Calcutta Stone

The Calcutta Stone, known in Indonesia as the Pucangan Inscription, is an ancient Javanese inscription written in Sanskrit and Old Javanese, dated to 1041 CE during the reign of king Airlangga of the Kahuripan kingdom, which explains some events and the royal genealogy of the king. The inscription more or less narrates the life story of King Airlangga, one of the greatest kings in Javanese history, also explaining his lineage as the rightful ruler of Java, the successor of King Dharmawangsa of Isyana dynasty. This inscription was known as the "Calcutta Stone" because it has been stored at the Indian Museum in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, from the 19th century until today. The Pucangan inscription is a bilingual inscription carved on both sides of a single monolith. The front side is written in Old Javanese while the other side is written in Sanskrit. Both inscriptions are written in the Kawi script (Ancient Javanese script). The inscription scape is a block with pointed top, on the base of the inscription is adorned with padma (lotus) pedestal. The name Pucangan derived from a word in this inscription. It was the name of a place on the slopes of Mount Penanggungan, today located in Mojokerto Regency, East Java.