Mysterious Candi Prambanan / Candi Rara Jonggrang....

Candi Prambanan or Candi Rara Jonggrang is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). The temple compound is located approximately 17 kilometres northeast of the city of Yogyakarta on the boundary between Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces.

The temple compound, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia, and one of the biggest in Southeast Asia. It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47-metre-high (154 ft) central building inside a large complex of individual temples.

The construction of Prambanan probably 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 Shivaist Hinduism.

The Prambanan compound also known as Rara Jonggrang complex, named after the popular legend of Rara Jonggrang. There were once 240 temples stood in this Shivaite temple complex, either big or small. Today, all of 8 main temples and 8 small shrines in inner zone are reconstructed, but only 2 out of the original 224 pervara temples are renovated.

The majority of them have deteriorated; what is left are only scattered stones. The Prambanan temple complex consists of three zones; first the outer zone, second the middle zone that contains hundreds of small temples, and third the holiest inner zone that contains eight main temples and eight small shrines.

Yup, these are the undisputed facts about Candi Prambanan. As for me, these are truly mammoth and tall buildings indeed. Again, the emphasis on peace and harmony is notably noted in its temples sites and Indian mythology building construction. Again, what greeted us especially the well-kept Prambanan Park was a real surprise. Well maintained, manicured lawn and clean park, benches and stops helped many tourists at the park. I guess, many tourist will be surprised by how well the park was maintained.

I must admit that Prambanan Park was cheaper than Borobudur Park ( by USD 2.00!! ) but equally exciting. I had always been curious why is the temple called Rara Jonggrang. I overheard a guide ( as usual, I did not want to pay for any guide! Sorry! )  explaining to a foreigner couple that Rara Jonggrang actually means Slender Virgin. The legend is as follows:-  Jeng! Jeng! Jeng! ( Javanese background music plays! )

The legend tells of the story about Prince Bandung Bondowoso who fell in love with Princess Rara Jonggrang, the daughter of King Boko. But the princess rejected his proposal of marriage because Bandung Bondowoso had killed King Boko and ruled her kingdom. Bandung Bondowoso insisted on the union, and finally Rara Jonggrang was forced to agree for a union in marriage, but she posed one impossible condition: Bandung must build her a thousand temples in only one night.

 

The Prince entered into meditation and conjured up a multitude of spirits (demons) from the earth. Helped by supernatural beings, he succeeded in building 999 temples. When the prince was about to complete the condition, the princess woke her palace maids and ordered the women of the village to begin pounding rice and set a fire in the east of the temple, attempting to make the prince and the spirits believe that the sun was about to rise. As the cocks began to crow, fooled by the light and the sounds of morning time, the supernatural helpers fled back into the ground.

The prince was furious about the trick and in revenge, he cursed Rara Jonggrang to stone. She became the last and the most beautiful of the thousand statues. According to the traditions, the unfinished thousandth temple created by the demons become the Sewu temple compounds nearby (Sewu means "thousands" in Javanese), and the Princess is the image of Durga in the north cell of the Shiva temple at Prambanan, which is still known as Rara Jonggrang or Slender Virgin.

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen – the legend of Rara Jonggrang! Anyway, I still love the carvings on the temple walls and the beautiful scenery surrounding the temple. Still a beautiful, rustic looking and opulent building. However, I did not feel as peaceful here as I was in Borobudur. This, I’ve gotta admit! Somehow, this place seemed so “hectic, wild and sorta stormy”. I felt the “unrest feeling “ and the sorta “war “ feeling as I moved around the temples. Maybe it is just me as the rest did not feel a thing. Anyway, the lush greenery surrounding the temple is what made me relaxed a lot. I guess, when you have a legendary story like this, you can’t help but feel awkward but other than that, it is a magnificent temple indeed.  A sight to behold, actually. There are some very strategic places for photography and everything seemed to fall in place. The magnificent towers ,as I would call it, were really a sight to behold. The architecture was superb and I really can't imagine how it was done. Stone by stone, layer by layer, carvings by carvings.....it was really marvelous.

