Prambanan is a ninth century Hindu temple compound inCentral Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God asthe Creator (Brahma), the Sustainer (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). Thetemple compound is located approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta city on theboundary between Yogyakarta and Central Java province.
The temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largestHindu temple in Indonesia, and is one of the largest and the most beautifulHindu temples in Southeast Asia. It is characterized by its tall and pointedarchitecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47mhigh central building inside a large complex of individual temples. One of themost majestic temples in the Southeast Asia, Prambanan attracts many visitorsworldwide
construction
Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple of ancient Java, andthe construction of this royal temple was probably started by Rakai Pikatan asthe Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty's answer to the Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty's Borobudurand Sewu temples nearby. Historians suggest that the construction of Prambananprobably was meant to mark the return of the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty to power inCentral Java after almost a century of Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty domination.Nevertheless, the construction of this massive Hindu temple signifies that theMedang court had shifted the focus of its patronage from Mahayana Buddhism toShivaist Hinduism.
A temple was first built at the site around 850 CE byRakai Pikatan and expanded extensively by King Lokapala and Balitung Maha Sambuthe Sanjaya king of the Mataram Kingdom. According to the Shivagrha inscriptionof 856 CE, the temple was built to honor Lord Shiva and its original name wasShiva-grha (the House of Shiva) or Shiva-laya (the Realm of Shiva). Accordingto Shivagrha inscription, a public water project to change the course of ariver near Shivagrha Temple was conducted during the construction of thetemple. The river, identified as the Opak River, now runs north to south on thewestern side of the Prambanan temple compound. Historians suggest thatoriginally the river was curved further to east and was deemed too near to themain temple. The project was done by cutting the river along a north to southaxis along the outer wall of the Shivagrha Temple compound. The former rivercourse was filled in and made level to create a wider space for the templeexpansion, the space for rows of pervara (complementary) temples.
Some archaeologists propose that the statue of Shiva inthe garbhagriha (central chamber) of the main temple was modelled after KingBalitung, serving as a depiction of his deified self after death. The presentname Prambanan, was derived from the name of Prambanan village where the templestood, this name probably being the corrupted Javanese pronunciation of"Para Brahman" ("of the brahmins"), doubtless an echo itsheyday when the temple was filled with great numbers of brahmins.
The temple compound was expanded by successive Mataramkings such as Daksa and Tulodong with the addition of hundreds of perwaratemples around the chief temple. Prambanan served as the royal temple of theHindu Kingdom of Mataram, with most of the state's religious ceremonies andsacrifices being conducted there. At the height of the Mataram kingdom, scholarsestimate that hundreds of brahmins with their disciples lived within the outerwall of the temple compound. The urban center and the court of Mataram werelocated nearby, somewhere in the Prambanan Plain.
Abandonment
In the 930s, the court was shifted to East Java by MpuSindok, who established the Isyana Dynasty. An eruption of Mount Merapivolcano, located north of Prambanan in central Java, or a power struggleprobably caused the shift. That marked the beginning of the decline of thetemple. It was soon abandoned and began to deteriorate.
The temples themselves collapsed during a major earthquakein the 16th century. Although the temple ceased to be an important center ofworship, the ruins scattered around the area were still recognizable and knownto the local Javanese people in later times. The statues and the ruins becomethe theme and the inspiration for the Loro Jonggrang folktale. After thedivision of Mataram Sultanate in 1755, the temple ruins and the Opak River wereused to demarcate the boundary between Yogyakarta and Surakarta (Solo)Sultanates.
Rediscovery
The ruins of Prambanan soon after their discovery.
In 1811 during Britain’s short-lived rule of the DutchEast Indies, Collin Mackenzie, a surveyor in the service of Sir Thomas StamfordRaffles, came upon the temples by chance. Although Sir Thomas subsequentlycommissioned a full survey of the ruins, they remained neglected for decades,with Dutch residents carting off sculptures as garden ornaments and nativevillagers using the foundation stones for construction material.
