The word Cura Si Manja Kini comes from a Sanskrit word "Churiga (St) Mandakini"
which means the blade from Lake Mandakini of the Ganges, India.
The Cura Si Manja Kini was the sword of Sang Sapurba (also known as Nila
Utama) who, with his two brother magically appeared on Mount Siguntang
Mahameru. According to the Hikayat Ketinggian Salasilah Perak, the
Sultans of Perak are the descendants of Sang Sapurba whose father was Raja
Suran and whose mother was Putri Mahtab al-Bahari, the daughter of Raja
Aftab al-Ardzi.
This was the sword that Sang Sapurba commanded Permasku Mambang to use to slay
the dragon Saktimuna which was then playing havoc in Minangkabau in Indonesia.
It was this same sword that Parameswara used at his Installation when he became
the first Maharaja of Malacca. The title Maharaja was changed to Sultan
later when Parameswara embraced Islam.
Sultan Mahmud, the
Sultan of Malacca, interested this sword and it was in his possession when he
became Sultan of Kampar, Sumatra after he had escaped from the Portuguese in
1511. He died in Kampar in the year 1530.
Before his
death, he sent his son Raja Mudzaffar, equipped with this sword and some other
articles of the Regalia, to become the first Sultan of Perak. This sword
has since been handed down from one Sultan of Perk to another as a symbol of
power and authority.
