Wikramawardhana

Vikramavardhana (), often known by his regnal name Bhra Hyang Wisesa was a Javanese emperor and succeeded Hayam Wuruk as the fifth monarch of the Majapahit, reigning from 1389 to 1429.

Early life

His ksatria name was Raden Gagak Sali as stated in Pararaton. He was the nephew and also the son-in-law of the previous monarch, King Rajasanagara Dyah Hayam Wuruk. His mother was the king's younger sister, Rajasaduhiteswari or Wardhanaduhiteswari or Iswari in short. Krom interpreted it as "the illustrious Wardhana's daughter, Iswari". The term "Wardhana" referred to Prince consort Kertawardhana, husband of Queen Tribhuwana. She was given the title ''Bhre'' Pajang and married to Singhawardhana, ''Bhre'' Paguhan.
According to Pararaton, Vikramavardhana had two younger sisters. The older one was Nagarawardhani, she would be the wife of Vikramavardhana's rival in the future. She was originally the ''Bhre'' Wirabhumi before the title shifted to her husband and she became ''Bhre'' Lasem. The younger was Surawardhani or Rajasawardhani. At first, she was either the ''Bhre'' Panawuhan or ''Bhre'' Panawan-awan then after a few rotations, her title was ''Bhre'' Kahuripan. Vikramavardhana himself was the ''Bhre'' Mataram. In contrast, Nagarakretagama only stated Rajasawardhani as a daughter of Iswari. Perhaps, Nagarawardhani was adopted by The Princess of Daha since her marriage was mentioned as childless in Pararaton.

The young prince was arranged to marry his cousin, Kusumawardhani, styled as Princess of Kabalan. He was no older than 12 and she was no older than 7 at that time. Nagarakretagama written in 1365 reported that they were already married besides King Rajasanagara was just 31 years old. The princess was the only child of the king by his primary wife, Paduka Sori or Sudewi. Vikramavardhana was appointed as heir apparent for his marriage to Kusumawardhani.

Reign

A succession conflict arose following the death of Vikramavardhana grandmother, Queen Regnant Tribhuwana (who held the title Princess of Kahuripan once again after her abdication), and her sister Rajadewi in the 1370s. Rajadewi's husband, Wijayarajasa carried out a separatist action by proclaiming himself as a new king with the regnal name ''Bhatara Parameswara ring Pamotan''. King Rajasanagara (also known as Dyah Hayam Wuruk) was mentioned as ruled in ''Kedhaton Kulon'' means "the Western Court" while Prince Wijayarajasa was the head of ''Kedhaton Wetan'' or "the Eastern Court". Wijayarajasa's action started the ''Kedhaton Kulon'' and ''Kedhaton Wetan'' period. Hayam Wuruk refused to fight him as his only son from a concubine supported Wijayarajasa, perhaps because he felt more proper of inheriting the throne than Vikramavardhana. However, Hayam Wuruk gained the loyalty of most of the Majapahit's royal family members.

As heir-apparent, Vikramavardhana was the most likely to inherit the high prince title ''Bhre'' Kahuripan from his grandmother although it wasn't mentioned clearly in Pararaton. Another rotation resulted in the title ''Bhre'' Wirabhumi was gotten by Hayam Wuruk's son from a concubine inherited from his wife who was also Vikramavardhana's younger sister, Nagarawardhani.

After the death of Wijayarajasa in 1388 and Hayam Wuruk in 1389, the conflict became worse. In the Western court, Vikramavardhana ascended the throne over the legitimacy of Kusumawardhani as she was the only child of the late monarch born from the queen consort. On the other side, ''Bhre'' Wirabhumi succeeded Wijayarajasa.

King Vikramavardhana's co-reigned with Queen Kusumawardhani was challenged by ''Bhre'' Wirabhumi. ''Bhre'' Wirabhumi felt that he had a better right to be a successor since he was the only son of the late monarch despite his biological mother being a lesser wife or concubine. He was also mentioned as ''Po-ling-ta-ha'' or ''Putreng Daha'' (''Putra-ing Daha'') due to his adoption by ''Bhre'' Daha which didn't refer to either Hayam Wuruk's cousin, Indudewi, or his aunt, Rajadewi.

Deliberately not to recognize his sovereignty, Vikramavardhana bestowed the title of ''Bhre'' Lasem to Kusumawardhani even though at that time the title had been being held by his sister. According to Pararaton, there were two Princesses of Lasem during the ''Kedhaton Kulon'' and ''Kedhaton Wetan'' periods, and both of them were the new ruler's primary wives. Kusumawardhani, ''Bhre'' Lasem ''Sang Ahayu'' or "the Fair Princess of Lasem" of western court and Nagarawardhani, ''Bhre'' Lasem ''Sang Alemu'' or "the Fat Princess of Lasem" of eastern court.

