Langkasuka was an ancient Hindu-Buddhist kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula.[1][2] The name
is Sanskrit in origin; it is thought to be a combination of langkha for "resplendent land" -sukkha for
"bliss". The kingdom, along with Old Kedah, is among the earliest kingdoms founded on the Malay
Peninsula. The exact location of the kingdom is of some debate, but archaeological discoveries at
Yarang near Pattani, Thailand suggest a probable location. The kingdom is proposed to have been
established in the 1st century, perhaps between 80 and 100 AD.[3]
According to the legend given in the Kedah Annals, the kingdom was founded and named by Merong
Mahawangsa. Another proposal suggests that the name may have been derived from langkha and
Ashoka, the Mauryan Hindu warrior king who eventually became a pacifist after embracing the
ideals espoused in Buddhism, and that the early Indian colonizers of the Malayic Isthmus named the
kingdom Langkasuka in his honour.[4] Chinese historical sources provided some information on the
kingdom and recorded a king Bhagadatta who sent envoys to the Chinese court.
Historical records
The earliest and most detailed description of the kingdom comes from the Chinese Liang dynasty
(502–557) record Liangshu, which refers to the kingdom of "Lang-ya-xiu" (Chinese: 狼牙脩, Middle
Chinese: lɑŋ ŋˠa sɨu). The record mentions that the kingdom was founded over 400 years earlier,[5]
which made its founding likely some time in the late 1st or early 2nd century. According to Liangshu,
"Lang-ya-xiu" or Langkasuka was 30 days' journey from east to west, and 20 from north to south,
24,000 li in distance from Guangzhou. It mentions that Aloeswood (Aquilaria) and camphor were
abundant in the kingdom, and its capital was described as being surrounded by walls to form a city
with double gates, towers and pavilions. Both men and women in Langkasuka wore sarongs with
their torsos bare and their hair loose, although the king and senior officials covered their shoulders
with cloth and wore gold earrings and belts of gold cord. Women of high status wrapped themselves
in cloth and wore jeweled girdles.[5] It gives further information on some of its kings and also relates
a story on a succession: