Literature
There are many important literary works written in Kawi, most notably Empu Tantular's epic poem, "Kakawin Sutasoma" (E.M. Uhlenbeck, 1964: "A Critical Survey of Studies on the Languages of Java and Madura", The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff), from which is taken the National motto of Indonesia: "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika". Although often glibly translated as "Unity in Diversity", it is more correctly rendered as " scattered, remaining one"— referring to the scattered islands of the archipelago nation, not as an expression of multicultural solidarity as may be perceived in modern times.
A more modern work is the poem "Susila Budhi Dharma", by Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo, the founder of Subud. In this work, he provides a framework for understanding the experience of the latihan kejiwaan.
Famous poems, epics and other literature include:
- Kakawin Tertua Jawa, 856
- Kakawin Ramayana ~ 870
- Kakawin Arjunawiwaha, mpu Kanwa, ~ 1030
- Kakawin Kresnayana
- Kakawin Sumanasantaka
- Kakawin Smaradhana
- Kakawin Bhomakawya
- Kakawin Bharatayuddha, mpu Sedah dan mpu Panuluh, 1157
- Kakawin Hariwangsa
- Kakawin Gatotkacasraya
- Kakawin Wrettasañcaya
- Kakawin Wrettayana
- Kakawin Brahmandapurana
- Kakawin Kunjarakarna, mpu "Dusun"
- Kakawin Nagarakretagama, mpu Prapanca, 1365
- Kakawin Arjunawijaya, mpu Tantular
- Kakawin Sutasoma, mpu Tantular
- Kakawin Siwaratrikalpa, Kakawin Lubdhaka
- Kakawin Parthayajna
- Kakawin Nitisastra
- Kakawin Nirarthaprakreta
- Kakawin Dharmasunya
- Kakawin Harisraya
- Kakawin Banawa Sekar Tanakung
Read more about this topic: Kawi Language
Famous quotes containing the word literature:
“Literature must become Party literature.... Down with unpartisan litterateurs! Down with the superman of literature! Literature must become a part of the general cause of the proletariat.”
—Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870–1924)
“Life’s so ordinary that literature has to deal with the exceptional. Exceptional talent, power, social position, wealth.... Drama begins where there’s freedom of choice. And freedom of choice begins when social or psychological conditions are exceptional. That’s why the inhabitants of imaginative literature have always been recruited from the pages of Who’s Who.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
“A people’s literature is the great textbook for real knowledge of them. The writings of the day show the quality of the people as no historical reconstruction can.”
—Edith Hamilton (1867–1963)