Mahendradatta, known as Gunapriya Dharmapatni, was the queen of Bali and wife of Udayana Warmadewa, popularly known as King Udayana from Warmadewa dynasty.
12 Facts About Mahendradatta
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Mahendradatta was a Javanese princess of the Eastern Javanese Isyana Dynasty, the daughter of King Sri Makutawangsawarddhana of the late Mataram Kingdom period.
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Mahendradatta was later betrothed to Balinese King Udayana and moved to the island as his wife and assumed the name Mahendradatta.
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Mahendradatta's marriage to Mataram's vassal, the Balinese Warmadewa family was a political arrangement to seal Bali as part of the Eastern Javanese Mataram realm.
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Mahendradatta conceived her first son, Airlangga, in her 30s, quite late of age for women in ancient Java and Bali.
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However, there is speculation suggesting that Mahendradatta was probably already married before Udayana.
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Historical sources seem to be silenced on Mahendradatta's suspected earlier marriage, that it might be a scandal or not even taken place.
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Mahendradatta was known to be promoting the cult of Durga in Bali, and curiously later associated with the Balinese legend of the evil witch Rangda, which translates to "widow".
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The Balinese folklore more or less mentions the life story of Mahendradatta linked with the Balinese mythology of Rangda.
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Mahendradatta summoned all the evil spirits in the jungle, the, and the demons that caused plague and death in the kingdom.
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Mahendradatta proceeded to take her revenge by killing off half the kingdom with a plague before being overcome by a holy man.
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Mahendradatta was believed to bring the cult of Durga to Bali from Java.