Antaboga

Antaboga Antabhoga
King of Worldly Serpents
A 19th century Balinese-style drawing by I Ketut Gedé, depicting a Balinese man named Juarsa worshipping Antaboga.
Other names	Anantabhoga (in Kawi)
Javan-Bali scripts	Javanese: ꦄꦤ꧀ꦠꦨꦺꦴꦒ Sundanese: ᮃᮔ᮪ᮒᮽᮧᮌ Balinese: ᬅᬦ᭄ᬢᬪᭀᬕ
Venerated in	Javanism, Sundanism, Balinese Hinduism
Texts	Wawacan Sulanjana

Antaboga (from Kawi Anantabhoga; Javanese: ꦄꦤ꧀ꦠꦨꦺꦴꦒ; Sundanese: ᮃᮔ᮪ᮒᮽᮧᮌ; Balinese: ᬅᬦ᭄ᬢᬪᭀᬕ), or colloquially also known as the Javan Dragon Snake deity is a serpent deity in Javanism and Sundanism (later also adopted in Balinese Hinduism).

Nomenclature

Antaboga was not originally called "Antaboga" natively. But the "Antaboga" nomenclature was derived from Javanese portmanteau term of Antaboga (inherited from Anantabhoga in Old Javanese) during the Hinduization era of Java-Bali, which might possibly be rooted from two Sanskrit words, namely Āṉanta (अनन्त, lit. ' the Divine Snake') and Bhoga (भोग, lit. 'coil').

History

Antaboga was originally a theriolatry form of the native Javans dating back to ancient times or before the arrival of foreign religions (e.g. Hinduism, Buddhism, Islamism, Christianity, etc.) on the native Javan land. It is derived from the actual native Javan dragon snake (Xenodermus javanicus), originally and traditionally venerated in Javanism folk religious belief, widely practiced by the local Javans since pre-Islamic era (before the Islamization of Demak Kingdom, which later transformed as Demak Sultanate). The Javan dragon snake is traditionally worshiped and held significant core values within the native Javanese and Sundanese ethnic communities.

According to the Sundanese historical ancient manuscripts which documented the native Javans' beliefs, Antaboga was responsible for the birth of fertility goddess; one of the examples is as recorded in Wawacan Sulanjana, which mentioned that the Javan fertility goddess emerged from the tears shed by Antaboga that turned into an egg.

After the Islamization of Java era, specifically within the society of Demak Kingdom, the worshiping of Antaboga was legally prohibited and the Demak Javans who still held on to their beliefs started to migrate from Java to Bali to survive their belief system. This migration led the nomenclature emergence of "Antaboga" itself, which assimilated the native Javanese folk belief with the Hinduism; the name itself derived or drew its inspiration from the Balinese Hinduism literature, which retells the story of Śeṣa (one of its names is Āṉanta), later adopted by the Javan-Balinese as the apposite of their own native Javan Dragon Snake-worshipping form.

According to the Demak Javans who have assimilated as the Balinese, Antaboga holds significant contribution in creatures-making process, believed to be the creator of Bedawang, from which all other creations sprang.

Mythology

in Balinese Hinduism

Nagagini speaks to her father, Antaboga.

In Javanese and Balinese Hinduism-based mythology, Antaboga has two offsprings, a male named Bambang Naga Tatmala and a female one named Dewi Nagagini. At the beginning of time, only Antaboga existed. Antaboga meditated and created the world turtle named Bedawang from which all other creations sprang.

in Sundanism

According to Sundanese myth, Antaboga was also responsible for the birth of Dewi Sri, the rice goddess of Java and Bali. According to Wawacan Sulanjana, Dewi Sri emerges from the tears that turned into an egg, shed by Antaboga.

Depictions

Antaboga depicted as a crowned serpent deity decorating a gong in Javanese gamelan set

In Javanese art, Antaboga is often depicted as a crowned serpent. As a divine serpent symbolism, it is applied into ornaments and decorative carvings. Generally it will appear on gong decorations as a symbol of the Javanese dragon. Artefacts of ancient objects are also generally decorated with Javanese dragon figures, such as keris, temple doors, stairs railings and other Javanese ornaments.