rman's inscriptions. Also
Sanskrit inscriptions found at Koetei on the east coast of Borneo and
considered to be not later than the fifth century record the piety and
gifts to Brahmans of a King Mulavarman and mention his father and
grandfather.[379]

It follows from these somewhat disjointed facts that the name of
Yava-dvipa was known in India soon after the Christian era, and that
by the fifth century Hindu or hinduized states had been established in
Java. The discovery of early Sanskrit inscriptions in Borneo and
Champa confirms the presence of Hindus in these seas. The T'ang
annals[380] speak definitely of Kaling, otherwise called Java, as
lying between Sumatra and Bali and say that the inhabitants have
letters and understand a little astronomy. They further mention the
presence of Arabs and say that in 674 a queen named Sima ascended the
throne and ruled justly.

But the certain data for Javanese history before the eighth century
are few. For that period we have some evidence from Java itself. An
inscription dated 654 Saka ( = 732 A.D.) discovered in Kedoe
celebrates the praises of a king named Sanjaya, son of King Sanna. It
contains an account of the dedication of a linga, invocations of
Siva, Brahma and Vishnu, a eulogy of the king's virtue and
learning, and praise of Java. Thus about 700 A.D. there was a Hindu
kingdom in mid Java and this, it would seem, was then the part of the
island most important politically. Buddhist inscriptions of a somewhat
later date (one is of 778 A.D.) have been found in the neighbourhood
of Prambanam. They are written in the Nagari alphabet and record
various pious foundations. A little later again (809 and 840 A.D.) are
the inscriptions found on the Dieng (Dihyang), a lonely mountain
plateau on which are several Brahmanic shrines in fair preservation.
There is no record of their builders but the New T'ang Annals say that
the royal residence was called Java but "on the mountains is the
district Lang-pi-ya where the king frequently goes to look at the
sea."[381] This may possibly be a reference to pilgrimages to Dieng.
The inscriptions found on the great monument of Boroboedoer throw no
light on the circumstances of its foundation, but the character of the
writing makes it likely that it was erected about 850 and obviously by
a king who could command the services of numerous workmen as well as
of skilled artists. The temples of Prambanam are probably to be
assigned to the next cent