Day 2 - 16th June 2009, Tuesday
The construction of this massive Hindu temple signifies that the Mataram Kingdom court had shifted the focus of its patronage from Mahayana Buddhism to Shiva's Hinduism. A temple was first built at the site around 850 CE by rakai Pikatan and expanded extensively by King Lokapala and Balitung Maha Sambu the Sanjaya king of the Mataram kingdom. According to the Shivargha inscription of 856 CE, the temple was built to honor Lord Shiva and its original name "Shiva-grha" (the house of Shiva) or Shiva-laya (the Realm of Shiva). According to Shivagrha inscription, a public water project to change the course of a river near Shivagrha was conducted during the construction of the temple. The river, identified as the Opak River, now runs north to south on the western side of Prambanan temple compound. Historians suggest that originally the river was curved further to east and was deemed too near to the main temple. The project was done by cutting the river along a north to south axis along the outer wall of the Shivagrha Temple compound. The former river course was filled in and made level to create a wider space for the temple expansion, the space for rows of pervara (complementary) temples.
The Prambanan compound also known as Rara Jonggrang complex, named after the popular legend of Rara Jonggrang. There were once 240 temples stood in this Shibaite temple complex, a combination of big and small temples. Today, all of 8 main temples and 8 small shrines in inner zone are being reconstructed. Only 2 out of its original 224 pervara temple are renovated. The majority of them have deteriorated; what is left are only scattered stones. The Prambanan temple complex consists of these zones, first the outer zone, second the middle zone that contains hundreds of small temples, and third the holiest inner zone that 8 main temples and 8 small shrines.
The Hindu temple complex at Prambanan is based on a square plan that contains a total of 3 zones yards, each of which is surrounded by 4 walls pierced which originally measured about 390 metres per side, was oriented in the north-east south-west direction. Except for its southern gate, not much else of this enclosure has survived down to the present. The original function is unknown; possibilities are that it was a sacred park, or priest's boarding school (ashram). The supporting buildings for the temple complex were made from organic materials; as a consequence no remains occur.
On the way out (still within the complex), we bumped into a groups of friendly deers, walking freely in a secured gate of Prambanan court yards. Before we we went for check-in at Novotel, the driver took us to the most recommended "Nasi Padang" for our lunch. Rest assured, the food here is really wonderful with plentiful selection of dishes to your liking.
Our final
destination was to Paranggritis beach, the most popular beach in Jogjakarta,
located 27 km south of Jogjakarta and easily accessible by both public
transportation and private vehicles that allows to enter up to 17:00pm. The
afternoon before sunset is the best time to visit this most popular beach in
Jogjakarta. If arrive sooner, it will not hurt for going up to Tebing
Gembirawati (Gembirawati cliffs) behind the beach. From there, we can see the
whole area of Parangtritis Beach, southern sea, up to the horizon. The beach is
very closely related to the legend of Ratu Kidul (Queen of South). Many
Javanese people believe that Parangtritis Beach is the gate of Ratu Kidul’s
magical kingdom that controls the southern sea.
We had our dinner after the sun has fully sets and the night has fallen.
Despite our objection, the driver of the hired car insisted to make a quick stop at a tourist centre shop where varieties of souvenirs, Jogja's hand crafts, foods etc were available. We end up buying all the things that needed to bring back as souvenirs for relatives and friends in here, including Jogja's t-shirt, decoration items and local snacks. The shops were very nicely arranged with varieties of local hand made products.
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| Hubby selected shirts for souvenirs |
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| And we had local cuisine tasty "Lopes"! |
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| Having fun in a fitting room :) |
We headed to Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat or Jogjakarta Palace. Kraton is the Javanese Sultanate official palace located in the Jogja city. Although officially the Sultanate has become the Republic of Indonesia in the year 1950, this palace building complex still serves as a residence for sultan and palace households still carry this tradition to the present monarchy. This palace becoming the tourist attractions in Jogjakarta and the entrance fees collected manage to maintain the palace in a well maintained condition. Some palace complex is used as a museum that stores various collections belonging to the Sultan, including the provision of various European monarchs, replica ancestral palace and gamelan. In terms of the building, this palace is one example architecture Javanese palace at its best luxury, field and pavilion area.
