Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Prambanan Temple Refurbished...

This past week I made a visit to Prambanan, a large temple complex located about 17 kilometers from the center of Jogjakarta in Central Java.  I first visited Prambanan back in 2007 and was really impressed by the structure, which was built in the 9th and 10th centuries by kings from the Sanjaya dynasty.  At that time, though, the temples had been heavily damaged by the catastrophic earthquake that struck the Jogja region on May 27, 2006.  Scaffolding surrounded several of the main temples, and because of the danger of falling stones you couldn't get too close.  I was pleased to see on my most recent visit that the restoration work seems to have been completed, and now visitors can actually enter some of the temples of the main compound.  Although I'd been to Prambanan several times, I was still awestruck by the temples, which seem all the more majestic without scaffolding surrounding them.

Photo taken in 2007
During the later half of the first millennium AD there were several competing kingdoms in the central part of Java.  One of these dynasties, the Sailendras, built the Buddhist monument of Borobudor which I've described in a couple of posts previously.  It is thought that construction of Hindu Prambanan (1) started later and was at least in part a response to the Borobudor project.  Prambanan is the largest temple complex on Java (there are over 230 temples in total), and so construction of all the hundreds of temples at the site took a long time, but most of the work was carried out under the reign of two kings: Rakai Pikatan and Rakai Balitung.  The main part of Prambanan consists of a walled compound of 11 temples.  Six of these are quite large and are what you see in the postcards of Prambanan.  The one in the middle, at 47 meters, is actually 5 meters higher than Borobudur.  This temple is for Shiva, while the large temples to the north and south are for Brahma and Vishnu respectively.  These three gods represent the Trimurti of deities in the Hindu religion and correspond to the cyclical nature of the universe; Brahma is the god of creation, Vishnu is the sustainer, and Shiva is the destroyer.  Each of these main temples has a smaller temple immediately to the west for each god's vehicle: Nandi the bull for Shiva, Garuda the eagle for Brahma, and Hamsa the sacred swan for Vishnu.  Outside of this central square there are several concentric squares of smaller temples, known as perwara ("guardian" or "companion") temples.  Almost all of these still stand as heaps of rubble, but you can easily get the idea of how expansive the complex was in its heyday.  Beyond this second square is a third square where religious ceremonies were held.  It is thought that in this area there were buildings for priests and pilgrims, but since those structures would have been built out of wood, none have survived.  You can see a diagram of the main compound and the surrounding smaller temples in the diagram below.

Diagram from here.
There's also an interesting local legend about the construction of Prambanan.  According to the story, a prince named Bandung Bondowoso fell madly in love with a princess named Roro Jonggrang.  Prince Bandung wanted to marry Roro, but she refused because Bandung had killed her father.  Prince Bandung was insistent, though, and wouldn't take "no" for an answer.  Roro told Bandung that she'd marry him if he could construct a temple with 1000 statues in a single night.  Bandung accepted the challenge and went to work, summoning spirits to help him with the project.  As the night wore on Roro noticed that Bandung was close to finishing the task while morning wasn't approaching fast enough, and so she asked all the villagers to start fires to fool the roosters into thinking it was dawn.  Her plan worked; the roosters crowed and Prince Bandung was thwarted just as he finished the 999th statue.  Enraged and feeling jilted, he called upon evil spirits to curse poor Roro.  She was turned to stone and the legend has it that she's the 1000th statue; according to the story she's the Durga statue in the main Shiva temple.

Like Borobudur, Prambanan has a series of story-telling reliefs, but in this case they illustrate scenes from the Ramayana rather than the life of Guatama Buddha.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, the Ramayana epic is really important in the Hindu religion, and you can find versions of the story all across Southeast Asia.  The epic narrates how Prince Rama's wife, Siti, is kidnapped by the evil goblin king and spirited away to the island of Langka.  The story unfolds as Rama enlists the aid of divine friends, including the great white monkey king Hanuman, who has an impressive array of superpowers.  It's an interesting story to read, and it will help you understand Prambanan (as well as ceremonies still performed in Bali) a bit better.  Another attraction of Pramabanan is the Ramayana ballet, which is performed most nights.  The performance is a shortened version of the Ramayana and uses modern interpretive dance to tell the story.  It's fun to watch, and is really nice visually as they use pyrotechnics and use a dramatically-illuminated Prambanan as the backdrop.  They also have a buffet dinner that you can pay extra for.

One of the temple compounds to the north
of the main compound
It's easy to get to Prambanan from Jogja; you can hire a cab for about US$5 from the city center, but it's difficult to get a cab coming back.  You can also ride the crowded TransJogja busway to Prambanan and cross the busy street to get to the site.  Sometimes it's hard to get on the bus in the middle of the route because they are too full, but it's easy to get on at Prambanan because it's the terminus of the line.   My suggestion then is to take a taxi to the monument (unless you have your own transportation) and then take the busway back.  It costs US$13/7 (adults/kids) to get in, but if you have a kitas you can get in at the local rate.  If you are in the area you should definitely visit Prambanan; it's something you won't forget.

