Yudhistira

The eldest of the Pendawa, the son of Pandu Dewanata and Kunti Talibrata. The king of Amarta and Hastinapura, considered as the most honest people in the wayang world. (see. Mahabarata, Baratayuda, The Kingdoms of Hastinapura and Amarta).

He never lied, except once perhaps. When he replied to Durna in Baratayuda, telling him that Aswatama, the elephant, was dead. He had pronounced the elephant in a very low voice. Durna was in state of panic, did not hear the world "elephant", he taught that Aswatama, his only beloved son was dead. Durna could not concentrate in the battle and he was killed immediately by Drustajumena. With his refined character, he did not like to quarrel or to fight. He was respected and obeyed by all his brothers and honored by many other people.

But Yudistira was not a perfect man either, he liked gambling at dice. It was a bad habit which should be avoided. An ancient traditional teachings said that a man of good character had to avoid Mo Limo (Main-gambling; Maling-stealing; Madon-flirting; Madat-using/smoking opium; Mabuk-excessive alcoholic drinking). Whatever the reason Yudistira as a Ksatria should reject the gambling proposed by Korawa and Sengkuni. But he was seduced by forbidden Mo Limo. The result was miserable life for Pendawa’s family. It was an education of life, a very heavy ascetic life (Tapabrata). If a man could survive the Tapabrata period, the holy lord should give him a light to walk in the right path. He should be entitled to do Pujabrata (solemn pray, semadi) to reach the ultimate happiness.

When he had to fight, he did it in a special way. In the epoch of Babat Wanamarta (cleansing the jungle of Wanamarta) he had to face a spirit-giant in a duel. The giant had a heirloom in the form of a set of earrings.

He challenged Yudistira to wear his earrings. If he was strong enough to wear the earrings. The spirit-giant would surrender. Yudistira proved to be strong to wear them and the giant accepted his defeat. He wished to serve Yudistira forever, Yudistira agreed. In Baratayuda, he did nothing when he had to fight against King Salya. King Salya’s heirloom-Canda Birawa, did not work against a pacifist. Salya was defeated by Yudistira, spelling his mantra-Kalimasada (Kalima-five, Usada-to handle, cure) The Javanese traditional teachings (Kejawen) had a conclusion that only a honest and low-profile Ksatria like Yudistira entitled to posses a holy mantra Kalimasada, the five principles to guide people (and society) to live in honesty.

Kresna

The king of Dwarawati, the wisest man in the world, the incarnation of Wisnu, had been assigned by Batara Guru to become a referee in Baratayuda. (see Baratayuda and The Kingdom of Dwarawati).

The war had to be in accord with the script known as Jitapsara. The ksatrias with very strong supernatural power were not permitted to participate. Before the Baratayuda, a son of Bima, Antasena and son of Arjuna, Wisanggeni had disappeared mystically to guarantee the victory of Pendawa, upon the advice of Sang Hyang Wenang, the grand-father of Guru.

Another son of Bima, Antareja was killed after following Kresna’s advice (See The Kingdom of Amarta). He was too strong to every enemy, furthermore there was a prediction, if he took part in Baratayuda he should meet Baladewa, Kresna’s brother. Kresna knew that his brother could not match Antareja.

Baladewa was told by Kresna to meditate in a lonely place. When the war began, he should be informed. Baladewa stopped his meditation only after the Baratayuda. Kresna although an incarnation of Wisnu, wise and clever, probably he could make a mistake too. It was human, as the case of Antareja. He was trusted by Guru to act fairly and diplomatically. In fact, he was a great diplomat. .

He loved very much Arjuna, his brother-in-law, the husband of his younger sister Sembadra. The truth was Kresna and Arjuna were both the incarnation of Wisnu. In Baratayuda Kresna had advised Arjuna to do his duties as a Ksatria, to fight against his enemies, even though the enemies were his respected Gurus and relatives. It was destiny, a human-being could not stop the wish of God the Almighty. What he had to do was to carry out his duties in the best manner.

The famous advice of Kresna to Arjuna was called Bagawadgita (Gita=song; Begawad=God), the song of heaven. The only man in the world who certainly knew that Baratayuda should occur was Kresna. Anyhow he tried to mediate to avoid the conflict which should had to a terrible aftermath. As an ordinary man, Ksatria and king, he had the duty to avoid the war. He had to work-out, the destiny was in the hands of God, he won’t argue.

The Bagawadgita contained 18 chapters from Vishada Yoga to Samnyasa Yoga – Moksha. The core of its contents were:

1. The destiny of life.
2. The good should win in the fight against the bad.
3. The knowledge to attain a perfect life, a fight to eliminate lusts.

In Kejawen (Javanese traditional teachings). Baratayuda was every man’s war against his own evil desires. If a man could defeat these lusts, he should have a smoother way to achieve a True Life (Urip Sejati)

nakula and sadewa

Nakula and Sadewa

The twin brothers, Nakula and Sadewa were the fourth and the fifth Pendawa, the sons of Pandu Dewanata and Dewi Madrim, the younger sister of Prabu Salya, the king of Mandaraka.

