KṚTANAGARA AND THE RESURRECTION OF MPU BHARĀDA

Abstract

This article explores the significance of the division of Airlangga's kingdom for the 14th century rulers of Majapahit, specifically through an examination of the Akṣobhya image of Kṛtanagara and the shrine built for his daughter and spiritual successor, the Rājapatnī. Arguing against the commonly held view that these monuments were erected for the purpose of ‘neutralising’ the work of Ārya Bharāda, who had ritually divided the land of Java in the 11th century, the author proposes that they were intended rather as vehicles for communion with the departed sage. Following his ‘resurrection’ by Kṛtanagara, Bharāda became a patron saint for the king's descendants in the 14th century, drawing the founder of Majapahit to establish his palace close to the site of his father-in-law's ‘talisman’ at Lěmah Tulis, and later presiding over the consecration of the Rājapatnī's shrine at Kamal Pandak. Described in detail by the poet Prapañca, this last-mentioned event is interpreted as an effort on the part of the Rājapatnī and her progeny to perpetuate the religious and political revolution initiated by Kṛtanagara in the previous century. *This article is based on a paper, ‘Dimana letak dharma Sang Rājapatnı¯ di Kamal Pandak?’, presented at the Pertemuan Ilmiah Arkeologi X dan Kongres Ikatan Ahli Arkeologi Indonesia (IAAI), Yogyakarta, 2005.