KAJIAN PALEOGRAFI DAN ISI PRASASTI SARUNGA: TINJAUAN AWAL TERHADAP KEBERADAAN LINGKUNGAN PERTAPAAN MASA JAWA KUNO

NURUL FADILLA B, Dr. Mimi Savitri, M.A.

2021 | Skripsi | S1 ARKEOLOGI

Prasasti Sarunga berangka tahun 823 Saka, merupakan temuan prasasti pertama yang memuat keterangan adanya pertapaan di lereng Timur Gunung Merbabu-Merapi, Cepogo, Boyolali. Prasasti ini tergolong dalam prasasti pendek, yang ditemukan in situ pada tahun 2019. Penyebutan kata pertapaan dan keletakan prasasti yang in situ menjadi indikasi adanya pertapaan dari sebuah komunitas keagamaan di lereng Gunung Merbabu-Merapi pada abad-X. Keberadaan pertapaan dalam Prasasti Sarunga belum dilakukan penelitian lebih lanjut oleh peneliti terhadahulu, sehingga tujuan penelitian ini yaitu untuk mengidentifikasi karakteristik bentuk aksara prasasti, dan meninjau indikasi keberadaan pertapaan berdasarkan keterangan Prasasti Sarunga. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kajian epigrafi yang terbagi atas analisis paleografi dan analisis isi prasasti, yang diawali dengan pengumpulan data melalui observasi lapangan, studi pustaka, dan proses wawancara. Hasil berupa dokumentasi dan deskripsi prasasti digunakan sebagai dasar analisis paleografis aksara, dengan membandingkan Prasasti Sarunga bersama prasasti semasa lain, untuk mengamati karakteristik bentuk aksara yang muncul pada Prasasti Sarunga. Kemudian analisis isi prasasti dilakukan dengan meninjau Prasasti Sarunga dalam konteks waktu penulisan, bahasa yang digunakan penulis prasasti, peristiwa penetapan pertapaan pada masa Jawa Kuno, dan tinjauan terhadap lingkungan penulisan prasasti. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa paleografi aksara Prasasti Sarunga termasuk dalam tipe Aksara Kawi Awal Standar (856-925 Masehi), yang dipahat oleh seorang dengan latar belakang lingkungan keagamaan. Tinjauan terhadap lingkungan Prasasti Sarunga menunjukkan adanya kesamaan pola pendirian pertapaan di pegunungan berdasarkan kosmologi gunung suci, yang dihuni oleh komunitas keagamaan pada masa Jawa Kuno.

Sarunga Inscription, dated from 823 Saka, was the first inscription discovered which included the information about the existence of patapan in the eastern slope of Mount Merbabu-Merapi, Cepogo, Boyolali. This inscription was categorized as a short inscription, and was discovered in situ in 2019. The mention of patapan and the location of the in situ inscription became the indication that there was a hermitage of a religious community in the slope of Mount Merbabu-Merapi in the X Century. No previous research about the existence of patapan in Sarunga Inscription has been done before, therefore this study covers two objectives. The first one is to identify the characteristics of the shape of the inscription script. The second objective is to observe the indication of the existence of the hermitage based on the evidence presented in the inscription. In this study, the writer applied epigraphy method which is divided into paleographic analysis and analysis of the contents of the inscription, starting with collecting the data from field observation, literature review, and interview. Then, the result of the documentation and description of the inscription were reviewed with paleography method. This method compared Sarunga Incription with other inscriptions from the same period to observe the characteristics of the script. Then the analysis of the contents of the inscriptions method was applied by reviewing Sarunga inscription based on its writing time, the language used by the writer, the entry of asceticism in the ancient Javanese era, and review about the environment where the inscription writing process took place. The result of this study shows that the paleography of the script of Sarunga Inscription is categorized as the Standard Early Kawi Script (856-925 CE) which was chiseled by someone with a religious background. The review of the environment surrounding Sarunga Incription confirms the pattern similarity in the establishment of hermitage in the mountain range based on the sacred mountains cosmology, where the Ancient Java's religious communities lived.

Kata Kunci : Prasasti Sarunga, Paleografis, Lingkungan Pertapaan