Prambanan temple is one of the Unesco world heritage sites. The grandest temple in Southeast Asia is an important temple of Hindus as a form of respect for Trimurti or the three Hindu gods; Brahman, Vishnu and Lord Shiva.
In javanese legend, Prambanan Temple is also synonymous with the story of Roro Jonggrang who was cursed to stone by Bandung Bondowoso who was angry because Roro Jonggrang had deceived him.
Administratively Prambanan Temple is located in Karangasem Hamlet, Bokoharjo Village, Prambanan Subdistrict, Sleman Regency, but the main entrance for tourists to Prambanan Temple is in Tlogo Village.
The name of Prambanan Temple
Until now it is not known exactly why this temple is called Prambanan. Some call more to the shifting meaning of Brahman theologically Hindu in the paving of Javanese society to Prambanan.
In addition, the name Prambanan comes from the root of the word Mban which in Javanese means task musician who refers to Trimurti who is responsible for creating world harmony.
Prambanan is also called synonymous with Cambodian, which has the meaning pram or five and banam which means mountain or means five mountains. The linkage is drawn based on the history of the Javanese kingdom that once colonized Cambodia for 200 years.
But according to J.Gronemen the name Prambanan comes from the root of the word ramban which means the process of collecting foliage that tends to lead to the process of reconstruction of temple debris when it was first discovered.
Actually, Prambanan Temple has the name Siwagrha or which means the house of Lord Shiva whose building shape resembles the towering Mount Mahameru.
History of Prambanan Temple
Prambanan temple began to be built in 850 AD, by the King of Ancient Mataram, Rakai Pikatan of the Sanjaya Dynasty. The construction of Prambanan Temple is also referred to as an effort to match the existence of Borobudur Temple built by the House of Syailendra called the twin dynasty along with the Sanjaya Dynasty.
The construction of this temple also wants to mark the return of sanjaya family power in Java which is carried out sustainably from Sri Maharaja Rakai Pikatan to the reign of King Lokapala.
In the Shivagrha Inscription, although Prambanan was built for trimurti, the dominance of respect for Lord Shiva is more prominent. This is seen from the temple of Lord Shiva which is specifically placed in the middle of prambanan temple complex and becomes the highest temple among other temples with a height of 47 meters.
When there was a transition between King Lokapala and Mpu Sindok, the process of building Prambanan Temple stopped because the government center was transferred to East Java. Prambanan temple was finally abandoned and destroyed at age.
The state of Prambanan Temple was further severely damaged when Mount Merapi erupted and closed almost the entire surface of the temple. All that is left and visible is the ruins of temple rocks including the existence of a statue of Goddess Durga which ultimately gave rise to the story of Roro Jonggrang.
The Legend of Roro Jonggrang
Prambanan temple is also known as Roro Jonggrang Temple. This is related to the story of Javanese legend about Prabu Boko’s daughter named Roro Jonggrang who was liked by Prince Pengging, Bandung Bondowoso.
In the story of Roro Jonggrang mentioned, boko kingdom attacked by the forces of the Kingdom of Pengging under the leadership of Prince Bandung Bandung Bondowoso. Prince Bandung Bondowoso managed to take control of the kingdom and kill Prabu Boko.
At that time, Bandung Bondowoso intends to edit Roro Jonggrang. However, bandung Bondowoso’s love clapped one hand, Roro Jonggrang already hated him for killing his father.
But Roro Jonggrang was not able to refuse the pinangan Bandung Bondowoso, until finally he submitted a condition to Bandung Bondowoso to make a thousand temples in just one night.
This impossible request was still followed by Bandung, by ordering jinn troops to help build the temple. When the construction of the temple takes place.
When the temple building had reached 999, Roro Jonggrang was worried that if the construction of the temple actually happened, he ordered that pounding rice dimples as a sign of time had changed to the morning of his goal so that the chickens would immediately crow.
While the genie’s army who heard the sound of the chicken’s cocoa, thought the day had changed in the morning. Out of fear, they rushed away from the temple.
Bandung Bondowoso who saw it was just a ruse Roro Jonggrang finally angry and cursed Roro Jonggrang into stone while making it as the last temple in Prambanan Temple.
Prambanan Temple Myths
From the story of Roro Jonggrang, there is a myth that if lovers visit Prambanan Temple then the relationship will not last long. And this continues to be a belief in itself not only for the community but also for tourists.
Regardless of whether or not this myth is true, the reality does not necessarily affect the number of tourist visits from various parts of the world to visit Prambanan Temple whose number continues to increase.
Prambanan Temple Pattern
Prambanan temple is thick with Hindu patterns that tell the process of a human journey. In addition, there are 24 main panels of temple relief that tell the story of the Ramayana. An epic story of Sri Rama fighting a giant king named Ravana in seizing the goddess Sintha.
Prambanan Temple Structure
The structure of Prambanan Temple building is divided into three main courtyards; The outer court (Njobo), the middle court (tengahan), and the inner court (njeron) correspond to the level of Hindu cosmology.
Outer Court (Njobo)
This 390-meter court is known as Bhurloka or depiction of the lowest creature consisting of; Humans, animals to demons. Here the grouping of creatures that still prioritize lust.
Central Court (Tengahan)
In the middle of the temple structure covering an area of 222 meters or called Bwahloka, which became a place of recluse, resi to the gods under Trimurti. Before the earthquake that hit Yogyakarta in 2006, this court had 4 main terraces that were terraced with 878 temples surrounding it.
Inner Court (Njeron)
This court is called Swaloka which becomes the highest peak where the main gods are called Swargaloka with jewel jewelry that becomes the peaks of the temple.
Temple of Lord Shiva
The main building in Prambanan Temple is Dewa Shiva Temple which is the tallest temple among other temples. Inside this main temple there is a statue of a lion and a statue of a lokapala that serves as a guardian god.
There is also a statue of Lord Ganesha, an elephant-headed human-shaped statue that is also the son of Lord Shiva and on the other hand there is a statue of Dewi Durga Mahisasuramardhani who is referred to as Roro Jonggrang who was cursed to stone by Bandung Bondowoso.
Temple of Lord Vishnu
On the left side there is a cone-shaped temple of Lord Vishnu and inside there is a statue of Lord Vishnu and a statue of Krishna. Vishnu is believed to be the guardian god for Hindus.
Lord Brahma
On the right side, there is a temple of Lord Brahma as the creator with the existence of a statue of Lord Brahma which reaches 2 meters high with a length of 20 meters.
Supporting Temple
Among the three main temples that symbolize the Trimurti, also built supporting temples such as; temple rides, apit temple and perwara temple.
Sendratari Ramayana performance at Prambanan Temple
Prambanan Temple Complex is also often held ramayana sendratari staging as a form of description of the reliefs that decorate prambanan temple ornaments. This show becomes a mandatory show that is done every night Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
In addition to witnessing the Ramayana paradise, visitors will also witness firsthand the splendor of Prambanan Temple from the floodlights that lead to the temple building.
Prambanan Temple Entrance Ticket
Each visitor who enters Prambanan Temple, will be charged IDR (Indonesian Rupiah) 50 thousand for adult visitors, and IDR 20 thousand for children.
Different rates are applied to foreign tourists, amounting to USD 18 for adults and USD 8 for children.
While the ticket to watch the Ramayana paradise, each visitor is charged IDR 125 thousand per person.
Prambanan Temple Operating Hours
Prambanan Temple is open from 06.00 – 17.00 AM. Different if visitors want to watch the staging of Sendratari Ramayana which takes place at night starting from 19.00 – 21.00 PM