History of Borobudur Temple

Borobudur Temple from the air

The Borobudur Temple is one of Indonesia's most famous tourist attractions in Borobudur, Magelang, central Java. The Borobudur Temple was founded around 800 AD by Wahayana Buddhists. In the history of the Temple of Borobudur, several theories explain the origin of the name of the Temple of Borobudur. One of them says that the name Borobudur probably comes from the word Sambharabhudhara, which means "mountain" (Bhudara), where the terraces are on the slopes.

Borobudur is a Buddhist temple located in Borobudur, Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The temple is located about 100 km southwest of Semarang, 86 km west of Surakarta and 40 km northwest of Yogyakarta. This stupa-shaped temple was founded by Mahayana Buddhists around 800 AD during the reign of the Syailendra dynasty. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world and one of the largest Buddhist monuments in the world.

This monument consists of six square terraces, in which there are three circular patios, on the walls are 2672 relief panels and the original of 504 Buddha statues. Borobudur has the most complete and most Buddhist relief collections in the world. The largest main stupa is in the middle, while this building is crowned, surrounded by three circular rows of 72 perforated stupas, in which a Buddha statue with crossed legs sits in a perfect lotus position with the Mudra (hand gesture). Dharmachakra mudra.

This monument is a model of the universe and was built as a sacred place to glorify the Buddha. It also serves as a sanctuary to guide humanity from the world's desire for enlightenment and wisdom according to Buddhism. Pilgrims entering the east side begin the ritual at the base of the temple, circumventing this sacred building in a clockwise direction as they continue the next steps through three levels of the Kingdom in Buddhist cosmology. The three levels are Kāmadhātu (Kingdom of Pleasure), Rupadhatu (Tangible Realm) and Arupadhatu (Kingdom of Intangible Values). During this journey, the pilgrims crossed a series of corridors and staircases and observed no fewer than 1,460 beautiful embossing plates carved into the walls and railing.

In addition, there are several other popular etymologies. Suppose the word Borobudur comes from the words "Buddha," which, because of the change in sound, is related to Borobudur. Another explanation is that this name comes from two words "coal" and "beduhur". It is said that the word bara comes from the word of the monastery, while there is another explanation in which the charcoal comes from Sanskrit, which means temple or monk complex and Beduhur means "high" or in Balinese it means "above "means" Then the meaning is a monastery or a dormitory that is tall.

The ritual ceremony at Borobudur temple

J.G historian. De Casparis claimed in his PhD thesis of 1950 that Borobudur was a place of worship. Based on the inscriptions of Karangtengah and Kahulunan, Casparis believes that the founder of Borobudur was the king of Mataram of the Syailendra dynasty, Samaratungga, who was founded around 824 AD.

The huge building could only be completed in the time of his daughter Queen Pramudawardhani. The construction of Borobudur is estimated to be half a century old. Karangtengah's inscription also mentions the Golfland (Non-Taxable Land) concession, derived from the original word meaning the place of origin, a sacred building to glorify the ancestors, perhaps the ancestors of the Sailendra dynasty. Casparis believes that Sanskrit, meaning "hill of virtue, ten levels of bodhisattva," is the original name of Borobudur.



The location of this temple is set on the hills in the village of Borobudur, Mungkid, Magelang or 42 km from the sea of ​​Yogyakarta. Surrounded by Manoreh Hill, which stretches from east to west. While to the east are the Merapi and Merbau mountains, and to the west are Gunumg Sindoro and Gunung Sumbing.

The construction of this Borobudur temple requires no less than 2 million andesite blocks, which equates to 50,000 square meters. The total weight of the temple reached 3.5 million tons. Like most temple buildings Bororbudur consists of 3 parts: the legs, the body and the top. The standing building is called Kamadhatu, which speaks of a conscience full of lust and animal qualities. Then "Ruphadatu" means a level of human consciousness that is always connected with pleasure, matter and form. While Aruphadatu, no longer restricted by lust, the material and form are presented in the form of a main stupa.