Raden Ngabehi Ranggawarsita (14 March 1802 – 24 December 1873, , ) was a Javanese

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. He was born into the famous literary Yasadipura family in

Surakarta Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...

, in

Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...

. He is sometimes called the ''last Javanese poet''.

Biography

Ranggawarsita was born in 1802 with the birth name Bagus Burhan. He was son of Mas Pajangswara and grandson of Yasadipura II, a famous poet of

Surakarta Sunanate Surakarta Sunanate (; ) is a Javanese monarchy centred in the city of Surakarta, in the province of Central Java, Indonesia. The Surakarta Kraton (Indonesia), Kraton was established in 1745 by Pakubuwono II. Surakarta Sunanate and Yogyakarta S ...

. His father was the offspring of the

Kingdom of Pajang The Kingdom of Pajang or Sultanate of Pajang (; 1568–1586) was a short-lived Muslim state in Java. It was established by Adiwijaya or Jaka Tingkir, Lord of Boyolali, after a civil war and was a successor to Sultanate of Demak. Adiwijaya clai ...

, his mother of the

Demak Sultanate The Demak Sultanate () was a Javanese Muslim state located on Java's north coast in Indonesia, at the site of the present-day city of Demak. A port fief to the Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit kingdom thought to have been founded in the last quarter o ...

. Once reaching adulthood, Ranggawarsita quickly gained a reputation for his intellectual capabilities which included authoring poetry, grammar books, and working as a redactor for the Dutch periodical ''Bromartani''.

Works

Ranggawarsita authored numerous texts that covered a myriad of subjects which included poetry, mysticism, and ethics. Additionally, his works included prophecies as well as criticism of the politics and society of his time. Some of his notable works included: * ''Serat Wirit Sopanalya'' * ''Serat Candrarani'' * ''serat Kalatidha'' (''A dark time'') * ''Sapta dharma'' * ''Sri Kresna Barata'' * ''Paramayoga'' * ''Pustakaraja Purwa'' * ''Wirid Hidayat Jati'' Several works by Ranggawarsita were republished posthumously by Tan Khoen Swie of Kediri in the early 20th century.

Legacy

There is a museum in his name in

Semarang Semarang (Javanese script, Javanese: , ''Kutha Semarang'') is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Netherlands, Dutch Dutch East Indies, colonial era, and is still an important regio ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranggawarsita 1802 births People from Surakarta Javanese poets 1873 deaths 19th-century poets Writers from the Dutch East Indies