Prof. Dr. Willem Van Der Mollen
(presented in Sidang Senat Terbuka on March 11th, 2016)
source: http://www.kitlv.nl
For students of classical literature, the question from the outsider asking about why read old texts has frequently addressed to them. There are two reasons to answer this question: out of curiousity about what interested our ancestors and because of universal values. Thus, old Javanese literature apart from arousing the curiousity of historians of literature contains any universal value surpassing the limits of time and context. The analysis of the story of Kaca and Dewayani is probably able to substantiate the claim. It is about the love of Dewayani for a student of her father called Kaca. Kaca does not respond to her love, as his only concern id his studies, by which he hopes to obtain a magic formula that can restore dead people to life.
The story of Kaca and Dewayani makes good reading. There is action, suspense, expectation and misunderstanding, told in a lively be it sober and succinct style. Unanswered love is certainly one of the themes but there are elements pointing in a different direction. While all the caharacters involved are busy pursuing their aims some are most successful than others. Further analysis of the causes leading to these different outcomes lifts us beyond the individual drama of unanswered love to the more general level of selfish and selfless love.
The story of Kaca and Dewayani is an entertaining lovestory, concluding with a tragic end: the expectations of the girl in love are not fulfilled, as she does not get him. Her frustration finally even causes her love to turn into hatred. Love and expectations also play a role in the lives of the other characters in the story. Whether these are realized or not varies in each case. Some do not get what they want, like Dewayani, while others meet with success. Several causes appear to be at work that are responsible for these different outcomes.
One thing the characters in the story have in common is that they all work hard to achieve the goals they have set themselves. They do so with perseverance and great commitment. Out of loyalty for those who engaged him Sukra (the demons) undergoes hardships of his own occord and continues to do so for one thousand years. The demons wishing to kill Kaca repeat their deed when necessary. In Kaca and Dewayani a similar attitude is manifest. Hard work, preseverance, and commitment are basic conditions for success. Everybody in the story seems to understand that and behaves accordingly. But the results show that these conditions are not enough. It is a couple of additional conditions that mke difference: reflection on possible effects and reactions (in order to be effective), honesty (in orer to be taken seriously), and desinterested love (in order to bind). Werhaspati (the gods), Sukra, and Kaca meet these requirements, but the demons and Dewayani do not. Perhaps the most tragic figure is Dewayani. She thinks she is in control but at best she is an instrument for others; she makes a tremendous effort while in fact no effort is needed at all – selflessness is the only thing that matters.
These values are the kind of universal values referred to the Introduction. They are no less relevant today than they were in the days when the story of Kaca and Dewayani was written. It is the kind of literature that contains them that qualifies as universal literature. It is one of the merits of universal literature to keep these values alive and in focus in a pleasant and thought-provoking way.[](denty.red.uns.ac.id)