Dara Petak or Dara Pethak, also known in her formal name as Indreswari, was the consort of King Kertarajasa Jayawardhana, the founder of

Majapahit Majapahit (; (eastern and central dialect) or (western dialect)), also known as Wilwatikta (; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia based on the island o ...

kingdom. She was a

Dharmasraya Padang Roco inscription where the name ''Dharmasraya'' was mentioned Dharmasraya or Dharmmāśraya was the capital of the 11th century Buddhist polity known as Melayu Kingdom, based on the Batanghari river system in modern-day West Sumatra ...

princess from

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

and the only non- Javanese wife of Kertarajasa, and also the mother of Jayanegara, the second monarch of Majapahit. Tradition mentioned her as a woman of exceptional beauty. The name ''Dara Pethak'' in

old Malay Malay language, Malay was first used in the first millennia known as Old Malay, a part of the Austronesian languages, Austronesian language family. Over a period of two Millennium, millennia, Malay has undergone various stages of development th ...

means "white dove", while her other name ''Indreswari'' in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

means "the consort of

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

" and it was acquired after her marriage to Majapahit first king.

Early life

She was the daughter of King Srimat Tribhuwanaraja Mauliawarmadewa of Dharmasraya Kingdom in Sumatra, and was sent to Java to be betrothed to Singhasari King. This Sumatran kingdom was held as vassal of

Singhasari Singhasari ( or , ), also known as Tumapel, was a Javanese people, Javanese Hindu-Buddist empires, Hindu-Buddhist Monarchy, kingdom located in east Java (island), Java between 1222 and 1292. The kingdom succeeded the Kingdom of Kediri as th ...

in 1286. According to ''

Pararaton The ''Pararaton'' (''Book of Kings''), also known as the ''Katuturanira Ken Angrok'' (''Story of Ken Angrok''), is a 16th-century Javanese historical chronicle written in Kawi language, Kawi (Old Javanese). The comparatively short text of 32 f ...

'', ten days after the expulsion of Mongol forces from Java, the

Pamalayu expedition The Pamalayu campaign was a diplomatic and military expeditionary force sent by the Javanese King Kertanegara of Singhasari to conquer the Sumatran Melayu Kingdom. It was decreed in 1275, though perhaps not undertaken until later. Little is known ...

led by Mahisa Anabrang returned to Java. The expedition was sent by Singhasari King

Kertanegara Sri Maharajadiraja Sri Kertanagara Wikrama Dharmatunggadewa, Kritanagara, or Sivabuddha (died 1292), was the last and most important ruler of the Singhasari kingdom of Java, reigning from 1268 to 1292. Under his rule Javanese trade and power dev ...

in 1275 to conquer

. The returning Javanese troops brought two Malay princesses,

Dara Jingga Dara Jingga, was one of the ethnic Malay, Malay Dharmasraya princess who was intended to be betrothed to Javanese King Kertanegara of Singasari after the Pamalayu expedition 1275–1293. Dara Jingga was the older sister of Dara Petak, the consort ...

and Dara Petak to be presented for Kertanagara. The two princesses was originally intended for Kertanagara, however because the Singhasari King has died, his heir

Raden Wijaya Raden Wijaya or Raden Vijaya, also known as Nararya Sangramawijaya and his regnal name Kertarajasa Jayawardhana was a Javanese emperor and founder of the Majapahit Empire who ruled from 1293 until his death in 1309.Slamet Muljana, 2005, ''Run ...

took Dara Petak in hand of marriage instead, while her sister

was betrothed to

Adwayawarman Adwayawarman was the father of King Adityawarman of Malayapura kingdom (now in West Sumatra province, Indonesia) as mentioned in the Kuburajo inscription, Kuburajo I Inscription. His alias name was Adwayadwaja, as he was called in the Bukit Gombak I ...

, a Javanese high officials (''Rakryan Mahamantri Dyah Adwayabrahma'') of the

, who was sent to transport the statue of Amoghapasa to the Dharmasraya kingdom.

As the king's consort

Within Majapahit palace, Dara Petak cleverly pleased the king, won his favour and subsequently become the king's favourite consort. She acquired the title ''Stri tinuheng pura'', or the most honored wife in the palace. According to ''

Nagarakretagama The ''Nagarakretagama'' or ''Nagarakṛtāgama'', also known in Bali as ''Desawarnana'' or ''Deśavarṇana'', is an Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king of the Majapahit Empire. It was written on lontar as a ''kakawin'' by ...

'',

already had four wives, Tribhuwaneswari, Prajnaparamita, Narendra Duhita, and Gayatri Rajapatni; all of them were Singhasari princesses, the daughters of Kertanagara. According to

, Dara Petak was promoted to honorable title because she was the only wife that produced male heir for the king, prince Jayanegara. According to ''

'', the name of Jayanagara's mother is ''Indreswari'', so it is assumed that this was the new official name of Dara Petak after her marriage to the king. The coronation of Jayanegara as the Prince of Daha in 1295 was recorded in Sukamerta inscription (1296). In Kertarajasa inscription (1305), Jayanegara was mentioned as the son of Tribhuwaneswari, the prime queen and first wife of Raden Wijaya. To reconcile these records, some historians suggest that Jayanegara was the biological son of Indreswari or Dara Petak, and he was later being adopted by the childless queen consort Tribhuwaneswari, in order to be promoted as the heir of the throne. Jayanegara become the successor of King Kertarajasa.

References

{{reflist * Poesponegoro & Notosusanto (ed.). 1990. ''Sejarah Nasional Indonesia Jilid II''. Jakarta: Balai Pustaka. * Slamet Muljana. 2005. ''Menuju Puncak Kemegahan'' (terbitan ulang 1965). Yogyakarta: LKIS * Slamet Muljana. 1979. ''Nagarakretagama dan Tafsir Sejarahnya''. Jakarta: Bhratara Majapahit Malay people Queens consort People from West Sumatra 13th-century Indonesian women