Notes

(1) The name "Prambanan" comes from a nearby village.

16 comments:

  1. I've read "Rayamana" but I didn't know that they illustrate scenes from the Ramayana. Prambanan was destroyed by earthquake, but I'm impressed because it was recovered well.

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  2. I want to visit Prambanan Temple because if I go there, I can feel historical atmosphere. i saw just few pictures, but I am interested in it. On May 26, 2006, the earthquake happened in Jogjakarta. However, many people tried to refurbish. I want to watch ceremonies still performed in Bali. It seems interesting.

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  3. I am really touched by Prambaban because when I first look the picture of it, Prambaban is big castle or palace. Also I had learned the Ramayana in my school, so if I visit Prambaban, the performance is going to be very fun because I know Ramayana’s story a lot. I hopefully want to go Prambaban if I have a chance because it is so mysterious.

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  4. Looks beautiful, I thought they were mountains from the pictures. I hope stuff like this gets preserved forever for future generations.

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  5. This place is somewhere I want to visit at least once in my life. It looks so magical and filled with mystery. I can just imagine what western people must of felt seeing Parambanan back when the first westerner saw it. It looks so different, like it's from another world.

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  6. It's good to see these ancient structures being preserved. They are not only beautiful pieces of art but also testaments to human ingenuity.

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  7. The several concentric squares of smaller temples known as "perwara", were they turned to ruin by the earthquake in 2006 or were they already in bad shape due to other natural occurrences? Also I love that story of the price and princess, and how she tricked the roosters into thinking it was dawn. I love cultures that have rich stories that tend to explain things.

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  8. Very interesting and helpful information you provided. I enjoyed being able to learn about the building history and also the legends which surround it. Also i felt it was great that you included the best and cheapest ways to get to this site, very helpful if you are a tourist looking for some help. Very impressive work.

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  9. I never new or heard about the Prambanan Temple but after reading this article it makes me want to visit the Prambanan Temple because its looks amazing and beautiful especially since they rebuilt or fixed it. Also the temple’s has a story to how it was built and in general has an interesting History behind it that I never knew about till after reading this. I really do hope that these temples get preserved forever and hopefully one day I can visit this amazing landmark.

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  10. I found all of your information on the Prambanan Temple very informal and interesting. The cyclical nature of the universe is endless. The Kings of Sanjaya Dynasty built these temples to praise their gods and to spread their view of existence to others. I am really happy to see that we are preserving these beautiful temples and allowing visitors to get a glimpse of our diverse history.

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  11. I'm so glad I came across this post because I have just recently been learning about Hinduism in my Religion class and we went over the Ramayana. Although I'm not Hindu, I love the story of Rama and the many deities that illustrate the Hindu religion. I would love to visit the Prambanan Temple as it relates to my studies and because of it's beauty. This is an amazing blog! Keep up the great work.

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  12. Is this your favorite temple that you have visited in Indonesia? Very interesting blog story; made me want to go visit the Prambanan temple right now. I enjoyed the story about Prince Bandung falling in love with Princess Roro, accepting the challenge to win her over by contructing a temple with 1000 statues in one night.

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  13. This blog has taught me a lot of interesting information and legends about the Prambanan temples. From the pictures, the architecture looks unbelievable. The story of Prince Bandung building 1000 temples in one night to win the heart of Roro is an inspiring legend that adds to the beauty and significance of these temples. Another place i would definitely like to visit.

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  14. I would love to visit this temple when I have a chance to go back to my country. Cause I live in Southeast Asia region, I think it is not far away to have a chance to visit. The information about the Temple is informative. This provides you the info how to get to Prambanan temple and get back as well as the cost for kids and adults.
    This place is definitely the place I will go on my next trip

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  15. first, not to be nitpicky, but wouldnt roro be considered the 1000th statue. so although bandung canʻt collect his prize, heʻs certainly eligible. second, if i had a list of places to visit, indonesia would be on it top 10, and on my list of things to do there, the prambanan temple would be top 5, easy. it seems like one of those places that, if your parents collected nat geo growing up, that you would have seen at least a handful of times on the cover.

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  16. It is hard for me to fathom being able to visit a structure still in tact that was built in the 9th and 10th century! This amazement coming form being from such a "new" age culture gives me a deeper appreciation for the work you have been doing in Indonesia to bring these monumental structures full of rich culture to view for everyone around the world with internet. I had no idea that my 20th birthday this temple was in need of restoration after a major earthquake. I love that efforts were successfully made to fix the damage. The local legends and stories added to the blog give the grounds meaning to their being as well as historical, religious and cultural background. Wonderful post!

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