Kakawin Hariwangsa
Encyclopedia
Kakawin Hariwangsa is an Old Javanese
poem in Indian
metres (kakawin
or kavya
) which tells the story of Krishna
, as an Avatar
of Vishnu
, when he wished to marry the Goddess Rukminī, from the land of Kundina
, and daughter of Lord Bhishmaka
. Rukmini is an avatar of the goddess Śrī.
Harivamśa in Sanskrit
is a literary work about Vishnu and his family tree in which the story of the marriage of Krishna and Rukminī is but a small part. Therefore, in the case of the Kakawin Hariwangsa, the name is not entirely appropriate because this kakawin only covers a small part of the story outlined in the Harivamśa.
Thus, Krishna wanted to elope with the goddess Rukminī. One evening before the celebrations for the wedding were held, Krishna went to Kundina and ran away with Rukmini. Guests from many countries had already arrived at the wedding. Lord Bhishmaka was extremely angry, and he immediately held discussions with the other visiting kings. They were scared to confront Krishna as he was known to have magical powers. Then Jarasanda developed a strategy to fight him, that is to enlist the assistance of Yudistira and the other Pandava
.
A messenger was then sent to Lord Yudistira, who was quite confused. On the one hand, he had the obligation to a noble knight to protect the earth and fight evil. Krishna was a close friend of the Pandava, however his actions were wrong and had to be punished. Finally he agreed to help Jarasanda. Nevertheless, Bhima
was furious and wished to kill murder Jarasanda's messenger, but was prevented by Arjuna
. A short while later, they received a visit from an ambassador from Krishna asking their help. Because they had already promised their help to Jarasanda, Yudistira was forced to turn down the request while telling the ambassador that Krishna had no need to worry because of his divine powers.
The five Pandava then left for the land of Karawira, where Lord Jarasanda ruled, and then all the Kaurava
invaded Dwarawati, Krishna's country.
Meanwhile, Krishna was preparing to face his enemies, helped by his older brother, Baladewa. The two of them defeated many enemies. Jarasanda, the Kaurava, Bima and Nakula and Sahadewa were all slain. Yudistira was rendered unconscious by Krishna and couldn't move. Then Krishna was challenged by Arjuna and nearly lost, and thus the god Vishnu descended from heaven. Krishna, as an avatar of Vishnu turned into Vishnu, while Arjuna, who was also an avatar of Vishna, also turned into Vishnu. Yudistira then became conscious again, and asked Vishnu to bring back to life all those who had been slain in the fighting. Vishnu agreed, and He rained down immortality and all those who had been slain came back to life, including Jarasanda. They all then joined the festivities for Krishna's wedding in Dwarawati.
which he wrote with mpu Sedah.
There are also several things in the kakawin that are both awkward and interesting, for instance, how the Pandava were able to be wounded fighting Krishna, while their allies in the story were the Kaurava, who were actually hereditary enemies of the Pandava. Indeed, everything ends well for all parties, something which generally does not happen in Indian epic literature, and this is an indication of an "Indonesianisation" of this kakawin. Indeed, there are experts who believe that this kakawin is in truth a script intended specifically for a Wayang
performance.
Old Javanese language
Old Javanese is the oldest phase of the Javanese language that was spoken in areas in what is now the eastern part of Central Java and the whole of East Java....
poem in Indian
Languages of India
The languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages—Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages...
metres (kakawin
Kakawin
Kakawin are long narrative poems composed in Old Javanese, also called "Kawi", written in verse form with rhythms and metres derived from Sanskrit literature. Poets used a formalized literary language, rather than the vernacular...
or kavya
Kavya
Kavya refers to the Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets flourishing from the first half of the seventh century AD. This literary style is characterised by abundant usage of figures of speech, metaphors, similes, and hyperbole to create its emotional effects...
) which tells the story of Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
, as an Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
, when he wished to marry the Goddess Rukminī, from the land of Kundina
Kundina
Kundina is an ancient Indian city, named as part of Kanishka's territory in the Rabatak inscription. It is thought that is it the locality of Kaundinyapura on the Wardha River in the Amravati Division of Vidarbha, or Berar in Maharashtra, which is an archaeological site identified as a trading city...
, and daughter of Lord Bhishmaka
Bhishmaka
In Hinduism, Bhishmaka was the king of Vidarbha. He was the father of Rukmini, who married the Hindu deity Krishna....
. Rukmini is an avatar of the goddess Śrī.
The meaning of the title
In its most fundamental meaning, Hariwangsa means the genealogy or family tree of the god Hari, or Vishnu. In IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
Harivamśa in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
is a literary work about Vishnu and his family tree in which the story of the marriage of Krishna and Rukminī is but a small part. Therefore, in the case of the Kakawin Hariwangsa, the name is not entirely appropriate because this kakawin only covers a small part of the story outlined in the Harivamśa.
