Gajah Mada

Gajah Mada
Prime Minister of the Majapahit Empire

Suspected terracotta of Gajah Mada

1329 - 1364c.
Reign
1364c.
Died
Gajah Mada (c. 1290 c. 1364) was, according to Javanese old manuscripts, poems and
mythology, a powerful military leader and mahapatih or prime minister of the Majapahit
Empire, credited with bringing the empire to its peak of glory.[1]:234,239 He delivered an oath
called Sumpah Palapa, in which he vowed not to eat any food containing spices until he had
conquered all of the Southeast Asian archipelago of Nusantara for Majapahit.[2] In modern
Indonesia, he serves as an important national hero,[3] a symbol of patriotism and national
unity.

Contents

1 Rise to Power
2 The Palapa Oath and Invasion
3 The Battle Of Bubat
4 Legacy
5 In popular culture
6 See also
7 Notes
8 External links

Rise to Power
Not much is known about Gajah Mada's early life. Some of the first accounts mention his
career as commander of the Bhayangkara, an elite guard for Majapahit kings and their
family. When Rakrian Kuti, one of the officials in Majapahit, rebelled against the Majapahit

king Jayanegara (ruled 13091328) in 1321, Gajah Mada and the then-mahapatih Arya Tadah
helped the king and his family to escape the capital city of Trowulan. Later Gajah Mada
aided the king to return to the capital and crush the rebellion. Seven years later, Jayanegara
was murdered by Rakrian Tanca, the court physician, one of Rakrian Kuti's aides.
In another version, according to the Nagarakretagama (a Javanese language epic poem dating
from the 14th century), and supported by inscriptions dating from the late 13th and early 14th
century, Jayanagara was assassinated by Gajah Mada in 1328. It is said [who?] that Jayanagara
was overprotective towards his two half sisters, born from Kertarajasa's youngest queen,
Dyah Dewi Gayatri. Complaints by the two young princesses led to the intervention of Gajah
Mada. His drastic solution was to arrange for a surgeon to murder the king while pretending
to perform an operation.
Jayanegara was immediately succeeded by his sister Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi (ruled
13281350). It was under her leadership that Gajah Mada was appointed mahapatih (Prime
Minister) in 1329, after the retirement of Arya Tadah.
As mahapatih under Thribuwana Tunggadewi Gajah Mada went on to crush another rebellion
by Sadeng and Keta in 1331.
It was during Gajah Mada's reign as mahapatih, around the year 1345, that the famous
Muslim traveller, Ibn Battuta visited Sumatera.

The Palapa Oath and Invasion

Main article: Palapa oath
It is said that it was during his appointment as mahapatih under queen
Tribhuwanatunggadewi that Gajah Mada took his famous oath, Palapa Oath or Sumpah
Palapa. The telling of the oath is described in the Pararaton (Book of Kings), an account on
Javanese history that dates from the 15th or 16th century:
Sira Gajah Mada pepatih amungkubumi tan ayun amukita palapa, sira Gajah Mada :
Lamun huwus kalah nusantara Ingsun amukti palapa, lamun kalah ring Gurun, ring Seram,
Tanjungpura, ring Haru, ring Pahang, Dompo, ring Bali, Sunda, Palembang, Temasek,
samana ingsun amukti palapa
"Gajah Mada, the prime minister, said he will not taste any spice. Said Gajah Mada : If
Nusantara (Nusantara= Nusa antara= external territories) are lost, I will not taste "palapa"
("fruits and or spices"). I will not if the domain of Gurun, domain of Seram, domain of
Tanjungpura, domain of Haru, Pahang, Dompo, domain of Bali, Sunda, Palembang,
Tumasik, in which case I will never taste any spice."
While often interpreted literally to mean that Gajah Mada would not allow his food to be
spiced (palapa is the prose combination of pala apa= any fruits/spices) the oath is sometimes
interpreted to mean that Gajah Mada would abstain from all earthly pleasures until he
conquered the entire known archipelago for Majapahit.

