Vacation To Jogjakarta

Wonder what a Candi Prambanan is?

This article was inspired by aroengbinang site. He reminds me of beautiful places in my country, and as usual I always attracted by the old mystical place that has history in it, such as Candi Prambanan.

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Candi means temple and Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple compound in Indonesia, located approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta.

It was built around 850 CE by either Rakai Pikatan, king of the second Mataram dynasty, or Balitung Maha Sambu, during the Sanjaya Dynasty.

The complex consists of several hundreds of small temples, except few of them are large and tall temples. A tale mentioned that there should be 1000 temples to be built at Prambanan, but only 999 were built. The compound is assembled of eight main shrines or candis, and more than 250 surrounding individual candis.

The three main shrines, called Trisakti (Ind. "three sacred places"), are dedicated to the three Gods: Shiva the Destroyer, Vishnu the Keeper and Brahma the Creator.

What is so mystical about Candi Prambanan?

There is a quaint legend/mystical story behind one of the main shrines in Prambanan. Shiva temple who is often referred by the locals as a Candi Lorojonggrang was actually Princess Roro Jonggrang; daughter of King Boko, who cursed into a statue.

According to legend, an extremely powerful man by the name of Bandung Bondowoso desired to wed Roro Jonggrang. However, she did not love him, and decided to set Bandung Bondowoso a task to deter his desire to wed her. Roro Jongggrang declared she would only marry him if he could build a thousand temples in one night. Bandung Bondowoso was a powerful man with supernatural powers and saw no difficulty in the task set. When he had almost completed Roro Jonggrang's request, she panicked and ordered all the women from the villages to the east to burn piles of hay causing light, and make plenty of noise by pounding rice as if the day's work had begun.

These actions caused the situation surrounding the area to be as if the sun was rising. As the cocks began to crow, being fooled also, the supernatural beings assisting Bandung Bondowoso fled in terror of the pending sunlight. When Bandung Bondowoso realized he had been tricked, he flew into a rage and cursed Roro Jonggrang into a stone statue, finishing his task proudly.

If you want to visit Candi Prambanan, don’t forget to watch the Ramayana Ballet which is performed outdoor every year especially on full moon, between the months of May to October. It is a magnificent show with a backdrop setting of the main three temples at night, artistically illuminated after nightfall.

…Blow O wind to where my loved one is
Touch him and come touch me soon
I'll feel his gentle touch through you and meet his beauty in the moon
These things are much for the one who loves
One can live by them alone that he and I breathe the same air
and that the Earth we tread is one…

~~Ramayana Quotes~~