[A. G. Maisey]

Thank you for taking the trouble to do that translation Bjorn.

The translation that you have given is more or less the story of Mayadenawa, but this story can vary from teller to teller in the details. I've heard it and read it many times, and I doubt that it has ever been given in exactly the same way every time. It is a very well known story, I reckon everybody over the age of 8 in Bali has heard it many more times than once.


The essence of the Mayadenawa story is that Mayadenawa was a very unpleasant personality, son of a giant & a goddess. He had magic powers. He was what we would call a "shape shifter", his powers permitted him to change form and become one animal or another, or a tree or rock, or in one story he actually becomes a sweet potato.

Anyway, he became more & more powerful and more & more arrogant. He finished up banning religion & the worship of the Gods. This neglect of obligation caused the prosperity of his kingdom to deteriorate and his people to suffer. A priest, Mpu Kolputih got pretty concerned about this so he meditated and asked the Gods for guidance, he was told to go to India in order to seek help.

After Mpu Kolputih (note:- "mpu" or "empu" is a title of respect, in this context nothing at all to do with a keris maker) returned from India an army of heavenly soldiers appeared in Bali, led by Indra, there was a battle between the Heavenly host led by Indra and Mayadenawa's army, Indra's army was stronger, Mayadenawa's soldiers ran away and left Mayadenawa with only his servant.

Mayadenawa waited until it was dark, then he created poisoned water to kill the Heavenly Host, but Indra threw his staff into the earth and created an antidote water.

After this magic powers battle involving water(important to understand that water is the key to Balinese religious belief and society, as it also was in Majapahit), Indra chased Mayadenawa, and Mayadenawa did a bit of shape shifting and changed himself into a number of different things in an attempt to avoid capture or confrontation:- a bird, a goddess, a vegetable, a leaf, and last of all, a rock. As a rock he was unable to move, and Indra shot him with an arrow and killed him.

The death of Mayadenawa is the story that tells of the victory of good over evil, every 210 days this victory is celebrated in Bali as Galungan.

There is a lot more to this story, lots of detail that I do not remember, I've heard it in various ways & forms, but here I've given only the core. I have heard this story many times, I have read it many times. It is pretty close to the brief version given in your translation. However, there is one very big difference, not in any version of the story that I have heard or read. Mayadenawa did not change himself into the statue of an elephant. He always changes himself into a rock.

Not one single time have I heard nor read that Mayadenawa changed himself into a statue of an elephant.


So the next question is just exactly what does "waktra" mean? Gajah is "elephant", but "waktra"?

I do not know the word. Not surprising because after checking I found out it is Kawi (ie, Sanskrit) word that means:- "--- mouth or snout or face or head ---".

I have good contacts in Bali, some family, more than a few friends, apparently if "gajah waktra" is used colloquially it can mean "big head", in the sense of somebody who has an inflated opinion of himself.

Is it reasonable to accept that Mayadenawa did indeed have a very good opinion of himself?

Incidentally, here is a photo of a carving of Ganesha, it was done in the late 1970's, it is Ganesha, it is not Mayadenawa as "Gajah Waktra". Note the nose?