Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 3Eliot, Charles
Religion
Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 3
Eliot, Charles
Asia -- Religion; Buddhism; Hinduism
One of the national heroes of Java is Djajabaja[391] who is supposed
to have lived in the ninth century. But tradition must be wrong here,
for the free poetic rendering of part of the Mahabharata called
Bhârata-Yuddha, composed by Mpoe Sĕdah in 1157 A.D., is dedicated
to him, and his reign must therefore be placed later than the
traditional date. He is said to have founded the kingdom of Daha in
Kediri, but his inscriptions merely indicate that he was a worshipper
of Vishṇu. Literature and art flourished in east Java at this
period for it would seem that the Kawi Ramayana and an _ars poetica_
called Vṛitta-sañcaya[392] were written about 1150 and that the
temple of Panataran was built between 1150 and 1175.
In western Java we have an inscription of 1030 found on the river
Tjitjatih. It mentions a prince who is styled Lord of the World and
native tradition, confirmed by inscriptions, which however give few
details, relates that in the twelfth century a kingdom called
Padjadjaran was founded in the Soenda country south of Batavia by
princes from Toemapĕl in eastern Java.
There is a gap in Javanese history from the reign of Djajabaja till
1222 at which date the Pararaton[393], or Book of the Kings of
Toemapĕl and Madjapahit, begins to furnish information. The Sung
annals[394] also give some account of the island but it is not
clear to what years their description refers. They imply, however,
that there was an organized government and that commerce was
flourishing. They also state that the inhabitants "pray to the gods
and Buddha": that Java was at war with eastern Sumatra: that embassies
were sent to China in 992 and 1109 and that in 1129 the Emperor gave
the ruler of Java (probably Djajabaja) the title of king.
The Pararaton opens with the fall of Daha in 1222 which made
Toemapĕl, known later as Singasari, the principal kingdom. Five of
its kings are enumerated, of whom Vishṇuvardhana was buried in the
celebrated shrine of Tjandi Djago, where he was represented in the
guise of Buddha. His successor Śrî Râjasanâgara was praised by the
poet Prapantja[395] as a zealous Buddhist but was known by the
posthumous name of Śivabuddha. He was the first to use the name of
Singasâri and perhaps founded a new city, but the kingdom of
Toemapĕl came to an end in his reign for he was slain by Djaja
Katong[396], prince of Daha, who restored to that kingdom its previous
primacy, but only for a short time, since it was soon supplanted by
Madjapahit. The foundation of this state is connected with a Chinese
invasion of Java, related at some length in the Yüan annals[397], so
that we are fortunate in possessing a double and fairly consistent
account of what occurred.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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