Pandoraspace

On Prambanan

In Paul Michel Munoz’ Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula, he says that “Prambanan was a complex of temples dedicated to [the Hindu god] Shiva, which was built to celebrate the return to power of the Sanjaya Dynasty in Central Java around 825AD.” (at 354)

“As with the majority of Indonesian Hindu temples, the shrine of Prambanan presents typical cruciform, mountain-type shapes symbolizing Mout Meru, the residence of the Gods and the axis of the world in Hindu mythology.  The temple is divided by three concentric prescints with surrounding low walls which present openings for doors.  The external precinct was empty.  In the middle precinct were 224 small chapels or shrines disposed on four ranks…The inner precinct contained 16 cruciform temples.”  (Ibid., at 355)

The three main temples in the inner precinct are dedicate to the Hindu gods, Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma.  In front of each temple is a smaller temple dedicated to the vahanas or mount of those gods.  The vahanas of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma are the Garuda, Nandi Bull and Hamsa, respectively.  To read more about vahanas, click on this. (more…)

Tip No. 17: Even if I may sound hypocritical about this, I must advise you to HELP PRESERVE AND PROTECT THE TEMPLES BY FOLLOWING ALL THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE TEMPLE VISITS.

When we were in one of the smaller temples, our guide showed us text carved onto one of the walls of a door.  If I remember correctly, our guide said that the text was a love letter of some sort.  As we looked at the text closely, we discovered that someone had recently carved a rabbit at the bottom of the text.  The graffiti not only ruined the wall, it is one of the reasons why, little by little, certain areas of the temples are now off limits to tourists. So, please follow the rules of the temple visits.