Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan

The arrival of Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan as ruler in Bali cannot be separated from the political and military dynamics during the expansion of the Majapahit Kingdom into the eastern part of the archipelago. One of the targets of this expansion was the kingdom of Bali Bedahulu, which at that time was ruled by Sri Astasura Ratna Bumi Banten, also known in local tradition as Ida Dalem Bedahulu or Ida Dalem Bedamuka.{{cite book|title=Babad Dalem: Warih Ida Dalem Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan|first=Tjokorda Raka |last=Putra |year=2015|isbn=9786028953382}}

According to Javanese and Balinese traditional sources—especially the Negarakertagama, Babad Dalem, Babad Arya Tabanan, and local lontar manuscripts—it is agreed that the Majapahit military expedition to conquer Bali took place in the Saka year 1265 (1343 AD). The Majapahit troops were led by Kryan Patih Gajah Mada, with Arya Damar as his deputy, accompanied by many other noble warriors (Arya). However, before launching a full-scale invasion, Majapahit first neutralized Patih Kebo Iwa, the most powerful military figure in Bali at the time, along with Ki Pasung Grigis, who was considered the final stronghold of the Bedahulu Kingdom’s defense.

The attack was then launched simultaneously from various directions, and the Bali Bedahulu forces put up fierce resistance. The battle occurred on a large scale and resulted in heavy casualties. Eventually, Dalem Bedahulu was killed, and temporary control of the government was taken over by his uncle, Patih Agung Ki Pasung Grigis. After prolonged fighting, Ki Pasung Grigis surrendered in the village of Tengkulak and was later brought to Majapahit.

Following this victory, the political situation in Bali remained unstable. As a result, the Majapahit leadership, consisting of noble Arya figures, were assigned to settle in various strategic regions to maintain security and serve as temporary representatives of Majapahit's authority. This deployment marked the beginning of a new aristocratic elite in Bali. These Arya figures included:

• Arya Kenceng in Buahan (now Tabanan),
• Arya Kuta Waringin' in Gelgel,
• Arya Tan Wikan in Kaba-Kaba,
• Arya Bleteng in Penatih,
• Arya Kiyayi in Besakih,
• Arya Punta in Mambal,
• Arya Jurudeh in Temukti,
• Arya Kanuruhan in Tangkas,
• Kyai Malela Cengkrong in Jembrana and,
• Arya Sentong in Pacung.Babad Arya Tabanan, Dinas Pendidikan Provinsi Bali, 1990

In the Babad Bali, Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan was only appointed King of Bali in Saka year 1274 (1352 AD) after Majapahit succeeded in suppressing the rebellion of the Bali Aga tribe, led by Ki Tokawa, Ki Pasung Giri, and Ki Tunjung Tutur (1345 AD), as well as the rebellion of Ida Dalem Makambika (1347 AD), who was a descendant of the previous Bedahulu nobility. As a result of these rebellions, Majapahit sent two more military expeditions to Bali, led directly by Raden Cakradara Krtawardhana, Kryan Gajah Mada, and Arya Damar, and more Arya were then sent and assigned to maintain security in Bali, such as:

• Arya Gajah Para in Tianyar,
• Arya Getas in Tianyar, later assigned to Praya, Lombok,
• Ki Tan Kawur in Abiansemal,
• Ki Tan Kober in Pacung,
• Ki Tan Mundur in Cacaha,

As a monument of victory and complete domination over Bali, the Arya built an 11-tiered Meru at Pura Agung Kentel Gumi, which had previously been built by Mpu Kuturan in the 9th century AD. Even so, some groups in Bali were still dissatisfied with this policy, as they had not yet received a ruler who could unite the Arya nobility and the Bali Aga tribes. Ki Patih Ulung, together with Ki Padang Subadra, Ki Sangkulputih, Kyai Kepasekan, and Pemacekan, eventually went to Majapahit to request a king who could lead Bali.

