Langkasuka

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Langkasuka (langkha Sanskrit for "resplendent land" -sukkha for "bliss") was an ancient Hindu Malay kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula. Another possible source of its name could be the combination of (-langkha Sanskrit for "resplendent land" – and Asoka in tribute to the legendary Mauryan Hindu warrior king who eventually became a pacifist after embracing the ideals espoused in Buddhism), the ancient kingdoms of the Malay Isthmus – Langkasuka having been one of them – believed by some scholars to have been first founded or rebuilt by emissaries or descendants of Asoka from Magadha in India. [citation needed]

The kingdom, along with Old Kedah, is probably among the earliest kingdoms founded on the Malay Peninsula. According to tradition, the founding of the kingdom happened in the 2nd century. Malay legends claim that Langkasuka was founded at Kedah and later moved to Pattani. [citation needed]

Records

Details from a Chinese painting showing an emissary from Langkasuka. Song Dynasty copy of a Liang Dynasty painting dated to 526-539.

The historical record is sparse, but a Chinese Liang Dynasty record (c. 500 AD) refers to the kingdom of "Lang-ya-xiu" (Chinese: 狼牙脩) as being founded in the 1st century AD. As described in the Chinese chronicles, Langkasuka was thirty days' journey from east to west, and twenty from north to south, 24,000 li in distance from Guangzhou. Its capital was said to be surrounded by walls to form a city with double gates, towers and pavilions. The Buddhist monk Yi Jing mentioned encountering three Chinese monks who lived in Lang-chia-su.

The kingdom's designation in Chinese records changed over time: it was known as "Lang-ya-se-chia" during the Song dynasty (960–1279); "Long-ya-si-jiao" during the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368); and "Lang-se-chia" during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), as evidenced by the Mao Kun map of Admiral Zheng He.

The name "Langkasuka" was also mentioned in Malay and Javanese chronicles. Tamil sources name "Ilangasoka" as one of Rajendra Chola's conquests in his expedition against the Srivijaya empire. It was described as a kingdom that that was "undaunted in fierce battles".

In 515 AD King Bhagadatta first established relations with China, with further embassies sent in 523, 531 and 568. In the 12th century Langkasuka was a tributary to the Srivijaya empire, and around the 15th century it was replaced by the Pattani Kingdom.

In 1963, Stewart Wavell led a Cambridge Expedition to locate Langkasuka and Tambralinga. The details of this expedition can be read in The Naga King's Daughter, published by Barath Chandran Antara Books.

Langkasuka in popular culture

Langkasuka kingdom.
History of Thailand
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In 1968, Malay film called Raja Bersiong or Fanged King directed by Jamil Sulong was made from the initiative of Malaysia's Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman. A Thai movie entitled Queen of Pattani or Queens of Langkasuka, directed by Nonzee Nimibutr and loosely based on a south Pattani myth, was released in 2008.

A 2011 Malay movie entitled The Malay Chronicles: Bloodlines was directed by Yusry Abdul Halim. The film is loosely based the origin of Merong Mahawangsa, the first King of Langkasuka.

See also

External links

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