Gathotkaca in the Kasantikaning Raga Manuscript: The Transformation of the Great Epic Mahābhārata and the Reception of the Wayang Tradition in Yogyakarta

This article discusses the traces of the transformation of the Mahābhārata epic in the play script of the Yogyakarta style wayang writing tradition, entitled Kasantikaning Raga. Mahābhārata as a major epic has experienced a long journey from India to Java, Indonesia. As a result of this transformation process according to space and time, various kinds of narrative texts and performances have been produced, such as shadow puppets (wayang), dramas, and theatrical performances. Arriving in Java, the text of the epic turned into a narrative of wayang plays. Kasantikaning Raga is a manuscript from Yogyakarta written in the early 20th century, which tells the story of Gathotkaca, a great hero belonging to the Pandhawa family in the Mahabarata, who becomes the main character in the formation of wayang purwa plays combined with elements of local myths, ideologies, ecology, and cultures in Yogyakarta’s cultural area. Gathotkaca plays an important role as the center of the story that carries certain messages, characteristics of local culture and ecological markers. As a part of the transformation, this manuscript has been adapted by the Yogyakarta dalangs into parts of wayang plays.