Guru

Title	Guru - (Batara) - Mahabharata
Other names	Sang Hyang Manikmaya, Sang Hyang Siwa , Sang Hyang Caturbuja, Sang Hyang Otipati, Sang Hyang Jagadnata, Nilakantha, Catur Boja, Trinetra, Girinata
Size	60 cm
Personal data	Batara Guru is the son of Sang Hyang Tunggal and Dewi Rekatawati. He has two brothers, Sang Hyang Antaga and Sang Hyang Ismaya. One day, Dewi Rekatawati laid a shining egg. Sang Hyang Tunggal transformed the egg using his powers. Its shell turned into Sang Hyang Antaga, the firstborn. The egg white turned into Sang Hyang Ismaya (Semar), and its yolk turned into Sang Hyang Manikmaya. Later, Sang Hyang Tunggal appointed the two elder gods to descend to earth and look after the descendants of the gods. Sang Hyang Antaga (Togog) looks after the giant race, and Sang Hyang Ismaya (Semar) looks after humans, especially Pandava, while Batara Guru (also known as Sang Hyang Manikmaya) led the gods in kahyangan. So Batara Guru is the god who rules heaven (king of the gods). He has a wife named Dewi Uma. They had 8 sons, Batara Sambu, Batara Brahma, Batara Indra, Batara Bayu, Batara Vishnu, Batara Ganesha, Batara Kala and Hanoman.
Appearance	The eyes are stitched (the shape is as if sewn). Demil-shaped eyes in Javanese are called njait. His nose is pointed, his mouth is closed. His hands are four, and two are clasped from the other two holding a Trident and an arrow. It stands on the Andhini Cow. Further, he was crowned with a mask, wearing a three-tiered hat, wearing a garuda on his back, wearing a waderen, wearing a scarf and cloth. Batara Guru has a vehicle animal, namely the Ox Nandini.
Collection	Private collection

Guru – (Batara) – Mahabharata

In the Paramayoga manuscript, it is told that Sanghyang Tunggal married Dewi Rakti, the daughter of the crab genie king named Sanghyang Yuyut. Dewi Rakti gave birth to an egg-shaped mustika egg which later turned into two men. They were named Ismaya for the black-skinned one and Manikmaya for the white-skinned one. Manikmaya inherited the heavenly throne and the title of Batara Guru, while Ismaya was only given the position of ruler of the Sunyaruri realm (the abode of ethereal beings).

Batara Guru felt that he felt the most perfect and had no defects. Sang Hyang Tunggal knew Manikmaya's feelings, so he said that Manikmaya would have disabilities, namely weak legs, stripes on the neck, wearing taling and having four arms. And the words of Hyang Tunggal really happened.

One day, Manikmaya felt very thirsty, and he happened to find a lake. He immediately drank the water in the lake, but it turned out that the water was poisonous, so he immediately vomited the lake water. Instantly he got a spot on his neck.

In Javanese wayang, it is also said that Batara Manikmaya was present when the Prophet Isa was born. He noticed that when humans are born their legs are very weak. Instantly, his leg was affected and his left leg became weak.

One time Batara Guru had an argument with his wife Dewi Uma. Out of anger, they both cursed each other, Dewi Uma cursed Batara Guru so that he would grow up like a monster, then instantly Manikmaya would grow up.

When Batara Guru saw a person praying whose clothes were covering his body, Batara Guru laughed because he thought that the person had four arms. So Manikmaya became four-armed.

This puppet symbolizes the imperfection of man. He was often tempted to do wrong by his passions. Imperfection is expressed by four defects in the physiology of the puppet: 4 arms, Small feet, Marks on throat and Fangs

Sang Hyang Tunggal had two sons born at the same time: one appeared in dark light, Ismaya (Semar), and one in bright light, Manikmaya (Guru). The other version of this story is that Shang Hyang Tunggal had three sons that came from an egg.
The yolk became Ismaya, the white became Manikmaya and the shell became Antaga.

Explanation of Defects:
1. Four arms: He laughed at a man praying in a blanket, which made the man appear as if he had 4 arms. After this he developed a second pair of arms.
2. Small Feet: He thought he was perfect, so Shang Hyang Tunggal decided to punish him with physical defects. When Manikmaya visited earth and met Nabi Isa (Jesus Christ), he found out that he could not walk directly after his birth. Since, Manikmaya was able to walk directly after his birth; he doubted the validity of the decent of Nabi Isa (Jesus Christ) from god. As punishment, his own left feet become paralyzed. After this incident he could not walk, and therefore had to be carried by Cow Andini.
3. Marks on throat: Once he drank poisoned water (thinking it was pure) and got a spot on his throat (ignorance).
4. Fangs: He was often too lustful with woman. When his wife found out, she became angry, grew fangs and became a giant. He soon grew fangs as well.

Manikmaya is a God, the son of Hyang Tanggal. He was born in the form of light, together with Ismaya. Manikmaya glows sparkling white. Hyang Tunggal said that Manikmaya would later rule this world, because of his supernatural powers and handsomeness.
After Manikmaya received such a word, he felt proud and felt that he had no flaws. This feeling was known from Hyang Tunggal and he said, "Hey, Manikmaya, know that you will get a flaw on yourself, namely a stripe on the neck, weak legs, a slit in the mouth and four hands." Manikmaya regretted and felt guilty, that he had felt so buried in his heart. The word of Hyang Tunggal did come true.

When the Prophet Isa was born, Manikmaya came to witness. Because he saw that a month old baby could not yet walk, a situation that was very different from that of the Gods, he considered what he witnessed as something imperfect. Immediately, Manikmaya suffered a plague and his left leg became weak.

