Masterpiece
SINGHASARI
Singhasari, a short-lived kingdom of less than one century old, was ruled by only five kings. Yet it became the forerunner of the great Majapahit Empire that united the archipelago, Nusantara.
In the year of 1104 Saka, there was a warlord, son of Girinatha, born without a mother. His name is Sri Rangga Rajasa, a fighter against the enemy, and to his name everybody bowed down on their knees in devotion. In the vast and prosperous area east of Mount Kawi, the son of Shiva did his dharma, trained the officers, eliminated crimes, upheld good deeds and filial piety, and established the city state, Kota Raja.
Ken Angrok met with Tunggul Ametung’s wife, Ken Dedes. One day in a garden, Ken Angrok was shocked to see Ken Dedes glowed when she descended from her carriage. Ken Angrok consulted his sighting to his guru, Lohgawe, who prophesied whoever marry Ken Dedes Ademaswari would become the king of Java. In this pursuit, Ken Angrok ordered a keris from Empu Gandring that he then used to kill Tunggul Ametung on his bed.
In his new position as Akuwu (Sub-district head) in Tumapel, a priest from Daha came to him for protection due to the ongoing political turmoil. Later in the year of 1144 Saka, this priest ordained Ken Angrok as a king. As was chronicled in Pararaton, he defeated Sriragi Dandang Gendis or Sri Kertajaya, the last king of Kediri, and when Ken Angrok returned to Tumapel, he united the kingdoms of Janggala and Panjalu into one great Singhasari kingdom.
Singhasari laid down the foundation of a unitary state and bequeathed the most breathtaking sculptures. The mighty Durga Mahisasuramardini, Ganesha and Bhairawa adorned with Tantrayana arts, and Prajanaparamita believed to be a portrait of Ken Dedes or Goddess Gayatri – we will reveal them in today’s Unboxing Heritage of the Singosari Kingdom that is the forerunner of the great Majapahit Empire.
Singhasari’s capital is in Kutaraja, a place where two rivers meet – Brantas River and Bangau River – also known as tempuran in Java, or Supit Urang in Malang. Because the area has natural borders, a trench was made surrounding the area. And what’s the evidence of that? There should have been 149 sculptures which are now unfortunately lost. We could also see remains of a bathhouse as evidence of an ancient kraton called Kutaraja. In the Afdeling de Pasuruan map from 1800, that particular area was called Kutorejo, so Kuta Raja became Kutorejo. The capital was located there until the kraton was moved by Wisnu Wardhana to Candi Jago.
So Candi Kidal was built for Anusapati and his dharma, while Candi Jago for Wisnu Wardhana’s. The capital was moved from Kuta Raja to Singhasari Negara, although in scriptures it is also known as Tumapel.
Now, where is the kraton? It is behind the two Dwarapalas, which about 14 metres between them. There’s a straight pathway towards Kadipaten site, which has been suggested as the site of the kraton. Because the kraton was believed to be built using timber, there are only remains of ceramics, brick foundations, and pedestals that are now moved into the local people’s houses.
At the front of the kraton, all the way until Candi Singosari, there’s a plaza known as alun-alun. It was still called the latter when Raffles came.
During the Singhasari period, the concept of a united kingdom was implemented for the first time, following the establishment of a unitary state by Kediri Kingdom. It was also during the Singhasari period the concept of kings as gods’ incarnations was introduced and gained popularity that every temple built became a place for devotion and dharma for the kings, as it was in Egypt and other necropolis.
Candi Kidal is a dharma (red. place of sacred burial) for Anusapati, the second king after Ken Angrok, whilst Ken Angrok had a temple in Kagenengan as his dharma. Candi Jago is a dharma for Wisnu Wardhana, the fourth king of the Rajasa dynasty that ruled over Singhasari. Candi Singosari is a dharma for Kertanegara, the fifth and last king of Singhasari after it was attached by King Jayakatwang from Gelang-Gelang Kingdom in Kediri.
When Ken Angrok became king, Tunggul Ametung’s first son was born and his name was Anusapati. Anusapati tried to revenge the death of his father and he eventually killed Ken Angrok and became king. He was then killed by Tohjaya, son of Ken Angrok and Ken Umang, and became the third king.
We can trace the toponym of Candi Kidal to that of Kidal Village. Candi Kidal is considered an important site for the evidence in its relationship with Anusapati, as chronicled in both Pararaton and Negarakertagama.
.:: THE MASTERPICE ::.
The sculptures of Singhasari is one of, if not the most beautiful art form, as seen in its detailed carvings, and also in the high aesthetics of its Tantrayana iconography of their gods and goddesses’ incarnation into their kings and queens.
