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A series inspired by Gunapriya Dharmapatni, also well known as Queen Mahendradatta from Bali Kingdom in 989 - 1011 AD. Together with her husband, King Udayana Warmadewa, she ruled Bali as a Queen Regnant.

 

She was born in 961 and growing up in Watugaluh palace, East Java. She was a Javanese princess of East Javanese from Isyana Dynasty, the daughter of king Sri Makutawangsawarddhana of late Medang Kingdom period.

She ruled Bali Kingdom together with King Udayana. As a queen, she shared her spouse’s social rank and all the power of a monarch. Her marriage with King Udayana was a political arrangement to seal Bali as a part of Medang realm that was ruled by her brother, Dharmawangsa from Isyana Dynasty. This made her position as powerful as the king’s.

In 990 she conceived her first son, Airlangga, who became a famous hero-king of Kahuripan Kingdom in Java.

She died in 1011 after being exiled and humiliated by her own husband and the whole kingdom for allegedly practicing witchcraft as she was believed to bring the cult of Durga from Java to Bali. The Cult of Durga was linked with sacrifices and black magic. Later on, her story was associated with Rangda, the evil witch in Balinese mythology that means widow. This might be because Rangda is also closely associated with Durga. Kingdom in Java.

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