Introduction
As early as the first century, Southeast Asia was the hub of land and sea routes connecting the civilizations of India and China. Along with the Indian traders, came priests, warriors, and princes. After which, in the 8th century, centralized kingdoms emerged in Java, Sumatra, Cambodia, Burma, as well as along the central and south coasts of Vietnam. During this time both Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced in this region with Indian cultural and political models adopted. The more prominent and large temples were built by kings to legitimize their political standings and to assert their power and protection in the name of God in their respective kingdoms. Temples were built as homes of God and not for religious congregations. Every king in power built the grandest temple, to be more regal than the previous, making visible his ability to harness the energy and resources to construct the temple. Thus his temple would be the only place that a God would consider “residing” in.
In this series of posts, I will be covering the more popular ancient temples that are still standing and many still used actively as temples today. The series is divided into four parts - Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Each post covers the history and architecture of the most prominent temples in the respective countries.
Borobudur, Prambanan, Dieng Temples
There are many ancient temples scattered around Indonesia but the most popular ones are Borobudur and Prambanan both located in Central Java not far from the city of Yogjakarta. While you’re in the vicinity, another ancient temple site that is worth a visit is Dieng temples located in Dieng Plateau.
The largest Buddhist monument in the world, Borobudur was built in the 7th century during the reign of the Sailendra Dynasty that ruled Java for around five centuries until the 10th century. After its construction which took an estimated 75 years, the site was abandoned in the 15th century for unknown reasons until it was rediscovered by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles the British Governor of Java in 1814, buried under volcanic ash and overgrown vegetation. Unfortunately after its discovery, the site also fell into the arms of souvenir hunters. Many of the Buddhas were decapitated and shipped out to mansions and museums throughout the world, some even with colonial-government consent. In 1896 King Chulalongkorn of Siam visited Java was allowed to take home eight cartloads of sculptures taken from Borobudur. This included a number of relief panels, Buddha images, and statues. Several of these artifacts are now on display in Bangkok National Museum. The Dutch government initiated and carried out the first restoration works between 1907 - 1911 but it was only partially completed. Finally, in the 1960s the Indonesian government and UNESCO launched a massive campaign to save and restore Borobudur. Some of the stolen and missing artifacts were returned and the site was carefully cleaned and rebuilt piece by piece.
Relief carved on the walls of the temple is divided into four main stories, mainly about the Buddha’s life journey and values. Interestingly, the reliefs also recorded the progress of Javanese society at that time.
Borobudur’s architecture is believed to revolve around the principles of Buddhism. The kamadhatu (sphere of desires where we are bound to our desires) is represented by the base, the rupadhatu (sphere of forms where we abandon our desires but are still bound to name and form) by the five square terraces, and the arupadhatu (sphere of formlessness where there is no longer either name or form) by the three circular platforms as well as the big stupa. The structure as a whole is a unique form of ancestor worship, the idea of a terraced mountain may be related to the Buddhist ideal of attaining Nirvana. When viewed from afar the temple resembles a single large stupa.
Much is unknown about Borobudur, because there are no records of construction or intended purpose of this structure found to this day. One of which is the chosen locality of this temple. Borobudur is located in an elevated area 265m above sea level between two volcanoes Mount Sundoro and Mount Merapi, and two rivers, the Progo and the Elo. It was later discovered two other Buddhist temples, Pawon and Mendut are positioned along a straight line from Borobudur. It is believed a ritual relationship between the three temples must have existed. Another mystery that remains unanswered is the origin of its name Borobudur. It is unclear what was the actual given name or how the name Borobudur was derived, thus its origins are limited to some speculative theories.
In 1991, Borobudur was given the UNESCO World Heritage Site status and continues to be a Buddhist pilgrimage site.
Prambanan archaeological park consists of Prambanan, Candi Lumbung, Candi Bubrah, and Candi Sewu. Though Prambanan which is a Hindu Temple, is the main landmark of the park, the other three temples are Buddhist temples and built before Prambanan temple, Sewu being the oldest followed by Bubrah and Lumbung. Built between the 8th to 9th centuries during the reign of Rakai Pikatan of Mataram Kingdom, it has a similar history to Borobudur. This site was also left neglected after the move of the capital to eastern Java around the 11th century. The temple was left buried under Mount Merapi volcanic debris and damaged by massive earthquakes. It was then rediscovered in the 19th century during British rule. No serious restoration effort was started until the 1930s and the main temple's restoration was completed in stages in 1953, 1987, and finally in 1991. To this day restoration works are still being carried out throughout the site.
