Prambanan Hindu Temple complex in Indonesia and its supernatural story in stone !

Imagine seeing into the far recesses of the past and reconstructing the reality through the visual senses only and being stunned by the glory, grace and grandeur and mysticism of the sight. Well, that is Rara Jonggrang or Prambanan for you; the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia and the third largest in South Asia. More than just an architectural and art feat of the 9th century, this temple is a mystical cultural site with a rich and intricate history and a story so mesmerising that is continues to enthral the masses that visit it one thousand years after the Sanjaya kings of Java, built it to show off their power and dominance over that area. This temple complex is spread over 17 kilometers and is almost 1163 years old now, commissioned to be built by the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty kings as a symbol of their return to power after almost a century of Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty domination. The construction of this massive Hindu temple signified the shift of the royal patronage from Mahayana Budhism to Shaivaite Hinduism. It was started by the King Rakai Pikatan and expanded by King Lokpala and subsequently by King Maha Sambhu. It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu architecture, and by the towering 47-metre-high (154 ft) central building inside a large complex of individual temples.

The temple is dedicated to the Hindu Trimurti the expression of God as Creator (Brahma) Protector or preserver  as Vishnu and the destroyer as Shiva. Infact , the main temple diety is Shakti or Durga – the feminine energy form of Mother Goddess also called Rara Jonggrang in Indonesia. The legend of Rara Jonggrang has all elements of fantastical nature along with love and betrayal, anger and cursing . It  begins with the story of the beautiful , intelligent Princess Rara Jonggrang, daughter of the cruel but powerful, giant who ruled Java - King Boko. 

The legend haunts…..

The legend begins with the description of two ancient and neighbouring kingdoms in Java, Pengging and Boko.

Pengging was prosperous and was ruled by the wise Prabu Damar Maya who had a son named Bandung Bondowoso. By contrast, Boko was ruled by a cruel man-eating giant named Prabu Boko, supported by another giant Patih Gupolo Despite his unpleasant nature, Prabu Boko had the most beautiful and intelligent daughter named Roro Jonggrang.

Prabu Boko 

The story relates that Prabu Boko desired to expand his kingdom, and so began training an army and raising taxes for an invasion of the neighbouring kingdom  Pengging. His forces launched a surprise attack on Pengging, and the ensuring war caused devastation and famine on both sides. In order to defeat the invader, Prabu Damar Maya sent his son Bandung Bondowoso to fight Prabu Boko. After a furious battle, Prabu Boko was killed by the prince who used his supernatural powers and brought an end to the giant’s life. His assistant, the giant Patih Gupolo, led his armies away from the battlefield in defeat and ran back to his kingdom to report the death of his master and King Boko. Hearing the news of her father’s death princess Rara Jonggrang was filled with anger and sorrow and vowed to avenge his death. Meanwhile , the victorious Prince Bandung Bondowoso decided to capture the kingdom of the dead king Boko by marrying his only daughter and bringing both the kingdoms together. He has already heard stories about her legendary beauty. So he sent forth his marriage proposal which was duly rejected by the princess. Meanwhile  the Pengging army besieged and captured the palace and Prince Bandung Bandawasa again proposed marriage, and finally Rara Jonggrang agreed on two impossible conditions: first the prince must build a well named Jalatunda, and second, he must construct a thousand temples in only one night.

The love-struck prince agreed, and immediately started work on the well. Using his supernatural powers once again and summoning all manner of demons, the prince swiftly finished the construction of the deep well and proudly displayed his work for the princess. As a trick, she urged him to enter the well and when he did so, Patih Gupolo piled stones into it and buried him alive. With great effort Bandung Bandawasa escaped, but his love for the princess was so strong that he forgave her the attempt on his life.

To fulfill the second condition, the prince entered into meditation and conjured up a multitude of spirits from the earth. With their help he built the first 999 temples in a few hours and started work on the final one.  When the Princess came to know that Prince Bandung was about to finish the last temple she thought of a clever plan to thwart his efforts.

She and her maids lit fires in the east direction and begin pounding rice paddy, a traditional dawn activity. The roosters crowed fooled into thinking the sun was about to rise. The dark demons of the netherworld fled back to the darkness, leaving the last temple unfinished.Hence, the Prince could not fulfil the second condition.

The prince was furious when he learned of this deception, and he placed a curse on Rara Jonggrang, turning her into stone, so that she could not marry anyone and be stuck in time and space forever. But in this way she herself became a feature of the final temple, completing its construction and fulfilling the conditions for their marriage! She became the divine Goddess or Durga or Shakti and is the main diety of the Candi Prambanan Temple..

 The magnificence…

An aerial view of the Rara Jonggrang temple complex

The 17 kilometer perimeter of the Prambanan Temple spans between the southern slopes of the Merapi Volcano in the north  and the Sewu mountain range in the south, and consists of the following temples :

·         3 Trimurti temples: three main temples dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma

·         3 Vahana temples: The tree temples dedicated to the vahanas or mode of travel of the Gods- nandi, Garuda and Hamsa

·         2 Apit temples: two temples located between the rows of Trimurti and Vahana temples on north and south side

·         4 Candi Kelir temples: four small shrines located on the four cardinal directions right beyond the four main gates of inner zone

·         4 Candi Patok temples: four small shrines located on four corners of the inner area of the Prambanan temple complex.

