Hikayat Bidasari is a saga or story written with Malay verse verses. The Bidasari story is part of the Syair Buah-Buahan, which is written in Arabic-Jawi script in Malay. The Hikayat Bidasari was also popular in Europe in the 19th century, and was translated into Dutch, and adapted in prose into French.

This Bidasari story tells of a daughter who is the son of King Kumbayat. At one point, the country of King Kumbayat was attacked by Garuda. King Kumbayat also had to hide together with his pregnant queen. In the forest, the queen gave birth to a daughter. However, the princess had to be left by the river in the forest.

The baby daughter of King Kumbayat was finally found by a merchant from Indrapura country. Then the baby daughter was taken by the merchant and made a child and named Bidasari.

Once upon a time in Indrapura country there was a king joking with his empress. The King said that he was willing to remarry if he found a woman who was equal to or more beautiful than the current Empress. The empress began to fear the words of her king. He vowed that if there was a beautiful princess in his country she would be destroyed.

However, the beauty of Bidasari, who had grown up, was heard by the empress. The Empress is worried that the King will meet Bidasari and will marry her. The empress's attempt to find Bidasari was successful. The Empress also took Bidasari into the forest.

There, Bidasari was severely tortured by the Empress. Until finally Bidasari got badly injured. However, Bidasari was saved by her adoptive parents. She was successfully cured and returned to beauty. Bidasari's adoptive parents feared that she would be tortured again by the Empress. So Bidasari was hidden in the forest.

However, one day the King of Indrapura was hunting in the forest, he met Bidasari. The beauty of Bidasari distracted the King of Indrapura. The king of Indrapura remembered what he had said before his empress. If he met a woman who was the same or more beautiful than his queen, he would marry her. Finally, the King of Indrapura married Bidasari.