Prambanan was built in the mid 9th century, it is famously tied to the Legend of Roro Jonggrang hence also carries the name Roro Jonggrang among the locals. The Prambanan temple compound consists of 240 temples and is divided into 3 zones, each zone surrounded by a wall. The outer zone is without temples, probably where the temple authorities and priests would have lived. The middle zone contains 224 small pervara temples of which only 2 have been reconstructed, while the others remain scattered piles of stones. The innermost zone consists of 8 main temples and 8 smaller shrines, each of which has been reconstructed.
In the inner zone, 3 of the largest temples are dedicated to the Trimurti of Hinduism: Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. The middlemost prominent temple measuring 47 meters high is dedicated to Shiva. It has 4 chambers in the cardinal directions. The eastern chamber contains a ten-foot statue of Shiva, the north chamber has a statue of Shiva's consort Durga Mahisasuramardini depicting Durga as the slayer of the Bull demon, the west chamber houses a statue of Shiva's son Ganesha, and the south is occupied by Shiva's teacher, the sage Agastya. The temple is adorned with panels of bas-relief sculptures telling the story of the Hindu epic the Ramayana and the Bhagavata Purana. The two other main shrines, dedicated to Vishnu on the north and Brahma on the south side of the Shiva shrine are both identical measuring 33 meters tall. Directly parallel to these 3 main temples are 3 smaller temples dedicated to the “vahana” of each god, the Garuda, Nandi, and Hamsa. Vahava is a mythological animal figure that provides protection, companionship, and transportation to its respective god.
Photo Tip: Before entering the temple's courtyard from the main road, take a turn to the south. From this spot, you can take a picture of the main temples with a mahogany tree as the foreground. This spot is also called the Bu Ani spot.
Good to know: If you want to see both Borobudur and Prambanan, you can buy a single ticket that covers both sites and is less expensive (USD 45). The ticket also includes a free shuttle service from Prambanan to Ratu Boko, which is well worth a visit.
Dieng Plateau with an elevation of 2,060m above sea level is a volcanic area consisting of sulphuric lakes and hot springs. Known for its chilly climate, Dieng Plateau has an average temperature of 14°C. The Dieng temple complex is among the oldest standing structures built in Java. It houses 8 small Hindu temples, estimated to have been built in the mid 7th to 8th century by the Kalinga Kingdom. Due to the scarcity of data and inscriptions connected to the construction of these temples, the history, the king responsible for the construction, and the real name of the temples are unknown. Hence the locals have named the temples after the characters of Mahabharata epic.
The temples are organized into three clusters: Arjuna, Dwarawati, and Gatotkaca. The exception to this is the Bima temple, which was built as a separate single temple. All the temples are dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The temples all have a single chamber inside, with one entrance. Some have an extended entrance, creating a small entrance hall towards the chamber. The temples are raised on plinths and have a pointed structure rising above the chamber depicting a mountain.
The Arjuna cluster is the largest compound which is also the most intact. It has 4 temples lined up from north to south - Arjuna, Srikandi, Puntadewa and, Sembadra. Beside (to the west) the Arjuna temple, is the 5th temple in this cluster, the Semar temple.
The Dwarawati, and Gatotkaca clusters originally had 4 and 5 temples respectively, only one each remains today. Other temples in these clusters have fallen into ruins.
Finally, the Bima temple is a single temple on its own situated on a hill. It is the largest and tallest amongst the Dieng temples. The architecture of this temple is unlike most of the temples found in Central Java but more similar to Hindu temple architecture found today. The temple has a square base plan with the facade on each side slightly protruding out. The front facade protrudes slightly more, serving as a porch before entering the temple's main chamber. Facades on the other three sides have small openings like a pigeon hole where originally, statues were stored. Currently, all openings are empty. The roof of the temple consists of 5 levels, with each level are decreasing in size upward with a missing pinnacle.
The Dieng structures were small and simple, but stone architecture advanced rapidly in just a few decades, yielding masterpieces like the Prambanan complex and Borobudur.
Continue with Part 2 at the link below:
Interesting and informative. Good job!
Brilliant!!!
Excellent pictorial guide captured with a sense of history. Thanks
Wonderfully written and so comprehensive! Lovely photos as usual 😃