Anusapati epitomizes unwavering dedication

Anusapati epitomizes unwavering dedication

By Bambang Budi Utomo

JAKARTA (JP): In the keputren (the female wing) of the palace of the Kingdom of Singhasari, a boy, Anusapati, is talking to his mother, Ken Dedes.

"Mother, I want an explanation. Why does my father treat me differently from my half brothers and sisters? The way he looks at me is different from the way he looks at them. It seems that my brothers and sisters from my younger stepmothers are better off than I am."

Ken Dedes replied, "Apparently there is mistrust already. Since you insist, son, I think it is time for you to know that your real father was Tunggul Ametung. I was three-month pregnant with you when he passed away."

Anusapati eventually learned that his natural father had been killed by Sang Amurwabhumi, or Ken Angrok.

Having learned the truth about the death of his father, he vowed to take revenge. He killed Ken Angrok with the help of a man from Batil. To cover his tracks, Anusapati then killed this man and spread it around that the man had killed Ken Angrok. Anusapati became King of Singhasari and reigned for 21 years from 1227 to 1248.

Eventually, the truth about Ken Angrok's assassination was learned by Panji Tohjaya, Angrok's son by another wife. He also vowed to take revenge, and his opportunity came when Anusapati was gambling with him at a cockfight. Tohjaya stabbed Anusapati to death using the same kris Anusapati had used to kill his father. Anusapati was killed in 1248 and was buried in Candi Kidal (the Temple of Kidal).

Candi Kidal

This temple is located in the village of Rejokidal in the Malang regency. It can be easily found east of a small road connecting Tumpang and Tajinan. The temple is 525 meters above sea level and is to the west the valley below Mount Bromo.

The name Candi Kidal is mentioned in the book Nagarakartagama pupuh 37:7. Another book that has something about this temple is Pararaton, which reads: "Sang Anusapati passed away in the Saka Year of 1171 (1248 A.D.), and was buried at Kidal."

The was 7.5 by 7.5 square meters, had a red brick foundation and was built with rock. The original height is unknown because the top has fallen off. It is believed that the temple is part of a building complex because a fence and entrance gate can be seen. Unlike other temple complexes, Candi Kidal was not built exactly at the center of the complex. To the west, there is a rectangular platform that may be the remnants of wooden building.

Candi Kidal itself stands on a leveled platform. The legs of the temple are high, and the entrance features a penampil (a part that sticks out), in which stairs are found. The entrance stairs have wings, with dragon-shaped tips. The inside walls are adorned with medallions full of spiraling leaves and statues of lions are found in the corners. There are recesses on both sides of the entrance stairs for the guardian statues, Mahakala and Nandiswara. However, Nandiswara, which is supposed to stand on the right has been missing for a long time. Now, only Mahakala stands guard at the left.

A statue of Wisnu, with a damaged head, is found in another recess. There are other cubbyholes in the north, south and east walls. Above each recess and the entrance are carvings of a scorpion's head.

Garudeya

On all the walls of Candi Kidal is the relief and statues depicting the epic of Garuda. The story goes clockwise around the temple and from the north to the south.

The relief and statues tell the story of Garuda's effort to free his mother, Winata, from slavery by Kadru. Garuda is the son of Bhagawan Kasyapa and Winata. He came out from an egg that had been produced during a sacrifice ceremony. There had actually been two eggs, and the Bhagawan gave both to his wife, Winata. The two eggs then hatched, and two birds emerged. The older bird was named Aruna, and the younger Garuda. Garuda was born when Winata was a slave of Kadru.

When Garuda was born, there was a confusion among the gods because he produced lights. They thought an apocalypse had arrived. Dewi Agni, one of the gods, then explained that apocalypse was still far in the future. The light that the gods saw was the same light that this goddess had. Then the gods came to pay homage to Garuda, this made him happy and he turned out his light.

Garuda then flew to meet his mother on the coast of the Ksira sea. Winata welcomed him, and told him to stay. He soon was given a job taking care of Kadru's children, who were all dragons. One day, Garuda took the dragons flying, and they went near the sun. Kadru's children could not stand the heat so she paid homage to the gods. The god Indra made it rain to cool down Kadru's children. Thereafter, Garuda shepherded the dragons without any specific destination, until he grew tired.

Finally, Garuda could not take it any longer. He asked his mother why he had to obey all the orders of the dragons and why he had to take care of them. Winata explained that she was being enslaved by Sang Kadru because she had lost a bet on the tail of the horse Uccaisrawa. Because of Kadru's craftiness, she had to serve her as a slave.

Garuda was then told to find out what it would take to liberate Winata from slavery. He asked the dragons and they told him that his mother could go free when he brought them some Amerta water, the drinking water of the gods.

Garuda finally succeeded in getting the water and, as promised, Sang Winata was freed. The dragons fought each other for the water and, with the clever intervention of the gods, the water was then sneaked back to paradise.

In one part of the relief Garuda is shown carrying his mother. In another part, he is shown as carrying the special water in a large jug. Still in another part, he is shown as carrying the dragons, the children of Sang Kadru.

The relief doesn't depict the story in its actual sequence; instead, it tells the story of the release of oneself and therefore conforms to the function of the temple as a burial place.

The statue of Siva

The 1.23 meter statue of Siva, which was placed in the main room of Candi Kidal, was made of pebbles and represents the incarnation of Anusapati. However, the room is now empty because the statue was taken to the Netherlands and is on display in the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam.

The statue of Siva stands erect and it has four hands, each of which holds a camara (fly swatter) and aksamala (beads). Both of his front arms are extended toward his lower chest. Both sides of the statue are adorned with lotus flowers that protrude from their cobs. This decoration proves that the statue was made during the Singhasari era.

The Candi Kidal compound is one of many ancient temples in Indonesia. Like at most of the temples, the country's history has been left to the care of one man -- who is not paid regularly.