Amba - (Wayang Kulit)
| Title | Amba - (Dewi) - Mahabharata |
|---|---|
| Other names | |
| Size | 45 cm |
| Personal data | Dewi Amba is the eldest and most beautiful daughter of Prabu Kashya (Darmahumbara), the king of the Kashi Kingdom with Dewi Swargandini. Dewi Amba has two brothers, Wahmuka and Arimuka and two younger sisters, Ambika and Ambalika, and all three girls were taken to Hastinapura by Bhishma to be married to his brother, Wicitrawirya, the king of Hastinapura. |
| Appearance | Dewi Amba is described as a beautiful princess, coveted by all princes. With her beautiful face, all the mighty princes wanted to marry her in the hope of living happily together. As a woman, Dewi Amba certainly wants to live with the man she loves. However, in the Mahabharata story, Dewi Amba as the daughter of the king does not have the power to determine her life partner. |
| Collection | Private collection |
Amba – (Dewi) – Mahabharata
Dewi Amba is the daughter of the king of the Kashi Kingdom. It has become a tradition that the Kashi kingdom will give its daughters to princes of Kuru descent. However, when Wicitrawirya inherited the throne of Hastinapura, the tradition was not carried out. The Kashi kingdom held a competition to find a match for its daughters. Bhishma, the son of Prabu Santanu with Dewi Jahnawi (Goddess Gangga), then came to join the competition and he managed to defeat all the participants, including King Salva, who had actually been chosen by Amba to be her husband. However, Bhishma did not know about it, and Amba did not dare to say it.
Together with Ambika and Ambalika, Amba was taken to Hastinapura to be married to Wicitrawirya. Ambika and Ambalika eventually married Wicitrawirya, but not Amba. Her heart was already attached to Salwa, and she explained that she had actually chosen Salva to be her husband. Wicitrawirya felt that it was not good to marry a woman who already loved someone else, and he finally allowed Amba to go to Salva.
Amba then went to Salva, but what she got was not the same as what she had hoped for. Salva refused, because he was reluctant to marry a woman who had been taken from him. Salva felt that Bisma was the one who deserved to marry Amba, because Bisma had defeated him. With shame and disappointment, Amba returned to Hastinapura to marry Bisma. But Bisma also refused her, because Bisma had promised that he would not marry for the rest of his life. Amba's life finally became a drift in the forest, in her heart grew hatred for Bisma, the person who had separated her from Salva and made her life unclear. In the forest, she met Resi Hotrawahana, her grandfather. Amba told what happened to him. After hearing the problem of his granddaughter, the sage Hotrawahana asked for help from Rama Bargawa or Parasurama, Bisma's teacher to persuade Bisma to marry Amba.
However, Parasurama's persuasion was also continuously rejected by Bisma, until the teacher became angry and challenged him to fight. The fight between the teacher and the student was fierce, and only ended after the gods mediated the problem.
Amba went wandering and meditating to worship the gods, begging to be able to see Bisma die. Sangmuka, the son of the god Sangkara, appeared and gave Amba a flower necklace. He said that the person who wore the flower necklace would be the killer of Bisma.
After receiving the flower necklace from Sangmuka, Amba wandered looking for a knight who was willing to wear her flower necklace. No one wanted to wear the flower necklace even though it was a gift from the gods, if they knew their opponent was Bisma. Likewise with Drupada, the king of the Panchala kingdom, he was also afraid of having to fight Bisma. Amba reached the peak of her anger and threw the flower necklace at the pillar of King Drupada's meeting hall.
Full of hatred for Bisma, Amba did penance, in her mind, she only wanted to see Bisma die. Seeing Amba's perseverance, Dewa Sangkara appeared and said that Amba would be reincarnated as Bisma's killer. After hearing the god's announcement, Amba made a bonfire, then burned herself.
However, in another version it is said that Amba's death was due to Bisma's unintentional actions. It is said, to get away from Amba, Bisma preferred to wander. However, Amba always followed wherever Bisma went, finally Bisma pointed an arrow at Amba to scare her, so that Amba would leave.
Amba was not afraid of Bisma's threats, she said that her pleasure or death were all because of Bisma, she was ashamed if she had to return to the Kasi kingdom or Hastinapura. Bisma was silent hearing Amba's words. Because he had been stretching his arrow for too long, his hands were sweaty, and accidentally, the arrow came off his bow and pierced Amba's chest.
Because it was unintentional, Bisma immediately bandaged Amba's wound while sobbing. However, before Amba breathed her last, she told Bisma that she would incarnate as the daughter of King Drupada who would take part in the great battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
In her next life, Srikandi, the daughter of King Drupada from the Panchala kingdom, was born, who was the reincarnation of Amba. Srikandi was the wife of Arjuna, the mediator of the Pandavas. Although she was a woman, she was skilled in military science, especially archery. Srikandi was the one who was willing to wear the flower necklace of the God Sangkara, and that meant she would be the cause of Bisma's fall.
Amba's curse finally came true, during the great war in Kurukhsetra, Srikandi also entered the battlefield. She faced Resi Bisma, at that time Resi Bisma knew that Srikandi was the reincarnation of Amba, because he did not want to attack when faced with a woman, Bisma dropped his weapon. Arjuna knew that Resi Bisma would do that, he hid behind Srikandi and took the opportunity to attack Resi Bisma, the grandfather he actually respected and loved. With Srikandi's help, Arjuna was able to kill Resi Bisma. However, in Javanese puppetry, the one who killed Resi Bisma was Srikandi with the Hrusangkali arrow.
In Javanese puppetry, Amba's life story is not much different.
Source: History of Wayang Purwa - Hardjowirogo - PN Balai Pustaka - 1982
Blog: Hadisukirno – Yogyakarta - 2012
More info: Amba in Gender Study Perspective
