Wikramawardhana

[1] He was the nephew and also the son-in-law of the previous monarch, King Rajasanagara Dyah Hayam Wuruk. His mother was the king's younger sister, Rajasaduhiteswari or Wardhanaduhiteswari or Iswari in short.[2] Krom interpreted it as "the illustrious Wardhana's daughter, Iswari". The term "Wardhana" referred to Prince consort Kertawardhana, husband of Queen Tribhuwana. She was given the title Bhre Pajang and married to Singhawardhana, Bhre Paguhan.

According to Pararaton, Wikramawardhana had two younger sisters. The older one was Nagarawardhani, she would be the wife of Wikramawardhana's rival in the future. She was originally the Bhre Wirabhumi before the title shifted to her husband and she became Bhre Lasem. The younger was Surawardhani or Rajasawardhani. At first, she was either the Bhre Panawuhan or Bhre Panawan-awan then after a few rotations, her title was Bhre Kahuripan. Wikramawardhana himself was the Bhre Mataram. In contrast, Nagarakretagama only stated Rajasawardhani as a daughter of Iswari. Perhaps, Nagarawardhani was adopted by The Princess of Daha since her marriage mentioned as childless in Pararaton.

The young prince was arranged to marry his cousin, Princess Kusumawardhani of Kabalan.[3] He was no older than 12 and she was no older than 7 at that time. Nagarakretagama which was written in 1365 reported that they were already married besides King Rajasanagara was just 31 years old. The princess was the only child of the king by his primary wife, Queen Sudevi. Wikramawardhana was appointed as heir apparent for his marriage to Kusumawardhani.

A succession conflict rose following the death of Wikramawardhana's grandmother, the late Queen regnant Tribhuwana (also held title Princess of Kahuripan) and her sister Rajadewi in the 1370s. Rajadewi's husband, Wijayarajasa carried out a separatist action by proclaiming himself as a new king with the regnal name Bhatara Parameswara ring Pamotan. King Rajasanagara (also known as Dyah Hayam Wuruk) was mentioned as ruled in Kedhaton Kulon literally means "the Western Court" while Prince Wijayarajasa was the head of Kedhaton Wetan or "the Eastern Court". Wijayarajasa's action started the Kedhaton Kulon and Kedhaton Wetan period. Hayam Wuruk refused to fight him as his only son from a concubine supported Wijayarajasa, perhaps because he felt more proper of inheriting the throne than Wikramawardhana. But, Hayam Wuruk had the loyalty from most of the Majapahit's royal family members.

As heir-apparent, Wikramawardhana was the most likely inherited the high prince title Bhre Kahuripan from his grandmother although it wasn't mentioned clearly in Pararaton. Another rotation resulted in the title Bhre Wirabhumi is gotten by Hayam Wuruk's son from a concubine inheriting from his wife who was also Wikramawardhana's younger sister, Nagarawardhani.

After the death of Wijayarajasa in 1388 and Hayam Wuruk in 1389, the conflict even became worst. In the Western court, Wikramawardhana ascended the throne with his wife Kusumawardhani, being the legitimate successor. On the other side, Bhre Wirabhumi succeeded Wijayarajasa.

King Wikramawardhana's co-reigned with Queen Kusumawardhani was challenged by Bhre Wirabhumi. Bhre Wirabhumi felt that he had a better right to be successor since he was the only son of the late monarch. He was also mentioned as Po-ling-ta-ha or Putreng Daha (Putra-ing Daha) due to his adoption by Bhre Daha[4] which didn't clearly refer to either Hayam Wuruk's cousin Indudevi or his aunt Rajadevi. However Bhre Wirabhumi lacked legitimacy because of his low biological mother's position.

Tried to confront his rival, Wikramawardhana bestowed the title of Bhre Lasem to Kusumawardhani even though at that time the title had been being held by his sister. According to Pararaton, there were two Duchess of Lasem during the Kedhaton Kulon and Kedhaton Wetan periods, and both of them were the new ruler's primary wives. Kusumawardhani, Bhre Lasem Sang Ahayu or "the Fair Duchess of Lasem" of western court and Nagarawardhani, Bhre Lasem Sang Alemu or "the Fat Duchess of Lasem" of eastern court.

