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.