One time Manikmaya felt very thirsty. Then he saw a lake with very clear water. He went there to drink. But as soon as he was about to drink the water, he felt that the water was different and he spat it out again. It was at that time that Manikmaya got a spot on his neck. Manikmaya was subject to an oath by his empress, Dewi Uma, who wanted Manikmaya to become snake-like like a giant. Immediately, Manikmaya turned around like a giant. Dewi Uma's vow was because Manikmaya at that time could not control her lust. When Hyang Manikmaya saw a person praying with his clothes covered, he laughed because he thought that the person had four arms. Immediately, Hyang Manikmaya's body had four arms.

It is a belief in puppetry that Hyang Manikmaya symbolizes the subtlety of the human soul.
Betara Guru's wrath is mentioned in the play Sasikirna. The short story is as follows: Astina's national palace admits a magical thief who wants to meet Dewi Dursilawati, the daughter of King Suyudana. The thief is so powerful that no one can defeat him. Even gods can't. Mentioned Raden Caranggana in Awu-awu Langit, the son of Raden Arjuna who came to the country of Dwarawati in his quest to meet his father. Sri Krishna said that Raden Arjuna would recognize Caranggana as his son, if he could catch the thief in Astina. Raden Caranggana managed to catch the real thief who was none other than Betara Guru.

Here we find a proof, that human inner strength that is misused will eventually be defeated by the truth. So metaphorically, even the mind can lead in the wrong and untrue direction. Betara Guru can behave like a normal human being with all his shortcomings.

Hyang Guru was once a king in Medangkemulan, with the title Sri Paduka Raja Mahadewabuda. The reason why Manikmaya is called Guru is because he tried to develop Buddhism. Among the names of Betara Guru, many are based on his power, but by Hyang Tunggal he was not allowed to use the name Sang Hyang Wenang, because the Guru's power was still limited. Wenang means unlimited power.
Wayang Betara Guru romances three faces: Karna, Cancihi, and Gana.

It is said that according to people's stories, Betara Guru wayang was created by Panembahan Senapati in Mataram and was intended as a candrasangkala (calculation of year numbers). The sentence that states the time of making the wayang reads Dewi dadi ngecis earth and is the same as 1451 Javanese years.

According to Javanese belief, especially the belief of puppeteers, Betara Guru puppets are highly respected and considered the most sacred puppets. Because of that, Betara Guru puppets are distinguished from other puppets. For example, only Betara Guru puppets are covered in beautiful cloth. Similarly, before playing, this wayang is exposed to incense smoke first and people are afraid to step over the banana stick used to stick the Betara Guru wayang.

Beliefs
Beliefs about puppet characters are called knowledge on the left, left when dealing with god figures and called knowledge on the right, when dealing with other figures who are not Gods.
This belief is very deep and is widely known by people ranging from children to adults, who can generally clearly imagine beautiful wayang characters and who, when presented in front of the puppeteer, are always accompanied by the melodious sound of gamelan. The musicians play the gamelan according to certain standard pathets, such as pathet enan, pathet sembilan, pathet menyura. Each pathet produces different sounds but this is too deep to be described in a book that does not specifically discuss gamelan. What needs to be known is that gamelan is able to reflect feelings of joy, sadness, happiness, pride, and so on.

Wayang has various wanda, their facial expressions, this can be distinguished according to time, when the wayang is played, afternoon, evening, and also according to the spirit of the story, when it is calm or when it is angry. Matters regarding wanda are separate knowledge and are intended for those who specialize in matters of wayang. But in fact if wayang with the same wanda and different wanda are lined up, the differences between each will be apparent.

Andhini ox
Andhini ox is a female cow, the child of the king of jinn named Patanam. Because he wanted to dominate this world, he meditated and was worshiped by the people around him. Finally, people thought that Lembu Andhini was a god too.
Betara Guru knows this. So he defeated the Andhini Ox and made it into a vehicle that was inseparable from him, even one that was of the same soul as him (See picture). But Lembu Andhini didn't feel happy about being treated like that and she kept trying to get revenge. Finally Lembu Andhini found the sense to pit Betara Guru against his queen, until they went to war. After his queen was defeated, Betara Guru became aware that his war with his queen was because of Lembu Andhini's own actions. Betara Guru became furious. He cursed Lembu Andhini so that it turned into a rainbow.

Superstition says that a rainbow has the head of a bull and if it is seen then it means that Lembu Andhini is drinking sea water.
After losing his vehicle, Betara Guru felt weak, but he immediately got a replacement in the form of a bull named Andana, the son of a giant named Gopatama. Then he changed the name Andana to Andhini like his original vehicle.
The wild bull is called a banteng and is bigger and stronger than an ordinary bull. In the wayang story, a bull that is angry because it is injured is more dangerous than an ordinary bull. Therefore, someone who fights bravely is likened to an injured bull or in Javanese: Lir banteng ketaman kanin. There are many statues in the form of a lying bull which are certainly inspired by Lembu Andhini.

According to the story, in ancient times, bulls were used as vehicles, because bulls are very obedient and strong walking in difficult places, so they are suitable to be used as vehicles for priests. The word ox is also often used in the names of famous people. Like, for example, Lembuamiluhur, a king in the country of Jenggala; Lembupeteng, a descendant of a king who lived in hiding and Lembusura, a giant king in Kiskenda Cave, and others.

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Source: History of Wayang Purwa - Hardjowirogo - PN Balai Pustaka – 1982
Blog: Hadisukirno – Yogyakarta – 2012