Half-hearted excavations by archaeologists in the 1880smerely facilitated looting. Reconstruction of the compound began in 1918, andproper restoration only in 1930. Efforts at restoration continue to this day.The main building was completed around 1953. Since much of the originalstonework has been stolen and reused at remote construction sites, hamperingrestoration and since a temple can be rebuilt only if at least 75% of theoriginal masonry is available, only the foundations of most of the smallershrines are now visible with no plans for their reconstruction
contemproray
In the early 1990s the government removed the market thathad sprung up near the temple and transformed the surrounding villages and ricepaddies into an archaeological park. The park covers a large area, fromYogyakarta-Solo main road in the south, encompassing the whole Prambanancomplex, the ruins of Lumbung and Bubrah temples, and as far as the Sewu templecompound in the north. In 1992 the Indonesian government created a State-ownedLimited Liability Enterprise (PERSERO) of PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur,Prambanan, dan Ratu Boko. This enterprise is the authority for the parkmanagement of Borobudur Prambanan Ratu Boko and the surrounding region.Prambanan is one of the most visited tourist attraction in Indonesia.
The open-air and indoor stages on the west side of thetemple right across the Opak river, were built to stage the Ramayana ballet.This traditional Javanese dance is the centuries old dance of the Javanesecourt, performed every full moon night in the Prambanan temple since the 1960s.Since then, Prambanan has become one of the major archaeological and culturaltourism attractions in Indonesia.
After the reconstruction of the main temples in 1990s,Prambanan once again reclaim its status as an important religious center forHindu rituals and ceremonies in Java. The religious significance revival ofPrambanan was due to Balinese and Javanese Hindu communities in Yogyakarta andCentral Java that annually perform their sacred ceremonies in Prambanan, suchas Galungan, Tawur Kesanga, and Nyepi.
The temple was damaged during the May 2006 Javaearthquake. Early photos suggested that although the complex was structurallyintact, the damage was significant. Large pieces of debris, including carvings,were scattered over the ground. The temple was closed to visitors until thedamage could be fully assessed. Eventually, the head of YogyakartaArchaeological Conservation Agency stated that it would take months to identifythe precise extent of the damage.[However, some weeks later in 2006 the sitewas re-opened for visitors. In 2008, 856,029 Indonesian visitors and 114,951foreign visitors has visited Prambanan. In 6 January 2009 the reconstruction ofNandi temple finished.As of 2009, the interior of most of the temples remainsoff-limits for safety reasons.
The temple compound
The Prambanan compound also known as Loro Jonggrangcomplex, named after the popular legend of Loro Jonggrang. There are 237temples in this Shivaite temple complex, either big or small. But the majorityof them have deteriorated; what is left are only scattered stones. ThePrambanan temple complex consists of three zones; first the outer zone, secondthe middle zone that contains hundreds of small temples, and third the holiestinner zone that contains eight main temples and eight small shrines.
The Hindu temple complex at Prambanan is based on a squareplan that contains a total of three zone yards, each of which is surrounded byfour walls pierced by four large gates. The outer zone is a large space markedby a rectangular wall. The outermost walled perimieter, which originallymeasured about 390 metres per side, was oriented in the northeast, southwestdirection. However, except for its southern gate, not much else of thisenclosure has survived down to the present. The original function is unknown;possibilities are that it was a sacred park, or priests' boarding school(ashram). The supporting buildings for the temple complex were made fromorganic material; as a consequence no remains occur.
Pervara temple
The two walled perimeters that surround the remaining twoyards to the interior are oriented to the four cardinal points. The secondyard's walled perimeter, which measures about 225 metres per side, surrounds aterraced area that consists of four rows containing 40, 48, 56, and 64pervaratemples. Respectively, each with a height of 14 metres and measuring 6 metres x6 metres at the base, or 224 structures in total. The sixteen temples locatedat the corners of the rows face two directions; the remaining 208 structuresopen to only one of the four cardinal directions.
