Dyah Pitaloka Citraresmi
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Dyah Pitaloka | |
|---|---|
 Statue depicting the princess Pitaloka (on top of the stairs) committing suicide during Battle of Bubat | |
| Born | 1340 |
| Died | 1357 Bubat Field, North Wilwatikta, Kingdom of Majapahit |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Burial place | Astana Gede Kawali, Kawali, Kingdom of Sunda Galuh |
| Other names | Citraresmi or Citra Rashmi |
| Occupation | Battle of Bubat |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Niskala Wastu Kancana (younger brother) |
Dyah Pitaloka Citraresmi or Citra Rashmi (1340–1357), was the princess of the United Sunda Kingdom and Galuh Kingdom in Western Java. According to the Pararaton or Book of Kings, she was supposed to marry Hayam Wuruk, the new young king of Majapahit who had a great desire to take her as his queen.[1] However, in the tragedy known as The Bubat Incident, she took her own life. Tradition describes her as a young woman of extraordinary beauty.
Hayam Wuruk, king of Majapahit decided, probably for political reasons, to take Princess Citra Rashmi (Pitaloka) as his spouse.[2] She was a daughter of Prabu Maharaja Lingga Buana of the Sunda Kingdom. Patih Madhu, a matchmaker from Majapahit was sent to the kingdom to ask for her hand in royal marriage. Delighted by the proposal and seeing the opportunity to foster an alliance with Majapahit, the mightiest kingdom in the region, the king of Sunda gave his blessing and decided to accompany his daughter to Majapahit for the wedding.
In 1357 the Sunda king and the royal family arrived in Majapahit after sailing across the Java Sea then encamped on Bubat square in the northern part of Trowulan, capital city of Majapahit, and awaited the wedding ceremony. However, Gajah Mada, the Majapahit prime minister saw the event as an opportunity to demand Sunda's submission to Majapahit overlordship and insisted that instead of becoming queen of Majapahit, the princess was to be presented as a token of submission and treated as a mere concubine of the Majapahit king. The Sunda king was angered and humiliated by Gajah Mada's demand.
