Ken Arok

Ken Arok, or Ken Angrok, titled Rajasa (died c. 1227), founded the East Javanese kingdom of Singhasari and the Rajasa dynasty. The Pararaton gives him humble beginnings: abandoned as an infant and raised by a thief, he became a notorious thief in Kediri.

The rishi Mpu Lohgawe reformed him and declared him an avatar of Vishnu. Serving Tunggul Ametung of Tumapel, he desired his master's wife Ken Dedes, whom Lohgawe said would bear a royal dynasty. He murdered Tunggul with the kris of Mpu Gandring, seized Ken Dedes, and built a kingdom centered on Singhasari.

To legitimize his rise, he claimed descent from Shiva. Around 1227 his stepson Anusapati killed him with the same cursed blade.