In 1398, Majapahit under the rule of King Wikramawardhana sent their navy to invade Kingdom of Singapura. Their last ruler, King Iskandar Shah fled to the north. The invasion was greatly successful.

Tahun çaka netra-paksagni-sitangsu (1322 saka year or 1400), Wikramawardhana abdicated to become a religious, but it didn't take long-time. He was just reported to have a feud again with Bhre Wirabhumi in 1401.

Both rulers had good relationships with the Chinese, moreover, they received envoys separately. Admiral Cheng Ho of Ming Dynasty was recorded as visiting Java in 1405.[5] The outbreak of Regreg War in 1406 accidentally killed Chinese envoys in Kedhaton Wetan. Despite Wikramawardhana's success in winning the war and defeating Bhre Wirabhumi, the civil war gravely weakened previously unchallenged Majapahit hegemony in Nusantara and loosened Majapahit's grip on its far-flung vassal kingdoms.

Hyang Wisesa or Bhra Hyang Wisesa was Wikramawardhana's regular designation in Pararaton. Bhra was a shortened form of Bhatara.[4] His pronouncement to adopt the name Hyang Wisesa or Yang-wei-hsi-sha was told in Ming's record in 1415. Wikramawardhana ruled until 1429 and was succeeded by his daughter, Suhita.

His primary wife and the only queen consort was Kusumawardhani, 1st Princess of Kabalan, then styled as 3rd Princess of Lasem, as well the only daughter of King Rajasanagara Dyah Hayam Wuruk and Queen Sudewī. Prapanca described her as a perfect princess with beautiful eyes and slender arches. She was undoubtedly a drop-dead beauty. It wasn't recorded when the queen gave birth to Crown Prince Rajasakusuma. He inherited either the title Prince of Mataram from his father or Prince of Kabalan from his mother before died in 1399. Wikramawardhana gave him the posthumous name Hyang Wekasing Sukha. Kusumawardhani died a year later.

Wikramawardhana's second child was Bhre Tumapel and strongly possibly the crown prince from 1399 until his death in 1427. He married two Princess of Lasem, and both of them were his cousin. His first wife, the 4th Bhre Lasem was a daughter of Surawardhani and Ranamanggala. His second wife, the 5th Bhre Lasem was a daughter of Bhre Wirabhumi and Nagarawardhani.

Wikramawardhana's third child and the only recorded daughter was the future Queen regnant Suhita. She was arranged to marry Ratnapangkaja, a son of Surawardhani and Ranamanggala. Ratnapangkaja's paternal grandfather was Dyah Sotor, Queen regnant Tribhuwana's stepson.

His fourth and last child namely Dyah Kertawijaya. He was styled as Bhre Tumapel after the death of his older brother. Dyah Kertawijaya also married his own cousin, Dyah Jayeswari (formally Jayawardhani). She was the youngest child, in the same condition as her husband.[3] Jayawardhani was the younger sister of the 4th Bhre Lasem and Ratnapangkaja. Later, the youngest prince would ascend the throne after Suhita under his regnal name Wijayaparakramawardhana.

Rajasakusuma was the only one who was obviously mentioned born from Kusumawardhani in Pararaton. The mother of his three siblings was never mentioned in any sources, thus making it confusing.[3] Historian J. Noorduyn argued that the four above was born from Queen Kusumawardhani seeing that the name of the four siblings written without using the additional terms rabi haji, rabi anom, or rabi ksatriya which was usually used to refer a royal name born from a secondary wife or concubine in Pararaton.

One of Wikramawardhana's concubines was the Princess of Mataram. Her parents were his former rival, Prince of Wirabhumi and Nagarawardhani. She was taken away after Regreg war and more possibly childless.

• Pringle, Robert. A Short History of Bali: Indonesia's Hindu Realm. Crows Nest, NSW: Allan & Unwin, 2004.