Finally, their request was granted with the appointment of Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan, son of a Brahmin from the Majapahit palace named Mpu Sri Soma Kepakisan. On the full moon of the month Kartikka, Saka year 1274 (October 4, 1352 AD), he was appointed and crowned as Raja Adipati along with his siblings:

• Sri Aji Bima Chili Kepakisan was appointed Adipati in Blambangan,
• Sri Aji Bima Sakti Kepakisan was appointed Adipati in Pasuruan,
• Sri Dyah Ayu Sukanya Kepakisan was sent to Sumbawa, and
• Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan was appointed Adipati in Bali.

His departure to become Raja Adipati was accompanied by Majapahit officials and Arya nobles such as Arya Kresna Kepakisan, Arya Bang Pinatih, Arya Demung, Arya Tumenggung, Arya Delancang, Arya Manguri, Arya Pemecut Pemeregan, along with Brahmin priests Dang Hyang Jaya Rembat and Dang Hyang Subali, sailing on a Jong Jawa ship captained by Bendega Ki Samanjaya. The group landed at Alas Rangkan Beach (Pantai Lebih, Gianyar), near the southern coast. {{cite book|author=C.C. Berg |title=De middeljavaansche historische traditië |location=Santpoort |publisher=Mees |year=1927 |pages=103-6}}

He eventually established a palace at Samprangan, a former Majapahit military camp (close to the old capital of Bedahulu). His kingdom was known as the Kingdom of Samprangan with its capital at Linggarsapura. He was later known as Ida Dalem Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan, or by the Balinese people as Ida Dalem Wawu Rauh (the newly arrived king).

== Arival from Majapahit ==

According to a near-contemporary source, the poem Nagarakrtagama, Bali was subdued by the troops of Majapahit in 1343. In later Javanese and Balinese tradition, this conquest was retold in various versions. Babad Dalem, a chronicle from the 18th century, relates that Bali was in turmoil after the Majapahit invasion. In order to remedy this, the Patih (chief minister) Gajah Mada raised the Javanese nobleman Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan as the vassal ruler of Bali. Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan was the grandson of a Brahmin His mother was a spiritual being, an apsara. His two elder brothers were vassal princes of Blambangan and Pasuruan on Java.

Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan established his palace (puri) in Samprangan, in the Gianyar regency. With him went nine aristocrats from Java, who settled around the palace and assisted the ruler in his governance. Another grandee, Arya Gajah Para, settled at Tianyar on the north coast. However, the old population in the highland villages, the Bali Aga, violently resisted the rule of the Javanese immigrants. Their recalcitrance almost drove the king back to Java. Hearing about the trouble besetting his vassal, Gajah Mada sent a magic dagger (keris), Ki Lobar, to Samprangan. With its help, Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan overcame all resistance. At his death he was succeeded by his son Dalem Samprangan, but the princely residence was short moved from Samprangan to Gelgel near the south coast.C.C. Berg, De middeljavaansche historische traditië. Santpoort: Mees 1927, pp. 103-6.

The story of the Majapahit conquest of Bali and the immigration of Javanese to the island has had an enormous impact on the self-image of the Balinese. Balinese cultural ideals are traced back to Javanese models, and Majapahit stands as a powerful symbol of civilization. The historical background of Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan's reign in Bali is controversial. A copper inscription, supposedly dated 1471, mentions a Ratu Pakisan from Majapahit who appears to be the same figure. That would place him more than a century later than the Majapahit conquest, although the authenticity of the inscription remains to be verified.http://vxu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:206791/FULLTEXT01 p. 19. Also, his youngest son Dalem Ketut, who founded the Gelgel palace, is supposed to have survived the fall of Majapahit on Java (early 16th century). The oldest dated account that mentions the origin of the Balinese kings, a geographical text by the Portuguese Manuel Godinho de Erédia (c. 1600), asserts that these kings were descended from the rulers of Blambangan in East Java.H. Hägerdal, 'Bali in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries; Suggestion for a Chronology of the Gelgel Period', Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 151 1995.

• History of Bali
• Hinduism in Indonesia
• List of monarchs of Bali

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Category:Monarchs of Bali

Category:History of Bali

Category:Balinese people

Category:14th-century Indonesian people