I-TSING, a Chinese priest, stayed for six months in Sriwijaya to deepen Sanskrit before leaving for India. He witnessed many religious centers shaped temples in Sriwijaya, especially as a place of study.
In addition to news from I-Tsing, the existence of educational institutions in the Hindu-Buddhist era is recorded in inscriptions, reliefs and literary works. At that time, education was closely related to religion.
For example, in Hindu environments, education is dominated by brahmins. There are at least two teaching systems, namely within the palace and in the ascetic system. The education system of the palace is done by the way the teacher visits the students. While in the hermitage system, students usually come to the teacher.
The picture of education within the palace can be found through the story of puppetry. In the book Mahabharata, known figure Drona who is a teacher of Kurawa and Pandawa. He taught the art of warfare, in which Arjuna became his favorite disciple.
In Nusantara, the existence of teachers in the palace, most known after entering the period of East Java. For example, during the Kadiri period, King Jayabhaya was known to have a companion who became his teacher. This information is contained in the Hantang Inscription (1135 AD).
The teacher, according to Supratikno Rahardjo in Javanese Civilization, is called pangajyan sri maharaja mpungku naiyayikadarsana-samreddhi-karana bhairawa-margga-nugamandha-yogiswara. It means "the teacher of the king, the master who is adept at practicing yoga by way of bhairawa, which leads to the perfection of perfection according to the flow of Nyaya."
So is Raja Kertanagara. The last king of Singhasari was attacked by the ruler Glang Glang, Jayakatwang, while in the middle of drunkenness. According to Suwardono, the historian of Malang, Kertanegara when it was held Tantrayana ceremony. The difficulty of this tantric ceremony makes the adherents should be supervised by the teacher as a companion.
"Read Gajah Mada Inscription, many priests and patihs died with Kertanagara. The priest who? Yes it was those who joined the ceremony, "he explained.
Presumably, the teachers in the palace have different functions, as Drona is an art teacher of war.
According to Supratikno in the literary work there is a term to refer to people who perform duties in the field of religion. For example, the pilgrim in Nagarakrtagama, is thought to point to the wiku who served in the palace. This position is not obtained by birth, but rather the choice of life.
"For anyone who wants to be a wiku, he is required to undergo a kind of initiation under the leadership of a person who has advanced in the spiritual life," explained Supratikno.
There is also the term kawi, the class of poets. More broadly, the term kawi refers to those who study the books and are proficient in it.
Outside the palace, in the ancient texts, there are so-called karsyan, patrons, and mandalas. In Nagarakrtagama, the three terms refer to a group of buildings that serve as centers of religious education. All three are solitary places and places of worship of ancestors and gods.
Agus Aris Munandar, archaeologist of the University of Indonesia, in Archeology Pawitra interpret karsyan as a place of rituals of rsi, which is usually located on the slopes of the mountain or other solitary places. While the mandala is a rsi village.
Dwi Cahyono, a lecturer of history at Malang State University, said that the mandala kadewagurwan area is usually equipped with semi-permanent buildings (srama or asrama) for students (sisya) and teachers (acarya).
"If the location in the forest, then comes the title wanasrama," explained Dwi.
Among the rsi, many are elderly. In the concept of Vedic teachings, someone who already has the first grandchild is encouraged to leave the bustling world into a hermit. At that time they entered in the life phase of wanaprastha (living in the forest).
Not only elderly people who solitude for the sake of deepening knowledge. Young people do the same. Like Airlangga, the ruler of Kahuripan. The Pale Inscription (1042 AD) describes, the king began his political career after living his life in an ascetic environment. For two years he studied spiritual practice at Mount Pucangan, which is on the border of Lamongan and Jombang.
Pucangan is one of the seven places of rsi meditation in the Majapahit era as mentioned in Nagarakrtagama. The other six are Mount Penanggungan (Pawitra), Sampud, Rupit, Pilan, Jagadhita, and Butun.
Wanasrama is also depicted in the temple relief. "On the reliefs of Parthayajna story on the terrace of 2 temples Jajaghu for example, depicted wanasrama on the slopes of the mountain specifically for the hermits of women or tapini, tapasi," said Dwi.
Both in karsyan and mandala kadewaguruan, tapa is the subject matter of the lesson. Hence the place later in the younger period is known as "the place of perfection" or which became the forerunner of the padepokan.
Not just religious affairs, kadewaguruan mandala also teach life science. For example, life skills and policies as a provision to live social life. Nor is adaptation to the environment, thought, art, kanuragan, mental, and so on.
In Drawing Upside Captions in the Relief of Majapahit Temples, Lydia Kieven writes that the hermit tradition living in remote areas has increased at the end of the Majapahit period. Their social status soared.
"Most likely, pilgrims from all parts of society, especially members of the aristocracy and even kings, retired to ascetics in search of spiritual knowledge and power," Lydia wrote.
The remoteness of the mountain attracts pilgrims who seek solitude for inspiration and understanding of religious knowledge. For example, in Mount Penanggungan, in addition to meditating after retreat from worldliness, the rsi also receive pilgrims who seek religious discourse.
While from the neighborhood of pilgrims, many of them are members of the royal family or wealthy families who may also be donors of shrines. "The hermitage is central to the solitude of the world and the center of religious teaching," he asserted.
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