India, also known as Bharat, is a Union of States. As India has a name Bharat from it’s historical background, Nusantara is an equivalent in Indonesia. Nusantara is the name of Indonesian Archipelago or Malay Peninsula.
Indonesians, with diversified cultures and dialects, promise a unified region in the name of Nusantara. From where this word came into usage? That’s what we will see today.
Gajah Mada is a popular prime minister of Majapahit kingdom lived in late 13th and early 14th century. He took a oath, not to give up until uniting ‘Nusantara’ aka the archipelago, during the ceremony of his appointment. It is recorded in Pararaton, the Javanese literature. It is believed to happen in 1336 AD.
The oath goes like this –
Lamun huwus lost the archipelago of amukti palapa, seagrass defeat of the Desert, Seram ring, Tanjung Pura, Ring Haru, Ring Pahang, Dompo, ring Bali, Sunda, Palembang, Tumasik, saman isukti palapa.
I understood that the translation is somewhat equivalent to this –
If I have united Nusantara, I will break my fast. If I have conquered Gurun, Seram, Tanjung Pura, Haru, Pahang, Dompo, Bali, Sunda, Palembang, Tumasik, only then will I break my fast.
Does Tumasik refer to Singapore? Should be. He listed several territories he vowed to conquer before he would ‘amukti palapa‘ (break his fast or enjoy rest). Tumasik was one of the places mentioned in this ambitious oath, representing the island that would later become modern-day Singapore.
But the archeological evidences predates the coining of the word Nusantara. It should be first coined by King Kertanagara in Mula Malurung inscription dated 1255 AD.
To understand this we need to see the successive kings of Singasari of Tumapel, the Javanese Hindu-Buddhist kingdom located in east Java between 1222 and 1292. The list of Kings names them – Tunggul Ametung (overthrown) > Ken Angrok / Ken Arok (assassinated) > Anusapati >Wisnuwardhana > Kertanagara.
The fifth king Kertenagara, based in Kediri, located near the Brantas River in the province of East Java, positioned himself as a combined embodiment of Siva and Buddha. Both Hinduism and Buddhism flourished in Java at that time. In a way, I see his positioning as a way to unify the followers of both religion.
I have a reason to believe so. During later years 1365 AD (1287 Saka year), Mpu Prapanca, authored Desawarnana (also known as Nagarakretagama), under King Hayam Wuruk, registers the competency of religions gaining traction.
During his journey to Darbaru monastery, people on the way raise concerns to Prapanca over people started worshiping Parameswara instead of Buddha. So the kingdom, known for its support to both religion, should have a way to nurture both followers.
But all these lineage existed as Javanese poetry/literature. There was no artifact found to convince the modern historians, until suitable evidences were discovered. One of the significant discovery is existence of the Kingdom is the Mula Malurung Inscription, dated 1255 AD (or 1177 Saka).
The inscription was in the form of a copper plate issued by King Kertanegara, who at that time was still a young king. It was issued to legalize Malurung Village and Mula Village. The gift of the village is offered to one Pranaraja, who is the loyal and diligent employee of Kediri Kingdom. As ordered by his father Wisnuwardana aka Seminingrat, his son Kertanagara carried it out.
The inscription contains the first recorded use of the term “Nusantara”, showcasing Kertanagara’s vision of a vast, interconnected kingdom beyond Java.
As dreamed, Kertanagara formed an alliance with Champa, another dominant state in Southeast Asia, indicating his interest in extending influence beyond immediate borders. During his reign, he subjected Bali to vassalage likely in 1284 AD (1206 Saka), gained control of the Melayu Kingdom in eastern Sumatra, and possibly established hegemony over the Strait of Malacc. These actions demonstrate the practical implementation of his expansionist vision.
It is considered as an evidence of Kertanegara’s vision to unite maritime kingdoms as a defense against the expanding Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China.
