Sunday, September 26, 2010

Borobudur Temple, Indonesia


Borobudur holds the honor of being the largest Buddhist monument that nowhere found anywhere on this earth. Located north west of Jogjakarta (Yogyakarta) 41 km from Central Java, a province of Indonesia. Though, there are no written historical records available to prove who actually constructed Borobudur and for what purpose, still the estimation of construction time suggests that it was built during the rule of Sailendra dynasty in the 9th-century (750-800 AD). 


This was constructed as a huge single stupa (a Buddhist shrine, temple, or pagoda that houses a relic or marks the location of an auspicious event), Borobudur gives an impression of a massive mandala (in Buddhism and Hinduism, a geometric or pictorial design usually enclosed in a circle, representing the entire universe and used in meditation and ritual) when seen from above. It extent over an area of 118 sqm and has nine platforms. Out of these nine platforms, the lower six are square in shape while the upper three are circular. A total of 72 small stupas encircling a large central stupa adorn the upper platform. These stupas are in shape of a bell and have a number of beautiful openings. Inside, statues of Buddha are seen.  


The largest Buddhist monument in the world, discovered by a Dutch archaeological expedition... it had been buried in volcanic ash (spewed by Mt. Merapi) for hundreds of years. Visitors to Borobudur walk clockwise around the structure with their right shoulders to 'Buddha'.

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