Cura Si Manjakini
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Cura Si Manjakini (Malay: Pedang Cura Si Manjakini, alternatively Churika Mandakini or Mandangkini; Jawi: ڤدڠ چورا سي منجاکيني) is a sword mentioned in the Malay Annals as originally possessed by Sang Sapurba, the legendary ancestor of Malay kings. For hundreds of years, the sword became a symbol of a rightful sovereignty and power in Malay culture. It was first inherited by Sang Nila Utama the founder of Singapura, later by Parameswara the first ruler of Melaka Sultanate, and then by Muzaffar Syah I the first Sultan of Perak. The sword is now a part of the Perak Sultanate's official regalia.[1]
The name of the sword has several transliterations depending on the root manuscript. The word cura is Sanskrit for knife or dagger while Mandakini (sometimes spelled Mandangkini or Manjakini) refers to the Mandakini River. Thus Cura Si Mandakini is generally accepted as meaning "blade of the Mandakini".[2] Another theory interprets the name as coming from the Tamil-Sanskrit curik meaning to cleave, man deriving from mantra, and dakini referring to the mythological figures in Hindu-Buddhist belief.[citation needed]