à Ârë MahÃÂrÃÂja Rakai Kayuwangi Dyah LokapÃÂla à Ârë Sajjanotsavatuá¹ ga was the seventh monarch of the Mataram kingdom of Central Java period (commonly referred to as Mataram kingdom) who ruled between 855 and 885. His birthname was LokapÃÂla, as indicated by the title dyah or pu that precedes it. He was also commonly referred to by his appanage title Rakai Kayuwangi, which means 'Lord of Kayuwangi'. King LokapÃÂla was described as a valiant king who defeated his enemies.
His name at birth was LokapÃÂla (according several inscriptions, such as Shivagrha, Argapura and Wanua Tengah III). In the Mantyasih inscription dated to 907, he is named as Rakai Kayuwangi, while the Wanua Tengah III inscription gives both his birthname LokapÃÂla and his title Kayuwangi.
The name LokapÃÂla is probably linked to the Lokapala, the Hindu guardian gods of directions. The appellation Rakai Kayuwangi is a title, not a personal name; during his reign as king of Java, LokapÃÂla was the Rakai (ancient Javanese title equivalent to a lord or duke) of Kayuwangi district. His regnal title à Ârë Sajjanotsavatuá¹ ga (Sanskrit meaning 'glorious, the highest in joy and virtue') appears in only a few inscriptions, such as the Ramwi inscription.
The Wanua Tengah III inscription states that LokapÃÂla mounted the throne on 8 June 855. According to the Shivagrha inscription issued by King LokapÃÂla on 12 November 856, he inaugurated a grand Shiva temple which is identified by historians as the Prambanan temple compound. According to this inscription, the temple was built to honor Lord Shiva, and its original name was Shiva-grha (the House of Shiva).
According to the Sejarah Nasional Indonesia interpretation of the Shivagrha inscription, LokapÃÂla was chosen as the successor of his father, namely Sang Jatiningrat, which was the title Rakai Pikatan had assumed after he abdicated and retreated as a brahmin. LokapÃÂla was the successor of king Salaá¸Âà « Rakai Pikatan, believed by some from his queen consort Pramodawardhani. The eldest child of Pikatan and Pramodhawardhani was Rakai Gurunwangi Dyah Saladu. However, despite being the eldest, Gurunwangi was not selected as Pikatan's successor. It was Lokapala, the youngest son, that was promoted as the royal successor, because of his heroic merits in defeating his father's enemies, who made a stronghold on the hill of Ratu Boko. However, the family relationships between LokapÃÂla and Salaá¸Âà « are not explicitly stated in any inscription, so this interpretation must remain hypothetical.
King LokapÃÂla reigned for about 30 years, during which time he issued many inscriptions on stone and metal. The historian Wisseman Christie has argued that LokapÃÂla's period one was of initial expansion of the Mataram kingdom into East Java, and increased agrarian productivity coupled with a decline in overseas trade. He was assiduous in granting privileges to a wide range of religious institutions, often in collaboration with other aristocrats. During LokapÃÂla's reign, there appears to have been some resistance to his centralising power; for example, the Wuatan Tija inscription 'records the attempted kidnap of one of Kayuwangi's wives, rakryan MÃÂnak ('the mother of a child') - along with her son dyah Bhà «mijaya â by her younger brother rakryan Laá¹Âá¸Âayan'. He was succeeded by king Tagwas in 17 February 885.