Sukrosono is immersed in very deep meditation. He does not feel anything anymore, he has been meditating for some time. His emptiness makes the days meaningless. Time cannot consume him anymore. There is no more past, no more future. If there is no past or future, then there is no present. Emptiness frees him from time. Time has no power over him anymore. He feels he is beyond time. And that is when he feels that he and the universe have become one.
It is not known on which night the moon approached him to slowly open its eyes. But the moon relented for a moment, dimming its glow so that Lintang Panjer Enjing, the beautiful female star, could reveal her beauty. The sky is very close and beautiful. In the dim light, Sukrosono sees the banana tree in front of him turn a golden hue. The banana tree no longer has green leaves, but golden leaves. The golden leaves then fall off, flying apart into countless golden strands. The golden strands look like small stars scattering over Mount Taranggana Sekar.
Mount Taranggana Sekar has truly become a mountain with starry blooms. Small stars seem to fall from on high. Not long afterwards, Lintang Panjer Enjing slips between the thousands of stars. The morning star then dances like a beautiful angel, followed by thousands of other stars. Sukrosono is surprised at that moment when, all of a sudden, thousands of stars change into thousands of demons. Sukrosono can hardly believe that the golden stars have turned into countless demons in an instant. The demons are terrifying, but they do not make Sukrosono the least bit afraid. The plains below Mount Taranggana Sekar tremble as the feet of the mighty demons crush them.
Also read:
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (50)
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (49)
Sukrosono sees the demons surround the banana tree, which now has not a single leaf. Gradually, the banana tree grows taller, much taller than the demons that surround it. Its growth seems unstoppable. The banana tree reaches up slowly, nearly touching the moon. The top of the banana tree turns into a demon head that is even bigger than the moon. The head reaches out to eat the moon, and swallows it. And the banana tree turns into a giant, tall demon with the moon as its head. All at once, the heads of the other demons also turn into moons. The area surrounding Taranggana Sekar is brilliantly lit with the glow from thousands of moon heads. Sukrosono's eyes are bedazzled, he can hardly see a thing. He only feels that his entire being has become the moon.
In front of this moon demon, Sukrosono feels that he himself is even smaller than an ant, which even without being stepped on will die on its own. The demon, who is extraordinarily tall and large, then lifts him up and puts Sukrosono in his palm.
"Who are you?" asked the demon.
"I am a child of the moon," replied Sukrosono. This tiny demon that is Sukrosono feels it impossible to think and speak in another language in this situation, except the language of the moon. He is shocked that he is suddenly able to speak the language of the moon. And it is the words of the moon that emerge from his heart, without him understanding their meaning.
"Why did you come here?" the demon asked.
"I want to return to the mother moon," replied Sukrosono.
"Why do you want to return to the moon?" the demon demanded.
"I want to sweep the moon," said Sukrosono.
"There is no dirt on the moon, why do you want to sweep it?"
“I see a small patch of darkness on the moon. I have to clean it.”
"Impossible. The moon is entirely bright. How can there be darkness in it?”
“I am that small patch of darkness. I want to be completely bright. So I have to clean myself. That is why I meditate here in this place, in order to rid myself of my darkness."
This is the truest answer Sukrosono can give. As soon as Sukrosono does, he turns into the moon. He has truly achieved the state of candrarupa, a person in the form of the moon. Darkness has disappeared from him. Now he truly feels that he has returned to the mother moon.
"I want to be part of you," said the mighty demon.
"I don't know you yet, why should I want you to be a part of me?" said Sukrosono.
“Both you and me have mothers of the moon. You are Candrarupa, the visage of the moon. And I am Candrabhairawa, the power of the moon. That is my name, and I will tell you who I am."
Also read:
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (48)
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (47)
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (46)
The demon named Candrabhairawa then continued his story.
Thousands of years ago, I do not know when, the gods gathered to seek the water of life, tirta amerta. Whoever obtains it will be spared death and destruction. It turned out that tirta amerta was in Ksiranarwa, an immeasurable expanse of an ocean of milk. The ocean of milk must first be stirred and mixed in order to find tirta amerta. No implement could be used to stir Ksiranarwa other than Mount Mandara, on Sangka Island. Mount Mandara is the mountain of the moon. The moon never stopped glowing and was able to emerge from the ocean, even on Sangka Island. The moonlight glowed, adding to the beauty of Mount Mandara. There was no longer any difference between day and night.
The inhabitants of Mount Mandara were demons numbering in the thousands. These demons lived in peace and were happy because of the moonlight. They were moon demons, and their heads could turn into moons at any time. When that happened, Mount Mandara truly became an incomparably beautiful mountain of moons. The demons of Mount Mandara were thus called Candrabhairawa, the mighty power of the moon.
The demons heard that the gods wanted to uproot Mount Mandara to be used to stir up the ocean of milk in order to obtain tirta amerta, the water of immortality. Of course, the demons objected and wanted to fight the gods. However, they thought they should simply relent and instead help stir the ocean of milk. Who knows that they might even be able to steal the tirta amerta from the gods.
This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.
