Jayabaya

Who is Jayabaya?

Sri Mapanji Jayabaya or Jayabhaya, was Javanese King of the Kediri in East Java from 1135 to 1157 CE.

King Jayabaya is creditied with reunification of the Kediri kingdom following a split due to the death of his predecessor Airlangga. King Jayabaya was known for his just and prosperous rule, and reputed to have been an incarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu. King Jayabaya epitomized the archetypal Ratu Adil: the just king reborn in the dark age of suffering "Jaman Edan" to restore the Jaman Raharja: social justice, order, and harmony in the world, as Javanese believed in a cyclical history of alternating prosperity epochs of followed an era of suffering, to cycle back to an era of prosperity.

Jabaya termed his kingdom Widarba, meaning a thousand cities in Pamenang, modern Kediri Regency. Intertwined between fact and myth are records that his father Gendrayana, claimed to be a descendant of Pandavas as being son of Yudayana: the son of Parikshit: the son of Abhimanyu: the son of Arjuna from the family Pandavas. From Jayaba's queen consort Dewi Sara wife were born all daughters Dewi Jayaamijaya, Pramesti Dewi, Dewi Pramuni and Dewi Sasanti.