Arjuna

Once there was a king of evil from the kingdom of Iman Imantaka whose name is Niwata Kawaca. He was a powerful and cruel king who had conquered many kingdoms. The invincible king then had another ambition. He wanted to marry a beautiful angel from the heaven of god whose name is Dewi Supraba. He came to god Indra to propose for the beautiful angel. But the god refused. He thought that the king was not a good husband for the angel. The king was so angry that he decided to attack Kingdom of god Indra. The army of Niwata Kawaca proved to be very strong. The army of god was easily defeated. Luckily the god managed to close the gate. Then the god's palace was besieged by the army of Niwata Kawaca.

Then the god Indra decided to ask for help of human being. His choice fell into Arjuna, the third son of Pandu. At that time Arjuna was meditating in Mount Indrakila. He was meditating there to pray and to search for spiritual power that he needed to face the great war of Barata yudha (war of the Barata family). God Indra wanted to test his spiritual power to know whether he was fit for the battle with Niwata Kawaca. Indra sent seven beautiful angels to tease Arjuna. Two of the most beautiful ones were Supraba and Tilottama. They used their beauty to tease him but Arjuna was proved to be a true hero. He could resist their temptation. Indra was sure that Arjuna was the right person to overcome the problem.


Meanwhile King Niwata Kawaca realized that there was a hero who could be a threat to his power. That's why he decided to eliminate the potential threat. He sent a monster that could change himself into a wild boar. His name was Momong Murka. Momong Murka came to the village where Arjuna was doing ascetics. As he got there soon he changed himself into a giant wild bore and destroyed the village. Arjuna did not let him do further damage so he fought back. The wild boar was so strong that he was forced to use his new weapon. He attacked the wild boar with an arrow and it was killed instantly. But as he came closer to take a look at it he was very surprised to see another hero stood by it arrogantly. Arjuna said politely:
'Excuse me; let me take a look at the wild boar. I just shot it with my arrow'
'Excuse me, did you shoot it? Look this is my arrow', the hero said.
'Of course I shot it. This is my arrow', 'But I shot it first. You just followed me'. The quarrel became so tense that they were both became very angry. The two heroes fought fiercely but finally the other hero could beat Arjuna. As he sat in the ground suddenly the hero changed into god Syiwa. Arjuna was shocked so he saluted the god immediately. 'I beg your pardon your holiness, I did not realized your presence', 'Arjuna, you are truly a hero. You have reached a highest level of spirituality. That's why I give you a special arrow called Pasopati. It was special because it had extraordinary spiritual power. No one could resist it. Be careful'. Not long after that Syiwa disappeared like smoke. Arjuna was then a very powerful hero. Just as he was about to go home to Indraprasta, an emissary from Indra came to see him. He asked Arjuna to help Indra fight King Niwata Kawaca. Arjuna agreed to help because he realized that it was his duty as a hero to protect anyone who needs his help. In the heaven of god Indra, a discussion was held to overcome the threat of King Niwata Kawaca. Indra told Arjuna that Niwata Kawaca was unbeatable. He was very strong and he could resist any kinds of weapon, even the most lethal ones. His victims were countless. So they had to find out a strategy. Arjuna decided to find out the secret of his weakness. He ordered Supraba, the most beautiful angel, to surrender to King Niwata Kawaca. But it is only a trick to search for his weakness. Arjuna would protect her from a distant. He had a spiritual mystical power that could make him invisible. Indra and Supraba agreed to the plan. So one day Supraba came to kingdom of Iman Imantaka to see King Niwata Kawaca. Arjuna who was invisible kept guarding her. The King was very happy to welcome her. 'Your Majesty King Niwata Kawaca. The Most Glorious king of Iman Imantaka. I am honored to be your servant. Let me serve you with all of my heart', 'O, my dear one. I have been waiting for this happy moment. But why you leave the heaven of Indra?
'I do not find happiness, your Majesty. I am sure I will find it here'
King Niwata Kawaca had fallen in love to Supraba for a long time. He did not realize that it was only a trick. Supraba kept praising him so Niwata Kawaca was flattered and he lost control of his emotion. Then Supraba asked about his power. 'Your Majesty, the most powerful king in the world. What makes you very powerful?' 'Supraba, long time ago gods gave me a special power after I done ascetics. I became very powerful and unbeatable. No weapon could do any harm to me. Except for one thing'

'What is that?' 'My only weakness is my tongue. If it is hit, I will be killed instantly'. Arjuna who stood by Supraba heard that. But he was invisible. Soon he went out of the palace and destroyed the front gate of the palace. When the soldiers were busy hunting for him Arjuna went back to the palace and saved Supraba. They fled to the heaven of Indra. King Niwata Kawaca was very angry to hear that Supraba had escaped. He realized that god Indra and Arjuna were behind the event. So he immediately prepared his army to invade the heaven of Indra. He had a strong army of monsters.

As the army arrived in the heaven of Indra they stormed it. The army of god was no match for the mighty army of Iman Imantaka. King Niwata Kawaca who was very angry shouted: 'Indra, Arjuna, come out of you bedroom. Be a real man. Come on, fight me' Then Arjuna came to fight him. Niwata Kawaca who realized that his secret had revealed fought very carefully although he was very angry. He never opened his mouth. Consequently it was very difficult for Arjuna to beat him. Then Arjuna tried a different strategy. When Niwata Kawaca hit him, he fell to the ground and cried.

'Please have mercy. I just followed order from my god. Let me live'
Niwata Kawaca was very satisfied when he saw Arjuna fell and then sat helplessly on the ground. He was sure that he won the fight.
'I thought you are a real hero Arjuna. I thought you are a tough enemy. I never know that you are a chicken' Arjuna kept on begging.
'I am just an ordinary guy who searches for a living. I am not responsible for this. Please let me go' 'On one condition, do you endorse that I am your king?' 'Yes, absolutely, your majesty, great king of Iman Imantaka'
Niwata Kawaca was very satisfied. He laughed out loud. 'Ha, ha, ha, little coward,.......'

