Saturday, September 4, 2010

Pringapus Temple


Pringapus temple, estimated to have been built at about 850 AD, is located in the village of Pringapus, sub-district of Ngadiredjo, Temanggung district-Central Java. This village is located on the slope of Mt. Sindoro. The location of the Temple is about 5 km from the sub-district of Ngadiredjo and 32 km south east of Temanggung.

This Temple has been renovated by the Archeological Institution in 1930. Based on building style, this temple is classified into Shiva Hindu architecture. This indicates that the temple was built to worship the God of Shiva and as the replica of Mahameru, the place of Gods and Goddess. The statue of Nandini, Shiva’s vehicle, and the relief of hapsara-hapsari describing half human and half god creatures, are as evidences to this conclusion.

 
This temple was constructed of andesite rocks standing on the area of about 29.68 m square. There is the relationship between Pringapus temple and the inscription of Argapura dating in 852 AD. The numbers of the year carved on the foot of the Temple is estimated showing the completing of its construction at 772 Saka (=850AD). Learning the date of the construction, the temple was possibly built at the area of Syailendra Dynasty.

The gate is decorated with kalamakara carved at its threshold. No hand-side is built on the stairs to get to the gate. Its roofs are arranged into three rows, getting smaller to its top, similar to that of Kidal in East Java.


The attractiveness of Pringapus temple is on its finely and pretty carved ornaments indicating that the architect has high taste of art. The empty spaces are filled with the sculptures of lotus flowers and spiraling upwards. The walls on the both sides of the gate are decorated with the carved reliefs of a pair of god-goddess with the ornaments of leaves steered above them.


Inside the temple there is a statue of Nandi of sitting position. On the western side of the building, at the bank of ‘sendang’ (a small lake), there is a lingga and the statue of a cow. It is said that the statue of the cow is as the guard for the availability of water in the sendang, as the water of sendang is never dried even in the long dry season.


White Board



Main Temple




Anggun



Amazing Relief




Nandi




   Sendang

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