Kakawin

Unity in Diversity, the official national motto of Indonesia

thumb|right|300px|Nagarakretagama palm-leaf manuscript. The Nagarakretagama or Nagarakṛtāgama (), also known in Bali as Desawarnana or Deśavarṇana (), is an Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king of the Majapahit Empire. It was written on lontar as a kakawin by Mpu Prapanca in 1365 (1287 Saka year). The Nagarakretagama contains detailed descriptions of the Majapahit Empire during its greatest extent. The poem affirms the importance of Hindu–Buddhism in the Majapahit empire by describing temples and palaces and several ceremonial observances.

Balinese palm-leaf manuscript

Old Javanese palm-leaf manuscript

thumb|512px|Balinese [[palm-leaf manuscript of the Arjunawiwāha kakawin.]]

Kakawin are long narrative poems composed in Old Javanese, also called "Kawi", written in verse form with rhythms and meters derived from Sanskrit literature. Poets used a formalized literary language, rather than the vernacular. Poets composed and performed the poems at the courts of central and east Java kings between the 9th and 16th centuries, and in Bali.

Balinese palm-leaf manuscript

Old Javanese manuscript

Smaradahana, also known as Smaradhana, Asmaradhana, Asmaradahana, Asmaradana, Asmarandhana, or Asmarandana is an old Javanese poem (kakawin) written by Mpu Dharmaja as the eulogy for King Kameçvara of Kediri in early-12th century East Java. The story describes the disappearance of Kamajaya (the Hindu god of love) and Kamaratih (the Hindu goddess of love) from Svargaloka after being burnt by a fire that burst from the third eye of Shiva. Their spirits fall upon the earth where incarnated as human beings, their spirits seduce and inspire lovers' hearts.