History of the Statue of Arjuna Wijaya

Arjuna Wijaya Statue

Hello friends, if you live in Jakarta, you will often see the Arjuna Wijaya statue which is at the intersection of Jalan MH Thamrin and Jalan Medan Merdeka, right in front of the Indosat building, do you know why this statue was made?

The Arjuna Wijaya Statue or also called the Arjuna Wiwaha Statue or the Asta Brata Statue is a monument in the form of a chariot statue with a copper fountain located at the junction of Jalan MH Thamrin and Jalan Medan Merdeka. The designer of the Arjuna Wijaya Statue is an Indonesian sculptor from Tabanan, Bali, Nyoman Nuarta. This statue was built around 1987, after the state visit of Indonesian President Soeharto from Turkey. The process of making the Arjuna Wijaya Statue was carried out by around 40 artists and the work was carried out in Bandung, West Java.

The Arjuna Wijaya statue depicts a scene in the classic Mahabharata story, where two figures from the Pandawa camp, namely Arjuna holding a bow and Batara Kresna who is a coachman, are riding a chariot headed by an eagle pulled by eight horses which symbolize the eight philosophies of leadership "Asta Brata ". The two of them are depicted in a combat situation against Adipati Karna who comes from the Kaurava camp.

Sculpture Making Background

According to Nyoman Nuarta, the construction of the Arjuna Wijaya statue was motivated by President Soeharto's state visit to Turkey in 1987, where he saw many monuments explaining stories of Turkey's past on the streets of his protocol. President Soeharto realized that he could not find this on the main roads in Jakarta, so he initiated the construction of a monument containing Indonesian philosophy. Through Nyoman Nuarta, finally, the story of the Baratayuda War was used as the idea behind the statue's final form.

"Arjuna Wijaya" itself means "Victory of Arjuna", which tells of his victory in defending his truth and courage, a symbol of appreciation for his warrior qualities. The Arjuna Wijaya statue is a statue which is a symbol that the law must be upheld indiscriminately. This is motivated by one episode in the Bharatayuddha story where Arjuna fights against Adipati Karna who is his own brother. According to Nyoman Nuarta, in the Mahabharata epic, Arjuna was initially hesitant because it was his own brother who he was fighting, but he had to make a decision for the good of more people, he had to defeat Adipati Karna who stood on the side of the Kauravas.

The eight horses pulling the chariot symbolize the eight leadership philosophies according to the universe, which is called "Asta Brata" namely: Kisma (earth), Surya (sun), Agni (fire), Kartika (star), Baruna (ocean), Samirana ( wind), Tirta (rain), and Candra (moon). The appearance of the Asta Brata horses has become a distinct feature of the Arjuna Wijaya Statue, where some of the horse statues show the shape of complete body parts, but some parts of the body are transparent. This shape has become the main attraction for visitors who want to count the number of Asta Brata horses. According to Nyoman Nuarta, the actual number of Asta Brata horse statues is eight, whereas the transparent ones are shadows of the Asta Brata horses.

According to Nyoman Nuarta, the Arjuna Wijaya statue cost around 290 to 300 million rupiahs in price adjustments in 1987. This statue was renovated in early October 2014 and re-opened by DKI Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama on January 11, 2015, accompanied by Nyoman Nuarta and the board of directors of Bank OCBC as the party carrying out the renovation. The statue underwent the addition of a horse's motion shadow, repairs to the fountain installation, and a place to pose at the front of the statue.