Page 33 - Katut Kaca On Trial

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Gatutkaca on Trial
A C T O N E
SCENE 1: IN THE AUDIENCE HALL OF DWARAWATI
KOMBANGAN:
King Kresna spoke slowly, "Oh, my younger brother the king my heart is sad for I have lost my younger brother. Tell him to pay
his respects to me for he is ruled by me, the one who rules the world in its entirety.
NARRATION:
May silence prevail. Once there was a country which had been the most esteemed of ten countries from the
beginning.
Eka
means "one" or "the first,"
adi
means "esteemed" or "revered,"
dada
means "ten" and purwa means
"from the beginning." Although the creat ions of the gods were many, of all the countries supported by the earth and
flanked by the oceans, none was the equal of Dwaraka, the place where our story opens.
Dwarawati or Dwaraka, the place where our story begins, was the door to the universe. Out of one thousand countries
not one hundred would be its equal; out of one hundred there would not be two like it. The country might be described
by the old adages
"panjang punjung pasir wukir loh jinawi, gema ripah, karta tata tur raharja." "Panjang"
means that the
country was famous;
"punjung"
means high in charisma;
"pasir"
or sand refers to the ocean,
"wukir"
means mountains;
in other words, it was a country backed by mountains, with ricefields to the left and right, containing a large harbor in
front of a great port city.
"Loh"
means that agriculture of all kinds was carried out without hindrance;
"jinawi"
means
that all kinds of merchandise were cheap and readily available.
"Gemah"
means that the citizens who engaged in
commerce could work day and night without stopping for there were no accidents [or robberies] along the highways.
For those who raised cows and buffaloes, there was no need to tie them up; during the day they were scattered about
the fields grazing; at dusk they returned to their stalls by themselves.
"Raharja"
means that the