What is "langkasuka"

Langkasuka (langkha Sanskrit for "resplendent land" -sukkha for "bliss") was an ancient Hindu- Buddhist Malay kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula. Another possible source of its name could be the combination of (-langkha Sanskrit for "resplendent land" – and Ashoka in tribute to the legendary Mauryan Hindu warrior king who eventually became a pacifist after embracing the ideals espoused in Buddhism), the ancient kingdoms of the Malay Isthmus – Langkasuka having been one of them – believed by some scholars to have been first founded or rebuilt by emissaries or descendants of Ashoka from Magadha in India.

The kingdom, along with Old Kedah, is probably among the earliest kingdoms founded on the Malay Peninsula. The exact location of the kingdom is of some debate, but archaeological discoveries at Yarang near Pattani, Thailand suggest a probable location. The kingdom is believed to have been founded in the 2nd century.