The ideals Sumantri has been pursuing have made him lost. At the end of his dream, he is restless. He has become the Mahapatih of Maespati, why is this all meaningless because of Dewi Citrawati?
By
Sindhunata
·6 minutes read
Sumantri has done whatever was asked of him, so why isn't he the one now lying by the side of Dewi Citrawati? What has the king of Maespati done that he now possesses her? Is it true that love seeks to hurt, to the point where she demands the impossible from Sumantri, whom she loves?
Feeling thus, Sriwedari Garden suddenly appeared in Dewi Citrawati’s mind. She knew that Prabu Arjunasasrabahu would order Sumantri to fulfill her request to move Sriwedari Garden to Maespati. If she knew this, how could she have had the heart to make such a request, so that in the end, Sumantri had to move Sriwedari Garden for her? At first glance, she felt that her request was right. She imagined that it would be impossible to move Sriwedari Garden to Maespati. All were certain to fail at fulfilling her request. That failure was to be her reason to refuse to become the queen of the king of Maespati. She would then have another chance to love Sumantri. But beyond her expectations, Sumantri succeeded in carrying out his task. Sriwedari Garden really was moved to Maespati. This event did not make her happy. She even felt guilty and asked, why was she again demanding a task that was virtually impossible for the person she loved to bear?
The presence of Sriwedari Garden in Maespati has made her realize who she truly is. Sriwedari Garden is the petals of the wijayakusumaflower, and she is its pistil. For so long she had been separated from a part of herself. Sumantri succeeded in bringing her back together with what had been missing. Their coming together told her and reminded her that she is Dewi Sri, whose fate was to marry the king of Maespati as the incarnation of Batara Wisnu. Therefore, it was simply her fate to be wed to the king of Maespati.
However, it turns out that because of Sumantri, freedom awaits outside the path of fate. By nature and fate, she is the wife of the king of Maespati. By freedom, she imagines that her life will be in vain and meaningless without her love for Sumantri. It seems that these two contradictions can never be reconciled, and this has made her feel sore, because it was Sumantri who moved Sriwedari Garden for her. So when Sriwedari Garden stood in Maespati, she said to Sumantri, "Thank you, but just so you know, this event really torments me."
CAHYO HERYUNANTO
-
As for Sumantri, he doesn't even know what to do. He is like the sand blown by the wind, drifting to wherever he will fall. He feels like a banyan tree, firmly rooted in a deep valley with no one else in his loneliness. The tree is strongly rooted in the valley, but if time a very heavy rain should fall, the valley will collapse and the tree will fall. He feels that his loneliness is very fragile, and that he could fall at any moment.
Now he is at the peak of his ideals. He is no longer Sumantri, but Patih Suwondo, the Mahapatih (chief minister) of the Kingdom of Maespati. He not only occupies the highest position of warlord, but is also greatly loved by his king, Prabu Arjunasasrabahu. The king loves him so much that he has handed all matters of the kingdom to him. He has reached the pinnacle of the dignity, majesty and glory of a warrior. Isn't that what he has wanted since he left Jatisrana hermitage? It is. However, in his heart, Sumantri is actually full of doubt. Is all this really the goal of his life? He asks, if it is true that this is the pinnacle of his ideals, why does he feel that his life here is in vain? He feels that he can throw away what has freely gained without a trace of disappointment. He is disappointed that, even at the peak of his ideals he is forced to ask himself, is this really all that you wanted to achieve, until you were willing to leave Jatisrana that gave you peace? He used to believe that his ideals were correct, so why when he has achieved them, his goals aren't what he really wanted to pursue? At the peak of his ideals he finds himself aground, and it is his ideals that have even led to him being cast aside.
The ideals he has been pursuing have made him lost. At the end of his dream, he is restless. He has become the Mahapatih of Maespati, why is this all meaningless because of Dewi Citrawati? When he left Jatisrana, it was unthinkable that he would become restless just because of a woman. The only thing he wanted was to serve as a knight. When he had realized his dream, that was where the Princess of Magada stood and made his heart exhausted. Everything he has achieved will become less, even lose meaning, if his desire for the Princess of Magada is not satisfied.
He does not know whether he has really slipped from his ideals and that he should be ashamed. Or did his ideals still want what he didn't want before, and so he must fulfill this? Both were later denied, when he admits how he has been entangled by love of Dewi Citrawati. He feels that this has absolutely nothing to do with his ideals and his love. That love existed before he wanted to become a knight. That love would still exist and burn even if he had not become such an honored knight in the kingdom of Maespati. Because of that love, he does not feel that he has slipped from his ideals. So it seems as though Dewi Citrawati is saying to him, “If you don't have love, you don't have anything, even though you now have everything.” And a sense of relief washes over him when he becomes certain that it is this love that alleviates his guilt.
