Hayam Wuruk (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: हयम् वुरुक्, Kawi: ꦲꦪꦩ꧀ꦮꦸꦫꦸꦏ꧀) (1334–1389), also called Rajasanagara, Pa-ta-na-pa-na-wu, or Bhatara Prabhu after 1350, was a Javanese

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

emperor from the

Rajasa Dynasty Rajasa was the ruling dynasty of Singhasari kingdom and later Majapahit empire in 13th to 15th century eastern Java. The rulers of Singhasari and Majapahit trace their origins back to the mysterious figure of Ken Arok or Sri Ranggah Rajasa, who f ...

and the 4th emperor of the

Majapahit Empire Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesia) ...

. Together with his prime minister

Gajah Mada Gajah Mada (c. 1290 – c. 1364), also known as JirnnodharaMunandar, 2010: 77 was, according to Old Javanese manuscripts, poems, and inscriptions, a powerful military leader and '' Mahapatih'' (the approximate equivalent of a modern Prime ...

, he reigned the empire at the time of its greatest power. During his reign, the

Hindu epics Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called ''Kavya'' (or ''Kāvya''; Sanskrit: काव्य, IAST: ''kāvyá''). The ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata'', which were originally composed in ...

, the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

and the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

, became ingrained in the culture and worldview of the Javanese through the '' wayang kulit'' (leather puppets).Mark Juergensmeyer and Wade Clark Roof, 2012
Encyclopedia of Global Religion
Volume 1, Page 557. He was preceded by

Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi, known in her regnal name Tribhuwannottunggadewi Jayawishnuwardhani, also known as Dyah Gitarja, was a Javanese queen regnant and the third Majapahit monarch, reigning from 1328 to 1350. She also bears the title Bhre K ...

, and succeeded by his son-in-law

Wikramawardhana Wikramawardhana was a Javanese emperor and succeeded Hayam Wuruk as the fifth monarch of the Majapahit empire, reigning from 1389 to 1429. He was the nephew and also the son-in-law of the previous monarch after taking princess Kusumawardhani, Haya ...

. Most of the accounts of his life were taken from the ''

Nagarakretagama The ''Nagarakretagama'' or ''Nagarakṛtāgama'', also known as ''Desawarnana'' or ''Deśavarṇana'', is an Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king of the Majapahit Empire. It was written on lontar as a '' kakawin'' by Mpu Pr ...

'', a eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, and the ''

Pararaton The Pararaton (''Book of Kings''), also known as the Katuturanira Ken Angrok (''Story of Ken Angrok''), is a Javanese historical chronicle written in Kawi (Old Javanese). The comparatively short text of 32 folio-size pages (1126 lines) contains ...

'' ("Book of Kings"), a Javanese historical chronicle.

Early life

According to the ''

'', Canto 1, Stanzas 4 and 5, Hayam Wuruk was born in 1256

Saka year The Shaka era (IAST: Śaka, Śāka) is a historical Hindu calendar era (year numbering), the epoch (its year zero) of which corresponds to Julian year 78. The era has been widely used in different regions of India as well as in SE Asia. Hist ...

, corresponding to 1334 CE, the same year that

Mount Kelud The Kelud ( jv, ꦏꦼꦭꦸꦢ꧀, Kelud, sometimes spelled as ''Klut'', ''Cloot'', ''Kloet'', ''Kloete'', ''Keloed'' or ''Kelut'') is an active stratovolcano located in Kediri (city), Kediri, East Java, Indonesia. Like many Indonesian volcanoes ...

erupted.

Mpu Prapanca Mpu Prapanca wrote the ''Nagarakretagama'', written in Old Javanese, which tells the story of the Majapahit Kingdom and other stories of ancient Hindu- Javanese kingdoms. The Buddhist monk Prapanca wrote the chronicle in 1365 (or 1287 Saka ye ...

, author of the ''Nagarakretagama'', argued that this was the divine sign that ''Batara Gurunata'' (the Javanese name for Shiva Mahadewa) had manifest himself on earth, reincarnated as the Javanese king. Hayam Wuruk's name can be translated as "scholar rooster". He was the son of Tribhuwana Tunggadewi and Sri Kertawardhana (or Cakradhara). His mother was the daughter of

Raden Wijaya Raden Wijaya or Raden Vijaya (also known as Nararya Sangramawijaya, regnal name Kertarajasa Jayawardhana) (reigned 1293–1309) was a Javanese emperor, and the founder and first monarch of the Majapahit Empire.Slamet Muljana, 2005, ''Runtuhny ...

, founder of

Majapahit Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was ba ...

