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SINGOSARI
After
the five months were up, Ken Angrok returned to the forgery and
asked to see the kens. Mpu Gandring showed him the half finished
blade which, though formed, was still dull and rough. In anger
and impatience, Ken Angrok picked up the weapon and stabbed Mpu
Gandring to death. As he lay dying, the kens maker cursed Ken
Angrok and his descendants, swearing that they would all die
by the same weapon which the murderer now held in his hand.
Somewhat regretfully, Ken Angrok returned to Tumapel, where he
gave the kens to one of his best friends, who was delighted with
the gift. He displayed it wherever he went, until all in the
region knew that it belonged to him. Then, as had been planned,
Ken Angrok secretly stole the kens, crept up on Tunggul Ametung
as he lay sleeping, and murdered him. The result was that the
owner of the keris was executed and Ken Angrok sat on the throne
of Singosari with Ken Dedes by his side.
But the legends continuously emphasis that everything comes at
its appointed time, and soon Ken Angrok's time would be running
out. He died at the hand of his stepson, Anusapati, betrayed
by his own wife, Ken Dedes, who gave the kens to her son by Tunggul
Ametung so that he could take his revenge. Twenty years later,
despite excessive precautions such as having a moat built around
his bed, Anusapati too fell victim to the curse of Mpu Gandring.
His memorial shrine is at Candi Kidal, east of Malang. Anusapati's
successor, Vishnuwardhana, built the beautiful temple of Jajaghu,
also known as Candi Jag, at Tumpang, Malang. This temple displays
some of the finest and clearest relief carving in East Java.
Four beautiful statues, originally located in the now ruined
upper chamber of the building, are displayed in the National
Museum, Jakarta, and are well worth visiting.
Candi Singosari, in the village of the same name on the outskirts
of Malang, was built during the reign of the last and most famous
king of Singosari, Kertanagara. It was during the time of the
Mongol expansion, when a descendant of Genghiz Khan ruled in
China.
Demanding tribute from all the rulers in south east Asia, the
Khan sent an envoy to the court of Kertanagara. The bold king
sent his reply back to China, carved into the forehead of the
unfortunate delegate. As Kublai Khan was preparing a retaliatory
fleet to punish Singosari, however, Kertanagara and many of his
priests and ministers were ambushed in their own capital by soldiers
from a neighbouring vassal state and put to death. The two shrines
dedicated to Kertanagara are Candi Singosari and Candi Jawi.
The king's high philosophical and spiritual ambitions are clearly
reflected in his two mortuary statues; at Singosarihe was portrayed
as a half male, half female combination of the gods Vishnu and
Shiva, while at Candi Jawi he was immortalized as Shiva / Budha.
With the death of Kertanegara, the dynasty of Singosari came
to an end and the last and greatest of the Hindu / Javanese kingdoms,
Majapahit , asore.
Candi
Singosari viewed from the south west
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One
of two guardian figures (dwarapala), meansuring almost 4 m tall
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