The Kedukan Bukit inscription is an inscription discovered by the Dutchman C.J. Batenburg[1] on 29 November 1920 at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), on the banks of Tatang River, a tributary of Musi River. It is the oldest surviving specimen of the Malay language, in a form known as Old Malay.[2] It is a small stone of 45 cm × 80 cm (18 in × 31 in). This inscription is dated 1 May 683 CE. This inscription was written in Pallava script.[3][4][5]
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 Common 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!
Indonesian translation
Selamat! Tahun Śaka memasuki 605, pada hari kesebelas, Dapunta Hiyang menaiki sampan untuk mengambil siddhayātra. Pada hari ketujuh, yaitu 15 hari pertama bulan Jyeṣṭha, Dapunta Hiyang meninggalkan Mināṅa untuk membawa 20.000 orang pasukan tentara dengan perbekalan sebanyak 200 peti di sampan diiringi sebanyak 1312 orang yang berjalan kaki datang ke hulu Upang dengan sukacita. Pada 15 hari pertama bulan āsāḍha dengan mudah dan gembiranya datang membuat benua ... Sriwijaya 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-month of Waisaka, Sri Baginda took dugouts in order to obtain siddhayatra.[6] On Day 7, on the 15th day at half-month of Jyestha, Sri Baginda extricated himself from minānga tāmvan.[7] 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-month..., agile, happy, and they made a trip to the country ... Great Sriwijaya! Prosperity and riches ...
^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."
