''Smaradahana'', also known as ''Smaradhana'', ''Asmaradhana'', ''Asmaradahana'', ''Asmaradana'', ''Asmarandhana'' or ''Asmarandana'' is an

old Javanese Old Javanese or Kawi is the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was spoken in the eastern part of what is now Central Java and the whole of East Java, Indonesia. As a literary language, Kawi was used across Java and on the island ...

poem (''

kakawin Kakawin are long narrative poems composed in Old Javanese, also called "'' Kawi''", written in verse form with rhythms and meters derived from Sanskrit literature. Poets used a formalized literary language, rather than the vernacular. Poets c ...

'') written by Mpu Dharmaja as the

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as ...

for King Kameçvara of Kediri in early-12th century

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...

. The story describes the disappearance of Kamajaya (the Hindu god of love) and Kamaratih (the Hindu goddess of love) from Svargaloka after being burnt by fire that burst from the third eye of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. Their spirits fall upon the earth where, incarnated as human beings, their spirits seduce and inspire lovers' hearts.

Etymology

''Smaradahana'', ''Smaradhana'', ''Asmaradhana'' or ''Asmaradahana'' is derived from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

words of ''smara'' and ''dahana''. ''Smara'' means "love", while ''Dhana'' itself can be translated as "thirst" or "yearning", and ''dahana'' which means "fire" as well. Thus, ''Smaradhana'' can be roughly translated as "the love thirst", "the desire of love" or "love desire", but sometimes also translated as "the fire of love". ''Smaradhana''s themes have inspired many works of art and literature in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, including stories, poems and love songs.

The story

The story begins when the goddess

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

was feeling lonely. She missed and longed for her husband Lord

, who at that time was meditating somewhere on a sacred mountain top. She decided to send

Kamadeva Kama ( sa, काम, ), also known as Kamadeva and Manmatha, is the Hindu god of love and desire, often portrayed alongside his consort, Rati. The Atharva Veda regards Kamadeva as the wielder of the creative power of the universe, also descri ...

, a lesser love god known in ancient Java as Kamajaya, to search for Shiva. His task was to inspire love in Shiva's heart, to make him yearn for his wife. Using the bow and arrow of love tipped with a flower, Kamajaya shot the meditating Shiva. Suddenly Shiva felt the desire to see his wife. His heart was filled with memories of past love-making with Parvati, so he promptly stopped his meditation. However, when Shiva opened his eyes, he caught sight of Kamajaya hiding behind a rock. Angered by the fact that Kamajaya, the lesser god, had dared to disturb his meditation, fire burst out from his third eye and burnt Kamajaya to ashes. Kamajaya's wife, the goddess Rati, known in ancient Java as Kamaratih, out of her love, devotion and loyalty, jumped into Shiva's fire to follow her husband. They both died in the flames, disappeared from Svargaloka and vanished from the realm of gods. The spirits of the couple, the divine lovers Kamajaya and Kamaratih, fell upon earth, into the realm of human beings. Frequently incarnated as two lovers, constantly searching for each other on earth, the spirits of Kamajaya and Kamaratih symbolize love, lust, desire and the yearning that inspires, seduces and is suffered by all lovers on earth.

History

Mpu Dharmaja wrote ''Smaradahana'' during the reign of Kameçvara, the second king of Kediri during the second quarter of the 12th century. Historians believe that in addition to Dharmajaya's intention to transmit the Hindu mythology of

being burnt by

's fire (interpreted by the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa in ''

Kumārasambhava ''Kumārasaṃbhavam'' ( sa, कुमारसम्भवम् "The Birth of Kumāra") is an epic poem by Kālidāsa. It is widely regarded as the finest work of Kālidāsa as well as the greatest kāvya poem in Classical Sanskrit. The style ...

''), it was also intended to explain the essence of love and desire in human beings. It is strongly suggested that the poem was also Dharmaja's

for the king. ''Smaradahana'' celebrated Kameçvara as a strikingly handsome man, while his queen consort Çri Kirana was noted for her extraordinary beauty. The poem portrayed the king as the incarnation of Kamajaya, the Hindu god of love, and proclaimed that his capital city Dahana (or Daha) was admired throughout the known world. Kameçvara's wife, Çri Kirana, was celebrated as the incarnation of Kamaratih, the Hindu goddess of love and passion. The ''Smaradhana'' became a predecessor to the Panji cycle tales, where Raden Inu Kertapati (or Panji Asmoro Bangun) is portrayed as the incarnation of Kamajaya, while Dewi Chandra Kirana (or Sekartaji) is depicted as the incarnation of Kamaratih. The

Panji tales The Panji tales (formerly spelled Pandji) are a cycle of Javanese stories, centred around the legendary prince of the same name from East Java, Indonesia. Along with the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the tales are the basis of various poems and a ge ...

spread throughout

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

( Indochina Peninsula (a region that includes modern-day

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

, Laos,

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, South Vietnam) and Malay World as well).

Gallery

File:Cover Smaradahana-Dinas Pendidikan Bali.jpg, Kama being burnt by Shiva. From the cover of a book released by the Balinese Education Council.

References

{{reflist

External links

Kakawin Smaradhana (in Indonesian)
Kakawin Hinduism in Indonesia Hindu texts