Indra and Saktimuna
This short note by R. O. Winstedt, published in JMBRAS Vol. 23 (1950), addresses two topics: the etymological and mythological connections between the Malay legend of Saktimuna and the Rigvedic Indra, and a brief acknowledgment of Sir Roland Braddell’s superior identifications of Takola and Langkasuka.
Summary
Winstedt traces the Malay legend of the first ruler of Minangkabau slaying Saktimuna (variously “Serpent of wondrous power” or “Water Giant”) to the Rigvedic account of Indra, the thunder-god, who cleaves a cloud-mountain to release waters, as explained by Hocart in Kings and Councillors (p. 151). He notes that early Malay rulers claimed to be incarnations of Indra, Lord of Meru, and that the legend’s association with a prince who descended from the sky and improved the rice-crop confirms the weather-god connection (p. 152).
In the second note, Winstedt concedes that Sir Roland Braddell’s identifications supersede his own earlier views: accepting Trang rather than Takuapa as the site of Takola, and agreeing that Langkasuka was essentially an east coast state (p. 152).