Battle of Bubat
Berg concludes, "in the Kidung Sunda we must see the literary remnant of folklore stories and in the same-themed with Pararaton fragment...".
[6]: 55–57 [7]: 306 Interestingly, Nagarakretagama written by Mpu Prapanca in 1365, which is widely considered as the primary source on Majapahit history, did not mention the event at all.
[8] To reconcile these varied studies, it is important to understand that Nagarakretagama is a pujasastra,[iii] "It seems to be intentionally overlooked by Prapanca,[iv] because it does not contribute to the greatness of Majapahit, and even can be regarded as Gajah Mada's political failure to subjugate the Sundanese," Marwati Djoened Poesponegoro and Nugroho Notosusanto wrote in Indonesian National History II.
Bhre Prabu who desires the Princess of Sunda sent Patih Madhu, a senior mantri (minister), to invite the Sundanese.
Hayam Wuruk, king of Majapahit decided — probably for political reasons — to take Princess Citra Rashmi (also known as Pitaloka) as his spouse.
In 1357 the Sunda king and the royal family arrived in Majapahit after sailing across the Java Sea in a fleet of 200 large ships and 2000 smaller vessels.
The royal party then encamped on Bubat Square in the northern part of Trowulan, the capital city of Majapahit, and awaited the wedding ceremony.
The Sunda king was angered and humiliated by Gajah Mada's demand and decided to go back home as well as cancel the royal wedding.
As a result, a skirmish took place in Bubat Square between the Majapahit army and the Sunda royal family in defense of their honour.
On the other hand, the armed guards stationed within Majapahit capital city under Gajah Mada's command were estimated at several thousand well-armed and well-trained troops.
Some sources mentioned that the Sundanese managed to defend the square and strike back at the Majapahit siege several times.
[14] Tradition says that the heartbroken princess — along with very possibly all remaining Sundanese women — took her own life to defend the honour and dignity of her country.
[15] The ritualized suicide by the women of the kshatriya (warrior) class after the defeat of their menfolk, is supposed to defend their pride and honour as well as to protect their chastity, rather than facing the possibility of humiliation through rape, subjugation, or enslavement.
According to tradition, Dyah Pitaloka's death was mourned by Hayam Wuruk and the entire population of the Sunda kingdom who had lost most members of their royal family.
This unfortunate event also marked the end of Gajah Mada's career, since not long after this event, the king forced Gajah Mada into an early retirement by awarding the prime minister the lands in Madakaripura (today Probolinggo), thus pushing him far from the capital city's courtly affairs.
This tragedy severely harmed the relationship between the two kingdoms and resulted in hostility for years to come, the situation never again returning to normality.
These reactions reflected the Sundanese disappointment and anger towards Majapahit and later contributed to the Sundanese-Javanese animosity, which may still run even to the present day.
[16] Curiously, although Bali is known as the heir of Majapahit culture, Balinese opinion seems to take the Sundanese side in this dispute, as evidenced through their manuscript Kidung Sunda.
The practice of demonstrating the act of courage has its Balinese counterpart in their puputan tradition, a fight to the death by men followed by mass ritual suicide by the women in preference to facing the humiliation of surrender.
Although today Gajah Mada is considered an Indonesian national hero, Sundanese people still do not find him deserving based on his wicked deed in this incident.
The tragedy also caused a myth to revolve around Indonesians, which forbids marriage between a Sundanese and a Javanese, as it would be unsustainable and only bring misery to the couple.
Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X added the naming of these roads is expected to break the dark history that lay on the relationship between the Sundanese and Javanese people.