·         224 Pervara temples: hundreds of temples arranged in 4 concentric square rows; numbers of temples from inner row to outer row are: 44, 52, 60, and 68 shrines. These shrines are called "Candi Perwara" guardian or complementary temples. Some believed it was offered to the king as a sign of submission. The Perwara are arranged in four rows around the central temples, maybe depicting the four Hindu castes.

The Shiva shrine at the center contains five chambers, four small chambers in every cardinal direction and one bigger main chamber in central part of the temple. The east chamber connects to central chamber that houses a three meter high statue of Shiva Mahadeva. The statue bears the attributes of Shiva such as skull and sickle (crescent) at the crown, and third eye on the forehead, also four hands that holds Shiva's symbols: a prayer beads, feather duster, and trident. Some historians believe that the depiction of Shiva as Mahadeva also meant to personify king Balitung as the reincarnation of Shiva. So when he died, a temple was built to commemorate him as Shiva. The statue of Shiva stands on lotus pad on a Yoni pedestal that bears the carving of Naga serpents on the north side of the pedestal. The other three smaller chambers contain statues of Hindu Gods related to Shiva; his consort Durga, Agastya, and Ganesha, his son.

Exterior of Shiva temple

The bas-reliefs along the balustrades on the gallery around the Shiva and Brahma temple depict the Ramayana legend. On the balustrades in Vishnu temple there is series of bas-relief depict Krishnayana, the story of lord Krishna.

The Siva idol is three metres tall and the main pount of attraction of the temple. His crown has a skull and a crescent moon. There is a snake as a head-band. There is a third eye on the forehead. He is shown with four hands. The two back hands hold a fan (chowrie) and a rosary. The frontal right hand holds a lotus bud. The frontal left hand holds a small spheroid representing cosmos which is an unusual representation. He stands on a lotus and the lotus stands in the middle of a square base receptacle which can collect abhishek water and let it go from an outlet. The statue is almost like a lingam then. Siva has a Mongolian visage. The statue is not rounded but is in bas-relief.

BELOW: Pic of Siva idol, three metres tall, the description of which is given above. (Pic from the book "Ariswara Prambanan", PT Intermasa Jakarta)

 Why is this temple so interesting and inspiring ? 

Apart from the legend and tale of Prambanam, the sheer scale and massiveness of the complex is mind blowing. The detailed carving from Ramnayana on the stone walls and also from the Krishnaya on the walls of the Visnu temple are extraordinary . The sense of order, organisation and the amazing layout of  the temple spread over 17 kilometers is something to wonder about. Despite the humongous scale of construction , each and every nook and inch of the temple is beautifully carved and decorated. 

The temple built entirely of stone is made in the form of a mountain as the Gods are believed to reside there.

The significance of the mountain symbol derives from its immense height and from its conceptualization as the navel of the World. It is where Heaven ( Brahamlok) and Earth ( Prithvilok) meet, where the gods have their home and human ascension has its boundary and therefore also represent the notions of transcendence and divine manifestation; mountains are where gods and men interact; but by giving it a human legend and story , the Prambanam temple or the Rara Jonggrang temple tries to humanise God and bring the two closer through the King; who is seen as an emissary of God. The temple form of architecture is so prevalent in Java, Indonesia and Cambodia region as it  is dotted with Volcanoes that keep on erupting from time to time and are prayed to , so as to keep them “silent” or dormant. The mountains symbolise the immense power of nature over man and hence the association of mountain with something very dominant and powerful is seen in the temple architecture of the Prambanam.

A stairway leads the pilgrim to the entrance to the temple, which is raised off the ground level, an act mimicking that of ascending a mountain. The temple chambers open up a gateway to the divine world, almost as if the divine has been brought to manifest in the human world, fulfilling the notion of transcendence; a figurative meeting of man and God. 

Built at the height of 47 meters , the tallest temple is  slightly taller than Borobudur- the Buddhist temple complex. The Javanese people believe that it was done deliberately so as to send a clear message to the kingdom about the supremacy of the Hindu Sanjaya Kings over the Buddhist Sailendra rulers.

Just like Indian temples, the Prambanan temples do have a sanctum sanctorum known as the Garbha Griha literally meaning the “Womb Room”  but no other broad architectural aspects that you see in Indian temples such as Dhwaja sthamba or the kalyana mandapams etc. The temple entrance faces the east as in India too. The bigger  Prambanan temples have galleries at various levels to walk around, in between the walls and the balustrades which are  exquisitely sculpted with scenes from the Ramayana and Krishnayana.

There are four worshipful Gods located in four chambers. Apart from Shiva. the other three deities are Mahaguru Agastya (Siva's teacher), Devi Durga (Siva's wife) and Ganesa (Siva's son). Karthikeya, the other son, is not present.

Indeed one of the most awe inspiring ancient structures that should be a must visit on your itinerary incase you ever head to Indonesia! 

Rara Jonggrang !!!!