They had never seen their father as when they were born his father had died. Soon their mother died too, at young age. Even their elder brothers were over protective toward them, they were not spoiled. Same as their brothers they became true ksatrias, wise, honest and good in martial arts especially with the swords. (see Mahabarata, Baratayuda, The Kingdoms of Hastinapura and Amarta).

They fought bravely during the Baratayuda. Only with their help, King Salya-the chief-warrior of Hastinapura could be quicker eliminated.

Nakula’s court domain was Sawojajar. Sadewa had a padepokan/spiritual retreat-Bumi Retawu. As a result of his solemn spiritual deeds he became a Satrio Pinandito. With his powerful spiritual strength, he was able to release Betari Durga from her punishment. Sadewa helped her to gain back her true consciousness, she became again Dewi Uma, the wife of Betara Guru. After the Baratayuda, honoring King Salya’s wish, they became rulers of Mandaraka.

Gatot kaca

Gatutkaca is a son or Bima from Pandawa family. Since his mother - Arimbi- is an ogrss, He owns an extraordinary power. He can fly without wings, and is a man with wire muscle and iron bone.

Design/ Model : Batik
Quantity : 1 pcs

Measurement :
17" x 6" ( including the handle) .
Gross weight will be about 500 grams.

Hanoman

Hanoman is a white monkey - one of the figures in Ramayana story. He has helped Rama find his wife - Sita when Sita was stolen by Rahwana.
In Hindu reliance, Hanoman is convinced as a god. Hanoman has long sacred fingernails to defend him from his enemy. He can fly across the sea and also change his appearance to fool his enemy

Arjuna

Arjuna is a figure of a very good looking guy, the most handsome guy in Pandawa and He also has a gentle kindness. His character is so excellent, he is brave, he always gets success in any struggling.
This puppet is painted in Batik version.

More details about the item in general please see the front page.

Measurement : 18" Height Total x 6, 5" width
Weight : aprx 25 grams . Gross weight will be about 500 grams.

Story

Wayang is a generic term denoting traditional theatre in indonesia. There is no evidence that wayang existed before Hinduism came to southes asia sometime in the first century CE brought in by Indian traders. However, there very well may have been indigenous storytelling traditions that had a profound impact on the development of the traditional puppet theatre. The first record of a wayang performance is from an inscription dated 930 CE which says "si Galigi mawayang," or "Sir Galigi played wayang". From that time till today it seems certain features of traditional puppet theatre have remained. Galigi was an itinerant performer who was requested to perform for a special royal occasion. At that event he performed a story about the hero Bhima from the mahabarata

Wayang Kulit is a unique form of theatre employing light and shadow. The puppets are crafted from buffalo hide and mounted on bamboo sticks. When held up behind a piece of white cloth, with an electric bulb or an oil lamp as the light source, shadows are cast on the screen. Wayang Kulit plays are invariably based on romantic tales, especially adaptations of the classic Indian epics, "The Mahabarata" and "The Ramayana". Some of the plays are also based on local happenings (current issues) or other local secular stories. It is up to the conductor or "Tok Dalang" to decide his direction.

A Dalang performing Wayang Kulit in Java, circa 1890.

The Dalang is the genius behind the entire performance. It is he who sits behind the screen and narrates the story. With a traditional orchestra in the background to provide a resonant melody and its conventional rhythm, the Dalang modulates his voice to create suspense thus heightening the drama. Invariably, the play climaxes with the triumph of good over evil.

Hinduism arrived in Indonesia from india even before the cristian era and was slowly adopted as the local belief system. Sanskrit became the literary and court language of java and later of Bali . The Hindus changed the Wayang (as did the muslim later) to spread their religion, mostly by stories from the mahabarata or the Ramayana. Later this mixture of religion and wayang play was praised as harmony between Hinduism and traditional Indonesian culture. On Java, the western part of sumatra and some smaller islands traditionalists continued to play the old stories for some time, but the influence of Hinduism prevailed and the traditional stories either fell into oblivion or were integrated into the Hinduistic plays.

The figures of the wayang are also present in the paintings of that time, for example, the roof murals of the courtroom in Klungkung, Bali. They are still present in traditional Balinese painting today.

When islam began spreading in Indonesia, the display of God or Gods in human form was prohibited, and thus this style of painting and shadow play was suppressed. King Raden Patah of demak , Java, wanted to see the wayang in its traditional form, but failed to obtain permission from the Muslim religious leaders. As an alternative, the religious leaders converted the wayang golek into wayang purwa made from leather, and displayed only the shadow instead of the figures itself. Instead of the forbidden figures only their shadow picture was displayed, the birth of the wayang kulit.

The figures are painted, flat woodcarvings (a maximum of 5 to 15 mm thick -- barely half an inch) with movable arms. The head is solidly attached to the body. Wayang klitik can be used to perform puppet plays either during the day or at night. This type of wayang is relatively rare.

Wayang today is both the most ancient and most popular form of puppet theatre in the world. Hundreds of people will stay up all night long to watch the superstar performers, dalang, who command extravagant fees and are international celebrities. Some of the most famous dalang in recent history are Ki Nartosabdho, Ki Anom Suroto, Ki Asep Sunarya, Ki Sugino, and Ki Manteb Sudarsono.