He was wed to Princess Wan Sri Bini, the daughter of Permaisuri Iskandar Syah, the Queen of the Kingdom of Bentan [id] on Bintan Island,[9] and received high honours comprising a golden crown studded with precious stones and a royal signet ring indicating his authority.

[10] He landed safely on the beach, and went to hunt wild animals near the river mouth on a patch of open ground, now referred to as the Padang.

Dark red hair called rambut janggi, said to be of this mythical beast but probably actually from orangutans, adorn lances that were kept by the Minangkabaus as heirlooms.

Regardless of the exact species of animal, the symbolism of the Asiatic lion as an emblem of power was strongly established through the spread of Buddhist culture in Southeast Asia.

[13] As related in the Suma Oriental of Tome Pires, there are striking similarities between the biographies of both individuals, namely their birth in Palembang, and founding (or usurpation) of Singapore.

[18] Confusing matters further is that "Parameswara", deriving from the Sanskrit for "Supreme Lord", was a highly popular title amongst contemporary rulers both in mainland and archipelagic Southeast Asia.

[18] These differences may reflect ideological differences in their sources; Pires named a "Javanese chronicle" as his source for Parameswara's biography, and is therefore more likely to have transmitted biases among the Majapahit against their Sumatran predecessors in Palembang, whereas the Malay Annals seek to highlight historical connections between the Kingdom of Singapura and its successor states of the Melaka Sultanate and the Johor Sultanate, promoting the legitimacy of its contemporary publishers in Johore.

It is therefore unclear as to whether Singapore's 14th-15th century archaeology thus reflects five generations' worth of trade and exchange begun by Sang Nila Utama, or the Majapahit world-order and its brief disruption by Parameswara.

Raffles suggested the date of 1160 for Singapura's founding, which was actually taken from Francois Valentijn, who determined in 1724 that this was when Sri Tri Buana (a title associated with Sang Nila Utama) was crowned in Palembang.

Valentijn had used a list of kings available to him that disclosed the stated reign durations of a line of Malay rulers of Singapura, Melaka, and Johor, that ended with Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah IV (r.1699–1720).

[21] Linehan's theory was long discredited by Wang Gungwu's verification that Parameswara and Iskandar Shah were not the same persons, but father and son, as the Ming dynasty records stated.