[3][4] According to Reinout Willem van Bemmelen, a Dutch geologist, the name Sunda was derived from Sanskrit term Shuddha,[5] which means "white" and "pure".

It seems that by the 10th century, the name Sunda was used by foreigners, possibly by early Indian explorers, Malay Srivijayan traders and colonizer, as well as Javanese neighbours, as a toponym to identify the Western parts of Java.

This inscription is again written in Kawi script, and mentions the establishment of a protected sacred area called Sanghyang Tapak by the King Jayabhupati of Sunda.

The Kebantenan IV inscription details that Sri Baduga Maharaja, who ruled in Pakuan, sanctioned a similar sacred estate at Gunung Samya (Mount Rancamaya).

The people are working in agriculture, their houses are on poles and the roofs are thatched with the bark of the leaves of palm trees and the walls were made with wooden boards tied together with rattan.

As, however, there is no regular government in this country, the people are given to brigandage, on which account foreign traders rarely go there.According to this source, the kingdom of Sunda produced high-quality black pepper.

According to Kebon Kopi II inscription, dated from 932, discovered near Bogor, a skilled hunter named Rakryan Juru Pangambat, declared that the authority is restored to the king of Sunda.

The name Sunda appeared in Javanese source, the Pararaton, reported that in 1336, during the inauguration of his newly appointed position as Prime Minister, Gajah Mada declared the Palapa oath, which stated his foreign policy to unify the archipelago under Majapahit domination.

The next king of Sunda was Niskala Wastu Kancana, who was the youngest son of Prabu Maharaja and younger brother to Princess Dyah Pitaloka, who both perished in Bubat Incident.

According to one of Astana Gede inscriptions, approximately dated from the second half of the 14th century, the king ordered the construction of defensive structures, walls and moats surrounding Kawali city, and renovated Surawisesa palace.

Carita Parahyangan tells that "... kena salah twa(h) bogo(h) ka estri larangan ti kaluaran ..," which translate as "because (his) wrongdoing, fell in love with a forbidden outsider woman.

[1]: 394 The kingdom anxiously watched the growing influence of the expansive Islamic Sultanate of Demak that finally succeeded in destroying Daha, the remnant of the Hindu Majapahit court in 1527.

Bujangga Manik manuscript, written circa the second half of the 15th century reported that the eastern boundary of Sunda Kingdom realm was the Cipamali river in present-day Brebes.

According to Purwaka Caruban Nagari, a Sunda king Prabu Siliwangi married Nyai Subang Larang, daughter of Ki Gedeng Tapa, port master of Muara Jati (today Cirebon).

In 1512 and again in 1521, he sent his son, the crown prince Surawisesa also known as Ratu Sang Hyang (Samian) to Malacca to request the Portuguese to sign an alliance treaty, to trade in pepper and to build a fort at his main port of Sunda Kalapa.

Under this threat, Surawisesa, who reigned from 1521 to 1535, concluded the treaty with Portuguese from Malacca to establish a warehouse and fortress at Sunda Kelapa in return for protection against the menace of these Islamic Sultanates.

This Sunda ruler agreed to an arrangement of friendship with the King of Portugal and granted a fortress at the mouth of the Ciliwung River where the Portuguese could load as many peppers as they wished.

Sunan Gunungjati of Cirebon later crowned his son, Hasanuddin, as the king of Banten under the auspices of the Sultan of Demak who, in turn, offered Hasanudin his sister's hand in marriage.

The reign of Prabu Ratu Dewata between 1535 and 1543 was known as a chaotic and difficult one full of hardship, as Islamic forces from Cirebon and Banten tried multiple times to capture the Dayeuh Pakuan capital.

During Ratu Dewata reign, the Carita Parahyangan reported several calamities befell the kingdom; there was a sudden attack, a lot of enemies razed the city[which?

Unable to control the kingdom, instead of fulfilling his duty by maintaining the law and order, Prabu Ratu Dewata retreated himself to become a Raja Pandita (priestly king), submitted himself deeply into religious rituals as an apparently desperate appeal for gods' salvation.

[1]: 404 The tradition hailed that King Jayadewata ruled justly from his beautiful Kadatwan (palace) called Sri Bima Punta Narayana Madura Suradipati at Pakuan Pajajaran, and his reign is celebrated as the golden age for Sundanese people.

[1]: 402 Through the study on the 14th century inscriptions in Astana Gede site in Kawali, historian suggests that the political model of Sunda Kingdom adhered the concept of Tri Tangtu di Buana, which administrative power was distributed in triad among three elements; Prebu (king), Rama (village chief or regional elder) and Resi (rishi priestly class of religious authority).

Much of our current knowledge on detailed social order and the bureaucracy structure of the kingdom, is owed to the Sundanese manuscript of Sanghyang siksakanda ng karesian, compiled around 1518.

Based on the primary manuscript in Ancient Sundanese, Bujangga Manik (which tells the story of Bujangga Manik's journey, a Sundanese Hinduism priest who visited Hindu holy places on the islands of Java and Bali in the early 16th century), which is currently kept in the Boedlian Library, Oxford University in England since 1627, the boundary of the Sunda Kingdom to the east is Ci Pamali (Pamali River) and Ci Serayu (Serayu River) in Central Java province.

[1]: 379  The Hindu pantheon, such as Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesvara, Rudra, Sadasiva, Yama, Varuna, Kuvera, Indra and Besravaka, were also mentioned in the ancient Sundanese manuscript of Sewakadharma or also known as Serat Dewabuda, dated 1357 Saka or 1435 CE.

[1]: 379 The Sundanese manuscript of spiritual guidance, the Sanghyang Siksakanda ng Karesian also demonstrate Hinduism religious outlook and frame of references, although it seems already mixed with some sorts of Buddhism spirituality. "

This indication emerged from the veneration of Hyang figure, which considered possess higher status than Hindu-Buddhist deities, as it is shown in Sanghyang Siksakanda Ng Karesian manuscript (1518): "...mangkubumi bakti di ratu, ratu bakti di dewata, dewata bakti di hyang...", which means "...mangkubumi submit to the king, king submit to the gods, and gods submit to hyang..."[27] Ancient Sundanese society did not build temples that are meticulously decorated with exquisite bas-reliefs as demonstrated in temples built by neighbouring Javanese in central and east Java that flourished around the same era.

However, according to the Chinese Song dynasty book Zhu Fan Zhi,[29] written around 1225 by Zhao Rugua, Sin-t'o (Sunda), was still part of San-fo-tsi (Srivijaya) 15 tributaries.

Euweuh anu tani modar ku lapar (Pantun Bogor: Kujang di Hanjuang siang, Sutaarga 1984:47)Translation: It was better during the Pajajaran era, when Kuwera (the god of wealth) was still revered.