Prambanan Temple Yogyakarta Is One Of Two Important Temple In Indonesia

Along with Borobudur Temple. Even though this temple is quite famous in Indonesia, foreign tourists still don’t know it as much as Borobudur Temple. So, here, we are going to explain some of the interesting things you need to know about this temple.

Who Built Prambanan Temple Yogyakarta?

This is one of the most interesting facts of Prambanan Temple Yogyakarta. According to legend, this temple was built by Jaka Bandung Bondowoso, a powerful existence that has many skills and capabilities beyond human comprehension. There is a story about how Bandung Bondowoso built this temple.

Years ago, Bandung tried to marry Roro Jonggrang, a princess of the Prambanan Kingdom. Bandung that defeated and killed the king of Prambanan Kingdom, the father of Roro Jonggrang, was mesmerized by her beauty. Roro knows that he is the killer and doesn’t want to marry him. Worrying about what he would do to her if she rejects his proposal, she asks for an impossible thing. She asked Bandung to build a thousand temples and complete all the temples in one night. 

She made a mistake by thinking that Bandung won’t be able to fulfill that request. Bandung, with his superpower, asked help from spirits, the dweller of night. Millions of spirits help him to build the temple. The process was very fast, far from Roro’s expectation. Knowing this situation, she decides to sabotage Bandung’s effort.

Roro calls her friends and maids to play and sound rice pestle and mortar. It wakes the rooster and it starts crowing. She also burns the Eastern forest to create an illusion of sunrise. The spirits that saw this condition, decide to return to their dimension, because they think that the day has come, leaving the temple that there is only one left to build. Bandung who knows that that was all Roro’s trick, enrages. He then curses Roro Jonggrang to be the thousandth temple. Thus, the Prambanan temple is also known as Roro Jonggrang Temple.

However, those are the only legends. According to the ancient inscription of Wantil and Siwagrha, it said the Prambanan temple was built in the era of Rakai Pikatan, the king of Medang Kingdom, in 850 AD. And then, it was continued by Balitung Maha Sambu in the Medang Mataram Kingdom era. Even though the proof of who built the Prambanan temple has been revealed, the Bandung Bondowoso legend still becomes the most popular story of how this temple was built.

Prambanan Temple’s Other Names

As we mentioned above, Prambanan Temple is also known as Roro Jonggrang Temple. You can find a statue of a beautiful lady in one of the six biggest temples in this temple complex. People believe that this is the status of cursed Roro Jonggrang. There is a myth about this statue. If you see her face too long and touch her breast, you will fall in love with her. However, as the condition of the temple keeps deteriorating, tourists now are forbidden to enter those 6 big temples. So, you can’t see and prove this myth.

The other names of this temple are Sewu Temple. Sewu means thousand in Javanese. It came from the legend. However, the real number of temples in this complex is around 240 temples, with 6 the biggest temples standing in the center of the area. During the war with Dutch and Japan when they invaded Indonesia, this temple was bombarded. It destroyed most of the temple, and the rubbles makes it look like many temples were built in this complex.

Prambanan temple is also known as the House of Shiva. Rakai Pikatan, who is Hindu, builds this temple to worship Shiva. You also can find the huge statue of Shiva in the main chamber of this temple. This 3 meters tall statue is one of the most amazing things you can find in this temple.

What are the Interesting Things You Can Find or See in Prambanan Temple?

Besides the Roro Jonggrang statue and God Shiva statue, this temple holds many interesting things you can enjoy. First of all, it has beautiful reliefs that tell Ramayana stories. The builder of this temple sculpts the reliefs in very high detail. It is very beautiful. It looks like 3D models made by the latest 3D design software today.

Then, if you see the gap between a stone that is used to build this temple, you can find out that they didn’t use any cement or other glue-like material as you can find in today’s building. This temple was built by only stacking the stone. Some studies said that they used a glue-like material to stick the stone. However, the unique thing is, this material is said to be made of a mixture of egg white and other organic material.

The Prambanan temple was also built according to Hindu cosmology. They made it, so it looks like Mahameru peak, the peak of Mount Semeru, which was believed as the palace of gods and goddesses. It also has several layers that represent the sacred level of the universe. The bottom layer is the unholy level, while the top of the temple is the most sacred area. They also make this topmost area in the form of a crown, representing thunderbolt. This party’s name is Mastaka Peak.   

Where is Prambanan Temple and How to Get There?

Now, are you interested in visiting this temple? If you do, you can find this temple on the border of Yogyakarta province and Central Java province. It is located around 17 kilometers (around 11 miles) northeast of the city of Yogyakarta. You can ride a bus or a car to go there. Or, the easiest way to visit Prambanan temple is using the travel agency. 

This is one of the famous temples in Indonesia and even the world. You will find at least one or two packages in your travel agency that can take you to this temple and enjoy its beauty. So, have a nice adventure in the Prambanan temple!