1 837-] an d on ^ te Progress of Buddhism to the £ as hoard. 13 



dated. If reliance can be placed on the traditions of the Malays, they 

 possessed religious books and a code of laws written in a character now 

 unknown (probably a modification of the Kdwi), of which the zeal of 

 their Mahomedan converters have obliterated every vestige. The many 

 Hindu words; in the body of the language, still in use, the frequent 

 allusions in their popular historical romances and poems, to the Rama- 

 yanaand Mahabharat, contribute to strengthen the plausibility of these 

 traditions. It is certain that, at a very early period, a considerable inter- 

 course subsisted between the peninsula of Malacca, India, and Siam. 

 From one or both of these sources we must attribute the introduction of 

 Hinduism or Buddhism. 



In the Sejdra Maldyn we are informed that Raja Suran, the monarch 

 of Amdam Nagara, and founder of the city of Bijanagar,* penetrated to 

 the southern extremity of the peninsula, with an army amounting to one 

 thousand and two lacs of men from the country of Kling (Kalinga), with 

 an intention of invading China. He marched by Perak southerly to the 

 country of Glangkin, which appears to have been formerly a great king- 

 dom on the Johore river, where he defeated and slew its sovereign 

 Raja Chulan ; who, according to the Malayan historians, was superior 

 to all the Rajas of the countries lying under the wind. This kingdom 

 was probably that of Zabaje. According to Major Wilford,f " In the 

 peninsula of Malacca, was the famous emporium of Zdba : Zdbdja, in 

 Sanscrit, would signify those of Zdba. The empire of Zabaje was 

 thus called probably from its metropolis Zaba, as well as the principal 

 islands near it. Zaba was a famous emporium even as early as the 

 time of Ptolemy. It remained so till the time of the two Musulman 

 travellers of Remandot, and probably much longer. It is now called 

 Bdtu Sdbor, on the river Johore, which is as large as the Euphrates* 

 according to these two travellers ; who add that the town of Calabar, 

 on the coast of CoromandeJ, and ten days to the south of Madras, 

 belonged to the Maharaja of Zabaje" The wars of this Maharaja 

 with the king of Al-Comr, or countries near Cape Comorin, are men- 

 tioned by the two Musulman travellers, in the ninth century : and it 

 seems that, at that time, the Malayan empire was in its greatest 

 splendour. Johore in 1511 became the capital of a Musulman empire, 

 but is now dwindled into a small fishing village. The chief still retains 

 the title of sultan of Johore. It is in the vicinity of this place and the 

 capital of Malacca that remains of the ancient religion, temples, sculp- 

 tured inscriptions and idols, if they do exist at all, are to be looked for. 

 Not far from the mouth of the Johore river, on the island of Singapore 



* The present city of Bijanagar was founded in 133G by two brothers named Aka 

 Hurryhur and Bucca Hurryhur, on the traditional site of one still more ancient. 

 + As. Res. ix, page 39; 



