Template:Arjuna Wiwaha
Arjuna Wiwaha
Arjunawiwaha is the story of the marriage of Arjuna. It was written in the 11th century by Empu Kanwa.
In the kingdom of Iman Imantaka there was a cruel and evil king, Niwata Kawaca. He had set his sights on the beautiful heavenly nymph Dewi Supraba. He approached the god Indra to ask for her hand. However, Indra refused. King Niwata Kawaca did not seem to him to be a good man for Dewi Supraba. The king became so angry that he attacked Indra's kingdom. Niwata Kawaca's troops were so strong that Indra's army was easily defeated.
The gods then decided to call upon Arjuna for help. But they wanted to test his spiritual powers first.
Prabu Arjuna Wiwaha was the name of Raden Arjuna when he became a king of gods in Selaraja Waru Binangun (in the story of Ciptaning). Raden Arjuna was meditating at the top of the mountain Indrakila, because he wanted to receive a magical weapon in order to defend his family from their evil cousins: the Korawa. For many months his meditations continued.
While Arjuna was meditating, the gods sent beautiful celestial nymphs. Goddess Dewi Supraba, Dewi Wilutama, Dewi Warsiki, Dewi Surendra, Dewi Gagar Mayang and Dewi Leng-leng Mandanu tried to wake Ciptaning (Arjuna) up from his meditation by giving him a massage, and dancing around him, but to no avail. Arjuna remained steadfast and passed the test. Bathara Indra disguised himself as the priest Padya, and visited Ciptaning. Both Ciptaning and Padya were discussing the differences between a warrior and a priest, when Ciptaning revealed that he wanted to be both.
When the mountain Indrakila was damaged by the giant Mamangdana (faithful servant of King Niwata Kawaca) who wanted to kill Ciptaning, Ciptaning cursed Mamangdana who was then turned into a boar. The boar began to destroy Arjuna's village. Arjuna fought the beast, which proved to be so strong that he eventually had to kill it with his bow and arrow. Bathara Guru disguised himself as a hunter, and shot the boar at the same time as Ciptaning. Both arrows killed the boar.
When Arjuna came closer to the dead animal, he was surprised to see that someone else was standing there who claimed to have killed the boar. A fierce argument arose over whose arrow had hit the boar and they even started fighting over it. The other proved to be too strong for Arjuna. To his great horror, the opponent transformed into Bathara Guru (Siwa) and he immediately knelt before the god. Bathara Guru asked Arjuna to help him in the battle against the evil king Niwata Kawaca. Bathara Guru then gave him the magical arrow Pasopati (arrow with the blade like a half moon) which would never miss its target. He asked Arjuna to kill Niwata Kawaca using the arrow and promised to give him Bathari Supraba’s hand in marriage, and the throne to the heaven Solaraja Waru Binangun for three months.
Arjuna agreed and in order to win against the unbeatable king he came up with a trick. Dewi Supraba would surrender to Niwata Kawaca in order to discover his weak spot. Since he had been in love with the sky nymph for so long, the king did not realize that it was a trick. One day she discovered that his only weak spot was his tongue. If it were to be hit, it would kill him immediately. With this knowledge, Arjuna and his army attacked the kingdom. During the battle, the king, who knew that he had fallen for the trick, kept his lips closed. Only after he thought he had defeated Arjuna, did he roar with laughter and Arjuna was able to hit the king's tongue with his arrow. He was killed instantly and his army surrendered.
In gratitude for defeating their enemy, the gods allowed Arjuna to marry Dewi Supraba and he stayed in heaven for seven months. After that, Arjuna returned to serve his country and family.
Source: History of Wayang Purwa - Hardjowirogo - PN Balai Pustaka - 1982
