Poerbatjaraka (alternative spelling: Purbacaraka, 1 January 1884 – 25 July 1964) was a Javanese/Indonesian self-taught philologist and professor, specialising in Javanese literature.

The eldest son of a Surakarta royal courtier in the Dutch East Indies, he showed interest in Javanese literature at an early age, reading from books in the court's collection.

Despite attending only primary school, his knowledge of Dutch and Javanese literature allowed him to take a position at the colony's Archaeology Service, and then at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

[2] He was the eldest son of Raden Mas Tumenggung Purbadipura, a noble courtier to the Sunan (monarch) Pakubuwana X.

[1] Purbadipura was close to the monarch, and took on multiple roles, including those comparable to a European master of the robes, a barber, a divination doctor, and a composer.

During his childhood, his love for classical Javanese literature began as he read works found in his father's library.

He began to feel uncomfortable at court and wrote to the Dutch resident (the top colonial official in Surakarta).

This correspondence resulted in an appointment in Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies, with the colony's Archeological Service.

[3] In Batavia, he also met the future historian of Java, H. J. de Graaf, to whom he gave weekly lessons in Javanese culture and language between 1927 and 1930.

De Graaf later considered Poerbatjaraka his "revered teacher" and praised him for "unveil[ing] some of the secrets of your people".

[9] His works combined the scientific method—which was uncommon among Indonesian native authors at his time—with his intimate knowledge of his subjects as an insider.

[11] Pigeaud said that his works and his behaviour often showed a sense of humour characteristic of a punokawan (jesters in Javanese wayangs).

[13] According to his biography by Indonesia's Education and Cultural Ministry, he published seventy-nine works throughout his life, while Pigeaud put the number at seventy-three.

[16] His study on the Ramayana established that, based on language, metrics, titles of officials and description of a temple, the Old Javanese version of the epic poem originated at the end of the ninth or the beginning of the tenth century.