PRAMBANAN TEMPLE: A MYRIAD OF UNDEIFIED SHRINES

· BACKGROUND:

Prambanan or Rara Jonggrang is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimūrti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu) and the Transformer (Shiva). At its peak, the temple complex consisted of 240 temples, out of which the very first temple finished construction in the mid-9th century.

Historians suggest that the construction of Prambanan probably was started by Rakai Pikatan and was meant to mark the return of the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty to power in Central Java after almost a century of Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty domination. The construction of this massive Hindu temple signifies that the Medang court had shifted its patronage from Mahayana Buddhism to Shaivite Hinduism.

The first temple was built around 850 CE and was meant to honour Lord Shiva; thus, it was originally called the Shiva-grha (The House of Shiva) or the Shiva-laya (The Realm of Shiva).

All of the temples built at Prambanan showcase reliefs on their exterior facades; these reliefs often tell the story of an epic related to Hindu history (like the Ramayana) and also the story of how that particular temple was constructed. According to the Shiva-grha reliefs inscription, a public water project to change the course of a river near Shiva-grha temple was undertaken during the construction of the temple. The river, identified as the Opak River, now runs north to south on the western side of the Prambanan temple compound. Historians suggest that originally the river was curved further to east and was deemed too near to the main temple. The project was done by cutting the river along a north to south axis along the outer wall of the Shivagrha Temple compound. The former river course was filled in and made level to create a wider space for the temple expansion, the space for rows of pervara (complementary) temples.

Unfortunately, approximately in the 930’s the temple was abandoned by the dynasty and its people. The reason for this has been assumed to be a volcanic eruption in the Mount Merapi, located north of Prambanan in central Java, or a power struggle that probably caused the shift. That marked the beginning of the decline of the temple. It was soon abandoned and began to deteriorate.

A major earthquake in the 16th century caused a detrimental collapse of the temple and all its structures. Although the temple ceased to be an important center of worship, the ruins scattered around the area were still recognizable and known to the local Javanese people in later times. The statues and the ruins became the theme and the inspiration for the Rara Jonggrang folktale. The popular legend of Rara Jonggrang is what connects the site of the Ratu Boko Palace, the origin of the Durga statue in the northern cell/chamber of the main shrine, and the origin of the Sewu temple complex nearby. It is a Javanese popular legend from Central Java telling the story of love and betrayal, the warrior, and the cursed princess.

Formal rediscovery of the temples was in 1811, but the temples remained neglected for decades. Proper restoration began only in 1930, and efforts continue to this day. Given the scale of the temple complex, the government decided to rebuild shrines only if at least 75% of their original masonry was available. Most of the smaller shrines are now visible only in their foundations, with no plans for their reconstruction.

· ARCHITECTURE:

The Hindu temple complex at Prambanan is based on a square plan that contains a total of three zone yards, each of which is surrounded by four walls pierced by four large gates. The outer zone is a large space marked by a rectangular wall. The outermost walled perimeter, which originally measured about 390 metres per side, was oriented in the northeast-southwest direction. However, except for its southern gate, not much else of this enclosure 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 from organic material; as a consequence no remains occur.

The architecture of the temple is in accordance to the style of architecture of most Hindu temples, with a square plan aligned with the four cardinal directions, showing a concentric mandala layout, three distinct religious zones and the typical high-towering spires of Hindu temples. The whole temple complex is a model of the Hindu universe according to Hindu cosmology and the layers of Loka, and also strictly follows the beliefs of Vastu Shastra.

· HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:

The main motive for the construction of this temple complex was not entirely religious, but it was meant to be a symbol of power and mark the onset of the establishment of the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty, after they managed to turn the courts in their favour and overthrow the rule of the Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty in Central Java. This temple was meant to be their answer to the Buddhist Temples at Borobudur and the Sewu Temples, and thus it was planned as more of a showcase of grandeur, rather than a place of worship.

If it was not for this historical context, then the temples would have probably only followed the principles of Hindu temple architecture, and the result would have been a beautiful religious structure, but nowhere as grand as it eventually turned out to be.

Thus, the political circumstances that existed in that era provided the perfect mould for the construction of these extravagant and striking temples, which definitely make it worthy of being a World Heritage Site today.