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STORIES · THE MAHĀBHĀRATA · Southeast Asia · regional retelling

Dewa Ruci (Sunan Kalijaga's Sufi Mahabharata tale)

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Java's Mahabharata hero Bima meets a tiny god inside the sea in a Sufi parable.

A branch story attributed to Sunan Kalijaga, one of Java's nine saints, said to teach Islamic Sufism. Jimat Kalimasada, the Pandavas' sacred talisman, is another branch story with a title echoing the Muslim declaration of faith (kalimah syahadat).

Who: Bhima, Dewa Ruci, Sunan Kalijaga

Places: Java

Where this comes from

• folk-oral · Jakarta Post: Mahabharata Javanese stories
• commentary · Walisongo journal: Wayang Mahabharata and Islamic dakwah

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