The new capital of Indonesia, which was conceived before Covid pandemic period is named as Nusantara to reflect Indonesian nationalistic pride. I am still searching for the right image of this copper plate. I do not have a verified one. Hence this post goes without any images.
I am just learning about Javanese history. There are high chances of misrepresentation or misunderstanding. Hence, I would be making corrects to this text, as and when I found one.
Java had several small villages. During earlier periods, Indians traders believed the cities in Indonesian archipelago were made of Silver and Gold. This piece of world is called in swarnabhoomi in Sanskrit in India. So when the monsoon starts, they board on ships to reach the islands. They realize what they believed was not fact, yet they do their trade – mainly spices, precious metals, aromatics – and go back to India with several travel baggage.
Those who want more valuable spices stayed back to continue their exploration. They were accompanied by Brahmins who shared stories of the Hindu trinity and Buddhist enlightenment in various villages. Over time, these group of villages developed into power centers, eventually giving rise to the kingdoms of Srivijaya and Sailendra.
Candi Plaosan | Picture : Wikipedia
Sailendra-s controlled central Java where as Srivijaya-s dominated Sumatra. Both of them had trade and cultural relationship. Sailendras formed a powerful Buddhist kingdom. Its rulers were known for their patronage of Buddhism and the construction of numerous temples including Buddhist temple complex at Borobudur and Hindu temples at Prambanan.
The bodhisattva Manjushri, Candi Plaosan | Picture researchgate.net
One of the sculptures – belongs to Sailendra period, from their capital Central Java – is the focus of today’s post – The Bodhisattva Manjushri. He is a significant figure in Mahayana Buddhism. He is one of the four great Bodhisattva-s in Chinese Buddhism – Avalokiteshvara (Compassion), Manjushri (Wisdom), Samantabhadra (conduct) and Maitreya (future enlightenment).
The specific sculptor of this piece remains unknown. It is likely attributed to the Sailendra rulers who were prominent patrons of Buddhist art and architecture during the 9th century. The presence of Manjusri statues in Central Java such as Candi Sewu, suggests a strong reverence.
The sculpture embodies the cultural and religious influences that spread gradually through the interactions of Indian traders, sailors, and monks, who brought Hindu and Buddhist ideas to the region, blending these with local Javanese elements.
I have written about my day out to Elephanta earlier. I finished the panels of the main cave one by one. Finally I was standing before the striking colossal bas-relief of Trimurti Siva or Mahesa Murti Siva or Sadasiva.
Sadasiva or Trimurti Siva | Pandian Ramaiah, 1 Dec 2007
Sadasiva is considered as the highest form of Siva. People believe the concept originated from South Indian Shaiva Siddhanta. Sadasiva has five faces, that represents five holy tasks (panchakritya). Three faces are visible in Elephanta. The fourth and fifth is believed to be at the back.
Standing or sitting in front of this artifact is a different experience. You need to experience it.
The Portuguese, when they came to India, found a massive elephant structure here in the 18th century. As per Sachin KR Tiwari’s presentation, it looks to be they damaged and vandalized this cave and removed valuable inscriptions. I am thinking about similar complaints about a Dutch official who cut the head of the sculptures in Java. What we have now is what they left behind. What India is now is also a result of what they left behind.
Coming back, The hair of siva is elegantly carved with extensive details in jata-makuta (hair crown). The face of the Tatpurusha (the centre face) shows extreme peace.
The linga form, especially the mukha linga form represents Sadashiva. Now I understand why Indian heritage center in Singapore has kept the Mukha Linga infront of Sadasiva sculpture.
Sadasiva and Mukha Linga, Indian Heritage Center, Singapore|Photo (c)thesmartlocal.com
The Sadasiva you see in above is from Tamil Nadu. Yet, the one you see below is from Cambodia.
Bronze of Shiva as Sadashiva or Mahesha, late 12th – early 13th century, Cambodia. Collections of Asian Civilisations Museum. Image (c) roots.gov.sg
The face looks more south-east Asian one. Yet they absorbed the same concept and created this bronze with local art form. It shows the influence of Hinduism, particularly, Shaivism in the Khmer Empire during 11th or 12th centuries.
