About Airlangga: Monarch of the Javanese Hindu Kingdom Kahuripan (0991 – 1049)
The deified statue of King Iranga depicting Vishnu ascending to Garuda was found in Belahan and is housed in the Trowulan Museum, East Java.
Airlanga (also spelled erlanga), king’s name Rakai Halu Sri Lokeswara Dharmawangsa Airlangga Anantawikramottunggadewa (born 990 in Bali, Indonesia – died 1049 in Java), the only raja in the kingdom of Kahuripan. The kingdom was established from the territory of the kingdom of Medang after Medang was sacked by King Wurawari of Lwaram. He gradually gained support, took back the kingdom once ruled by his uncle, and went on to become one of Java’s most famous kings. Airlanga Literally means “diving”, hence his name meaning “one who has crossed the water”, describing his life story; born in the court of Bali, crossed the Bali Strait to stay in Java when he was young, and later ruled the kingdom of East Java . He is of Isyana and Warmadewa lineage.
early life
Airlangga was born in a dynastic marriage between Isyana in Java and Warmadewa in Bali. His mother Queen Mahendra Datta was a princess of the Isana dynasty and sister of King Dharmawangsa of Medan, while his father was King Udayanawamadwa of Bali, a Balinese King of the Madwa Dynasty. Bali may have been an ally or vassal of Java in the 11th century, and the marriage of Airlangga’s parents may have meant the political establishment of Bali as part of the Medang territory. Airlangga had two younger brothers, Marakata (who later became king of Bali after their father’s death) and Anak Wungçu (who ascended to the Bali throne after Marakata’s death). Later, in various inscriptions written by Ellanga, he claimed to be a descendant of Mpsindok of the Isana dynasty.
However, there is speculation that Airlangga is not the biological son of King Udayana, Mahendradatta may be Airlangga who was pregnant from her previous union with an unknown man, after her separation (whether by death or divorce) Mahendradatta has been with Bali The king got engaged, so she went to Bali with baby Airlangga. Historical sources seem to be silent on Mahendradatta’s suspicions of an earlier marriage, which may have been a scandal, and it didn’t even happen. This suspicion is due to the fact that despite being Mahendra Datta’s eldest son, Airanga was curiously not chosen as Bali’s crown prince, but his younger brother Malakata and later Anak Wangku ( Anak Wungçu) ascended the throne of Bali. Also, Mahendradatta sent Airlangga back to Java when he was a teenager. Mahendradatta, known for popularizing Durga worship in Bali, was later oddly associated with the Balinese legend of the evil witch Rangda, which translates as “widow”.
Born and raised in Bali, Airlangga was raised by his mother, Queen Mahendradatta, to be a suitable future ruler. When he was a teenager, his mother sent him back to his parents’ home in Java for further education at the court of Watugaluh in Medang, East Java, under the patronage of his uncle, King Dharmawangsa. Airlangga was engaged to his cousin, one of Dharmawangsa’s daughters, and thus arranged the marriage. By that time, Meadang had become a powerful kingdom that allied or possibly conquered Bali and established a colony in West Kalimantan. Dharmawangsa aspires to enhance Medang’s regional power by challenging the Srivijaya Empire’s rule. In 990, he launched a naval invasion of Srivijaya and tried unsuccessfully to capture Palembang. Srivijaya successfully repelled the Java Medang invaders.
Calcutta stele inscriptions (dating to 1041 AD) describe the terrible disaster that occurred in the Isana dynasty in East Java in the early 11th century. In 1006, Lwaram’s vassal king, Wurawari, sedition, resulting in the destruction of the capital, Watugaluh. Sri Makutawangsawardhana’s successor King Dharmawangsa was murdered along with his entire family and many of his subjects. Only the young Airlangga, who was about 16 years old at the time, managed to escape unscathed.According to tradition, the disaster is called Playa Medang (death), happened at Airlangga’s wedding at Dharmawangsa Palace.
Historians today strongly suggest that the invasion was actually Srivijayan’s revenge against the Medang Empire. After Dharmawangsa’s failed naval battle against Palembang in 990, Sri Culamanivarmadeva, the maharaja of Srivijaya, saw Java Medang as a dangerous threat, and planned a strategy to destroy Medang by sedition. King Wurawari of Lwaram was probably an ally of Srivijaya of Java and a vassal of Medang. With Srivijaya’s assistance, Wurawari managed to sack and burn down Watugaluh Palace in Medang’s most unexpected moment; Royal Wedding in Airlangga. Accompanied by his guard Narottama, Airlangga fled westward into the jungle and retreated as a hermit to Vanagiri (today Wonogiri, Central Java).
