Mundinglaya Dikusumah

Mundinglaya Dikusumah | Edisi Indonesia

Folklore from West Java

ONCE upon a time there was a kingdom in West Java. The king was Prabu Siliwangi. He had two wives. They were Nyimas Padmawati and Nyimas Tejamantri. The queen was Nyimas Padmawati. They lived happily and peacefully.

The king and the queen did not have any children yet. Then Nyimas Tejamantri was pregnant, the king and the queen were happy When the baby boy was finally born, they took care of him very well. The king named him Prince Guru Gantangan.

When Prince Guru Gantangan was teenager, the queen was pregnant. Everybody was happy. When the baby boy was born the king named him Prince Mundinglaya.

Guru Gantangan really loved his step younger brother. He always protected him and taught him everything. Mundinglaya also learned many things form other teachers. It was so understood that he became a very strong, skillful, and great young man.

The king appointed Prince Guru Gantangan to be a head of a region in Kutabarang. At the time, Prince Guru Gantangan was married, but he and his wife did not have children yet. So they adopted a boy named Sunten Jaya.

Prince Guru Gantahgan agreed with the task to be the head of a region. However, he asked the king and queen to let Prince Mundinglaya join him. Prince Guru Gantangan loved his brother and did not want to stay away from him. The king and the queen agreed. They knew the brothers would get along very well.

In the new place everything ran well. Sadly, Sunten Jaya was jealous with Mundinglaya. He thought his father was not fair. He thought his father treated Mundinglaya and him differently. So he planned something bad. He told his father that Mundinglaya wanted to kill his father because Mundinglaya wanted to be the new head of the region. Prince Guru Gantangan was angry, he put Mundinglaya in jail. 

Meanwhile, the kingdom was in big problem. Many people suffered from strange illness. Most of them died. And in one night the queen had a dream that the illness could be cured by a unique flower. However the flower was on top of the mountain and guarded by a fierce creature. 

The queen told the king about the dream. And later the king gathered a meeting. Prince Guru Gantangan and Sunten Jaya also joined the meeting. The king asked who dared to go to the top of the mountain to pick the flower. No one did. Suddenly a man spoke. 

"Your Majesty, your son Prince Mundinglaya is in jail. Why don't we ask him?" 

The king agreed. He ordered Mundinglaya to be released from the jail. Prince Mundinglaya said that he was willing to pick the flower. 

When he arrived on the top of the mountain, an ugly creature stopped him. 

"Hey! Who are you? How dared you come to my place?" yelled the creature. 

"My name is Mundinglaya and I asked your permission to pick the flower." 

"No one has my permission. If you really want it, you have to beat me!" 

In just a moment, Mundinglaya and the creature were fighting. It was not so difficult for Mundinglaya to fight the creature. He won the fight! Later, he picked the flower and went home.

The king and the queen were so happy. They used the flower to heal the sick people. Finally they were cured. Mundinglaya also told the truth that he never wanted to kill his brother, Prince Guru Gantangan. The brother felt guilty, he apologized to Mundinglaya. 

The king was so impressed by Mundinglaya's sacrifice. He knew Mundinglaya could be a great king someday. So he made an announcement that he would step down and appoint Mundinglaya to be the new king with the title Mundinglaya Dikusumah. 

What happened with Sunten Jaya? He ran away! He was worried that Mundinglaya would revenge and punish him. Since then the people lived happily and peacefully. Mundinglaya was a great king!***

Magic flower