The world was highly connected, but the later decline of Indian influence in Southeast and East Asia is surprising.
Jaggu was anxiously waiting at one of the platforms of Dadar station. He looked like a lost child at a temple festival. He was waiting for Devagiri Express bound for Secunderabad.
It was a tiresome day at his iron scrap company. By the time he left the godown, it was almost 7pm. His train was scheduled for 9pm. He rushed to Borivali to take dresses for 2 days and rushed to Dadar station like a 108 ambulance.
Boss of his very first company was a master in Ajanta and Ellora. Jaggu called him a couple of weeks back to get his suggestion to visit those places.
“What a kollan (scrap iron seller) is going to do in an artistic place? Are you going to dig any iron mine there?”
“Ayo sir. No. Just to enrich my..”
“Enrich what?”
Our hero Jaggu removed all his ornamental romanticisms in his words and put it in black & white.
“No sir. I have a weekend. I’d like to visit Ajanta and Ellora”
He suggested reaching Jalgaon first. It is easier to reach Ajanta from there. It was not convincing for Jaggu. It was true. Ajanta is nearer to Jalgaon. But Ellora is far away, more than 200 KMs. Travel time will ruin his plan. Mumbai to Jalgaon; Jalgaon to Ajanta; Ajanta to Ellora; Ellora to Aurangabad; Aurangabad to Mumbai. Jaggu decided it wouldn’t work out. He finalized one option finally
Mumbai – Aurangabad (1 night trip by train – onward)
Jaggu found good reviews about the travels on Wiki Travel site. He dialed them from the dusty and rusty phone of his iron scrap company. Pankaj picked up the phone on the other end. Jaggu spoke to him few simple sentences.
“I will come to Aurangabad after one week. Hindi and Marathi letters are like Karasev and Seenisev (sweet sev) for me. I can not speak both of them. I like to visit Ajanta and Ellora. I need someone who can pick me from railway station on Saturday morning, take me to those places, and drop me the same railway station by Sunday night. Could you help me?”
Pankaj was so confident, “You just come over. Don’t worry”.
Jaggu asked for one more assistance, “Could you book a hotel room as well, please?”.
“No problem”.
A reliable business man like Pankaj are the Gems of Indian tourism. If Jaggu was the president of India, he would make him a tourism minister. Jaggu’s colleage said that the travel agent may get a commission for booking the room, etc etc. So what? He work for Jaggu, right? As long as he helps his guests to have a memorable journey, nothing wrong with giving him minister post! No. Not to get more commission; but to establish trusted tourism environment. It’s rare to see such sincere guys in India – or at least in Jaggu’s native place.
The next step was to book the tickets in Devagiri Express, all within 15 minutes! The search for caves would be sweet like a jilebi only if there was no travel problem!
All was well, except that Dadar station, where Jaggu was waiting for his train then. There were plenty of platforms like Chennai Central. There was a parade of night trains. They came and stopped on the platforms with a screeching sound one after another. At no time, they left the platform with a paaang horn. In between, they wait for 1 or 2 minutes to board the passengers. Miserably some of the trains do not have name boards at all. Jaggu enquired here and there, and finally he was waiting on that platform. Despite being a nationalistic, he was blaming himself.
‘Indians do wonders; sometimes blunders too.’
Was it that difficult to keep the name boards and arrival and departure screens? Indian railway should learn to serve its guest like Pankaj!
The train arrived late by 10 minutes. The crowd of passengers started running back and forth on the platforms like the warriors running in war fields in Baahubali movie. Jaggu saw all passengers start running back and forth furiously, like the Kaalakeya-s of Baahubali movie. He, too, ran across the mob to find his S8 coach.