 

Candi Prambanan looked so strong, dynamic and construction technology seemed so surreal. It is really tall and you can imagine the work that went into building this temple – natural or supernaturally. Anyway, the mystic and intriguing mystery makes a trip to this temple a worthwhile treat indeed.

Yeah, what's the obsession with slender virgin , you may ask, right? Well, it is a Javanese thingy lar..... Yup, the people in Jogja seemed slim indeed....so are their chicken, bebek (ducks), fish and angkringan food too...hahahahahahahahhahahahaha.....

Both Candi Borobudur and Candi Prambanan had not disappointed me and I am truly amazed by it all - the buildings, the architecture, the history, the culture and the myth too. I am looking forward to a great time in Jogja!~  

Originally, Candi Prambanan should look like this! Magnificent!

Borobudur - Childhood Dream....

There is always a never ending joy when you get to fulfil one of your childhood dream plan and I guess, I have been blessed to achieve that. You see, one of the places I have dreamed to go to before I kick the bucket is Borobudur temple in Yogjakarta (a.k.a Jogja by the locals!) When I was a young boy and even as a youth, I loved reading. I used to read about the unique and majestic Candi Borobudur and Candi Rara Jonggrang or better known as Candi Prambanan. I could only picture these places in my head as I grew up. I always told myself that one day…just one day….I’ll do it. 

Now in my fifties, I got that opportunity to visit these temples and it feels great. I have always wanted a family vacation and I did just that. It was just too bad that my girl, SYuen couldn’t make it this time as she had to face her uni-exams but I had JWee, Felicia and SLing for the trip. I must say that I was excited as the day came closer and on the actual day itself, I was really excited.

That morning of 15^th April, 2016, we touched down at Adisutcipto International Airport, Yogjakarta at about 10.20am local time and my adventure with the family begin. As we bundled ourselves out of the airport, I was looking for our driver, Pak Budi who was to meet us at the airport. Here stood a smiley, crew cut, well-built and average height 54 year old Javanese man waving frantically at us. After our usual pleasantries and greetings, Pak Budi took us to our hotel - @HOM Platinum Gowongan. The Javanese hospitality is indeed evident by the first meeting.

It was a solid 30 minutes ride to town and I took the opportunity to get to know Pak Budi better. Later in my trip, I had learned how hardworking, pleasant and wonderful this man had been to my family. I got to know that Pak Budi lives in Bantul which is a good 40 minutes from Jogja town. He has 3 children with his eldest daughter at 17 years of age and his youngest at 7 years of age. He tells me that the people in Jogja has to work real hard to earn a living and I tend to agree with his statement after spending a few days in Jogja.

I guess, Yogjakarta is just like any metropolitan city – bustling, boisterous and even loud as usual. The people are quite dark-skinned while it was hard to see any fair skinned people like me along the streets. Anyway, we arrived earlier in the hotel and our room was being cleaned. I had told Pak Budi that my itinerary for the day is to grab some lunch and spend my time at Borobudur Temple. I was actually very nervous if my family would like travelling on the first day itself to see the temples but thank God, they were game for it.

We stopped by at a food shop in Magelang for lunch and the speciality was Ikan Gurami Bakar with some special sauce. As usual, I suggested they ordered fried rice as it is not only filling but we would need the energy to walk around the majestic Borobudur. Everyone was agreeable. We added Ikan Gurami Bakar to our lunch food and it tasted really good but a little muddy taste – typical of a freshwater fish.

After lunch, it was off to Borobudur Park. Pak Budi explained to us about the place and how we would find him after finishing our walk at certain car park area.

We nodded in understanding not knowing what chaos we were getting ourselves into as the Borobudur Park has huge grounds filled with souvenir shops and souvenir vendors making the exit out quite a challenge. Pak Budi then got us the tickets into the Borobudur Park ( what a hefty ticket price too, actually!) and we were each given a bottle of mineral water and off we went towards Borobudur Temple. I must commend the Borobudur Park establishment for keeping the grounds well- manicured, clean and lush greens. It feels so privileged and wonderful to be in such a beautiful park which was strategically littered with artefacts from the temples. It is a nice spread of buffet for the eyes before the main dish, Candi Borobudur. As we walked further into the park, I could see the outline of Candi Borobudur.

