Prambanan Temple

Prambanan Temple

Prambanan Temple is the biggest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia and South East Asia. Prambanan is also known as Rara Jonggrang Temple. It was built at around 850 BC by Sanjaya Dynasty. Prambanan occupies as wide 39,8 acres of land. In 1991 it was contended by the UNESCO world Wonder Heritage. Soaring to 47 meters or 5 meters higher than Borobudur Temple, Prambanan looks dauntless and sturdy. This agrees with the purpose of its establishment, to show the glory of Hindu civilization in Java.

How come it is called Rara Jonggrang Temple? The Javanese people believe a legend that explains it. Once, a prince named Bandung Bondowoso fell in love with princess Rara Jonggrang. The princess rejected his marriage proposal because he had killed King Boko and ruled her kingdom. Bondowoso insisted and she was forced to bond in a marriage. But she posed an impossible condition: he must build her a thousand spirits to assist him. Knowing this, the princess woke the palace maids and the village women to begin pounding rice and fire in the east of the temple as if the sun was about to rise.
The prince managed in building his 999 temples when the cocks began to crow. The supernatural spirits returned into the ground and Bondowoso failed to make the last temple. Furious about the trick, he cursed Roro Jonggrang into the one thousandth and most beautiful statue.

Prambanan temple is the manifestation of Hindu civilization in Java. It is apparent in the temple structure which represents the core of Hinduism called Trimurti. Prambanan complex has 3 main temples at the main yard, Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva Temples. The three temples are symbols of Trimurti in Hinduism. Each temple has a supplementary temple namely Nandini for Shiva, Angsa for Brahma, and Garuda for Vishnu. In addition, there are two candi apit [literally means intercalated temple], 4 candi kelir [backdrop temple], and 4 candi sudut [corner temple]. Meanwhile, the second yard has 224 temples.

The others must-see feature is the beauty of the relief on the temple wall. Ramayana story becomes the main relief. However, there is another sophisticated relief namely the kalpataru tree which in Hinduism is considered as tree of life, eternity and nature harmony. At Prambanan Temple, the relief of kalpataru tree is portrayed flanking a lion. The tree explains the 9th century Javanese wisdom in managing their environment.

Visitors who want to satisfy their curiosity about the history of Prambanan Temple can visit a museum in this complex. In this museum, visitors can watch the complete audio visual footage of the history of Prambanan its discovery to its latests renovation. For visitors who take their family along, Prambanan temple provides a playing ground for children and mini carriages to take them around the resort.

One of the tourist events worth watching is the Ramayana Ballet. The Ramayana Ballet is a performance which combines various Javanese arts such as dance, play, and music in one stage and one moment to present Ramayana story, a legendary epic written in Sanskrit by Walmiki. The Ramayana story is a translation of the relief of Prambanan Temple.

Location Prambanan Temple

Prambanan Temple is located at Prambanan Village which is administratively divided into two regions: Sleman Regency of Yogyakarta Province and Klaten Regency of Central Java.