Representational picture (c) Wikipedia
Jaggu was sitting in his aisle seat. There was a white lady sitting in the opposite seat with an North (or east) Indian guy, who looked younger than her. With an oily face and a kadukkan (ear ring) he looked weird. It was like Pakoda Kathar (a comedian in old Tamil movies) and Padmini (Leading heroine in old Tamil movies) acting in the lead roles. Whatever. It is up to an individual.
There was an elite-bald-gentleman sitting besides Jaggu. He took out baby cucumbers, a knife and a plastic plate. While he started cutting the cucumbers, he tried to socialize with the white lady. Bored Jaggu eavesdropped into their conversation.
“Haaai”
“Haai”
“Are you a tourist here?”
“Ya. I’m a traveler” *smiles*
“Interesting.. Which country are you from?”
“Belgium”
“Oh you travel alone? That’s great. European ladies are usually bold in nature..” (The discussion was not annoyed by the tuk tuk sound of cutting the cucumber in plastic plate).
“Na Na.. He is my companion.” Her fingers pointed at the kadukkan guy with the oily face. Kadukkan guy smiled at the elite for the sake of doing it.
“Oh.. Wonderful. “. (To the kadukkan guy) “How do you know her?”
“…”
(To the European) “How do you know him? You need to be careful while traveling alone”. Jaggu understood the elite man got suspicious.
“He is my Facebook friend”
Jaggu felt he should jump out of the train immediately.
The elite-balded-head took out a bottle and glass. A transparent liquid with a savor smell was poured into the glass with bup bup sound.”
“You want to have some wine?”
“No Thank You. I have mine”.
Jaggu stood up to push his bag on his upper birth. Like an angry monkey, he jumped to his birth at no time. He could not tolerate the discussion any more as he was so jealous of the kadukkan and elite. Still the discussion was going on, like the one between Indian and Chinese armies.
“Why don’t you have some salads”
The kadukkan boy was still looking out side the window on the opposite side.
“No. Thank you. I don’t like cucumbers”
She might be bored as well. She too got up and came up to the opposite upper birth. She smiled at Jaggu and thanked him, as he helped her to switch on the fan. Before she completed her odomos coating, Jaggu went to a deep Zzz mode with a light snoring.
While he was asleep, he woke up on hearing the noise of stone pelting on the train. Aurangabad was marked as a district of concerns due to naxalism.
There are two unsolvable problems in India – one is diabetes; the other one is stone-pelting!
As promised, Pankaj’s driver was waiting with a name plate early in that cold morning. It was written as JAGGU, Mumbai. Jaggu got goosebumps. He became a Mumbaikar in just 3 weeks :-). A nice room was reserved for him in a nice hotel as well.
At Aurangabad station
The punctual driver Easwar told Jaggu, “You take a nap first. We may leave at 8 a.m. Hotel breakfast may not be suitable for you. I will take you to another South Indian restaurant for breakfast”.
Jaggu slept for two hours. He still felt the jolting of the train compartment. He went to the reception at 7:50. Easwar came on time, as promised. There was a hotel nearby. Easwar preferred to have Kesari after Jaggu compelled him to give him company. On his recommendation, Jaggu ordered for dosa. Actually, it was not that good. Jaggu should have ordered local food.
They started after breakfast. Easwar liked Aurangabad very much. He kept on praising his town. Jaggu was not amused as it was like Trichy or Madurai in Tamilnadu. They came out of the city and joined the beautiful highway in 15 minutes.
The attractions started from Khuldabad. They visited Aurangzeb’s tomb. It was a wrong choice to have a tomb as the first stop; that too belongs to a tyrant. Jaggu asked Easwar to avoid the local attraction as he wanted to spend time at Ellora.
The high way was like any other Tamil Nadu highway (of 2007). It had pits like the dents of Moon. There were mountains, ridges, and bushes all over. Jaggu was wondering, if there were a bunch of mountains, it would be surprising only if Ellora had not been constructed!
