Prambanan site - Indonesia

Prambanan site is a Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, located on the border between the two provinces of Yogyakarta and Central Java on Java Island, and consists of Prambanan Temple (also called Loro Jonggrang), Sewu Temple, Bubrah Temple, and Lumbung Temple.

Prambanan, named after the village, is the largest Hindu Temple in whole Indonesia, dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities, Trimurti "the three forms", a Hindu concept which includes three gods; Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Keeper, and Shiva the Destroyer.

These temples are the remains of the powerful civilizations that lived on the Java Island.

Prambanan is known for its sheer size and beauty and is a must see for anyone visiting the region as it has a lot to offer.It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture and attracts many visitors from across the world.

It is believed to have been built in the 9th century during Ancient Java’s greatest empire, The Mataram Sultanate. There are no formal written records of the construction of Prambanan.

Unfortunately, in the mid 16th century a major earthquake hit the Prambanan Temple caused many of the temples to collapse and left the area in ruins.

Shiva Temple

It is the largest temple and consists of five chambers; one large and four smaller ones. Inside the large main chamber stands a large three meters statue depicting Shiva and in the smaller chambers statues of Hindu gods related to Shiva.

The northern chamber holds a statue of Durga; the slender Virgin. She is the heroine of the folktale “Loro Jonggrang” that has given the temple its local name where she refused to get married and as a penalty she was turned into stone.

Vishnu Temple

This temple consists of one main chamber which houses a statue of Vishnu where the visitors can find series of magnificent bas-relief depicting Krishnayana; the story of lord Krishna.

Brahma Temple

It is also made up of one large main chamber with a statue of Brahma. The bas-reliefs along the balustrades on the gallery around both Brahma and Shiva temple depict the Hindu legend of Ramayana. They illustrate how Rama, is abducted by Ravana. The monkey king Hanuman brings his army to help Rama and rescue Sita.

In front of each of the three main temples stands a smaller shrine. These shrines are dedicated to the mounts of the respective gods; the bull Nandi for Shiva, the swan Hamsa for Brahma, and the eagle Garuda for Vishnu.

Today, the Prambanan Temple Compound is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it has become one of Indonesia’s key tourist attractions and a major landmark in the area. Even so, Prambanan is often overshadowed by the nearby Borobudur. Nevertheless, most of the people find Prambanan as one of the outstanding universal values.

Photo credit to Jeff Waldock 

Photo credit to Jeff Waldock 

Photo credit to Jeff Waldock