Constructed of gray andesite-like stone,[1] the temple consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome. It is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and originally 504 Buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated stupa.[2] The monument guides pilgrims through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades. Borobudur has one of the world's most extensive collections of Buddhist reliefs.

Built during the reign of the Sailendra Dynasty, the temple design follows Javanese Buddhist architecture, which blends the Indonesian indigenous tradition of ancestor worship and the Buddhist concept of attaining nirvāṇa.[3] The monument is a shrine to the Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. Evidence suggests that Borobudur was constructed in the 8th century and subsequently abandoned following the 14th-century decline of Hindu kingdoms in Java and the Javanese conversion to Islam.[4] Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then the British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians.[5] Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was completed in 1983 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, followed by the monument's listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world,[6][3] and ranks with Bagan in Myanmar and Angkor Wat in Cambodia as one of the great archeological sites of Southeast Asia. Borobudur remains popular for pilgrimage, with Buddhists in Indonesia celebrating Vesak Day at the monument. Among Indonesia's tourist attractions, Borobudur is the most-visited monument

Etymology

In Indonesian, ancient temples are referred to as candi; thus locals refer to "Borobudur Temple" as Candi Borobudur. The term candi also loosely describes ancient structures, for example, gates and baths. The origins of name Borobudur, is derived from Boro for big and Budur for Buddha.[8] Dutch scholar J. L. Moens says the court poet Mpu Prapanca referred to a holy sanctuary at "Budur" in 1365.[9] Stamford Raffles mentioned "Bóro Bódo" and described the temple in his 1817 book on Javan history.[10][11] In a footnote, Raffles says, "Bóro is the name of the district, and bódo means ancient."[12] Most candi are named after a nearby village. If it followed Javanese language conventions and was named after the nearby village of Bore, the monument should have been named "BudurBoro". Soekmono says Raffles thought that Budur might correspond to the modern Javanese word Buda ("ancient")—i.e., "ancient Boro".[8] He also suggested that the name might derive from boro, meaning "great" or "honorable" and Budur for Buddha.[8] However, another archaeologist suggests the second component of the name (Budur) comes from Javanese term bhudhara ("mountain").

Another possible etymology by Dutch archaeologist A.J. Bernet Kempers suggests that Borobudur is a corrupted simplified local Javanese pronunciation of Biara Beduhur written in Sanskrit as Vihara Buddha Uhr. The term Buddha-Uhr could mean "the city of Buddhas", while another possible term Beduhur is probably an Old Javanese term, still surviving today in Balinese vocabulary, which means "a high place", constructed from the stem word dhuhur or luhur (high). This suggests that Borobudur means vihara of Buddha located on a high place or on a hill.

The construction and inauguration of a sacred Buddhist building—possibly a reference to Borobudur—was mentioned in two inscriptions, both discovered in Kedu, Temanggung Regency. The Karangtengah inscription, dated 824, mentioned a sacred building named Jinalaya (the realm of those who have conquered worldly desire and reached enlightenment), inaugurated by Pramodhawardhani, daughter of Samaratungga. The Tri Tepusan inscription, dated 842, is mentioned in the sima, the (tax-free) lands awarded by Çrī Kahulunnan (Pramodhawardhani) to ensure the funding and maintenance of a Kamūlān called Bhūmisambhāra.[15] Kamūlān is from the word mula, which means "the place of origin", a sacred building to honor the ancestors, probably those of the Sailendras. Johannes Gijsbertus de Casparis suggested that Bhūmi Sambhāra Bhudhāra, Sanskrit for a mountain of combined virtues after the ten stages of Boddhisattvahood, was the original name of Borobudur.

Location

The three temples

Approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) northwest of Yogyakarta and 86 kilometres (53 mi) west of Surakarta, Borobudur is located in an elevated area between twin volcanoes, Sundoro-Sumbing and Merbabu-Merapi, and two rivers, the Progo and the Elo.[17] According to local myth, the area known as Kedu Plain is a Javanese "sacred" place and has been dubbed "the garden of Java" due to its high agricultural fertility.

During the restoration in the early 20th century, Theodoor van Erp [nl] discovered that three Buddhist temples in the region, Borobudur, Pawon and Mendut, are positioned along a straight line.[19] A ritual relationship between the three temples must have existed, although the exact ritual process is unknown.

