Following the shift of political power from
central to eastern Java at the beginning of the 10th century, the first kingdom to emerge
was called Isana, established by Mpu Sindok in A.D. 929. The capital, at Watugaluh, is
thought to have been located on the banks of the Brantas river, in the region of Jombang.
Candi
Lor, at Nganjuk, is one of the few remaining archaelogical sites thought to date from
the time of Pu Sindok.
Sindok is reported to have had two wives, one of whom, Sri Parameswari Dyah Kbi, may have
been the daughter of Dyah Wawa, the last known ruler of ancient Mataram in Central Java.
Since it is known that Sindok had formerly held a high ministerial position in the Mataram
government, it seems likely that he was recognized as the successor to Dyah Wawa on the
strength of this marriage.
Despite the discovery of quite a number of stone inscriptions dating from Sindok's reign,
the information which they reveal has not helped to shed very much light on this
historical period. Our most informative source, in fact, dates from the following century,
when East Java was ruled by King Airlangga. An inscription known as the 'Calcutta Stone',
so named because it is preserved in the Indian Museum of Calcutta, traces the genealogy of
Airlangga back to King Sindok. Thus we are informed that, following Sindok's death in
A.D.947/8, the throne was taken over by his daughter, Sri Isana Tunggawijaya, who was
married to a Sri Lokapala. Their son and successor, Sri Makutawangsawardhana, was known as
the 'Sun of the Isana Dynasty'. It was from the union of his daughter, Mahendradatta, with
the Balinese ruler Udayana, that Airlangga was born.
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