"Sang'nata ika wus mati
Penadang deneng joarsa
Yata nulia kesa mangko
Medal saking pupungkuran
Prapta
Heng jawi kita
Awatara
Teng'ha dalu
Tanana wong kang ng'uning'a"[143]
Then that sovereign died,
Being destroyed by Joarsa,
Who thereupon went out,
Retreating by the back part of the dwelling;
And having arrived at the outside of the fort
At the time
It was midnight,
No one knew of it.
"Wus lepas lampa ireki
"Handung kaping parang parang
"Sumung kaking ukir halon
"Tumaruning lebah lebah
"Mantuk
"Maring Nagara
"Heng Sahalsa
"Sina dia
"Hiku kalang'an chobayang suks'ma"
When he had passed the road
He ascended the mountains,
And moved on slowly,
Ascending and descending,
Proceeding in search of his country,
Named Sahálsa,
Which he descried;—
But here he was opposed by the will of Providence.
In order the better to illustrate the poetry and literature of Java, and to exhibit the nature and spirit of the compositions in the Káwi, I request to present the reader with an analysis of the Bráta Yudha, the most popular and celebrated poem in the language. Versions of this poem in the modern Javan are common throughout the island, and the subject is the theme of the most popular and interesting amusements of the country.
The Brata Yúdha Kawi, of which the following is the analysis, and from which the illustrations which are interspersed are taken, contains seven hundred and nineteen páda or metrical stanzas, of four long lines each, the measures varying with the subject, so that most of the twelve Káwi measures are to be found in it. Considering how little was known on Java of the Káwi language, and how likely that little was to be lost for ever, I felt a strong interest in analysing and translating, as far as practicable, one of the principal compositions in that language; and availing myself of the literary acquirements of the Panambahan of Sumenap, to whom I have already adverted, and of the assistance of a gentleman of my family, and Raden Saleh, the son of the regent of Semaráng, I have it now in my power to lay the following analysis of this ancient poem before the public. It is far from being as complete, or correct, as I could have wished, yet imperfect as it is, it may serve to convey some idea of the original. I have endeavoured to keep as close to the original as possible, and have, in every instance, given the interpretation of the Káwi, as far as it was understood by the Panambahan. The Sanscrit scholar will probably find imperfections, and possibly might be able to render a better translation; but it is the Káwi language, as it is understood by the Javans of the present day, that I am anxious to illustrate. The original stanzas are given in the Káwi, and I only regret that the limited knowledge of the language possessed by the Panambahan himself, and my own want of time to study and trace the grammatical construction of it, have not admitted of my doing more justice to the original. I can safely affirm, that independent of the interest which the subject loses by translation into a foreign language, the illustrations now given afford but a very imperfect specimen of the beauty, sublimity, and real poetry of the original.
This celebrated work would appear from the Chándra Sangkála included in one of the verses, to have been composed by one Puséda, a learned Pandíta, in the year 1079. Some copies, however, admit of a different interpretation regarding the date, and the general opinion is, that it was composed in 706 of the Javan era, during the reign of a prince on whom was conferred the title of Jáya Báya. Whether the poem was actually written on Java, or brought by the early colonists, may be questionable; but the Javans of the present day firmly believe, not only that the poem was written on Java, but that the scene of the exploits which it records was also laid on Java and Madúra. The annexed sketch, with the subjoined note, will explain the situation of the different countries, according to this notion[144].