Prambanan Temple

Prambanan is a collection of massive Hindu temples (candi) built by the Mataram Kingdom, rulers of central Java and defeaters of the Sailendra Dynasty. 

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, in almost any other country a magnificent ancient monument on the scale of Prambanan would quickly be designated a national symbol. In Indonesia though it is somewhat overshadowed by the even more awe-inspiring nature of nearby Borobudur nearby. The two sites are quite different in style with Hindu Prambanan being a collection of sharp, jaggedly sculpted towers in contrast to the vast horizontal bulk of Buddhist Borobudur. 

There are 237 temples in the complex but many of them have deteriorated or been looted leaving just scattered stones. There are three zones:

• The outer zone is a large open space that was once bounded by a large wall (long gone). The function of this space is disputed but was probably either a park/relaxation garden or the site of an ashram for temple priests.

• The middle zone consists of four rows of 224 identical, concentrically arranged shrines. Most of these are in ruins but a few have been fully restored. These shrines are called Candi Perwara (guardian temples). There are several theories about the design and use of these shrines. Some believe that each of the four rows represent a level of the Mataram caste system and each was designed to be used by one caste only. Other theories include that these were designed to recieve submissive offerings to the king or that they are simply beautifully designed places for meditation.

• The inner zone contains eight main temples and likewise, eight small shrines. This is certainly the holiest of the three zones and is a square elevated platform surrounded by a wall with gates corresponding to each of the four cardinal points. The three main inner shrines are dedicated to Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Keeper and Shiva the Destroyer. 

In the early 1990s the government removed the market that had sprung up near the temple and transformed the surrounding villages and rice paddies into an archaeological park. The park covers a large area, from Yogyakarta-Solo main road in the south, encompassing the whole Prambanan complex, the ruins of Lumbung and Bubrah temples, and as far as the Sewu temple compound in the north. In 1992 the Indonesian government created a State-owned Limited Liability Enterprise (PERSERO) of PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan, dan Ratu Boko. This enterprise is the authority for the park management of Borobudur Prambanan Ratu Boko and the surrounding region.

The open-air and indoor stages on the west side of the temple right across the Opak river, were built to stage the Ramayana ballet. This traditional Javanese dance is the centuries old dance of the Javanese court, performed every full moon night in the Prambanan temple since the 1960s. Since then, Prambanan has become one of the major archaeological and cultural tourism attractions in Indonesia.

After the reconstruction of the main temples in 1990s, Prambanan once again reclaim its status as an important religious center for Hindu rituals and ceremonies in Java. The religious significance revival of Prambanan was due to Balinese and Javanese Hindu communities in Yogyakarta and Central Java that annually perform their sacred ceremonies in Prambanan, such as Galungan, Tawur Kesanga, and Nyepi.

The temple was damaged during the May 2006 Java earthquake. Early photos suggest that although the complex was structurally intact, the damage was significant. Large pieces of debris, including carvings, were scattered over the ground. The temple has been closed to visitors until the damage can be fully assessed. The head of Yogyakarta Archaeological Conservation Agency stated that it would take months to identify the precise extent of the damage. However, some weeks later in 2006 the site had been re-opened for visitors. As of 2009, the interior of most of the temples remains off-limits for safety reasons. [source : Prambanan]

See The Beauty