Even his closest friends were at first doubtful of his oath, but Gajah Mada kept pursuing his
dream to unify Nusantara under the glory of Majapahit. Soon he conquered the surrounding
territory of Bedahulu (Bali) and Lombok (1343). He then sent the navy westward to attack
the remnants of the thallassocrathic kingdom of Sriwijaya in Palembang. There he installed
Adityawarman, a Majapahit prince as vassal ruler[dubious discuss] of the Minangkabau in West
Sumatra.
He then conquered the first Islamic sultanate in Southeast Asia, Samudra Pasai, and another
state in Svarnadvipa (Sumatra). Gajah Mada also conquered Bintan, Tumasik (Singapore),
Melayu (now known as Jambi), and Kalimantan.
At the resignation of the queen, Tribuwanatunggadewi, her son, Hayam Wuruk (ruled 1350
1389) became king. Gajah Mada retained his position as mahapatih (Prime Minister) under
the new king and continued his military campaign by expanding eastward into Logajah,
Gurun, Seram, Hutankadali, Sasak, Buton, Banggai, Kunir, Galiyan, Salayar, Sumba, Muar
(Saparua), Solor, Bima, Wandan (Banda), Ambon, Timor, and Dompo.
He thus effectively brought the modern Indonesian archipelago under Majapahits's control,
which spanned not only the territory of today's Indonesia, but also that of Temasek (old name
of Singapore), the states comprising modern-day Malaysia, Brunei, the southern Philippines
and East Timor.

The Battle Of Bubat

Main article: Battle of Bubat
In 1357, the only remaining state refusing to acknowledge Majapahit's hegemony was Sunda,
in West Java, bordering the Majapahit Empire. King Hayam Wuruk intended to marry Dyah
Pitaloka Citraresmi, a princess of Sunda and the daughter of Sunda's king. Gajah Mada was
given the task to go to the Bubat square on northern part of Trowulan to welcome the
princess as she arrived with her father and escort to Majapahit palace.
Gajah Mada took this opportunity to demand Sunda submission under Majapahit rule. While
the Sunda King thought that the royal marriage was a sign of a new alliance between Sunda
and Majapahit, Gajah Mada thought otherwise. He stated that the Princess of Sunda is not to
be hailed as the new queen consort of Majapahit, but merely as a concubine, as a sign of
submission of Sunda to Majapahit. This misunderstanding led to embarrassment and hostility,
which quickly rose into a skirmish and the full scale Battle of Bubat. The Sunda King with all
of his guards and royal party were overwhelmed by Majapahit troops and subsequently killed
in the field of Bubat. Tradition mentioned that the heartbroken princess, Dyah Pitaloka
Citraresmi, committed suicide.
Hayam Wuruk was deeply shocked about the tragedy. Majapahit courtiers, ministers and
nobles blamed Gajah Mada for his recklessness, and the brutal consequences were not to the
taste of the Majapahit royal family. Gajah Mada was promptly demoted and spent the rest of
his days at the estate of Madakaripura in Probolinggo in East Java.
Gajah Mada died in obscurity in 1364.[1]:240 King Hayam Wuruk considered that the power
Gajah Mada had accumulated during his time as mahapatih was too much to handle for a

single person. Therefore, the king split the responsibilities that had been Gajah Mada's,
between four separate new mahamantri (equal to ministries), thereby probably increasing his
own power. King Hayam Wuruk, who is said to have been a wise leader, was able to
maintain the hegemony of Majapahit in the region, gained during Gajah Mada's service.
However Majapahit slowly fell into decline after the death of Hayam Wuruk.

Legacy
The Blahbatuh royal house in Gianyar, Bali, has been performing Gajah Mada's mask dance
drama ritually for the past 600 years. The mask of Gajah Mada has been protected and
brought to life every couple of years to unite and harmonize the world, this sacred ritual was
intended to bring peace to Bali.[4]
Gajah Mada's legacy is important for Indonesian Nationalism, and invoked by Indonesian
Nationalist movement in the early 20th century. The Nationalists prior to the Japanese
invasion, notably Sukarno and Mohammad Yamin, often cited Gajah Mada's oath and
Nagarakretagama as the inspiration and a historical proof of Indonesian past greatness that
Indonesians could unite, despite vast territory and various cultures. The Gajah Mada
campaign that united the far flung islands within Indonesian archipelago under Majapahit
suzerainty, was used by Indonesian nationalist to argue that an ancient form of unity was
existed prior to Dutch colonialism.[5] Thus, Gajah Mada was a great inspiration during the
Indonesian National Revolution for independence from Dutch colonization.
In 1942, only 230 Indonesian natives held a tertiary education. The Republicans sought to
mend the Dutch apathy and established the first state university, which freely admitted native
pribumi Indonesians. Universitas Gadjah Mada, in Yogyakarta is named in honour of Gajah
Mada and completed in 1945, and had the honour of the first Medicine Faculty freely open to
natives.[6][7][8] Indonesia's first telecommunication satellite was called Satelit Palapa
signifying its role in uniting the country. Many cities in Indonesia but West Java have streets
named after Gajah Mada. There is a brand of badminton shuttlecock named after him as well.

In popular culture
Gajah Mada is included in the expansion pack Brave New World for the video game Sid
Meier's Civilization V as the leader of the Indonesian civilization.