Dharmasetu

Dharmasetu was an 8th-century Maharaja of Srivijaya. Under his reign, he successfully incorporated Pan Pan, a kingdom located in the north of the Malay Peninsula, into the Srivijayan sphere of influence before 775 CE.

At an old monastery of Nakhon Si Thammarat in modern-day Thailand, there is a stele indicating that Dharmasetu ordered the construction of three sanctuaries dedicated to Bodhisattvas Padmapani, Vajrapani, and Buddha in Ligor.¹^{: 130–131}

The inscription further states that Dharmasetu was the head of the Sailendra dynasty that ruled Java. This is the first instance of a relationship known to have existed between Srivijaya and the Sailendra.¹^{: 221–223} Dewi Tara, the daughter of Dharmasetu, later married a member of the Sailendra dynasty by the name of Samaratunga who later assumed the throne of Srivijaya around 792.¹^{: 175, 143–145} The relationship between Srivijaya and the Sailendra became intimately close afterwards.

He was succeeded by his son-in-law Sangramadhananjaya around 782.¹^: 136

References

Munoz, Paul Michel (2006). Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet. ISBN 981-4155-67-5.

[end-1] Munoz, Paul Michel (2006). Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet. ISBN 981-4155-67-5.

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