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BOROBUDUR TEMPLE
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Borobudur is a ninth century Buddhist Mahayana monument in Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.[1] A main dome is located at the center of the top platform, surrounded by seventy-two Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa. The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely, Kamadhatu (the world of desire); Rupadhatu (the world of forms); and Arupadhatu (the world of formless). During the journey, the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades.
Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam.[2] It was rediscovered in 1814 by Sir Thomas Raffles, the British ruler of Java. Since then, Borobudur has been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, after which the monumen was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[3] Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage, where once a year Buddhist in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.[4][5][6]
Location Borobudur (Indonesia) Borobudur Borobudur Borobudur location on Indonesia map.
A number of Buddhist and Hindu temple compounds are located approximately 40 km (25 miles) northwest of Yogyakarta, on an elevated area between two twin volcanoes, Sundoro-Sumbing and Merbabu-Merapi, and the Progo river. According to local myth, the area known as Kedu Plain is a Javanese 'sacred' place and has been dubbed 'the garden of Java' due to its high agricultural fertility.[9] During the first restoration, it was discovered that three Buddhist temples in the region, Borobudur, Pawon and Mendut, are in one straight line position.[10] It might be accidental, but the temples' alignment is in conjunction with a native folk tale that a long time ago, there was a brick-paved road from Borobodur to Mendut with walls on both sides.
Unlike other temples, which are built on a flat surface, Borobudur was built on a bedrock hill, 265 m (869 ft) above sea level and 15 m (49 ft) above the floor of the dried-out paleolake.[11] The lake's existence was the subject of intense discussion among archaeologists in the twentieth century; Borobudur was thought to have been built on a lake shore or even floated on a lake. In 1931, a Dutch artist and a scholar of Hindu and Buddhist architecture, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, developed a theory that Kedu Plain was once a lake and Borobudur initially represented a lotus flower floating on the lake.[9] Lotus flowers are found in almost every Buddhist work of art, often serving as a throne for buddhas and base for stupas. The architecture of Borobudur itself suggests a lotus depiction, in which Buddha postures in Borobudur symbolize the Lotus Sutra, mostly found in many Mahayana Buddhism (a school of Buddhism widely spread in southeast and east Asia regions) texts. Three circular platforms on the top are also thought to represent a lotus leaf.[11] Nieuwenkamp's theory, however, was contested by many archaeologists because the natural environment surrounding the monument is a dry land.
Geologists, on the other hand, support Nieuwenkamp's view, pointing out clay sediments found near the site.[12] A study of stratigraphy, sediment and pollen samples conducted in 2000 supports the existence of a paleolake environment near Borobudur,[11] which corroborates the doubts had raised by archaeologists. The lake area, however, fluctuated with time; a study also proves that Borobudur was near the lake shore circa thirteenth and fourteenth century. River flows and volcanic activities shape the surrounding landscape, including the lake. One of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, Mount Merapi, is in the direct vicinity of Borobudur and has been very active since the Pleistocene.[1]
HISTORY(CONSTRUCTION) There is no written record of who built Borobudur, or of its intended purpose.[14] The construction time is estimated by comparison between carved reliefs on the temple's hidden foot and the inscriptions commonly used in royal charters during the eight and ninth centuries. It is likely Borobudur was founded around AD 800.[14] This conforms with the period between AD 760–830, the peak of the Sailendra dynasty in Central Java.[15], when it was under the influence of the Srivijayan Empire. The construction is estimated to have taken 75 years and was completed in 825, during the reign of Srivijayan Maharaja Samaratunga.[16][17]
There is confusion between Hindu and Buddhist rulers in Java around that time. The Sailendras are known as ardent followers of Lord Buddha, although stone inscriptions found at Sojomerto suggest they were Hindus.[16] It was during this time that many Hindu and Buddhist monuments were built on the plains and mountain around the Kedu Plain. The Buddhist monuments, including Borobudur, were erected around the same time as the Hindu Shiva Prambanan temple compound. In AD 732, king Sanjaya, the founder of the Sailendra dynasty, commissioned a Hindu Shiva lingga sanctuary to be built on the Ukir hill, only 10 km (6.2 miles) east of Borobudur. Sanjaya's immediate successor, Rakai Panangkaran, was associated with a Buddhist Kalasan temple, as shown in the Kalasan Charter dated AD 778. Anthropologists believe that religion in Java has never been a serious conflict.[18] It was possible for a Hindu king to patronize the establishment of a Buddhist monument; or for a Buddhist king to act likewise.[18] The official religion could take place without affecting the continuity of a dynasty and of cultural life.
Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple compound in Indonesia, located in central Java, approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta (7°45′8″S, 110°29′30″ECoordinates: 7°45′8″S, 110°29′30″E).[citation needed] It was built around 850 CE by either Rakai Pikatan, king of the second Mataram dynasty or Balitung Maha Sambu, during the Sanjaya dynasty. Not long after its construction, the temple was abandoned and began to deteriorate. Reconstruction of the compound began in 1918. The main building was completed in around 1953, since it is next to impossible to find the original stonework, which has often been stolen and reused at remote construction sites. A temple will only be rebuilt if at least 75% of the original stones are available. Therefore only their foundation walls of most of the smaller shrines are visible and they will not be rebuilt. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the largest Hindu temples in south-east Asia. It is characterised by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the 47m high central building inside a large complex of individual temples.
The temple was damaged during the earthquake in Java in 2006. Early photos suggested that although the complex appears to be structurally intact, damage is significant, with large pieces of debris, including carvings, scattered over the ground. The temple has been closed to the public until damage can be fully assessed. The head of Yogyakarta Archaeological Conservation Agency stated that: "it will take months to identify the precise damage".[1] However, some weeks later in 2006 the site re-opened for visitors. The immediate surroundings of the Hindu temples remain off-limits for safety reason.
This information does not take account of damage caused by the 2006 Java earthquake
The compound is assembled of eight main shrines or candis, and more than 250 surrounding individual candis. The three main shrines, called Trisakti (Ind. "three sacred places"), are dedicated to the three gods Shiva the Destroyer, Vishnu the Keeper and Brahma the Creator.
The Shiva shrine at the center contains four chambers, one in every cardinal direction. While the first contains a three meter high statue of Shiva, the other three contain smaller statues of Durga, his wife, Agastya, a risi, and Ganesha, his son. The statue of Durga is also called temple of Loro Jongrang (slender virgin), after a Javanese princess, daughter of King Boko. She was forced to marry a man she did not love, Bandung Bondowoso. After long negotiations she eventually agreed to the marriage, under the condition that her prince built her a temple ornamented with 1000 statues, between the setting and the rising of the sun. Helped by supernatural beings, the prince was about to succeed. So the princess ordered the women of the village to set a fire in the east of the temple, attempting to make the prince believe that the sun was about to rise. As the cocks began to crow, fooled by the light, the supernatural helpers fled. The prince, furious about the simple trick, changed Loro Jongrang to stone. She became the last and the most beautiful of the thousand statues.
The two other main shrines are that of Vishnu, to the north, and the one of Brahma, facing to the south. In front of each main temple is a smaller candis on the east side, dedicated to the mounts of the respective god - the bull Nandi for Shiva, the gander Angsa for Brahma, and Vishnus Eagle Garuda, which serves as the national symbol of Indonesia (cf. also to the airline Garuda Indonesia).
The bas-reliefs along the twenty sides of the temple depict the Ramayana legend. They illustrate how Sita, the wife of Rama, is abducted by an evil ogre. The monkey king Hanuman brings his army to help Rama and rescue Sita. This story is also shown by the Ramayana Ballet, regularly performed at full moon in front of the illuminated Prambanan complex.
The temple complex is surrounded by more than 250 individual temples of different sizes, called Pewara, believed to have been offered to the king as a sign of submission. The Pewara are arranged in four rows around the central temples, according to the rank of the people allowed to enter them. While the central row was accessible to the priests only, the other three were reserved for the nobles, the knights and the simple people respectively.
Not far to the west Candi Kalasan and Candi Sari, and to the south the Ratu Boko's Palace on higher ground - each provide further clues and details to the Prambanan complex and some of its mysteries.
