Banowati - (Wayang Kulit)

Banowati - daughter of Prabu Salya

Title	Banowati - (Dewi) - Mahabharata
Other names	Bondowati
Size	45 cm
Personal data	Banowati is the daughter of Prabu Salya , the king of Mandaraka country with consort Dewi Pujawati alias Setyawati, the only daughter of Bagawan Bagaspati from the Argabelah hermitage. She has four siblings, each named: Dewi Erawati (consort of Prabu Baladewa ), Dewi Surtikanti (consort of Duke Karna ), Arya Burisrawa , and Bambang Rukmarata. Dewi Banowati married Prabu Suyudana ( Duryodana ) from the Astina country , the son of Prabu Dretarasta and Dewi Gandari . From this marriage he had two sons named Raden Lesmana Mandrakumara and Dewi Lesmanawati.
Appearance	Dewi Banowati has an honest character, full of compassion, polite but a little flirtatious. She is known as a very beautiful princess. It's not strange that many knights fall in love with her.
Collection	Private collection

Banowati - (Dewi) - Mahabharata

Banowati has knitted eyes and a sharp, slightly upturned nose. But looking at her behavior, Banowati's eyes widened with a sharp glance, in Javanese her eyes are called fried nyambel and when someone looks at her, it feels hot and piercing to the heart of her gaze.

A lady with a big eagle on her back. Edited long waderen. Big bun, falling over the shoulders. Stretching necklace. A very beautiful princess, not because of her makeup and jewelry, because as long as she is not decorated, she looks very beautiful. This is the true beauty of a woman's behavior which is however fast-paced and contributes to her beauty. If she is angry and her face sour, she even looks sweeter.

From the beginning, Banowati fell in love with Arjuna, but she became the consort of Prabu Suyudana, although she could never match her husband's love. From that marriage, they were blessed with two sons named Raden Lesmana Mandrakumara and Dewi Lesmanawati.

Dewi Banowati is an example of a female character who is unfaithful to her husband. After marrying Suyudana, Banowati still loved Arjuna. This feeling of love also saved the life of Burisrawa, Banowati's younger brother. Burisrawa once entered Arjuna's residence in Kasatrian Madukara and attempted to rape Dewi Wara Subadra, Arjuna's wife. In an effort to defend her honor, Dewi Subadra was stabbed to death by the Burisrawa keris. Prabu Salyapati's son was finally caught and should have been sentenced to death, but Dewi Banowati immediately came and persuaded Arjuna, so that Burisrawa was forgiven and finally released.

Banowati and Arjuna
In various puppetry stories, Banowati and Arjuna's illicit relationship and affair are often told vaguely. When Banowati gave birth to her first child, the baby's face was very similar to Arjuna. This fact really worries Banowati and Arjuna, because they are worried that their affair will be discovered. Therefore, Arjuna then begged the gods so that Banowati's children would not look like him. The request was granted, and the baby's face changed to look like Suyudana. Banowati's first child was named Lesmana Mandrakumara, whose behavior was like that of a mentally weak person. Their second child was named Lesmanawati, born as a beautiful princess. Lesmana Mandrakumara was killed by Abimanyu in the Baratayuda war, while Dewi Lesmanawati was married to Warsakusuma, son of Adipati Karna.

Leading up to and during the Baratayuda war, several Kaurava figures suspected that Dewi Banowati often leaked secrets from the Kurawa side to the Pandava side. Bambang Aswatama, the only son of Begawan Drona, was one of the Kaurava followers who really hated Dewi Banowati. Moreover, when the Baratayuda war was finished, Banowati, who was already a widow at that time, happily agreed to become Arjuna's wife. With overflowing revenge and burning hatred, one night Aswatama managed to infiltrate the Astina Palace and kill Banowati while she was sleeping soundly. This was Aswatama's revenge against Banowati who, in addition to playing with Prabu Suyudana, was also considered to be degrading the dignity of a king.

Even though her beauty and beauty are impeccable, Dewi Banowati is not an example of a good female character in wayang. Her love for Arjuna made Banowati as a wife not only ignore and undermine her husband's authority, but also betray him. Some of the Purwa Shadow Puppet masterminds even put Banowati as the target of ridicule. Ki Dalang, among other things, uses panakawan figures to express his sarcasm or mockery. Usually the character Petruk is shown for that purpose.
Apart from that, in several Carangan plays, Banowati is also given the role of an easy woman. For example, in the play Brajadenta-Brajamusti, or Brajadenta Mbalela, it is told that Brajadenta transformed into Gatotkaca, and then seduced Dewi Banowati. Regarding Dewi Banowati's dishonorable behavior, in fact the entire Kurawa family also knew or suspected her. But because Duryudana's attitude continued to protect his wife, they did not react openly. They are afraid of their older siblings. Only Aswatama, Begawan Drona's only son, secretly held a grudge against Empress Astina. The name Banowati, in the Mahabarata Book is written Bhanu-matti, which means 'a woman shining like sunlight'. The word 'banu' or 'bhanu' means sun, while the word 'matti' or 'wati' indicates that she is a woman.

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Source: History of Wayang Purwa - Hardjowirogo - PN Balai Pustaka - 1982
Blog: Hadisukirno - Yogyakarta - 2011