The middle zone consists of four rows of 224 individualsmall shrines. There are great numbers of these temples, but most of them arestill in ruins and only some have been reconstructed. These concentric rows oftemples were made in identical design. Each row towards the center is slightlyelevated. These shrines are called "Candi Perwara" guardian orcomplementary temples, the additional buildings of the main temple. Somebelieved it was offered to the king as a sign of submission. The Perwara arearranged in four rows around the central temples, some believed it hassomething to do with four castes, made according to the rank of the peopleallowed to enter them; the row nearest to the central compound was accessibleto the priests only, the other three were reserved for the nobles, the knights,and the simple people respectively. While another believed that the four rowsof Perwara has nothing to do with four castes, it just simply made asmeditation place for priests and as worship place for devotees
Shiva temple
The inner zone or central compound is the holiest amongthe three zones. Its the square elevated platform surrounded by square stonewall with stone gates on each four cardinal points. This holiest compound isassembled of eight main shrines or candi. The three main shrines, calledTrimurti ("three forms"), are dedicated to the three gods: Brahma theCreator, Vishnu the Keeper, and Shiva the Destroyer.
The Shiva temple is the tallest and largest structure inPrambanan Loro Jonggrang complex, it measures 47 metres tall and 34 metreswide. The Shiva temple encircled with galleries adorned with bas-reliefstelling the story of Ramayana carved on the inner walls of the balustrades. Tofollow the story accordingly, visitors must enter from the east side and beganto perform pradakshina or circumambulating clockwise. The bas-reliefs ofRamayana continued to Brahma temple galleries.
The Shiva shrine located at the center and contains fivechambers, four small chambers in every cardinal direction and one bigger mainchamber in central part of the temple. The east chamber connect to centralchamber that houses the largest temple in Prambanan, a three meter high statueof Shiva Mahadeva (the Supreme God). The statue bears Lakçana (attributes orsymbol) of Shiva such as skull and sickle (crescent) at the crown, and thirdeye on the forehead, also four hands that holds Shiva's symbols: a prayerbeads, feather duster, and trisula (trident). Some historians believe that thedepiction of Shiva as Mahadeva also meant to personify king Balitung as thereincarnation of Shiva. So, when he died, a temple was built to commemorate himas Shiva. The statue of Shiva stands on lotus pad on Yoni pedestal that bearsthe carving of Nāgaserpents on north side of pedestal.
The other three smaller chambers contain statues of HinduGods related to Shiva; his consort Durga, the rishi Agastya, and Ganesha, hisson. Statue of Agastya occupy the south chamber, the west chamber houses thestatue of Ganesha, while the north chamber contains the statue of DurgaMahisasuramardini depicting Durga as the slayer of Bull demon. The shrine of Durgais also called the temple of Lara Jonggrang (Javanese: slender virgin), after aJavanese legend of princess Lara Jonggrang.
Brahma dan Vishnu temple
The two other main shrines are that of Vishnu on the northside of Shiva shrine, and the one of Brahma on the south. Both temple facingeast and each contain only one large chamber, each dedicated to respected gods;Brahma temple contains the statue of Brahma and Vishnu temple houses the statueof Vishnu. Brahma and Vishnu temple measures 20 metres wide and 33 metres tall.
Vahana temple
The other three shrine in front of three main temples isdedicated to vehicle (vahana) of the respective gods - the bull Nandi forShiva, the sacred swan Hamsa for Brahma, and Vishnu's Eagle Garuda. Preciselyin front of Shiva temple stands Nandi temple which contains a statue of Nandibull, the vehicle (vahana) of Lord Shiva. Besides it, there is also otherstatues, the statue of Chandra the god of moon and Surya the god of sun.Chandra stands on his carriage pulled by 10 horses, and the statue of Suryaalso standing on a carriage pulled by 7 horses. Facing Brahma temple is thetemple of Hamsa or Angsa (sacred swan). In the chamber of this temple containsno statue. But it seems likely that there was once a statue of the sacred swan,vehicle of god Brahma. In front of Vishnu temple is the temple dedicated forGaruda, however just like the Hamsa temple, Garuda temple contains no statue.Probably this temple once contains the statue of Garuda, the vehicle of Vishnu.Garuda holds important role for Indonesia, which serves as the national symbolof Indonesia, also to the airline Garuda Indonesia.