Daulatabad was another town on the way. It had a fort with artillery. It became the capital of Mohammed bin Tughluq. Later that place was abandoned due to water scarcity. Devagiri was its old name. Changing Devagiri into Daulatabad is secular and renaming it back to Devagiri is communal in India!
Jaggu avoided that port, as his time did not allow him. The road contained different entrances; they might have been the entrances to the old fort. The ghat road starts immediately after Daulatabad. Ridges of fort walls were seen even on the hills.
Daulatabad FortChamber of guards?!The ghat road beginsSecurity chamber?Travel through dry land on a breezy morningGrishneshwar Jyotirlinga Temple, sometimes referred to as the Ghrneshwar or Ghushmeshwar Temple, is one of the shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva that is referenced in the Shiva Purana. It was on their way.
This place was not in Jaggu’s plan. Still, he respected his driver’s choice as he insisted “How come you come to our place and refuse to see this?” :-). That was one of the 12 Jyotirlinga Lingam temples. It is located in the village of Verul, very close to Ellora.
Siva Siva!
They went down and down like a cobra moves among piles of straws to reach Ellora at 11am.
Elluru village
Upon entering, Jaggu saw the Kailasanatha cave and screamed in joy. But Easwar did not stop the car.
“Hey, Stop Stop. where are you going?” Jaggu shouted. Easwar got worried if he would jump out of the window.
“Wait. Look the way I suggest you” Easwar replied with a determination. He stopped the car in one place. Jaggu will look at the nearby caves and return. Both of them will drive to the next cave. Thus he was able to see all the caves in 4 hops.
A total of 34 caves. Hindu caves, Buddhist caves and Jain caves. It is a treasure trove of art.
It will become a book, if the caves are explained one after the other. Readers can enjoy the pictures below.
The journey begins, directly to the last cave 32. This is called Indra-sabhaThe kodi-maram or dhwaja sthambham (flag pole) had grown tall. Taller than you and Jaggu.The stone elephant – opposite to the flagpole.Caves carved like bird cages, beside the dhwaja sthambham
What made me so excited was the grandeur of it! Floors and canopies in the cave. Very fine sculptures. And, its size! WOWW!! Massive!
TerraceDecorated entrance.34th Cave, Jain Acharya and his disciplesWhat a cave, not at all. It is a palace with multiple attics!Cave 33 – Indrani (There was a connecting path between the caves. Jaggu played hide and seek)The majestic pillar, in which the wavy ornaments and small and large reliefs are sculpted elegantly. I do not know what to say, adornment for stone, adornment for God Himself?Possible to do in a stone? Yes!Is it to support the roof or to soak us in dreams?Cave 33 – Indra Sabha.Is this an unfinished art work?? Even so, it looks like appeared and dissolved in the stoneThe reminiscences of paintingThe reminiscences of paintingAcharya-sCave 33 – Indra Sabha. (50 pictures over already, but still we did not finish 2 caves). Multi story caves is something we can not see in Tamil Nadu.கண்களுக்கு விருந்தாகCave 33 – Indra SabhaCave 33 – Indra SabhaCave 34Cave 33 – Indra SabhaThis cave appeared as Jaggu roamed around leisurely.. What a strange place! What a treasure! Eyes were given just to view this, dear readers; just to view this!Cave 29. Lord Siva was boiling with anger. It is of the height of two men. You may see the face only if you stand on Jaggu’s shoulder!Cave 26 – Ravana and Mount Kailash. This sculpture can be put up as a treasure hunting competition. You can find it so many places across the Ellora caves.Cave 26 – Siva Parvati weddingCave 26 – The kailayaHmm.. seems there is a path here.Wow. there are some caves on the other side..Later, he ran to the other side and came back. The path is a bit difficult. Make sure you do not fall off the cliff. This is where the waterfall is located during the rainy season. It may pour for six or seven months. Jaggu is not lucky to view that.The same place during rainy season. Picture (c) tripotoCave 27 – Balarama, Sri Krishna, Seshasai VishnuCave 27 – VarahaCave 27 – The hall with all the sculptures seen above, starts from Mahishasura MardiniCave 26Cave 26Cave 26, 27Cave 25 – Sanctum, (Bass relief of Sun god in the canopy),23, 24A, 24BKannika-s / Kannimar-s / Saptamatrika-sCave 21 – EntranceCave 21Cave 21Cave 21 – Ganga standing on a crocodile. This sculpture glistened in the afternoon sunlight.Cave 21 Cave 21 – Ganga and other women standing in a lotus flower to welcome the devotees. This is the most beautifully carved cave in Ellora.