Tag Archives: Temples

Prambanan Temple Yogyakarta

Prambanan Temple Yogyakarta is a collection of massive Hindu temples (candi) built by the 10th century Mataram Kingdom, rulers of central Java and defeaters of the Sailendra Dynasty. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, in most any other country constructions on the scale of Prambanan would be quickly designated as a national symbol, but in Indonesia they are somewhat overshadowed by the even more awe-inspiring bulk of Borobudur just next door. The two sites are quite different in style though, with Prambanan being a collection of sharp, jagged pyramids instead of the vast horizontal bulk of Borobudur, and both are well worth a visit.

The Hindu temple complex of Prambanan looks very different than the Buddhist Borobudur

Visiting Prambanan

About 10 miles from Yogyakarta, the main site of Prambanan Temple Yogyakarta contains four temples scattered about a large, landscaped park. Note that some parts of the temple complex are still closed off and undergoing restoration following the May 2006 earthquake.

Candi Lara Jonggrang, or simply Candi Prambanan, is the largest and most-visited of the temples, just to the left of the entrance. While there were 232 temples originally built, most have long since crumbled and the main remaining attractions are the six temples of the central court, richly decorated with carved reliefs. Three of them, known as the Trisakti (“three sacred places”), are particularly important:

Candi Shiva, dedicated to Shiva the Destroyer, is the largest of the six, rising to a height of 147 feet. There are fine reliefs in its forecourt and four chambers with statues. The largest chamber, to the east, contains a statue of Shiva himself, while the south has the sage Agastya, the west his son Ganesh (the elephant-headed) and the north his wife Durga. Durga is also known as Lara Jonggrang (“Slender Virgin”), a legendary beautiful princess turned to stone.

prambanan carving Prambanan Temple Yogyakarta

Pramabanan is full of finely-crafted Hindu imagery

Candi Brahma, to the south, has a statue of Brahma the Creator inside.
Candi Vishnu, to the north, tells the story of Vishnu’s avatar Krishna and has a statue of Vishnu the Preserver inside.

Opposite the three large temples are three smaller temples originally dedicated to the vehicles of the gods. Only the statue of Nandi, Shiva’s bull, has survived.

The stonework at Prambanan is astonishly detailed

Candi Lumbung and Candi Bubrah, two Buddhist temples, are located several hundred feet further north.
Candi Sewu, a large Buddhist temple complex meaning “one thousand temples”, is less than a mile north of the entrance gate and contains a large central temple surrounded by a cluster of smaller ones. The sheer size of the recently renovated and intricately decorated central temple is impressive, but the statue niches are all empty.

sunset stupas Prambanan Temple Yogyakarta

Another night falls on the timeless stupas of Borobudur

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Places of interest in Yogyakarta:

Borobudur Temple

Borobudur International Festival

Tamansari Water Castle

Keraton Yogyakarta

Parangkusumo Beach

Parangtritis Beach

Fruit Garden Yogyakarta

Borobudur Temple Yogyakarta

The sheer scale of Borobudur is breathtaking

Borobudur Temple Yogyakarta is about 40 minutes north of Yogyakarta by car. Built over a period of some 75 years in the 8th and 9th centuries by the kingdom of Sailendra, Borobudur is the largest Buddhist monument in the world.

Constructed out of an estimated 1,600,000 blocks of volcanic stone dredged from the river and assembled solely by human labor, the nine-terraced temple is a representation of the transition towards nirvana and is famed for its 1,500 intricately carved reliefs, covering a total length of four miles end-to-end. The volcanic Mount Merapi, one of the most active volcanoes on Java, can be seen steaming on the horizon directly north of the site.

buddha stupas Borobudur Temple Yogyakarta

The extraordinary stupas of Borobudur

The first archaeological study of the site was initiated in 1814 by Sir Stamford Raffles, the British founder of Singapore. Restored in 1907, the monument suffered from neglect and war and was again heavily restored in the 1970s under the guidance of UNESCO, which designated Borobudur as a World Heritage Site. The massive restoration process involved the removal and refurbishing of over one million blocks, rebuilding the foundation and adding drainage systems.

buddha overlook Borobudur Temple Yogyakarta

A statue of Buddha overlooks a corner of Borobudur

Borobudur Temple Yogyakarta consists of a single stupendously large structure, which can be divided into layers as follows:

The platform at the base of the structure, which was clearly added on later and hides some reliefs, is of uncertain provenance and function. The main theories are that the platform was added to censor reliefs depicting earthly desires or–rather more likely–to buttress the subsiding structure and prevent it from collapsing. A section of the platform has been excavated at the southeast corner, showcasing some of the hidden reliefs underneath.

borobudur stonecarvings Borobudur Temple Yogyakarta

Borobudur is famous for, among other things, its remarkable stone relief carvings

The bulk of the structure consists of four square terraces connected by steep staircases. Each terrace has reliefs in two layers on both sides, recounting the story of the Buddha’s past lives and his enlightenment. The “correct” way to view the reliefs is to start from the east gate (the main entrance) and circulate clockwise.

After the square terraces the structure suddenly opens up to reveal the final four circular terraces. Comparatively plain and unadorned, there are no more reliefs here, just several hundred domes housing half-hidden Buddha statues (many headless, some lost entirely).

The peak of the structure is a central stupa. The two chambers inside the stupa are empty, and it is unclear whether they were empty from the beginning as a representation of nirvana, or whether they originally contained now-lost statues.

central stupa Borobudur Temple Yogyakarta

The view upwards toward the central stupa

On Waisak–Buddha’s birthday (held on the night of the full moon in May)–an elaborate and colorful multi-day Buddhist festival is held at Borobudur, culminating in a candle-lit, five mile procession by monks in saffron robes from the village of Mendut to Borobudur.

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