Ancient lake hypothesis

Speculation about a surrounding lake's existence was the subject of intense discussion among archaeologists in the 20th century, and while the idea was explored, experts concluded that a lake was not present[21] or never surrounded the temple.[4] Advancing the lake hypothesis in 1931, Dutch painter W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp thought Borobudur represented a lotus flower floating on a lake in what is now the Kedu Plain.[22] In 2004, others claimed that Borobudur was built above the floor of a dried-out paleolake.[23] Examining samples from excavations in 1974 and 1977, Ganapathi Thanikaimoni could not find any pollen or spores that would indicate vegetation endemic to a water environment; Jacques Dumarçay published this work in 1977, as did Thanikaimoni in 1983.[21] Caesar Voûte and J.J. Nossin made field studies in 1985–86 that confirmed the absence of a lake around Borobudur when it was built.[

History

Construction

Hindu clerics appealed to the people of Java for generations, a fact that architect and author Jacques Dumarçay finds first mentioned in 450 AD.[25] Influence of the Sailendra and Sanjaya dynasties followed. Dumarçay says that de Casparis concluded that Sanjaya and Sailendra shared power in central Java for a century and a half, and that de Casparis traced alternating succession from 732 until 882.[26] During this time many Hindu and Buddhist monuments were built on the plains and mountains around the Kedu Plain. Buddhist monuments, including Borobudur, were erected around the same period as the Hindu Prambanan temple compound. In 732 AD, King Sanjaya commissioned a Shivalinga sanctuary to be built on the Wukir hill, only 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Borobudur.

There are no known records of construction or the intended purpose of Borobudur.[28] The duration of construction has been estimated by comparison of carved reliefs on the temple's hidden foot and the inscriptions commonly used in royal charters during the 8th and 9th centuries.[28] Comparison of an Indian architectural process across temples, and acknowledgment of who was in power, enabled Dumarçay to approximately date the construction of Borobudur in five stages.[29] Loosely, the Sailendra began c. 780, and continued stages two and three c. 792 through to an unremarkable fourth stage during their decline c. 824.[30] The Sanjaya completed Borobudur's fifth stage c. 833

Construction of Buddhist temples, including Borobudur, at that time was possible because Sanjaya's immediate successor, Rakai Panangkaran, granted his permission to the Buddhist followers to build such temples.[33] In fact, to show his respect, Panangkaran gave the village of Kalasan to the Buddhist community, as is written in the Kalasan Charter dated 779 AD.[34] This has led some archaeologists to believe that there was never serious conflict concerning religion in Java as it was possible for a Hindu king to patronize the establishment of a Buddhist monument; or for a Buddhist king to act likewise.[35] The 856 battle on the Ratubaka plateau was much after and was a political battle.[36] There was a climate of peaceful coexistence where Sailendra involvement existed in Prambanan.

Abandonment

Borobudur lay hidden for centuries under layers of volcanic ash and jungle growth. The facts behind its abandonment remain a mystery. It is not known when active use of the monument and Buddhist pilgrimage to it ceased. Sometime between 928 and 1006, King Mpu Sindok moved the capital of the Mataram Kingdom to the region of East Java after a series of volcanic eruptions; it is not certain whether this influenced the abandonment, but several sources mention this as the most likely period of abandonment.[4][23] The monument is mentioned vaguely as late as c. 1365, in Mpu Prapanca's Nagarakretagama, written during the Majapahit era and mentioning "the vihara in Budur".

Raden Soekmono mentioned the assumption of the temple abandonment, which occurred after the population had converted to Islam in the 15th century.[4] The monument was not forgotten completely, and folk stories gradually became superstitious beliefs associated with bad luck and misery, which Soekmono relates.[4] According to the Babad Tanah Jawi (or the History of Java), the monument was a fatal factor for a rebel who revolted against the king of Mataram in 1709.[4] The insurgent was defeated and sentenced to death.[4] In the Babad Mataram (or the History of the Mataram Kingdom), the monument was associated with the misfortune of the crown prince of the Yogyakarta Sultanate in 1757.[39] In spite of a taboo against visiting the monument, the prince "took such pity on 'the knight who was captured in a cage' (i.e. the statue in one of the perforated stupas) that he could not help coming to see his 'unfortunate friend'".[40] Upon returning to his palace, the prince fell ill and died one day later.