According
to the Nagarakertagama, and supported by inscriptions dating from
the late 13th and early 14th centuries, Raden Wijaya Sri Kertarajasa Jayawardhana
married the four daughters of Kertanagara. From his eldest and principal
queen, Dyah Dewi Tribhuwaneshwari, was born a son, Jayanagara, who succeeded
to the throne on his father's death in 1309.
During the reigns of both Kertarajasa and Jayanagara the focus was on
the establishment of stability within the new state. Numerous uprisings
occurred, all of which were put down successfully, though not without cost
of lives. Then, in 1328, Jayanagara was assassinated. It is said that he
was overprotective towards his two half sisters, born from Kertarajasa's
youngest queen, Dyah Dewi Gayatri. Complaints lodged by the two young princesses
led to the intervention of Gajah Mada, the talented minister who was later
to take Majapahit to the height of its glory. He arranged for a surgeon
to murder the king while pretending to perform an operation.
With the death of Jayanagara the throne of Majapahit was without a direct
male heir. The position was occupied instead by the eldest of the deceased
king's two sisters, Tribhuwana Wijayatungga Dewi, who ruled until 1350.
By that time her son, Hayam Wuruk, who had been born in 1334, became old
enough to take over. During his reign, as well as that of his mother, effective
power was in the hands of Gajah Mada, who had been appointed prime minister
and commander-in chief.
Gajah Mada stands among the greatest of Indonesia's heroes. From the time
when he swore his famous oath of allegiance, the Sumpah Palapa, until
his death in 1364, a period of just 28 years, he succeeded in spreading
the power and influence of Majapahit throughout the archipelago, and even
beyond the boundaries of the present day Republic of Indonesia. |