The Struggle and Establishment of the Kingdom of Kahuripan
In 1019, after several years of self-imposed exile in the hermitage of Mount Wanagiri, Erlanga, with the support of officials and regents loyal to the former Isana dynasty, began to unite Dharma, an area formerly ruled by the disintegrated kingdom of Meadang. After Wangsa died. He consolidated his authority, established a new kingdom, and reconciled with Srivijaya. The new kingdom, known as the Kingdom of Kahuripan, was the seat of his capital, from Basuluan in the east to Madion in the west. In 1025, as the Slivoye Empire began to decline, Ellanga increased Kahuripan’s power and influence. Airlangga is known for its religious tolerance and is a patron of Hinduism and Buddhism.
In 1035, Airlangga built a Buddhist monastery called Srivijayasrama dedicated to his queen Dharmaprasadottungadewi. The monastery, called Srivijaya, suggests that his queen may be Princess Srivijayan, a close relative, possibly daughter, of Srivijayan King Sangramavijayattungavarman. She took refuge in East Java after her father was captured, and her kingdom was raided in a series of raids in Chora, India.The king seems to sympathize with Princess Srivijayan’s tragic fate, having lost her family and her kingdom, and may have truly fallen in love with her and devoted herself to her, thus promoting her as Prameswari (queen). Airlangga went further and named his daughter as his heir from Queen Dharmaprasadottungadewi, the future Queen Kahuripan. The decline of Srivijaya due to the Chola invasion gave Airlangga the opportunity to consolidate his kingdom without foreign interference. Later, he expanded the kingdom to Central Java and Bali. For the first time, the northern coast of Java, especially Surabaya and Tuban, became an important trading center.
Although there are few archaeological remains dating back to his time, Airlangga has been known to have been an ardent patron of the arts, especially literature. In 1035, the court poet Mpukanwa wrote “The Karkawin Arjuna Viwaha, adapted from the Mahabharata epic. The text tells the story of Indra’s incarnation, Arjuna, but is also an allegory of Airlangga’s own life. Airlangga’s life story is illustrated in the Belahan Temple flanking Mount Kongan in Penang, where he is portrayed as Vishnu on Garuda Island.
In 1037, the capital was moved from Watan Mas to Kahuripan, and the king also reported giving titles to his loyal followers such as Narottama promoted to Rakryan Kanuruhan (Prime Minister) and Niti to Rakryan Kuningan. According to the Kelagen inscription (1037 AD), Airlangga also developed a keen interest in agricultural development. He started a large-scale irrigation project by building the Wringin Sapta Dam in today’s Jombang Regency. By building a dam on the Brantas River, he provided irrigation for the surrounding rice fields and maintained the area’s hydraulic system.
abdication and death
At the end of his life, Airlangga faced inheritance issues. His heir, Crown Princess Sangramawijaya, decided to become a bhikshuni Buddhist hermit rather than succeed Airlangga as queen. Sangramawijaya is the daughter of Queen Dharmaprasadotunggadewi. The story of a crown prince who abdicated his throne to become a hermit is linked to popular legends living in the caves of Selomalang at the foot of Klotok Mountain, 5 kilometers west of the city of Kediri. As Crown Princess Sangrama Vijaya abdicated the throne, her two half-brothers followed. Both are equally legitimate as heirs and both compete for the throne.
In 1045, Airlangga divided Kahuripan into two kingdoms, which were succeeded by his two sons; Jiangala and Kediri. Airlangga himself abdicated in 1045 and returned to hermit life under the name Resi Gentayu, bestowed by the famous hermit Mpu Bharada. The reason for the division of the kingdom, which Ellanga himself painstakingly united in his youth, remains a mystery to historians. Some believe this was to avoid civil war, as both of El Langa’s sons share the same throne. A local legend, mixed with fantasy fiction, mentions the division of the kingdom. Mpu Bharada is said to have performed the partition; he flew with extraordinary skill, poured water from a jar, and the trail magically turned into a river that marked the boundary between the two new kingdoms. Accidentally got stuck on a tamarind tree, distraught and cursed the tamarind tree to be forever short, hence the name of the village where this happened; kamar pandak (“Short Tamarind Tree”).
Airlangga died in 1049, and his ashes are probably scattered in the Belahan tirtha (sacred bath) on the eastern slope of Penanggungan, and in one of the waterspout statues he is depicted as Vishnu riding a Garuda, flanked by two Statue of the goddess; Shri and Lakshmi depict the two queen consorts of Airlangga.
After Airlangga’s death, a civil war broke out between Janggala and Kediri (aka Panjalu) that lasted until 1052. In that year, King Mapanji Alanjung Ahyes of Panjalu successfully conquered Janggala. However, in 1059, another king named Samarosaha ascended the throne of Jiangala, son-in-law of Aranga.
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