Raden Ngabei Yasadipura Tus Pajang, better known as Yasadipura I (1729–1802), was a poet from the

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 ...

in present-day

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 ...

Biography

Yasadipura was born "Bagus Banjar". His father was Tumenggung Padmanegara, the regent of

Pekalongan Pekalongan () is a city of Central Java, Indonesia. It was formerly the seat of Pekalongan Regency on the northern coast of the province, but is now an independent municipality within the province. It covers a land area of 45.25 km2 and had a p ...

. His father was a descendant of

Sultan Hadiwijaya Joko Tingkir, or sometimes written as Jaka Tingkir, is the founder and the first king of the Sultanate of Pajang. He ruled from 1549 to 1582. He is also known by the title of Sultan Adiwijaya. Ancestry Joko was the son of Ki Ageng Pengging, b ...

, the King of Pajang. Yasadipura I studied with Kyai Honggomoyo, a scholar from the Magelang hermitage. Yasadipura I died in 1802, which was also the birth year of his great-grandson,

Ranggawarsita Raden Ngabehi Ranggawarsita (14 March 1802 – 24 December 1873, , ) was a Javanese philosopher and poet. He was born into the famous literary Yasadipura family in Surakarta, in Central Java. He is sometimes called the ''last Javanese poet''. Bi ...

. Later, Ranggawarsita inherited the legacy of Yasadipuran from his grandfather, Yasadipura II. Yasadipura I is buried in the area, about 15 km west of

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 ...

Famous works

Yasadipura I is considered to be the greatest of poet Java Island during the 18th century. His works include: * Serat Rama, adapted from

Kakawin Ramayana ''Kakawin Ramayana'' is an Old Javanese poem rendering of the Sanskrit Ramayana in ''kakawin'' meter. ''Kakawin Rāmâyaṇa'' is a ''kakawin'', the Javanese form of ''kāvya'', a poem modeled on traditional Sanskritam meters.It is believed to ...

* Serat Bratayuda, adapted from

Kakawin Bharatayuddha 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 ...

* Fiber Mintaraga, adaptation of Kakawin Arjuna Wiwaha * Serat Arjuna Sasrabahu, adapted from Kakawin Arjuna Wijaya These were composed in the form of

macapat Javanese poetry (poetry in the Javanese or especially the Kawi language; Low Javanese: ''tembang''; High Javanese: ''sekar'') is traditionally recited in song form. The standard forms are divided into three types, sekar ageng, sekar madya, and se ...

poetry in the new

Javanese language Javanese ( , , ; , Aksara Jawa, Javanese script: , Pegon script, Pegon: , IPA: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, Indones ...

. Some of his verses are still often uttered as suluk by the

puppeteers A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

wayang ( , ) is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. The term refers both to the show as a whole and the puppet in particular. Performances of wayang puppet theatre are accompanied by a ''gamel ...

performances to this day. Yasadipura I's works also included tales with mystical and Islamic themes often derived from Malay texts. One such work is Serat Ambiya, which was a Javanese adaptation of the Stories of the Prophets. Another work is Serat Menak, an adaptation of ''Hikayat Amir Hamzah'' in Malay. This story tells of the heroism of

Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib Ḥamza ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim ibn ʿAbd Manāf al-Qurashī (; )Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). ''The Companions of Badr''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. was a foster brother, ...

, the uncle of the

Prophet Muhammad In Islam, Muhammad () is venerated as the Seal of the Prophets who transmitted the Quran, eternal word of God () from the Angels in Islam, angel Gabriel () to humans and jinn. Muslims believe that the Quran, the central religious text of Isl ...

References

Bibliography

* Andjar Any. 1980. Raden Ngabehi Ranggawarsita. What Happened Ranggawarsita? Semarang: Various Sciences * M.C. Ricklefs. 1991. History of Modern Indonesia (trans.). Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press 1802 deaths Indonesian writers Javanese poets 18th-century poets 1729 births {{Indonesia-poet-stub