Candi Singosari used to be called Candi Menara for its towering shape, and Stutterheim, a Dutch scholar, called it Candi Cella for its four chambers on each side of the walls. The chambers used to house beautiful sculptures of the pantheon. According to the report, Candi Singosari was a complex of seven temples, which sadly are now in ruins. Only Candi Menara still stands tall. The local people named it Candi Cungkup, and some Candi Renggo, until at the end it is officially named Candi Singosari, the same name with the village in which the temple is located. Nobody knows the original name because it was buried for several hundred years until it was finally discovered in 1803.
To fully understand the high art of Singhasari culture, we have to observe the sculptures of that period. Let’s look at the style of the textile worn by four Singhasari sculptures housed in Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden – Durga, Nandiswara, Mahakala, and Ganesha. They are wearing cropped jacket with rounded collar that covers only up to the upper side of the stomach. Each jacket adorns different patterns. We can study many details from these jackets, such as the side seam and the chest-front strap. These details reveal that the Singhasari jacket has similarities with Balinese Sesimping used by princes, warriors, and dancers.
We can try to understand the meaning of the Singhasari cropped jacket from a scene in the relief of Candi Jago. It was part of a love story between Prince Sudana and Manohara, a Kinari princess. Sudana is wearing a sleeveless, cropped jacket during a dangerous situation in which he had to cross two rivers, that according to Keith O’Brien, one of them is the River Snake that can only be crossed using a magical talisman, which is the cropped jacket.
Other curious attire on these four sculptures is the fabric worn to cover their lower body. Durga wears two sheets of fabric, one covers down to her ankle with skull patterns, and one covers down to her knees with flower patterns. Similarly, Ganesha’s skull patterns are even more pronounced. They appear not only on Ganesha’s fabric, but also on his earrings, crown, cup, and a pedestal made out of rows of skulls.
Other patterns found in the fabric include a face which may symbolize a Kala head. We can compare the similarities of the fabric patterns in Ganesha in Leiden and in Bangkok National Museum, Thailand, which is also from Singhasari. It is also interesting to look at the fabrics worn by Nandiswara and Mahakala, because we can still trace them to current patterns of overlapping circles.
We can be sure that these fabrics were influenced by a foreign culture that entered Java during the Singhasari period. There are similarities with patterns painted in illustrations on the temple ceilings in Pagan, Myanmar from the 13th century. At the same period, we can also trace similar patterns in Cambodian temples, such as in Bayon Temple.
In China, similar patterns is used in various material, including wooden sculpture and ceramics, and especially in textile. The overlapping circles patterns is named coin or money pattern in China.
There are also pieces of cotton from India with the same pattern found in Egypt, as we all know that there were exchanges between the two countries, and Indonesia. So, it is possible that fabrics in this pattern were traded to Java and became the inspiration of the Nandiswara and Mahakala sculptures and remained popular until the Majapahit era. But over time, the pattern had been simplified – from overlapping circles to an abstraction that we recognize as one of the most prominent batik patterns, Kawung.
The beauty of Singhasari carving is not only seen in the sculptures of Durga, Bhairawa, Ganesha, and others, but also in the temple reliefs, such as in Candi Jago with its bas relief of Kunjarakarna, Patayana, and Arjuna Wiwaha stories, that reminds us of wayang kulit (red. shadow puppet).
This Camunda statue is an embodiment of Goddess Durga in an angry state (krodha), a powerful form associated with destruction. Indeed this is one characteristic of the Tantrayana sect.
This statue was discovered in Argomulyo village, not far from Candi Singosari; it was found in a fragmentary form, meaning that it had been broken up.
Then came the Dutch scholars, first Boris, and then CC Berg, William Frederich Stutterheim, and others who reconstructed this statue. They glued and pieced together the broken parts until it became this one, rare Indonesian Camundi statue, or also known as Camunda. This statue was brought to Candi Singosari courtyard. Camundi mythology believes that she defeats Yaksha. Yaksha is the enemy of the gods, or Sura, and Yaksha is Asura. There are two powerful Yaksha, Canda and Munda.
No gods can defeat Canda and Munda except Goddess Durga. Hence, the gods agreed to send Durga and bestowed her with their weapons. We can see the weapons being held in her multiple arms in this statue. Because she was able to defeat Canda and Munda, she was called Goddess Camunda. Her connection with Tantrayana is evidenced in the skull and head patterns that dominated her figure. Moreover, she was sitting atop strewn corpses, which is a typical portrayal of the Tantrayana sect. The original name Camunda ends up with suffix i being Goddess Camundai because it means devotion towards Camunda. One of the Singhasari kings who worshipped Camunda and her Tantrayana connection is Kertanegara.
.:: GALLERY ::.
