Kakawin are long narrative poems composed in

Old Javanese Old Javanese or Kawi is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language and the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was natively spoken in the central and eastern part of Java Island, what is now Central Java, Special Region o ...

, also called "'' Kawi''", written in verse form with rhythms and meters derived from

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 ...

literature. Poets used a formalized

literary language Literary language is the Register (sociolinguistics), register of a language used when writing in a formal, academic writing, academic, or particularly polite tone; when speaking or writing in such a tone, it can also be known as formal language. ...

, rather than the

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

. Poets composed and performed the poems at the courts of central and east

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

kings between the 9th and 16th centuries, and in

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

. Although the poems depict events and characters from

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

mythology, the narratives are set in the local landscapes of the islands. They are rich sources of information about courtly society in Java and Bali.http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/APM/TXT/creese-h-02-96.html Helen Creese, "Temples of Words: Balinese Literary Traditions", ''Asia-Pacific Magazine'', No. 2 May 1996, pp. 38-43

Structure

A ''kakawin'' stanza consists of four lines. Each line has a set number of

syllables A syllable is a basic unit of organization within a sequence of speech sounds, such as within a word, typically defined by linguists as a ''nucleus'' (most often a vowel) with optional sounds before or after that nucleus (''margins'', which are ...

per line, set in patterns of long and short syllables based on

rules of prosody. A syllable which contains a long vowel is called ''guru'' (Sanskrit for "heavy"), while a syllable which contains a short one is called ''laghu'' (Sanskrit for "light"). The term ''guru laghu'' denotes the structure of a line. For example, each line of the ''kakawin'' metre called "''Śardūlawikrīd ta''" consists of 19 syllables. The ''guru laghu'' of each line is as follows" ---, UU-, U-U, UU-, --U, --U, U. The notation "-" means that the syllable in question is long, while the "U" means that the syllable is short. As an example, the opening stanza of the '' Kakawin Arjunawiwaha'', which is in the metre ''Śardūlawikrīd ta'', is taken: :' :' :' :' :A tentative translation in English: :The thought of the one who knows the Highest Knowledge has leapt from the emptiness. :It is not because he wishes to fulfill his senses, as if he only wants to have the worldly things. :The success of his virtuous and good deeds are his goals. He endeavours for the happiness the world. :He is steadfast and just a '' wayang'' screen away from the "Mover of the World". A syllable which contains a long vowel is automatically long (ā, ī, ū, ö, e, o, ai, and au) and thus ''guru''. But on the other hand, a syllable with a vowel followed by two consonants is also long. In addition to that the last syllable of a line may both contain a long or a short syllable. It is an '' anceps''.

List of notable ''kakawin''

{{columns-list, colwidth=25em, * Kakawin Adiparwa * Kakawin Arjunawijaya, by Mpu Tantular * Kakawin Arjunawiwaha, by mpu Kanwa, c. 1030 * Kakawin Banawa Sekar Tanakung * Kakawin Bharatayuddha, by Mpu Sedah and Mpu Panuluh, 1157 * Kakawin Bhomakawya * Kakawin Bhomantaka * Kakawin Brahmandapurana * Kakawin Dharmaśunya * Kakawin Gatotkacaśraya * Kakawin Hariwangsa * Kakawin Hariśraya * Kakawin Kalayawanantaka * Kakawin Khandawawanadahana * Kakawin Kṛsnataka * Kakawin Krsnayana * Kakawin Kunjarakarna, by Mpu Dusun * Kakawin Nagarakṛtâgama/Kakawin Desawarnana, by Mpu Prapanca, 1365 * Kakawin Nirarthaprakṛta * Kakawin Nitiśastra * Kakawin Parthayajña * Kakawin Ramayana c. 870 * Kakawin Śivagŗha, 856 * Kakawin Siwaratrikalpa by Mpu Tanakung * Kakawin Smaradhana * Kakawin Subhrawiwaha * Kakawin Sumanasantaka by Mpu Monaguṇa * Kakawin Sutasoma, by Mpu Tantular * Kakawin Wrtasañcaya by Mpu Tanakung * Kakawin Wṛttayana

Structure

List of notable ''kakawin''

See also

References

Further reading