Pararaton
old Kawi literary classic
The Pararaton (Book of Kings), also known as the Katuturanira Ken Angrok (Story of Ken Angrok), is a 16th-century Javanese historical chronicle written in Kawi (Old Javanese). The comparatively short text of 32 folio-size pages (1126 lines) contains the history of the kings of Singhasari and Majapahit in eastern Java.
The Pararaton opens with a formal incarnation of the founder of the Singhasari kingdom (1222–1292), Ken Arok (or Ken Angrok). Almost half of the manuscript is the story of Ken Arok's career before he acceded to the throne in 1222. This part is mythical. There then follows several shorter narrative fragments in chronological order. Many of the events recorded here are dated. Towards the end, the pieces of history become shorter and shorter and are mixed with genealogical information concerning the members of the royal family of the Majapahit empire.
Since the oldest colophon in the manuscripts contains the date 1522 Saka (1600 AD), the final part of the text must have been written between 1481 and 1600 AD.
Title
This chronicle is most commonly known as the Pararaton, a title which does not appear in the body of the text, but only in the colophons of around half of the surviving manuscripts. The body of the text itself begins with the statement: "Thus follows the Story of Ken Angrok" (nihan katuturanira Ken Angrok), which indicates that this was the original title of the text or at least of its first part, which focuses on Ken Angrok's life.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Pararaton” is old Kawi literary classic. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Pararaton, Kawi and literary, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “old Kawi literary classic” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1293647. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1126, 1222, 1292 and 1522.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Pararaton”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Pararaton primary sources, Pararaton archive and Pararaton research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pararaton”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Pararaton” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.