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Literature

The literature of Majapahit was the continuation of Javanese Kawi Hindu-Buddhist scholarly tradition that produces kakawin poem that has been developed in Java since the 9th century Medang Mataram era, all the way through Kadiri and Singhasari periods. Notable Javanese literary works dated from an earlier period, such as Kadiri's 11th century Kanwa's Arjunawiwaha, 12th-century Dharmaja's Smaradahana, Sedah's Bharatayuddha, Panuluh's Hariwangsa also popular Panji cycles are continuously preserved and rewritten by Rakawi (Hindu-Buddhist poet or scholar) in Majapahit era. Notable literary works that were produced in the Majapahit period among others are Prapanca's Nagarakretagama, Tantular's Sutasoma, and Tantu Pagelaran. Popular tale of Sri Tanjung and Damarwulan also dated from Majapahit period. These Old Javanese kakawins were written and composed by Rakawis (poets) to worship the king of the gods whose incarnation the king represented.

Nagarakretagama composed by Prapanca in 1365 is a vital source of the premier historical account of Majapahit historiography. While Sutasoma is an important literature for modern Indonesian nationhood, since the national motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, which is usually translated as Unity in Diversity, was taken from a pupuh (canto) of this manuscript.

This quotation comes from Sutasoma canto 139, stanza 5. The full stanza reads as follows:

Rwâneka dhâtu winuwus Buddha Wiswa, Bhinnêki rakwa ring apan kena parwanosen, Mangka ng Jinatwa kalawan Siwatatwa tunggal, Bhinnêka tunggal ika tan hana dharma mangrwa.

Originally, the poem was meant to promote the religious tolerance between the Hindu and Buddhist religions, specifically promote the syncretic Shiva-Buddha doctrine.

In Yingya Shenglan, Ma Huan describes the writing system used in Majapahit. For the writing, they had known the alphabet using So-li (Chola — Coromandel/Southern India) letters. There is no paper or pen, they use Chiao-chang (kajang) or palm leaf (lontar), written by scraping it with a sharp knife. They also have a developed language system and grammar.