Between these row of main temple, on north and south sidestands two Candi Apit. Beside these 8 main temples, there's also 8 smallershrines; 4 Candi Kelir on four cardinal direction of the entrance, and 4 CandiPatok on four corner
Architecture
The architecture of Prambanan temple follows the typicalHindu architecture traditions based on Vastu Shastra. The temple designincorporated mandala temple plan arrangements and also the typical hightowering spires of Hindu temples. Prambanan was originally named Shivagrha anddedicated to god Shiva. The temple was designed to mimic Meru, the holymountain the abode of Hindu gods, and the home of Shiva. The whole templecomplex is a model of Hindu universe according to Hindu cosmology and thelayers of Loka.
Just like Borobudur, Prambanan also recognize thehierarchy of the temple zones, spanned from the less holy to the holiestrealms. Each Hindu and Buddhist concepts has their own terms, but the concept'sessentials is identical. Either the compound site plan (horizontally) or thetemple structure (vertically) are consists of three zones
Bhurloka (in Buddhism: Kāmadhātu), the lowest realm of common mortals;humans, animals also demons. Where humans still binded by their lust, desireand unholy way of life. The outer courtyard and the foot (base) part of eachtemples is symbolized the realm of bhurloka.
Bhuvarloka (in Buddhism: Rupadhatu), the middle realm ofholy people, rishis, ascetics, and lesser gods. People here began to see thelight of truth. The middle courtyard and the body of each temples is symbolizedthe realm of bhuvarloka.
Svarloka (in Buddhism: Arupadhatu), the highest andholiest realm of gods, also known as svargaloka. The inner courtyard and theroof of each temples is symbolized the realm of svarloka. The roof of thePrambanan temples is adorned and crowned with ratna (sanskrit: jewel), theshape of Prambanan ratna took the altered form of vajra that represent diamond.In ancient Java temple architecture, ratna is Hindu counterpart of Buddhiststupa, and served as the temple's pinnacle.
During the restoration, a well which contains pripih(stone casket) was discovered under the center of the Shiva temple. The maintemple has a well of 5.75 m depth in which a stone casket was found on top apile of charcoal, earth and remains of burned animal bones. Sheets of goldleaves with the inscription Varuna (god of the sea) and Parvata (god of themountains) were found here. The stone casket contained sheets of copper mixedwith charcoal, ashes and earth, 20 coins, jewels, glass, pieces of gold andsilver leaves, seashells and 12 gold leaves (5 of which in the shape of aturtle, Nāgaserpent, padma, altar and egg).
Ramayana andkrishnayana
The temple is adorned with panels of narrative bas-reliefstelling the story of Hindu epic; Ramayana and Krishnayana. The narrativebas-relief panels was carved along the inner balustrades wall on the gallery aroundthe three main temples.
The narrative panels on the balustrade read from left toright. The story started from east entrance where visitors turn left and movingaround the temple gallery in clockwise direction. This conforms withpradaksina, the ritual of circumambulation performed by pilgrims who move in aclockwise direction while keeping the sanctuary to their right. The story ofRamayana started on Shiva temple balustrade and continued to Brahma temple. Onthe balustrades in Vishnu temple there is series of bas-relief panels depictKrishnayana, the story of lord Krishna.
The bas-relief of Ramayana illustrate how Sita, the wifeof Rama, is abducted by Ravana. The monkey king Hanuman brings his army to helpRama and rescue Sita. This story is also shown by the Ramayana Ballet,regularly performed at full moon at Trimurti open air theatre in west side ofthe illuminated Prambanan complex.
Lokapalas ,Brahmin and devatas
On the other side of narrative panels, the temple wallalong the gallery were adorned with the statues and reliefs of devatas andbrahmin sages. The figure of lokapalas, the celestial guardians of directionscan be found in Shiva temple. The brahmin sage editors of veda were carved onBrahma temple wall, while in Vishnu temple the figures of a male deitiesdevatas flanked by two apsaras
The loro jonggrang legend
The popular legend of Loro Jonggrang is what connects thesite of the Ratu Boko Palace, the origin of the Durga statue in northerncell/chamber of the main shrine, and the origin of the Sewu temple templecomplex nearby. The legend tells of the story about Prince Bandung Bondowosowho fell in love with Princess Loro Jonggrang, the daughter of King Boko. Butthe princess rejected his proposal of marriage because Bandung Bondowoso hadkilled King Boko and ruled her kingdom. Bandung Bondowoso insisted on theunion, and finally Loro Jonggrang was forced to agree for a union in marriage,but she posed one impossible condition: Bandung must build her a thousandtemples in only one night.
