Semiotika komik mahabharata R.A. Kosasih: Internalisasi nilai silih asih, silih asah, silih asuh untuk pendidikan karakter

Abstract

The need for an adaptive bridge for local literacy is becoming increasingly urgent amidst the onslaught of foreign visual cultures and the dominance of conventional literary teaching materials. Stemming from this condition, this study examines the Mahabharata comic by R.A. Kosasih to uncover its narrative structure, semiotic meanings, and the inculcation of Sundanese local wisdom values (silih asih, silih asah, silih asuh), as well as their relevance to students' character education. Utilizing a qualitative descriptive method that integrates multimodal narrative analysis with Roland Barthes' semiotic theory, this study reveals three main findings.First, the comic's narrative plot solidly constructs the dynamics of ethical conflicts and figures of moral exemplarity. Second, the integration of visual elements and verbal texts forms relations of denotation, connotation, and myth that reinforce the concept of locality. Third, the value of silih asih emerges as the most dominant moral foundation, whereas silih asah and silih asuh are occasionally distorted by political intrigues within the story. These findings affirm that R.A. Kosasih's Mahabharata comic possesses significant potential to be utilized as an alternative, character-based learning medium in schools.