Sumantri is aware that this fighting will continue without any winner. It all has to end. Otherwise, when will the fighting stop? Deep down in his heart he understands that this fighting will stop if he admits defeat and accepts the supremacy of Prabu Arjunasasrabahu. But he does not want to do that. To admit his defeat, he is ashamed, not before Prabu Arjunasasrabahu, but before Dewi Citrawati. He is confident that the king of Maespati will forgive him. However, won't this only belittle him in front of Dewi Citrawati?
Now he fully realizes that he fights not for the pride of a warrior who wants to test the greatness of his lord but for a woman who has captured his heart. This fighting is a blindness that must be borne by people who are in love. It turns out that he is risking his life not for the ambition he dreamed of when he was in Jatisrana. He even has the courage to give his life to the feeling of love, the end of which is unknown. It is not the meditation that has opened this all up. It is the fighting, as he wrestles with risking his life, that reveals who he really is.
Also read:
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (100)
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (99)
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (98)
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (97)
“Why does my journey have to end like this?” Despite the fact that he knows, Sumantri is ashamed to accept that he has been blinded by love. He rejects it, but he also doesn’t know any other reason why he is determined to fight for the king he wants to serve. The more he rejects it, the more he has to accept that fact that indeed it is the blindness of love that has put him at war with Prabu Arjunasasrabahu. He is angry with himself. And when his anger reaches its peak, he draws his ultimate weapon, the Cakrabaskara arrow. His father's advice was that the weapon should only be used when he was on the verge of danger. Now he lets it go, because he is in danger, not a danger that will take his life, but a danger that has blinded him because of love. Blindness cannot be controlled, so Cakrabaskara shoots the gandewa bow of his anger.
The arrow shoots like lightning. Its flashes are almost invisible. What is visible is only the tip of the cakra, which spins like a wheel. Piercing the wind, the spinning of the Cakrabaskara wheel makes a thunderous sound that is no less powerful than the sound of the wheels of a chariot. Then the cakra burns, red like the sun that has been released, afterward circling around looking for its prey. Not long after that, Cakrabaskara hits the body of Prabu Arjunasasrabahu. The Maespati king falls, along with his chariot, which is shattered by Cakrabaskara. His horses are barely traced anymore. Everyone thinks that Prabu Arjunasasrabahu has died. They cheer and congratulate Sumantri. And Sumantri feels that the king of Maespati has died at his hands. He smiles. Now he is the one who has Dewi Citrawati.
Therefore, if he is injured by human activities, he can destroy what he cares for.
However, their eyes widen when they see that in the middle of the pile of rubble, something is moving. At first it appears like disheveled hair. Then emerges the head of a giant with a spooky face. His teeth and fangs are grinning sharply. The more the giant's head sticks out, the more visible its squirming body becomes. The body grows bigger and bigger and continues to rise and rise, as if it will never stop. So now he has become a giant. Hit by the Cakrabaskara arrow, Prabu ArJunasasrabahu has undergone tiwikrama (transformation) into a giant that resembles a large mountain. He who used to be patient and gentle has now become a cruel and terrifying giant. It is as if there is no trace that he was the king of Maespati, who was famous for being forgiving and generous. Because he has been injured by Cakrabaskara, he shows who he really is. He is Batara Wisnu, who cares for the world. Therefore, if he is injured by human activities, he can destroy what he cares for. In his gigantic body, now, he has nothing else to show but his ruthlessness.
The giant's head moves to the right and to the left. Each time it moves, the head turns into multiple other heads. He growls viciously with a thousand mouths of fury. His voice is frightening, deafening. All eyes know he is angry and is looking for Sumantri, who has hurt him. He steps, and every time his foot hits the earth, the ground swells and trembles. His steps cause a powerful earthquake. The battlefield that was once beautiful is now very scary. Everyone struggles to run. The women lift their skirts up high and flee without feeling ashamed. They even dare to be naked, as long as they can avoid the giant that horrifies them. The giant is not actually chasing them, but they think they are being chased by him. Indeed, it seems the giant is willing to swallow anyone. The fact is that he is looking for Sumantri.
Sumantri runs as fast as he can. He feels that the giant is behind him, but in fact, in the thousand steps he has run, the giant has not made a single step. Sumantri runs to the forest and looks for a hiding place behind the trees. The giant’s nose is keen. Indeed, as soon as he catches the smell of humans, the only thing he knows is that he has to carry out tadah kalamangsa (consumption), swallowing them without a trace. He chases after Sumantri, uprooting big trees, just like pulling grass. Trees of all sizes fall. The forest animals are confused, then run helter-skelter.
Out of the forest come elephants, rhinos, lions, tigers, bulls, snakes, deer and monkeys together. The beasts are let loose, running into the field where the fighting took place. Men and women who were afraid before are now gripped by mortal terror. Their fear is misplaced. The animals do not want to prey on humans. The forest beasts do not know what to do except run aimlessly because their jungle is being ravaged by a raging giant.
The green foliage of Gandapurnama forest has almost been leveled to the ground. Many trees have fallen because the giant is in fury he can no longer control. Where can Sumantri hide once the forest has been leveled? There is no longer a tree that can cast a shadow over him. Everywhere the human eyes will be able to catch him, let alone the eyes of the enormous giant that can see everything.
(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo)
