Introduction : The History of Bogor

In 450 A.D. Bogor was part of Tarumanegara, the very first Hindu kingdom in Java, and the second in Indonesia after the Kutai Kingdom in Kalimantan. The most popular king of Tarumanegara was Purnavarman, who ruled around the 5th century. It was during his reign the kingdom reached its golden era. The city was
then, with the name Pakuan, the capital of Sunda Kingdom, whence came the founder of the Majapahit empire, Raden Wijaya. Bogor was later part of the Pajajaran Kingdom (1482), ruled by King Siliwangi.
Bogor now houses numerous stone inscriptions (prasasti) from both the Tarumanegara and the Sunda Kingdom. These inscriptions, scattered throughout the urban, suburban, and rural areas of Bogor, are written in Sanskrit using the Pallava writing system.
The most well-known inscriptions are:

• Ciaruteun inscription

This is a large boulder found in a streambed upon which Purnavarman's footprints were engraved together with his Pallava handwriting. The set of footprints show to many that Purnavarman was a kind of divine being, or an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. Indeed, the text on the stone compares his footprints to Vishnu's.

The boulder has now been removed to a protected location with metal fences surrounding it, just a few kilometres away from the river where it was discovered.

• Kaki Gajah inscription

As its name implies, this brown flat stone bears a set of an elephant's footprints. The elephant is presumed to be the royal elephant Purnavarman rode on. The text compares it to the mythical elephant Airawata which belongs to another Hindu god Indra. This inscription was discovered not far from Prasasti Ciaruteun.

• Batutulis inscription

This inscription is located in Batutulis area in the urban Bogor. It is now placed inside a house, across from former president Sukarno's house. It is actually a collection of four stones made by Prabu Surawisesa, one of king Siliwangi's son to honor his father. The first small stone, bearing Siliwangi's footprints, is placed in front of the second stone engraved with the impressions of his knees. The third one is a large, flat, upright brown stone carved with the king's Sanskrit handwriting. These three stones are arranged in such a way that they give the impression that the king was actually kneeling down when carving.

The last stone is a strange cylindrical rock that is set beside the rest of them. Many people say it was Siliwangi's staff, although it seems impossible since this rock is quite wide in diameter.