Prambanan Temple (
also known as Lorojonggrang Temple ) was located at Bokoharjo Village, Prambanan, East of
Yogyakarta. The exact date of when the Lorojonggrang Temple was built was still in
argument. However, there are two opinion of who builds the Temple. One opinion stated that
there was only one, dynasty, Cailendra Dynasty, before Lorojonggrang Temple was built. The
second opinion stated that there were two dynasties, Cailendra and Sanjaya Dynasty.
Cailendra Dynasty occupied the Southern part of Central Java, whereas Sanjaya Dynasty
occupied the Northern part. Buddhist Temples were found mostly in the Southern part of
Central Java, and that the Ciwa Temples (Hindu) were found in Northern part of Central
Java.
It seemed that Sanjaya Dynasty existed before the Cailendra Dynasty with the center of
authority in South Kedu (around Magelang, North of Yogyakarta ). This statement was based
on Canggal Inscription ( 732 A.D. ). The Sanjaya Dynasty was then pushed to the North by
the Cailendra Dynasty which arrived around 778 A.D. (Kalasan Inscription). The existence
of Sanjaya Dynasty was also mentioned in Balitung inscription (708 A.D.). In that
inscription it was stated that whenever a King died, the King became a "Dews" (
God, Devine). Based on the inscription studies, it showed the sequence of Kings in Sanjaya
Dynasty as follows :
- Sanjaya (732 - 760 A.D.)
- Panangkaran (760 - 780 A.D.)
- Warak (800 - 819 A.D.)
- Garung (819 - 838 A.D.)
- Pikatan (838 - 851 A.D.)
- Kayuwangi (851 - 882 A.D.)
The Rise of Cailendra Dynasty was inscripted in Kalasan inscription, and was followed
by other inscriptions, but the historical sequence was difficult to be followed and still
a debate. Some inscriptions stated the possibility that both dynasties built the same holy
temples as well ( Kalasan Inscription and short Inscription in Plaosan Temple ). On the
short inscription two Kings were mentioned, Rakai Pikatan from Sanjaya Dynasty and Sri
Kaluhunan from the Cailendra Dynasty. Casparis identified Sri Kaluhunan as the son of the
latest King of Cailendra Dynasty, Samaratungga. According to Karang Tengah Inscription (
824 A D. ), Samaratungga was also called Pramodawardani. The marriage of King and Queen
with different religion ( Buddha and Ciwa/Hindu) seemed to influence the architecture of
Prambanan Temple which was built by King Pikatan ( Sanjaya Dynasty ). The top of Prambanan
Temple did not have a lingga type ( phallus type) but instead a ratna type ( ratna =
diamond) which looked like a stupa.
At this point, the King who ordered the building of Lorojonggrang Temple is not
convincing. According to the 856 A.D. inscription ( locality source is unknown, preserved
in Jakarta Museum of Art ) stated that King Jatiningrat was replaced by Dyah Lokapala.
Darmais and Casparis identified Dyah Lokapala as King Kayuwangi who issued Argapura
Inscription ( 863 A.D.) According to Balitung inscription (907 A.D.), Kayuwangi was the
King between 851-882 A.D. The King before Kayuwangi era was Rakai Pikatan, and thus be
concluded that Jatiningrat was indeed Rakai Pikatan.
The Balitung Inscription also described more detail on the structural arrangement of
temples. On the 11 th line of the inscription, it stated that temple buildings were
categorized into two kinds: the Ciwagraha (graha = a house) and Ciwalaya. The main temple
(Ciwagraha) was built by the King, and smaller and lesser temples Ciwalaya ) were built by
ordinary people regardless of social status.
The temples which were built by ordinary people had a row arrangement with similar
height and forms. The main temple ( built by the King ) had its own wall, separated from
the smaller temples. The main gate had a statue of Dwarapala, and at the east was planted
a "Tanjung tree" which was considered sacred, as a way for God to descend to
earth. Furthermore the temple complex had an irrigation system and buildings for the
priests. When the building of Ciwa Temple was finished, the flow of a river was diverted
passing alongside the walls of the main temple, separating the main temple ( Lorojonggrang
Temple and the smaller temples.
From the inscriptional readings, it could be concluded that on the year 856 A.D. (the
issuance of the inscription), Lorojonggrang Temple Buildings had been finished. It was
Rakai Pikatan who built Lorojonggrang Temple. This evidence was shown by Casparis based on
the Lorojonggrang inscription. There were 50 stones at Lorojonggrang Temple with
inscriptions written in white, black and red color. The name of Rakai Pikatan was found
among the inscription, and that the writing style found in Lorojonggrang Temple was
similar to that in Plaosan Temple.
A. The Discovery and Restoration of Prambanan Temple
The discovery of Lorojonggrang Temple was reported by C.A. Lons in 1733. The temple was
in ruined condition, abandoned among grass and tree vegetation. First effort to reveal the
presence of a temple was done in 1885 by cleaning the site from grasses and shrubs
followed by grouping the stones. This project was supervised by Yzerman, Groneman and van
Erp. The work was continued in 1918.
Grouping and identifying the stones in detail followed by restructuring Ciwa Temple was
done by van Erp. In 1937, restoration began under the supervision of Bosch, followed by
Stuuerheim, van Ramound and others. The restoration was finished in December 20, 1953.
About 240 temples undergone restoration, such as two Apit Temples (restored in 1923), four
Kelir Temples, and four Corner Temples (Candi Sudut), two Perwara Temples, two entrance
gates, the South Gate and the North Gate. The next restoration used the Government Routine
Development Budget. Those restoration included Brahma Temple ( start restoration in 1978
), Wisnu Temple (start restoration in 1982).
B. Structural Description and Arrangement
The Prambanan Temple is a group of Hindu temples, and was also known as Lorojonggrang
Temple. The word Prambanan refers to the name of a District, Prambanan District, whereas
Lorojonggrang refers to its actual name.
The temple complex has three concentric square
- Outer square (222 x 390 meters) surrounded by a 1 meter boundary wall.
- Middle square (110 x 110 meters) surrounded by a 1 meter boundary wall.
- Center square (34 x 34 meters) surrounded by a 1 meter boundary wall.
All the three squares have gates to connect the other squares. The outer square do not
have temples. Inside the middle square there are 224 Perwara temples which are arranged in
4 rows of temples. The first row consists of 68 temples, followed by the second row (60
temples), the third row (52 temples) and the fourth row (44 temples ). The arrangement of
temples is in such a way that shorter temples lies in the outside and getting higher
toward the center.
The earthquake that hit Yogyakarta in 2006 caused a lot of damage to the temple, but do not worry, the damage has now been repaired. If you want to Prambanan temple and you will drive a car or motorcycle, you simply pass the road Solo, from overpass Janti, to the east continues. Then you will see the Prambanan temple on the left before passing the border to Central Java. I hope after the author wrote this articles, you will visit it. I think it is the best recommended for you guys to spend your holiday. Good luck