கைலாயம்Cave 21 – Ananda thandavaCave 21 – Is it a rock or clay? They rendered the hair style like a beautiful drawingCave 21Cave 21Cave 17ACave 17ACave 17ACave 17A – it may look like an mediocre. But it is a heaven of sculpturesCave 12. Rows and columns of caves -3 storiesCave 12. Rows and columns of caves -3 storiesCave 10 – The only cave in Buddhist Chaitya structureCave 10. The ornated cave is said to be dedicated to the divine engineer Vishwakarma. What has he got to do with Buddhism? Mahayana is inclusive. It says ok-lah!Cave 10Cave 14Cave 14Cave 1: The origin. The first cave. It is said that the cave was probably built for lodging and then started to be used by Buddhist monks. 6th century AD
To this day, Kailasa Temple is the reminiscent of the Ellora caves. Why? Because of its beauty? But everything there was beautiful! Its structure made the difference. It did not belong to West Indian architecture. The temple belongs to South Indian architecture. The big temple was carved out of a single rock, from top to bottom. Not from bottom to top! Remember the monoliths of Mahabalipuram.
The Kailasa Temple is a fine example of South Indian-Rashtrakuta temple architecture. Rashtrakuta King Krishna-I – ruled in the 7th century – extended his rule until Karnataka. It is said to have been built in the form of the Virupaksha Temple at Pattadakal.
The awful work of rock carving. South Indians may feel at home, on alien soil. As if in a trance, you may be wandering in and out of that temple. It may be one of your enchanting moments, in which you burst into endless soliloquy.
On the way back
Did those caves get carved into the rock, or were they sculpted in our minds? Jaggu’s mind was overwhelmed with Ellora. This is our address, our identity, our ancestral home. Jaggu’s desire was that everyone should go at least once in their life time. Perumal thirumozhi renders a beautiful line ‘கோனேரி வாழும் குருகாய்ப் பிறப்பேனே’, that expresses the poet’s eagerness to rebirth as a stork in Venkata hill (Tirupati). Jaggu wondered, what if Ellora rejuvenate itself with all the monks of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism pursuing their duties. If that happens, he wanted to rebirth as a rat, that can steal the ghee of the lamps of these cave temples and eat it secretly 🙂
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I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z 2022 with theme Yātum ūrē!
I was not exposed to Amar Chitra Katha kind of stories when I was a kid, because of my remote location of a eastern Tamilnadu. My school time story teller was Dinamalar’s siruvar malar (I am proud, I bought their very first issue of Siruvar Malar), Ambuli Mama. During my elementary time, I exposed to Poonthalir.
May 2012, I subscribed to Ambuli mama (Tamil version of Chandama) again. It came to be a sad ending in June 2013. They closed down their subscriptions, though I had paid fully in advance for my subcription.
Dec 2015, I gave some books of Amar Chitra Katha to Kannan. He was showing interest.
Hence, I ordered for some packs from ACK before two weeks. It was delivered on 1st April (without fooling anyone!).
I’m afraid I’m overloading him. But he can slowly read them one by one before getting into young learners series. If he looses his interest, I’m here anyway to read and enjoy those books 😀
Such books are treasures. We can’t get them always. I had a pathetic experience with Chandama. Indian mythological comics are one among the best in the world – I know what I’m speaking about.
