Gajah Mada
Gajah Mada , also Gadjah Mada († 1364 ) was Prime Minister and military leader of Majapahit from 1331 until his death . He took the oath "Sumpah Palapa" to stop eating spicy foods until large parts of the Malay Archipelago are united under the power of Majapahit.
During his reign , the empire's sphere of influence extended over Java , Sumatra to Bali in 1343.
Today the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta bears his name.
Early life
There is no information about his early life other than that he was born a citizen. His intelligence, courage and loyalty to King made him the power of Jayanagara (1309-28) during a rebellion led by Kuti in 1319. He served as the head of the royal bodyguard that King Jayanagara brought to Badander when Kuti was the capital conquered by Majapahit. After finding a safe place for the king, he returned to the capital and spread the rumor that the king had been killed. He discovered that many officers were upset by the alleged death of the king and that Kuti was obviously unpopular among the people. Knowing that the king still had loyal followers, Gajah Mada secretly organized a counterinsurgency in which Kuti was killed and the king restored. As a reward, Gajah Mada was made Patih (Minister) of Daha and later Patih of Daha and Janggala, a position that made him a member of the ruling elite. Prapanca, a judicial poet and historian, described Gajah Mada as "eloquent, sharp, sincere and sober".
Loyalty to the king
However, Gajah Mada's loyalty to Jayanagara waned when the king took possession of his wife. When Jayanagara fell ill in 1328, Gajah Mada instructed the coroner Tancha to kill the king during an operation. After the king's death, Tancha was accused and executed by Gajah Mada. Since the king had no son, his daughter Tribhuvana became ruler.
Smash the rebellion in Sadeng
During the reign of Tribhuvana (1328-50), Gajah Mada gradually became the most powerful figure in Majapahit. In 1331 a rebellion took place in Sadeng (East Java). Gajah Mada immediately dispatched a military expedition to the area, but a minister from Majapahit called Kembar tried to prevent him from entering Sadeng. Gajah Mada broke the blockade and won the battle.
Appointment as minister
Upon his return, Gajah Mada was appointed Mapatih, or Prime Minister, of Majapahit. At the same time, he took a solemn oath before the Council of Ministers that he would not enjoy palapa (privileges of vacation or the income from his fiefdom) until he had conquered the entire archipelago for Majapahit. When Kembar and other ministers mocked this fantastic boast, Gajah removed Mada with the help of Queen Kembar and her followers. According to his plans, Gajah Mada led a military expedition in 1343 that captured Bali.
Tribhuvana abdicated in 1350 and was succeeded by her son Hayam Wuruk, perhaps the most famous king of Majapahit. During his reign, Majapahit reached the height of his power and controlled the entire Indonesian archipelago. The young king seemed content to leave the conduct of affairs entirely in the hands of his prime minister.
Confrontation with the King of Singhasari
The year after Hayam Wuruk joined, Gajah Mada attempted to spread Majapahit's influence on the western Java kingdom in Sunda. He sent a mission to Sunda in which he expressed Hayam Wuruk's wish to marry the daughter of the King of Sunda. The king agreed and took the princess to Majapahit along with some of his nobles. They camp in Bubat, north of the capital, on a large field where the wedding was to take place. A difference of opinion arose between Gajah Mada and the Sundanese king. The first wanted the king to hand the princess over to Hayam Wuruk, but the king and his nobles insisted that the princess should match Hayam Wuruk's status as Queen of Majapahit.
Gajah Mada brought in troops and intended to resolve the issue by force. The Edwardian nobles preferred death to dishonor; Instead of a happy wedding, a bloody massacre took place. The king of Sunda was killed, as was the princess and nobles from Sundania. After the massacre, Sunda appears to have recognized the supremacy of Majapahit for a while, but eventually gained its independence.
To glorify his power, Gajah Mada built a temple on the border of the Singhasari Kingdom in east Java to equate himself with the last king of Singhasari. Under his auspices, Prapanca began composing Nāgarakertāgama the epic of Majapahit. Under his guidance, a code of law that was of great importance in Javanese history was compiled.
Gajah Mada's death and consequences
Gajah Mada also played an important role in domestic politics. He has held numerous positions, including that of the palace's chief officer. The range of his activities was so wide that after his death, Hayam Wuruk had to appoint four ministers to take over the positions previously entrusted to Gajah Mada alone. Gajah Mada's death (1364) took place under mysterious circumstances. Some authors claim he was poisoned by Hayam Wuruk, who came to fear his minister's power. However, the evidence is inconclusive.
Gajah Mada's role in unifying the Indonesian archipelago led early Indonesian nationalists to consider him a great national hero, and the first Indonesian university in Jogjakarta, founded in 1946, was named after him.
Web links
https://www.barkica.com/biography/Gajah-Mada (English)
- Gajah Mada , Website Memory of Majapahit (English)
- Gajah Mada , Encyclopædia Britannica (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mada, Gajah |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mada, Gadjah |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prime Minister and Military Leader of Majapahit |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 13th century or 14th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1364 |