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| Kalingga royal heritage temple |
The history of the Kalinga kingdom is an Indian-style kingdom. Not much can be known from this kingdom because historical sources are also almost nil and the majority of records about the history of the Kalingga kingdom are obtained from Chinese stories. Its leader, Queen Shima, is also known for her cruel rule where anyone caught stealing will have their hands cut off.
The Beginning of the Establishment of the Kalingga Kingdom
The beginning of the establishment of the Kalingga Kingdom is estimated to have started in the 6th century to the 7th century. The name Kalingga itself comes from an ancient Indian kingdom called Kaling, suggesting that there is a link between India and Indonesia. Not only is the exact location of the capital city of this area unknown, but historical records from this period are extremely rare. One of the places suspected of being the location of the capital city of this kingdom is Pekalongan and Jepara. Jepara is suspected because of the Keling district on the north coast of Jepara, while Pekalongan is suspected because of its past when the kingdom was first built, which was an ancient port. Some people also have the idea that Pekalongan is a name that has changed from Pe-Kaling-an.
History of Kalingga Kingdom – The First Hindu-Buddhist Kingdom in Central Java
In the year 674, the Kalingga kingdom was ruled by Queen Shima who was famous for its cruel rule against theft, which forced the Kalinga people to be honest and always side with the truth. According to the stories that developed in the community, one day a king from a foreign country came and placed a bag filled with gold at a crossroads in Kalingga to test the honesty and truthfulness of the famous Kalingga people. It is recorded in history that no one dared to touch the bag of gold that did not belong to them, for at least three years until Shima’s son, the crown prince accidentally touched the bag with his foot. Hearing this, Shima immediately sentenced his own son to death. Hearing Shima’s sentence, some people begged Shima to just cut off his leg because it was his leg that was at fault. In some stories, these people even asked Shima to just cut off the finger from his son.
In one incident in the history of the Kalingga kingdom, there was a turning point where this kingdom was converted to Islam. In 651, Ustman bin Affan sent several envoys to China while on a mission to introduce Islam to this foreign area. In addition to China, Ustman also sent some of his envoys to Jepara, formerly known as Kalingga. The arrival of the envoy, which occurred in the period after Queen Shima stepped down and was replaced by Jay Shima, caused the king to embrace Islam and was also followed in his footsteps by several Javanese nobles who began to leave their original religion and embrace Islam.
Like most other kingdoms in Indonesia, the Kalingga kingdom also fell behind when the kingdom collapsed. Of all the relics that have been found, there are 2 temples named Wind temple and Bubrah temple. Candi Angin and Candi Bubrah are two temples found in Keling, precisely in the village of Tempur. Wind Temple got its name because it has a high location and is older than Borobudur Temple. Bubrah Temple, on the other hand, is a half-finished temple, but is the same age as the Angin temple.
