Gajah Mada
In another version, according to the Nagarakretagama, and supported by inscriptions dating from the late 13th and early 14th century, Jayanagara was assassinated by Gajah Mada in 1328. It is said that Jayanagara was overprotective towards his two half sisters, born from Kertarajasa's youngest queen, Dyah Dewi Gayatri. Complaints by the two young princesses led to the intervention of Gajah Mada. His drastic solution was to arrange for a surgeon to murder the king while pretending to perform an operation.Jayanegara was immediately succeeded by his sister Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi. It was under her leadership that Gajah Mada was appointed mahapatih in 1329, after the retirement of Arya Tadah.
As mahapatih under Thribuwana Tunggadewi Gajah Mada went on to crush another rebellion by Sadeng and Keta in 1331.
It was during Gajah Mada's reign as mahapatih, around the year 1345, that the famous Muslim traveller, Ibn Battuta visited Sumatera.
While often interpreted literally to mean that Gajah Mada would not allow his food to be spiced the oath is sometimes interpreted to mean that Gajah Mada would abstain from all earthly pleasures until he conquered the entire known archipelago for Majapahit.
Even his closest friends were at 1st doubtful of his oath, but Gajah Mada kept pursuing his dream to unify Nusantara under the glory of Majapahit. Soon he conquered the surrounding territory of Bedahulu and Lombok (1343). He then sent the navy westward to attack the remnants of the thallassocrathic kingdom of Sriwijaya in Palembang. There he installed Adityawarman, a Majapahit prince as vassal ruler of the Minangkabau in West Sumatra.
He then conquered the 1st Islamic sultanate in Southeast Asia, Samudra Pasai, and another state in Svarnadvipa. Gajah Mada also conquered Bintan, Tumasik (Singapore), Melayu (now known as Jambi), and Kalimantan.
At the resignation of the queen, Tribuwanatunggadewi, her son, Hayam Wuruk became king. Gajah Mada retained his position as mahapatih under the new king and continued his military campaign by expanding eastward into Logajah, Gurun, Seram, Hutankadali, Sasak, Buton, Banggai, Kunir, Galiyan, Salayar, Sumba, Muar (Saparua), Solor, Bima, Wandan (Banda), Ambon, Timor, and Dompo.
He thus effectively brought the modern Indonesian archipelago under Majapahits's control, which spanned not only the territory of today's Indonesia, but also that of Tumasik, the states comprising modern-day Malaysia, Brunei and the southern Philippines.
In 1357, the only remaining state refusing to acknowledge Majapahit's hegemony was Sunda, in West Java, bordering the Majapahit Empire. King Hayam Wuruk intended to marry Dyah Pitaloka Citraresmi, a princess of Sunda and the daughter of Sunda's king. Gajah Mada was given the task to go to the Bubat square on northern part of Trowulan to welcome the princess as she arrived with her father and escort to Majapahit palace.
Gajah Mada took this opportunity to demand Sunda submission under Majapahit rule. While the Sunda King thought that the royal marriage was a sign of a new alliance between Sunda and Majapahit, Gajah Mada thought otherwise. He stated that the Princess of Sunda isn't to be hailed as the new queen consort of Majapahit, but merely as a concubine, as a sign of submission of Sunda to Majapahit. This misunderstanding led to embarrassment and hostility, which quickly rose into a skirmish and the full scale Battle of Bubat. The Sunda King with all of his guards and royal party were overwhelmed by Majapahit troops and subsequently killed in the field of Bubat. Tradition mentioned that the heartbroken princess, Dyah Pitaloka Citraresmi, committed suicide.
Hayam Wuruk was deeply shocked about the tragedy. Majapahit courtiers, ministers and nobles blamed Gajah Mada for his recklesness, and the brutal consequences were not to the taste of the Majapahit royal family. Gajah Mada was promptly demoted and spent the rest of his days at the estate of Madakaripura in Probolinggo in East Java.
Gajah Mada died in obscurity in 1364. King Hayam Wuruk considered that the power Gajah Mada had accumulated during his time as mahapatih was too much to handle for a single person. Therefore the king split the responsibilities that had been Gajah Mada's, between four separate new mahamantri, thereby probably increasing his own power. King Hayam Wuruk, who is said to have been a wise leader, was able to maintain the hegemony of Majapahit in the region, gained during Gajah Mada's service. However Majapahit slowly fell into decline after the death of Hayam Wuruk.
Gajah Mada's legacy is important for Indonesian Nationalism, and invoked by Indonesian Nationalist movement in early 20th century. The Nationalists prior to the Japanese invasion, notably Sukarno, often cited Gajah Mada and his oath as an inspiration and a historical proof of Indonesian past greatness. That Indonesians could unite, despite vast territory and various cultures. Thus, Gajah Mada was a great inspiration during the Indonesian National Revolution for independence from Dutch colonization.
In 1942, only 230 Indonesian natives held a tertiary education. The Republicans sought to mend the Dutch apathy and established the 1st state university, which freely admitted native pribumi Indonesians Universitas Gadjah Mada, in Yogyakarta is named in honour of Gajah Mada and completed in 1945, and had the honour of the 1st Medicine Faculty freely open to natives. Indonesia's 1st telecommunication satellite was called Satelit Palapa signifying its role in uniting the country. Many cities in Indonesia but West Java have streets named after Gajah Mada. There is a brand of badminton shuttlecock named after him as well.
Related Sites for Gajah Mada
- Film Gajah Mada read Gajah Mada
- Universitas Gadjah Mada :: Universitas Berkelas Dunia read Gajah Mada
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