| Abstract: |
This paper makes an effort to understand the Champa polity from the second-tenth centuries CE by re-assessing archaeological evidence (beyond temples and citadels) and epigraphic data. One of the chief issues is to assess how far a polity can be reconstructed of ‘Early’ Champa (second-fourth centuries CE) purely from archaeological remains, and in what ways it may be connected to post-sixth century developments, when stelae inscriptions in Sanskrit began to be issued by rulers. Recent scholarship prefers to see the post-sixth century developments as a history of power struggles between independent and often rival entities, all defined by the generic name ‘Champa’. While the core argument here is in agreement with this, the discussion is expanded to defining the nature of polity, raising certain queries regarding legitimation as well as ‘Indianization’. Possible analogies from the early medieval state in India are drawn to explain the phenomenon of legitimation. It is admitted that sporadic archaeological work and limitations in-built in Champa epigraphy hinder a better understanding of polity.
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