The Prince entered into meditation and conjured up amultitude of spirits (demons) from the earth. Helped by supernatural beings, hesucceeded in building 999 temples. When the prince was about to complete thecondition, the princess woke her palace maids and ordered the women of thevillage to begin pounding rice and set a fire in the east of the temple,attempting to make the prince and the spirits believe that the sun was about torise. As the cocks began to crow, fooled by the light and the sounds of morningtime, the supernatural helpers fled back into the ground. The prince wasfurious about the trick and in revenge he cursed Loro Jonggrang to stone. Shebecame the last and the most beautiful of the thousand statues. According tothe traditions, the unfinished thousandth temple created by the demons becomethe Sewu temple compounds nearby (Sewu means "thousands" inJavanese), and the Princess is the image of Durga in the north cell of theShiva temple at Prambanan, which is still known as Loro Jonggrang or SlenderVirgin
The Prambanan Plain span between southern slopes of Merapivolcano in the north and Sewu mountain range in the south, near the presentborder Yogyakarta province and Klaten Regency, Central Java. Apart from theLara Jonggrang complex, Prambanan plain, valley and hills around it is thelocation of some of the earliest Buddhist temples in Indonesia. Not far to thenorth are found the ruins of Bubrah temple, Lumbung temple, and Sewu temple.Further east are found Plaosan temple. To the west are found Kalasan temple andSari temple, further to the west are Sambisari temple. While to the south theRatu Boko compounds on higher ground. The discoveries of archaeological sitesscattered only a few miles away suggested that this area was an importantreligious, political, and urban center.
North of the Lara Jongrang complex
Candi Lumbung. Buddhist-style, consisting of one maintemple surrounded by 16 smaller ones.
Candi Bubrah. Buddhist temple still in ruins.
Sewu. Buddhist temple complex, older than Roro Jonggrang.A main sanctuary surrounded by many smaller temples. Well preserved guardianstatues, replicas of which stand in the central courtyard at the Jogja Kraton.
Candi Morangan. Hindu temple complex buried several metersunder volcanic ashes, located northwest from Prambanan.
Other temple The prambanan
Candi Plaosan in Prambanan (9th century).
Candi Plaosan. Buddhist, probably 9th century. Thought tohave been built by a Hindu king for his Buddhist queen. Two main temples withreliefs of Boddhisatva and Tara. Also rows of slender stupas.
South of the Lara Jongrang complex
Ratu Boko. Complex of fortified gates, bathing pools, andelevated walled stone enclosure, all located on top of the hill.
Sajiwan. Buddhist temple decorated with reliefs concerningeducation. The base and staircase are decorated with animal fables.
Banyunibo. A Buddhist temple with unique design of roof.
Candi Barong. A Hindu temple complex with large steppedstone courtyard. Located on the slope of the hill.
Candi Ijo. A cluster of Hindu temple located near the topof Ijo hill. The main temple houses a large lingam and yoni.
Arca Bugisan. Seven Buddha and bodhisattva statues, somecollapsed, representing different poses and expressions.
West of the Lara Jongrang complex
Kalasan. 8th century Buddhist temple built incommemoration of the marriage of a king and his princess bride, ornamented withfinely carved reliefs.
Sari. Once a sanctuary for Buddhist priests. 8th century.Nine stupas at the top with two rooms beneath, each believed to be places forpriests to meditate.
Sambisari. 9th century Hindu temple discovered in 1966,once buried 6.5 metres under volcanic ash. The main temple houses a linga andyoni, and the wall surround it displayed the images of Agastya, Durga, andGanesha.
Gebang. A small Hindu temple discovered in 1937 locatednear the Yogyakarta northern ring-road. The temple display the statue ofGanesha and interesting carving of faces on the roof section.
Candi Gana. Rich in statues, bas-reliefs and sculptedstones. Frequent representations of children or dwarfs with raised hands.Located in the middle of housing complex. Under restoration since 1997.
Candi Kedulan. Discovered in 1994 by sand diggers, 4mdeep. Square base of main temple visible. Secondary temples not yet fullyexcavated.
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