Tugu inscription, Inscription in Gambir, Central Jakarta, Indonesia

The Tugu inscription is a rounded stone about one meter tall with five lines carved in Pallava script. The text was written in Sanskrit and now rests in the National Museum of Indonesia, where it is kept under controlled conditions.

The stone dates from the mid-5th century and documents projects in which two waterways were altered. A ruler named Purnawarman had this work carried out during his reign and recorded on the stone.

The stone carries the name of a king who cared for irrigation canals and recorded this work in a language used during ceremonial occasions at that time. The script shows how rulers on Java were familiar with South Indian traditions and adopted them for official records.

The stone is housed in the National Museum of Indonesia, where visitors can view it in a climate-controlled gallery. The surface is lit softly so the carved letters become easier to see while preservation is maintained.

A staff topped with a trident is carved upright down the stone, separating the opening and closing of each sentence. The same Pallava script appears on the Cidanghiyang inscription, which led scholars to suggest one carver, called citralekha, made both.