Sanjaya dynasty

This inscription was written in the Pallava script and describes the erection of a linga (a symbol of Shiva) on the hill in the Kunjarakunja area.

[2] According to Carita Parahyangan (a later text which primarily describes the history of the Sunda Kingdom), Sanjaya was the son of Sanna and Sannaha sannāha (Old Javanese for 'armed, ready').

The Sanjaya and Shailendra dynasties co-existed during this period in central Java, which was characterized by peace and cooperation.

[3] Later Shailendran kings, successors of Panangkaran, also became followers of Mahayana Buddhism and gave it royal patronage in Java until the end of Samaratungga's reign.

The Shailendra family used the Old Malay language in some of their inscriptions, which suggests the dynasty's origin in Sumatra and their connections with Srivijaya.

This theory posits that the Shailendras, with their strong connections to Srivijaya, gained control of central Java and ruled the rakais (local Javanese lords); this included the Sanjaya, incorporating the dynasty's kings into their bureaucracy.

The Javanese kingdoms maintained a close relationship with the Champa polities of mainland Southeast Asia as early as the Sanjaya dynasty.

[4] Information about the Sanjaya dynasty is also found in the 907 Balitung inscription; when a ruler died, he assumed a divine form.

Around the 850s, Pikatan began construction of the Prambanan temple in central Java; it was later completed and expanded by King Balitung.

Possible causes include an eruption of the Merapi volcano, a power struggle, or political pressure from the Shailendra dynasty in the Srivijaya Empire.