king of eastern Java from about 985 and the first historical Javanese whose life is known in any detail.

Dharmavamsa was a Saivite king whose reign is noted for its literary achievements, including a translation of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata into Javanese. A legal code that the king developed is still in use in Bali. He established tributary relations with Bali and parts of Borneo and attacked the powerful Sumatran kingdom of Śrivijaya, which retaliated with a military expedition that decimated eastern Java; Dharmavamsa himself was killed. His kingdom was later restored under the leadership of his son-in-law Erlangga.