Materials for the Medieval and Early Modern History of Indonesia

The Historical Poem Nagara-Kertagama

The Nagara-Kertagama or Desawarnana is an Old Javanese poem in honor of Rajasanagara (Hayam Wuruk, died 1389), the ruler of the Kingdom of Majapahit, successor of Singasari. It was written by Mpu Prapanca and is dated to 1287 (Saka year, i.e. 1365). The Nagara-Kertagama describes the court, the administration, the extension, and the role of Buddhism in the Majapahit Kingdom. - Text and translation follow the work of Theodor Pigeaud, Java in the 14th Century. A Study in Cultural History, 5 vols., The Hague 1960-1963. It has been compared to the new edition by I Ketut Riana, Kakawin Desa Warnnana uthawi Nagara Krtagama, Masa Keemasan Majapahit, Jakarta: Kompas 2009, and the new translation by Stuart Robson, Desawarnana (Nagarakrtagama) by Mpu Prapanca (Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut vor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 169), Leiden 1995.

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