SINGOSARI
After the five months were up, Ken Angrok returned to the forgery and asked to see the kens. Mpu Gandring showed him the half finished blade which, though formed, was still dull and rough. In anger and impatience, Ken Angrok picked up the weapon and stabbed Mpu Gandring to death. As he lay dying, the kens maker cursed Ken Angrok and his descendants, swearing that they would all die by the same weapon which the murderer now held in his hand.
Somewhat regretfully, Ken Angrok returned to Tumapel, where he gave the kens to one of his best friends, who was delighted with the gift. He displayed it wherever he went, until all in the region knew that it belonged to him. Then, as had been planned, Ken Angrok secretly stole the kens, crept up on Tunggul Ametung as he lay sleeping, and murdered him. The result was that the owner of the keris was executed and Ken Angrok sat on the throne of Singosari with Ken Dedes by his side.

But the legends continuously emphasis that everything comes at its appointed time, and soon Ken Angrok's time would be running out. He died at the hand of his stepson, Anusapati, betrayed by his own wife, Ken Dedes, who gave the kens to her son by Tunggul Ametung so that he could take his revenge. Twenty years later, despite excessive precautions such as having a moat built around his bed, Anusapati too fell victim to the curse of Mpu Gandring. His memorial shrine is at Candi Kidal, east of Malang. Anusapati's successor, Vishnuwardhana, built the beautiful temple of Jajaghu, also known as Candi Jag, at Tumpang, Malang. This temple displays some of the finest and clearest relief carving in East Java. Four beautiful statues, originally located in the now ruined upper chamber of the building, are displayed in the National Museum, Jakarta, and are well worth visiting.
Candi Singosari, in the village of the same name on the outskirts of Malang, was built during the reign of the last and most famous king of Singosari, Kertanagara. It was during the time of the Mongol expansion, when a descendant of Genghiz Khan ruled in China.
Demanding tribute from all the rulers in south east Asia, the Khan sent an envoy to the court of Kertanagara. The bold king sent his reply back to China, carved into the forehead of the unfortunate delegate. As Kublai Khan was preparing a retaliatory fleet to punish Singosari, however, Kertanagara and many of his priests and ministers were ambushed in their own capital by soldiers from a neighbouring vassal state and put to death. The two shrines dedicated to Kertanagara are Candi Singosari and Candi Jawi. The king's high philosophical and spiritual ambitions are clearly reflected in his two mortuary statues; at Singosarihe was portrayed as a half male, half female combination of the gods Vishnu and Shiva, while at Candi Jawi he was immortalized as Shiva / Budha.
With the death of Kertanegara, the dynasty of Singosari came to an end and the last and greatest of the Hindu / Javanese kingdoms, Majapahit , asore.
Candi Singosari viewed from the south west

One of two guardian figures (dwarapala), meansuring almost 4 m tall



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