In 1398, Majapahit under the rule of King Vikramavardhana sent their navy to ''invade'' the Kingdom of Singapura. Their last ruler, King Iskandar Shah fled to the north. The invasion was greatly successful. Singapore eventually got sacked and destroyed by the Majapahit

Tahun çaka netra-paksagni-sitangsu (1322 saka year or 1400), Vikramavardhana abdicated to become a religious. In the same year, it was reported about the death of ''Bhre'' Lasem in Kawidyadharen without any additional information about who was she, which left the historian confused as there were already three women who became the Princess of Lasem. The first holder was Indudewi, who had been shifted to ''Bhre'' Daha at that time as well as the late ''Bhre'' Lasem. The second was Nagarawardhani, followed by Kusumawardhani on the third. Nagarawardhani had the smallest possibility as the next sentences of Pararaton would mention the death of ''Bhre'' Lasem the Fat. If the one who had died was Queen Kusumawardhani, then it would have been probably the reason why Vikramavardhana returned to the court and had a feud again with ''Bhre'' Wirabhumi in 1401.

Both rulers had good relationships with the Chinese, moreover, they received envoys separately. Admiral Cheng Ho of the Ming Dynasty was recorded as visiting Java in 1405. The outbreak of the Regreg War in 1406 accidentally killed Chinese envoys in ''Kedhaton Wetan''. Despite Vikramavardhana's success in winning the war and defeating ''Bhre'' Wirabhumi, the civil war gravely weakened previously unchallenged Majapahit hegemony in Nusantara and loosened Majapahit's grip on its far-flung vassal kingdoms.

''Hyang Wisesa'' or ''Bhra Hyang Wisesa'' was Vikramavardhana's regular designation in Pararaton. ''Bhra'' was a shortened form of ''Bhatara''. His pronouncement to adopt the name ''Hyang Wisesa'' or ''Yang-wei-hsi-sha'' was told in Ming's record in 1415. Vikramavardhana ruled until 1429 and was succeeded by a ''prabhu stri'' (queen regnant) who is still debated by historians who was her. The two most likely to assume were his wife, Kusumawardhani, if she was still alive, or their daughter, Suhita.

Personal life

His primary wife and the only queen consort was Kusumawardhani, 1st Princess of Kabalan, then styled as 3rd Princess of Lasem, as well as the only daughter of King Rajasanagara Dyah Hayam Wuruk and Queen Sudewī. She was undoubtedly a drop-dead beauty. It wasn't recorded when the queen gave birth to the crown prince. He inherited either the title Prince of Mataram from his father or Prince of Kabalan from his mother before died in 1399. Vikramavardhana gave him the posthumous name ''Hyang Wekasing Sukha''. Kusumawardhani died a year later.

Vikramavardhana's second child was ''Bhre'' Tumapel strongly possibly the crown prince from 1399 until he died in 1427. He married two Princesses of Lasem, and both of them were his cousins. His first wife, the 4th ''Bhre'' Lasem was a daughter of Surawardhani and Ranamanggala. His second wife, the 5th ''Bhre'' Lasem was a daughter of ''Bhre'' Wirabhumi and Nagarawardhani.

Vikramavardhana's third child and the only recorded daughter was the future Queen regnant Suhita. She was arranged to marry Ratnapangkaja, a son of Surawardhani and Ranamanggala. Ratnapangkaja's paternal grandfather was Dyah Sotor, Queen regnant Tribhuwana's stepson.

His fourth and last child namely Dyah Kertawijaya. He was styled as ''Bhre'' Tumapel after the death of his older brother. Dyah Kertawijaya also married his cousin, Dyah Jayeswari (formally Jayawardhani). She was the youngest child, in the same condition as her husband. Jayawardhani was the younger sister of the 4th ''Bhre'' Lasem and Ratnapangkaja. Later, the youngest prince would ascend the throne after Suhita under his regnal name Wijayaparakramawardhana.

He was the only one who was mentioned as born from Kusumawardhani in Pararaton. The mother of his three siblings was never mentioned in any sources, thus making it confusing. Historian J. Noorduyn argued that the four above were born from Queen Kusumawardhani seeing that the name of the four siblings written without using the additional terms ''rabi haji'', ''rabi anom'', or ''rabi ksatriya'' which was usually used to refer to a royal name born from a secondary wife or concubine in Pararaton.

One of Vikramavardhana's concubines was the Princess of Mataram. Her parents were his former rivals, Prince of Wirabhumi and Nagarawardhani. She was taken away after the Regreg war and possibly childless.

In Literature

Nagarakretagama

Pararaton

Ancestry

References

* Pringle, Robert. ''A Short History of Bali: Indonesia's Hindu Realm''. Crows Nest, NSW: Allan & Unwin, 2004.

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Monarchs of Majapahit
Indonesian Hindu monarchs
Javanese monarchs
14th-century monarchs in Asia
15th-century monarchs in Asia
14th-century Indonesian people
15th-century Indonesian people
14th-century Hindus
1429 deaths