Contents
The Lord Krishna was walking in a garden when he received a visit from the god Narada, who told him that his designated wife, an avatar of the goddess Śrī, was going to descend to earth in the land of Kundina. Krishna, as an avatar of the god Vishnu, must marry her. This avatar of the goddess Sri was called the goddess Rukminī, who would be the daughter of prabu Bhishmaka. However, the royal Jarasanda was about to marry her to the King of Cedi, who was called Lord Cedya.Thus, Krishna wanted to elope with the goddess Rukminī. One evening before the celebrations for the wedding were held, Krishna went to Kundina and ran away with Rukmini. Guests from many countries had already arrived at the wedding. Lord Bhishmaka was extremely angry, and he immediately held discussions with the other visiting kings. They were scared to confront Krishna as he was known to have magical powers. Then Jarasanda developed a strategy to fight him, that is to enlist the assistance of Yudistira and the other Pandava
Pandava
In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu , by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Although, Karna is told by Lord Krishna that according to the laws and ethics he is the first son of Kunti making...
.
A messenger was then sent to Lord Yudistira, who was quite confused. On the one hand, he had the obligation to a noble knight to protect the earth and fight evil. Krishna was a close friend of the Pandava, however his actions were wrong and had to be punished. Finally he agreed to help Jarasanda. Nevertheless, Bhima
Bhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
was furious and wished to kill murder Jarasanda's messenger, but was prevented by Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
. A short while later, they received a visit from an ambassador from Krishna asking their help. Because they had already promised their help to Jarasanda, Yudistira was forced to turn down the request while telling the ambassador that Krishna had no need to worry because of his divine powers.
The five Pandava then left for the land of Karawira, where Lord Jarasanda ruled, and then all the Kaurava
Kaurava
The term Kaurava is a Sanskrit term, that means the descendants of Kuru, a legendary king who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the Mahābhārata.The term is used in the Mahābhārata with two meanings:...
invaded Dwarawati, Krishna's country.
Meanwhile, Krishna was preparing to face his enemies, helped by his older brother, Baladewa. The two of them defeated many enemies. Jarasanda, the Kaurava, Bima and Nakula and Sahadewa were all slain. Yudistira was rendered unconscious by Krishna and couldn't move. Then Krishna was challenged by Arjuna and nearly lost, and thus the god Vishnu descended from heaven. Krishna, as an avatar of Vishnu turned into Vishnu, while Arjuna, who was also an avatar of Vishna, also turned into Vishnu. Yudistira then became conscious again, and asked Vishnu to bring back to life all those who had been slain in the fighting. Vishnu agreed, and He rained down immortality and all those who had been slain came back to life, including Jarasanda. They all then joined the festivities for Krishna's wedding in Dwarawati.
Author
Kakawin Hariwangsa was written by mpu Panuluh while Lord Jayabaya ruled in Kediri from 1135 to 1157 AD.Themes
The themes discussed in the Kakawin Hariwangsa are similar to those in the Kakawin Kresnâyana. Experts in Old Javanese literature are of the opinion that the kakawin Hariwangsa was more successful in its execution of the themes that occur in both works. The kakawin Hariwangsa is simpler than the Kresnayana, so it is possible that mpu Panuluh re-composed an existing story for unknown purposes. There is also the possibility that he was requested to compose the story by Lord Jayabaya or indeed did so just because he wished to. In the kakawin itself, it is written that mpu Panuluh wrote it because: "tambenya pangiketkw apét laleh", which means "the reason for composing this story is to seek success." This is taken by ancient Javanese literature experts to mean that this kakawin is only a draft. Mpu Panuluh is also known for the kakawin BharatayuddhaKakawin Bharatayuddha
Kakawin Bhāratayuddha is an Old Javanese poetical rendering of some books of the Mahabharata by Mpu Sedah and his brother Mpu Panuluh in Indian meters . The commencement of this work was exactly November 6, 1157. The year of the composition is given in a chronogram sanga-kuda-śuddha-candramā which...
which he wrote with mpu Sedah.
There are also several things in the kakawin that are both awkward and interesting, for instance, how the Pandava were able to be wounded fighting Krishna, while their allies in the story were the Kaurava, who were actually hereditary enemies of the Pandava. Indeed, everything ends well for all parties, something which generally does not happen in Indian epic literature, and this is an indication of an "Indonesianisation" of this kakawin. Indeed, there are experts who believe that this kakawin is in truth a script intended specifically for a Wayang
Wayang
Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...
performance.