 

My heart leapt for joy and excitement. I could have sworn that my heart missed a heartbeat when I actually reached the foot of Candi Borobudur. That was how excited I was! My goodness gracious! It is a beautiful temple and the architecture is magnificent. It is huge and wide. As SLing and I took the first step on the first plateau, it was obvious that this is going to be one lovely afternoon indeed. The sun was shining brightly with occasional dark clouds moving by signalling an imminent rain in the late afternoon. So, I get the family moving as we marvelled at the structures, wall cravings, the stupas and the Buddha statues.

Borobudur is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist Temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome. The temple is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated stupa. It is the world's largest Buddhist temple, as well as one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world.

 

The journey begins at the base of the monument and follows a path around the monument and ascends to the top through three levels symbolic of Buddhist cosmology: Kāmadhātu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu ( the world of forms ) and Arupadhatu ( the world of formlessness). The monument guides the people through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades. Borobudur has the largest and most complete ensemble of Buddhist reliefs in the world.

Borobudur was likely founded around 800 CE. This corresponds to the period between 760 and 830 CE, the peak of the Sailendra dynasty rule upon Mataram kingdom in central Java, when it was under the influence of the Srivijayan Empire. The construction has been estimated to have taken 75 years and been completed during the reign of Samaratungga in 825. That’s a little history for you to digest as I continue my journey/experience there at Candi Borobudur.

We quickly made our way to the top first as I had wanted to enjoy the scenery around the perforated stupas. The view is breathtakingly beautiful and surprisingly calm plus peaceful. I could sit at the corner edge of the top section and feel the rush of cool air caressing my face. It was that nice and I enjoyed every minute of it. Intermittently disturbed by a huge crowd of people mainly locals, it was hard to get a good shot of photographs but with humble ways, it will always pay off indeed. Yeah, I am here! I am at the top of Candi Borobudur! That is the statement I wanted to make – I made it! 

It was interesting that I found most of the perforated stupa were filled with headless Buddha statues. I had asked one of the Javanese park ranger who informed me that most of the Buddha head statues had been stolen and ended up in museum overseas and across the globe. It was such a sad fact that looting could still occur at such historical site. Until and unless the locals are aware that this is their national treasure and of great importance, the looting will continue, I guess. It is so sad to see headless Buddha statues in the perforated stupas and around the relief panels and narrative panels which would have been a beautiful sight with the complete Buddha statues.

As I sat down and in my own thoughts at one corner of Borobudur, I told SLing that I am so happy and at peace. SLing thanked me for bringing her to this place and she is enjoying every minute of it. I just smiled as it was my way to explain to her why I have always liked historical buildings all these years thus, the visits to museums and so on. I love history and culture very much.  

Now, I am glad she finally understood what it meant to see a rich historical and cultural building marvel especially the carvings, the construction and the details. I know that buildings like this may not be a cup of tea for others but the mere fact that the building stood so tall and majestic was the ingenuity of builders at that time perplexed me a lot. I have great admiration for such tenacity and architectural work.

To me, it wasn’t a religious thingy nor did it ever derailed me from my steadfast faith. It was just my admiration for people of that era and time who were great in what they were doing and what simple technology they used to cut the stones, carved it and bring it up to build the temple. It was just so enlightening to see the carvings depicting the very essence of the temple. Every panel tells a story and that is what which is most interesting about the Borobudur temple. It tells you a story of ancient times. It sure made me a happy man.

As I leave Candi Borobudur that day, SLing asked me if I would come back here someday. I did not flinched and I answered , “But of course! “ She just rolled her eyes and walked away from me. She knew that some how, I would be back at this place in the near or later future. She mumbled that I am mad in many ways. Hahahahahahahaaaaaa.......I guess, I am just being honest when I say that I truly experienced some peace up there and the view is breathtakingly nice to me. So, another place ticked off my bucket list. Onward march to Prambanan then!