The Divine Power of Panembahan Senopati During His Reign in Mataram
He succeeded in placing the basis of Mataram kingdom. Same with other similar kings, Panembahan Senopati was described as the superpower king because he was gifted with the divine power. In the book of Babad Tanah Jawi: Mulai dari Nabi Adam Sampai Tahun 1647 which was arranged by WL Olthof in Netherland in 1941 and translated by HR Sumarsono, there was the minister named Ki Bocar who wanted to know and test the power of Panembahan Senopati. He didn’t want to be controlled by Senopati just like his friends who supported him to take Pajang kingdom.
However, Senopati knew that Ki Bocar who owned keris of Kebo Dengan wanted to challenge him. In the story, Senopati went back to his home and he prepared the strategy. Senopati ordered to the army to keep the gate so Ki Bocar couldn’t enter to his home. Ki Bocar wanted to kidnap Senopati and he used Keris as the weapon. He gave the keris kapok and then disappeared. Ki Bocar went alone and the army guarded the door pretending they didn’t know or witness anything of Ki Bocar.
Inside his home, Senopati was eating and sitting back to back the door. Ki Bocar came in and stabbed Senopati without wasting more time anymore. Senopati was silent because of the weapon pof Ki Bocar couldn’t stab him. Senopati even didn’t look and he kept enjoying his meal. The end of the Keris was blunt and Ki Bocard started to feel exhausted and he fell to the ground. The keris was even stuck on the land. Ki Bocar asked for apology and by seeing it, he accepted Ki Bocar’s mistake.
After promising to be the loyal follower, Ki Bocar went home. Another story about the power of Senopati was when he met Nyi Roro Kidul when he wanted to go back to Mataram. Senopati was mentioned to walk on the water just like on the land. When he arrived at Parangtritis, Senopati was surprised to see Sunan Kalijaga there. He asked for apology because he showed off his power to walk on the water. Sunan Kalijaga reminded Senopati to stop showing off his power.
Another story was when Mataram could conquer Madiun. Panembahan Madiun had a daughter named Retna Jumlah or Retno Jumlah. She agreed to be his wife with the condition. If he was alright after being stabbed by the knife, he could be her husband. Senopati didn’t get hurt at all and his skin was alright after being hurt by the knife and it became blunt due to the divine power of Senopati.