Arjunawiwaha
Arjunawiwaha
Balinese palm-leaf manuscript
Arjunawiwāha was the first kakawin to appear in the East Javan period of the Javanese classical Hindu-Buddhist era in the 11th-century. Arjunawiwaha was composed by Mpu Kanwa during the reign of King Airlangga, king of the Kahuripan Kingdom, circa 1019 to 1042 CE. Arjunawiwaha is estimated to have been finished in 1030.
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The Kakawin tells the story of Arjuna when he was engaged in meditation and performing a severe practice of asceticism on Mount Meru. During his meditation he was tested by the Gods by sending two of the most beautiful apsaras — Supraba and Tilottama — to seduce him. Arjuna was not budging and firmly continued his meditation despite the apsara's attempts at seduction. Then the god Indra descended to earth disguised as an old Brahmana. They discussed religious matters and Arjuna succeeded to answer Indra's questions, then he revealed his true identity and returned to svargaloka. Suddenly, a wild boar came raging, then Arjuna shot it with an arrow. But at the same time, an old hunter appeared that claimed that he also shot the boar, Arjuna and the old hunter were quarrelling about who killed the boar. As it turned out that the hunter was actually the god Shiva. Arjuna was given the task to kill Niwatakawaca, an asura that disturbed the peace and order of svargaloka. To do this task, the gods gave Arjuna powerful weapons. Arjuna was eventually successful in his task to kill Niwatakawaca, and as the reward the Gods awarded Arjuna seven apsaras to marry and he was allowed to enjoy the pleasure of svargaloka for a while.[1]
The bas-reliefs of Arjunawiwaha were carved on East Javanese candis (temples), such as Candi Kedaton in Probolinggo Regency, Candi Surawana near Kediri, and Candi Jago near Malang.