, while his father was the son of Bhre Tumapel, a lesser king of

Singhasari Singhasari ( jv, ꦏꦫꦠꦺꦴꦤ꧀ꦱꦶꦔ꧀ꦲꦱꦫꦶ, translit=Karaton Singhasari or , id, Kerajaan Singasari) was a Javanese Hindu kingdom located in east Java between 1222 and 1292. The kingdom succeeded the Kingdom of Kediri as ...

. Both the ''

'' and the ''Nagarakretagama'' praised Hayam Wuruk as a handsome, bright, talented, and exceptional student in the courtly martial arts of archery and fencing, who also mastered politics,

scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

, arts, and music. He was known as an accomplished ceremonial dancer in the court, and some accounts tell of his performances in the traditional ceremonial Javanese mask dance. His mother, Queen Tribhuwana, educated and groomed him to become the next monarch of Majapahit.

Reign

In 1350,

Gayatri Rajapatni Gayatri Rajapatni (1276—1350) was the queen consort of Majapahit's founder and first king Kertarajasa Jayawardhana, and also the mother of Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi, the queen regnal of Majapahit. A devout Buddhist, she was the youngest dau ...

died in her retirement at a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monastery. She was the consort of

, the first king of Majapahit, and also the grandmother of Hayam Wuruk. Queen Tribhuwana had to abdicate because she ruled Majapahit under Rajapatni's auspices, and was obliged to relinquish the throne to her son. Hayam Wuruk inherited the throne in 1350 at the age of 16 when the '' mahapatih'' (

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

)

was at the height of his career. Under his rule, Majapahit extended its power throughout the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara. According to the ''

'' and ''

Kidung Sunda Kidung Sunda is a Middle-Javanese kidung of probable Balinese provenance. In this poem, the story of king Hayam Wuruk of Majapahit who was looking for a bride to be, is narrated. At last he chose the princess of Sunda, a kingdom in West Java. ...

'', in 1357, King Hayam Wuruk was expected to marry Dyah Pitaloka Citraresmi, the princess of the

Sunda Kingdom The Sunda Kingdom ( su, , Karajaan Sunda, ) was a Sundanese Hindu kingdom located in the western portion of the island of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Centr ...

. The reason for this royal engagement was probably political, to foster the alliance between the Majapahit and the Sundanese Kingdoms. However, in the Bubat incident, the Sunda royal family and their guards were involved in a skirmish with Majapahit troops. The planned royal wedding ended in disaster with the death of the princess and the whole Sunda royal party. The court officials blamed Gajah Mada, sine it was his intention to demand submission from Sunda Kingdom that ended in bloodshed. Several years later, Hayam Wuruk married his half-sister, Paduka Sori, daughter of Dyah Wiyat. Hayam Wuruk and Paduka Sori had the same father, but different mothers. In 1365 (1287

wrote the ''

kakawin Kakawin are long narrative poems composed in Old Javanese, also called "'' Kawi''", written in verse form with rhythms and meters derived from Sanskrit literature. Poets used a formalized literary language, rather than the vernacular. Poets c ...

'' of

, the old Javanese

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as ...

for King Hayam Wuruk. The manuscript described Hayam Wuruk's royal excursion around the Majapahit realm to visit villages, holy shrines, vassal kingdoms, and territory in East Java. He sent ambassadors to China from 1370 to 1381. Hayam Wuruk had a daughter, Crown Princess Kusumawardhani, with Queen Sori. Kusumawardhani married a relative, Prince Wikramawardhana. However, from a consort concubine, Hayam Wuruk had a son, Prince Wirabhumi. After Hayam Wuruk's death in 1389, the empire fell into chaos and decline during the contest over succession between Wikramawardhana and Wirabhumi. The dispute ended in Wirabhumi's defeat in the

Regreg war The Regreg War (often erroneously called the ''Paregreg'') was a civil war that took place in 1404–1406 within the Javanese empire of Majapahit. The conflict was fought as a war of independence between the Western court led by Wikramawardhana ...

. Wikramawardhana succeeded Hayam Wuruk as the King of Majapahit.

Legacy

His reign, as part of

Indosphere Indosphere is a term coined by the linguist James Matisoff for areas of Indian linguistic and cultural influence in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is commonly used in areal linguistics in contrast with Sinosphere. Influence The Tibeto-Burma ...

culturally, helped further

Indianisation Indianisation also known as Indianization, may refer to the spread of Indian languages, culture, diaspora, cuisines, economic reach and impact since India is one of the greatest influencers since ancient times and the current century has been ...

of Javanese culture through the spread of Hinduism and

Sanskritization Sanskritisation (or Sanskritization) is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek 'upward' mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or upper ...

Early life

Reign

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading