Airlangga, Prince of Java

Airlangga (also spelled Erlangga) lived in East Java from 1001 to 1049 and is regarded as a national hero of Indonesia because he wrested control of his homeland from Sumatran overlords. His 23-year reign as king launched an economic, literary and artistic rennaissance in Java and Bali.

During his reign, a court poet named Mpu Kanwa composed the Javanese epic "Arjunavivaha," as an allegory of Airlangga's life. The story takes place on the day the prince, called Arjuna, goes to war. As he faces his enemies, he realizes they are his own family. Grief overwhelms him, and he doesn't know what to do. So he seeks divine knowledge. Then Krishna reveals himself as a vision of transcendental light. Read an excerpt from "Arjunavivaha:"

Airlangga was buried at a place called Belahan, an ancient brick bathing place surrounded by temples on Mt Penanggungan. Carved in red tufa stone against the back wall of the bathing tank is one of east Java's greatest icons, the god Vishnu seated on his bird-vehicle, Garuda. Historians believe this image represents the ascended King Airlangga.