The Temple of Prambanan

Prambanan, named after the village, is the biggest temple complex in Java. There are 224 temples in the complex; three towering temples on the central terrace dominate the complex. Those are Brahma Temple in the North, Visnu Temple in the South and the biggest among the three which lies between Brahma and Visnu is Çiwa Temple which soars up to 47 meters high.

These three ancient masterpieces of Hindu architecture are locally referred to as Prambanan Temple or Rorojonggrang Temple. One of its appeals is the wealth of sculptural detail which is the most famous is on the inner wall of the balustrade, the wonderful Ramayana Epic.

Prambanan attracts many admirers each year from abroad. Situated about 15 km from Yogyakarta, the top of the main shrine is visible from a great distance and raises high above the scattered ruins of the former temples. Prambanan is the best seen shortly after dawn or in the late afternoon. However it is still beautiful at any time.

Ancient Java’s greatest empire, The Mataram, first appeared on the stage of history in 732 AD, the year Sanjaya, a Hindu noble, established territorial rule over the fertile plains between the Progo and Opak rivers. In 750 AD, the Buddhist Syailendra dynasty overthrew Sanjaya, whose family and followers were exiled to the highlands on the periphery of Mataram. A century later, Rakai Pikatan, a descendant of King Sanjaya married into the Syailendras and rose to power. With his ascendancy came the rebirth of Hinduism and a new spate of the temple building, most notably the construction of Prambanan’s Roro Jonggrang complex.

Sanjaya Dynasty, a Hindu noble, established territorial rule over the fertile plains between the Progo and Opak rivers. The dynasty, in keeping with Hindu tradition, set him up as a semi-divine link between heaven and earth. To secure this status for eternity, and to unite the populace in a massive communal effort, he and his successors embarked on a centuries-long program of constructing religious monuments. The earliest Central Javanese Temples date from this period, including the foundations of the great Borobudur.

Rakai Pikatan, a descendant of King Sanjaya, married to the Sailendras and rose to power. With his ascendancy came the rebirth of Hinduism and a new spate of temple building, most notably the construction of Prambanan’s Roro Jonggarng complex. Rakai Pikatan began construction of the temples in 856 AD to commemorate the return to power of Sanjaya Dynasty. However, the complex was abandoned the next century when the Mataram court and most of the population moved to East Java, and the temples themselves collapsed during an earthquake in the 16th century. Half-hearted excavations by the archaeologists in 1880s only facilitated looting. Proper restoration began only in 1930 and continues today.

In 1811, Collin Mackenzie, a surveyor in the service of Thomas Stamford Raffles during Britain’s short lived rule over the Dutch East Indies, came upon these temples by chance. Although Raffles subsequently commissioned a full survey of the ruins, they remained neglected for decades. Dutch residents carried off sculptures for garden ornaments while local villagers used foundation stones for construction material. Proper restoration began only in 1930 and continues today.