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| Gamelan music welcoming us :) |
Jogjakarta has been established by Sultan Hamengkubuwo I, few months post vide Guyanti Agreement in 1755. Location of this palace is reputedly a former guesthouse, used to break funeral procession of Mataram Kings. Sultan Hamengkubuwo I sit in 'Pesanggarahan Ambar Ketawang' that now includes gamping regency sub districts of Sleman. Physically, the palace has 7 core complex that is 'Siti Hinggil Ler (North audience hall), 'Kamandhungan Ler' and I Hinggil Kidul (South audience hall). It has many good cultural heritage in the form of rituals or things ancient and historic. On the other hand, Jogjakarta is also a traditional institution complete with custom acting.
Our next
stop was at Prambanan or known in
Indonesia as Candi Rara Jonggrang, a 9th-century Hindu
temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia,
dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma),
the Preserver (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). The temple compound is
located approximately 18 kilometres east of the city of Jogyakarta on
the boundary between Central Java and Jogjakarta provinces. The temple,
a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest Hindu temple in
Indonesia, and is one of the largest Hindu temples in Southeast Asia. It is
characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu
temple architecture, and by the towering 47-metre-high central building inside
a large complex of individual temples. One of the most majestic temples in
Southeast Asia, Prambanan attracts many visitors from across the world.
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| Main ruin temple of Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva |
The construction of this massive Hindu temple signifies that the Mataram Kingdom court had shifted the focus of its patronage from Mahayana Buddhism to Shiva's Hinduism. A temple was first built at the site around 850 CE by rakai Pikatan and expanded extensively by King Lokapala and Balitung Maha Sambu the Sanjaya king of the Mataram kingdom. According to the Shivargha inscription of 856 CE, the temple was built to honor Lord Shiva and its original name "Shiva-grha" (the house of Shiva) or Shiva-laya (the Realm of Shiva). According to Shivagrha inscription, a public water project to change the course of a river near Shivagrha was conducted during the construction of the temple. The river, identified as the Opak River, now runs north to south on the western side of Prambanan temple compound. Historians suggest that originally the river was curved further to east and was deemed too near to the main temple. The project was done by cutting the river along a north to south axis along the outer wall of the Shivagrha Temple compound. The former river course was filled in and made level to create a wider space for the temple expansion, the space for rows of pervara (complementary) temples.
The Prambanan compound also known as Rara Jonggrang complex, named after the popular legend of Rara Jonggrang. There were once 240 temples stood in this Shibaite temple complex, a combination of big and small temples. Today, all of 8 main temples and 8 small shrines in inner zone are being reconstructed. Only 2 out of its original 224 pervara temple are renovated. The majority of them have deteriorated; what is left are only scattered stones. The Prambanan temple complex consists of these zones, first the outer zone, second the middle zone that contains hundreds of small temples, and third the holiest inner zone that 8 main temples and 8 small shrines.
The Hindu temple complex at Prambanan is based on a square plan that contains a total of 3 zones yards, each of which is surrounded by 4 walls pierced which originally measured about 390 metres per side, was oriented in the north-east south-west direction. Except for its southern gate, not much else of this enclosure has survived down to the present. The original function is unknown; possibilities are that it was a sacred park, or priest's boarding school (ashram). The supporting buildings for the temple complex were made from organic materials; as a consequence no remains occur.
On the way out (still within the complex), we bumped into a groups of friendly deers, walking freely in a secured gate of Prambanan court yards. Before we we went for check-in at Novotel, the driver took us to the most recommended "Nasi Padang" for our lunch. Rest assured, the food here is really wonderful with plentiful selection of dishes to your liking.
We had our dinner after the sun has fully sets and the night has fallen.
to be continued...
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