The Bhomantaka, or the Death of Bhoma, is a wide-ranging tale of the sweet romance of Samba and Yaj?awati, of the defeat of the demon Bhoma by King Kresna and his minions in a truly monumental battle, and many more incidents and descriptions, a product of the sophisticated literary tradition of early Java. The poem is written in Old Javanese (composed by an author who does not mention his name or that of his king), in an idiom that presents many difficulties for the modern reader. This book contains an edition of the text, a translation, and an extensive explanatory introduction - enough to make the work accessible - and was produced by two senior scholars of Old Javanese experienced in producing readable English translations. It will become apparent in the course of reading that there are still numerous philological problems attached to the text and its interpretation, but on the other hand it is also a fact that it contains many a passage of delightful poetry, philosophical teaching and other cultural information. As a result we get a glimpse of what Java was like perhaps eight and a half centuries ago, and of the thought-world of the Javanese of that age - a world where legendary, mythological or divine beings do battle, and kings march out to restore the welfare of the realm.