He was just about to finish his words when an arrow suddenly broke into his mouth. The mighty Pasopati arrow from Arjuna went through his mouth and hit his tongue. Niwata Kawaca was killed instantly. His army was shocked and soon they were demoralized. They had no choice but to surrender to the army of god. The god Indra was very satisfied with Arjuna's contribution. So he gave him a great reward. 'Arjuna, Now that a threat to human and god had disappeared. You really have a great contribution to god and to all humanity. So I decided to give you a reward. You will marry the seven angels' Arjuna married the most beautiful angels of heaven including Supraba and Tilottama. After that he stayed in heaven for seven months. But then he had to leave heaven. Finally he left them and returned to Indraprastha to serve for his country and his family.

Roro Jonggrang

Inside the northern chamber Shiva temple in Prambanan temple in Central Java, Indonesia, there is a stone statue of a beautiful woman.  She stands on a bull.  She wears a crown and jewelry.  Her body is slim.  Who is she?  There is no doubt that she is Durga Mahisasuramardini, a Hindu goddess.  But the Javanese people have their own story about her. Here is the story.

A long long time ago in central Java lived a wise king.  His name was Prabu Boko.  He had a beautiful daughter whose name was Roro Jonggrang.  They lived in a palace on top of a hill.  At present we can visit the ruins of the palace that is located about two miles south of Prambanan temple.  The palace is called kraton Boko. His country was so prosperous that another king was jealous. 

There was a neighboring kingdom under king Bandung Bondowoso.  One day king Bandung attacked Prabu Boko.  In a fierce fight King Boko was killed and his kingdom was conquered.  The young Bandung Bondowoso fell in love with Roro Jonggrang when he saw her beauty.  He wanted to marry her so he proposed her.  But Roro Jonggrang definitely did not want to marry someone who had murdered her father.  So she gave a difficult condition.

She told Bandung that she would marry him if he could build one thousand temples in one night.  Bandung was surprised but he was optimistic he could meet the condition.  He was a powerful king and he had many friends among the genie and spirits.  So he asked them for help.  With the help of those invisible beings Bandung built the temples.

Meanwhile Roro Jonggrang and her people kept an eye on Bandung.  When it was almost dawn Bandung and the genie had built nine hundred ninety nine temples.  Roro Jonggrang was very worried.   If Bandung could meet her condition, she had to marry him.  Then she had a bright idea.  She ordered her people to make noise and lights.  Women were ordered to cook and make noise by hitting kitchen utensils.  Men were also ordered to make noise around the temples.  Then the genie thought that daylight had come.  They were afraid of the sunlight so they left immediately.  Without their help Bandung was unable to finish the temple.

Bandung was very angry.  He knew that it was a dirty trick from Roro Jonggrang.  Then he cursed Roro Jonggrang into a statue.  The statue of Roro Jonggrang is now inside the northern chamber of the main temple which was dedicated to Shiva in Prambanan temple.

The Paradoxical World of The Creator

The Paradox of Creativity

Since the dawn of human history, our lives on this lonely planet have been greatly influenced by the creative contributions of people living in different cultures across the world. These creative contribution range from the cupboard-sized refrigerator, which enables us to store our food overnight, to the desktop computer, which allows us to edit our document with ease. These invention have vastly improved our lives. Unfortunately, at the same time they have opened up many potential areas of human conflict. For example, the discovery of nuclear fusion paves the way for our world to meet it’s energy needs indefinitely, at the same time that it threatens us all with a nuclear holocaust. Because creativity has a great impact on our lives - for better of for worse - scientists have long been interested in it. By storing up our scientific knowledge on creativity, two things can be achived. First, we can make better and more efficient use of this precious human resource. Second, we can guard our selves against it’s more negative and destructive impulses. However, our scientific research into creativity is hampered by a lack of agreement on what exactly creativity is. As Mumford and Gustafson have commented, an extensive review of the scholarly literature on this topic leaves one feeling like Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland, who, upon reading Jabberwocky, remark, “Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas only I don’t exactly know what they are”.

Creativity As a Way of Solving Problems

A common understandings of what creativity is has been slow to emerge, because creativity is a multidimensional concept, which is understood by researchers in different ways. In other words, what you mean by the term “creativity” will depend on which approach you are using to study it. There are at least four theoretical approaches to the study of creativity. They include the cognitive, personality, social psychological and systems approaches to creativity. Each of these four approaches will be outlined in turn.

From the cognitive perspective, when we say that a person behaves in a creative way, we mean that he has come up with a novel, innovative and practical solution to a certain problem. The creator’s solution meets a fell need in the situation. For example, a clever scientist develops a new scientific theory to explain a certain aspect of nature which has puzzled the rest of the scientific community. Or a humorous individual in a sluggish work group cracks a joke to liven up the group atmosphere. Or an imaginative artist paint an evocative image which stirs up a powerful feeling in everyone who looks at it. This process of coming up with a novel and innovative solution to a certain problem is know as creative problem - solving. Creative problem - solving makes certain demands on the creator, which isn’t found in ordinary problem - solving. One of them is the ability of the creator to adapt to an ill – defined situation. In such a situation it isn’t immediately clear at the outset what the exact nature of the problem is, i.e., what are we trying to achieve in this situation? What can we do to reach our goals? What information do we need to gather in order to solve this problem? To deal with this ill - defined situation, the creator engages in problem - finding, i.e., he defines the problem to be solved, how he should go about solving it, as well as what information he should gather, instead of dealing with the problem in a routine and conventional way.