical source.