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Abstract

This article analyses the cultural connectivity between India and Java from the first century to the tenth century CE. The primary method employed is chronological synchronisation, namely the alignment of political events in India with the emergence and development of kingdoms in Java, combined with a multidisciplinary approach drawing on epigraphic, archaeological, and historical data. The analysis identifies four stages of connectivity. The earliest stage, spanning the first to the third century CE, is marked by maritime trade and early encounters between Austronesian sailors and Indian traders, evidenced by Indian Rouletted Ware pottery found in the Buni cultural complex and at Sembiran. The next stage, from the fourth to the sixth century CE, corresponds to the decline of the Gupta Empire following Hūṇa invasions and the rise of the Tārumānagara Kingdom in western Java under King Pūrṇawarman. The following stage, from the seventh to the eighth century CE, is characterised by the Pallava-Cālukya rivalry in South India alongside the growth of the Holing Kingdom and religious architecture on the Dieng Plateau and its surroundings. The culminating stage, from the ninth to the tenth century CE, demonstrates reciprocal relations between the Pala Dynasty in Bengal and the Sailendra Dynasty in Java, evidenced by the Nālandā Copper-Plate that records the construction of a Buddhist monastery by Maharaja Balaputradeva in the Nālandā complex with the support of King Devapaladeva. This study argues that political dynamics on the Indian subcontinent constituted a push factor for elite migration to Java, while local communities played an active role as both recipients and developers of Indian cultural elements. At its peak, the India-Java relationship evolved into a reversed flow in the form of religious patronage from Java to India, demonstrating that this connectivity was not a one-way relationship but rather a mutually enriching dialogue of cultures.

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Bahasa Abstract

Artikel ini menganalisis konektivitas kebudayaan antara India dan Jawa pada rentang waktu sejak abad pertama hingga ke-10 Masehi. Metode utama yang digunakan adalah sinkronisasi kronologis (penyelarasan peristiwa di India dengan perkembangan kerajaan-kerajaan di Jawa) yang dipadukan dengan pendekatan multidisiplin meliputi data epigrafis (tulisan pada prasasti), arkeologis, dan historis. Hasil analisis menunjukkan adanya empat tahap konektivitas. Tahap awal, abad ke-1 hingga ke-3 Masehi, ditandai oleh perdagangan maritim dan perjumpaan pelaut Austronesia dengan pedagang India yang dibuktikan melalui temuan tembikar India bertanda Rouletted Ware di kompleks budaya Buni dan Sembiran. Tahap berikutnya, abad ke-4 hingga ke-6 Masehi, berkaitan dengan kemunduran Kekaisaran Gupta akibat invasi Hūṇadan kemunculan Kerajaan Tārumānagara di Jawa bagian barat di bawah Raja Pūrṇawarman. Tahap selanjutnya, abad ke-7 hingga ke-8 Masehi, ditandai oleh rivalitas Pallawa-Cālukya di India Selatan serta berkembangnya Kerajaan Holing dan arsitektur keagamaan di Dataran Tinggi Dieng dan sekitarnya. Tahap puncak, abad ke-9 hingga ke-10 Masehi, menunjukkan hubungan timbal balik antara Dinasti Pala di Benggala dan Dinasti Sailendra di Jawa, dibuktikan melalui Prasasti Tembaga Nālandā yang mencatat pembangunan biara Buddha oleh Maharaja Balaputradewa di kompleks Nālandā atas dukungan Raja Devapaladeva. Kajian ini berargumen bahwa dinamika politik di subbenua India menjadi faktor pendorong perpindahan golongan elite ke Jawa, sementara masyarakat lokal berperan aktif sebagai penerima sekaligus pengembang unsur-unsur kebudayaan India. Pada puncak perkembangannya, hubungan India-Jawa berkembang menjadi arus balik (reversed flow) berupa patronase keagamaan dari Jawa ke India, menunjukkan bahwa konektivitas tersebut bukan hubungan searah, melainkan dialog kebudayaan yang saling memperkaya.

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