Philosophy of the Pandawa Lima Hikayat from Palembang

Abstract

Pandawa Lima Hikayat (the story of Five Pandawa) is a puppet show story. The Pandawa Lima Hikayat (Ml. 504) is a tale originating from Palembang. This tale is actually an adaptation of the Javanese wayang story. However, this tale displays a Malay philosophy. This tale tries to deviate from the Mahabharata story or wayang story by changing several things from the story. The characters still use characters, but several other characters have changed names. The Pandawa Lima Hikayat also underwent a transformation from a wayang story into a form of a solace story. This is shown by changes in the names, motifs used, and storytelling style. For example, the solace story often brings up the creation of a kingdom from heirlooms. In this tale, the creation of the kingdom is carried out by the character Arjuna through a kind of samadhi. There is a philosophy that Batara Guru is not the ruler of the universe, because in this case Batara Guru cannot do his own will, even the woman loved by Batara Guru can be taken by Arjuna. This tale also shows a change in role, such as the role of Batara Guru as a powerful God in this tale Batara Guru is defeated by a figure named Sanghyang Manang. This is a philosophy about the decline of Batara Guru's status as the ruler of the gods. This tale is real evidence of the fusion of Javanese wayang culture with Malay culture, especially in Palembang.