How Sang-Hyang Sri came to Earth?

Once upon a time there was a Lord "Guru", the chief of all the gods. He decided to build a new meeting place in the sky. He asked all the lesser gods to help him. A god brought wood, another sand, another tiles. Everyone pitched in.

Everyone except Anta (or Anantaboga), the serpent god. Anta really wanted to help, but how? He had no arms, no legs. He could neither carry anything nor build. Reflecting on her situation, Anta shed three tears. When the tears hit the ground, they turned into three large and beautiful eggs.

Seeing the eggs, Lord Guru's brother, the god Narada, suggested that Anta bring them as a gift to Lord Guru, to apologize for not being able to help with the construction. Anta thought that was an excellent suggestion, so he took the three eggs in his mouth and set off for Lord Guru's palace.

Along the way, he met his friend, the bird Garuda.

“Hello, dear Anta! How are you ? »

But Anta couldn't answer, because his mouth was full of eggs. This annoyed Garuda, but he tried again.

“I said, 'Hello', Anta! »

Still no answer. Garuda tried again. And even. No answer. Finally, completely insulted, Garuda attacked Anta, tearing Anta apart with his claws and stabbing Anta with his sharp beak. Anta screamed in pain, and two of the eggs rolled out of her mouth and broke. From each egg, a wild pig hatched and fled. Garuda flew away, his honor satisfied.

Anta took the remaining egg and offered it to Lord Guru, apologizing for not helping in the construction of the temple. Lord Guru accepted Anta's apology and asked him to take the remaining egg and tend to it until it hatched. Anta agreed and took the egg home. After several days, the egg hatched and a beautiful baby girl was born. Anta took the baby back to Lord Guru, who was delighted. Guru gave the baby to his wife and asked her to raise him as their own child. They named the baby Nji Pohatji Sang-Hyang Sri Dang-Yang Tisnawati – “Sang-Hyang Sri” for short.

Sang-Hyang Sri grew into a beautiful young woman, so beautiful that she even caught the attention of Lord Guru. He wanted to marry her.

This horrified the other gods – marrying one's own daughter! Well, his daughter-in-law – actually I'd rather call her Anta's daughter – but still. Everyone in Heaven begged Guru not to do this terrible act, but Guru wouldn't budge. The other gods gathered to discuss the situation and eventually came to the conclusion that in order to stop Guru from breaking the incest taboo, Sang-Hyang Sri must die. Reluctantly, they poisoned her and she died immediately.

But murder is also a sin, and Sang-Hyang Kersa, the most powerful being of all (who usually stays out of things), punished the gods by sending terrible storms to the sky. To appease Sang-Hyang Kersa (and their own guilt), the gods brought Sang-Hyang Sri's body back to earth and buried it in a secluded place.

From his body sprung all the plants that nourish and shelter the Indonesian people: from his head grew a coconut tree; from his nose, lips and ears sprouted spices and vegetables; from her hair, grass and flowering plants; from her breasts, fruit trees; from his arms, teak and other timber trees; of his genitals, of the sugar palm; of her thighs, bamboo. And from his eyes (some versions say his navel) grew the most important crop of all: rice.