The architectural splendor of the Borobudur Temple consists of a long history of the development of Buddhism in Indonesia. The fame of the Borobudur Temple is well-known to foreign countries and is known as the largest Buddhist monument in the world.
Located in the city of Magelang, Central Java, Borobudur Temple underwent a period of restoration long enough to restore its majesty. Borobudur Temple is one of the most precious treasures in Indonesia and the world.
The initial history of the construction of the Borobudur Temple occurred in the 8th and 9th centuries around 800 AD, during the reign of the Syailendra dynasty.
The construction of Borobudur is predicted to take tens to hundreds of years until it is completely completed during the reign of king Samaratungga in 825.
Although completed, there is no historical record that explains who the figure who built the Borobudur temple was. Because at that time, Hinduism and Buddhism were growing together on the island of Java.
The Syailendra dynasty is recorded as a follower of Mahayana Buddhism while around Borobudur there are also Shiva Hindus.
A number of archaeologists suspect that the construction of the Borobudur Temple has undergone four renovations. Initially, the construction started by leveling the plains around the temple and compacting the soil with stones to form a pyramid structure.
The structure was then changed due to the addition of the square and circular steps. Then, Borobudur underwent a final change in the circular steps and the size of the foundation was widened.
The splendor of Borobudur was lost for centuries because it was buried under a layer of soil and volcanic ash, which was then overgrown with trees and shrubs to resemble a hill.
It is not known the exact reason for the abandonment of Borobudur residents at that time. The theory of history leads to the eruption of Mount Merapi and the conversion of people’s beliefs from Buddhism to Islam.
The return of the fame of Borobudur Temple occurred during the time of Thomas Stamford Raffles while serving as Governor General of the island of Java in 1811. The rediscovery occurred when Raffles heard that there was a large building hidden deep in the forest near the village of Bumisegoro.
Raffles then sent a Dutch engineer named Christian Cornelius to check it out.
The news of the rediscovery of Borobudur also became a catastrophe of damage in many places. Until the late 1960s, the Indonesian government asked UNESCO for assistance in overcoming the problems at Borobudur Temple.
In the history of Borobudur Temple, its renovation took a long time and a large cost until it was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1991.
As the world’s largest Buddhist temple, as well as the largest Buddhist monument in the world. Borobudur Temple has a structure like a punden terrace which is getting smaller with four stairs in each cardinal direction.
Borobudur Temple is 121.66 meters long, 121.38 meters wide and 35.40 meters high. According to Buddhist philosophy, the level structure of the Borobudur Temple is an imitation of the universe in becoming the wheel of life. There are three levels in the structure of Borobudur Temple:
Kamadhatu: The lower part of the temple which destroys the underworld, depicts human behavior that is still influenced by worldly desires.
Rupadhatu: The middle part of the temple that is dependent on the intermediate nature, describes the behavior of humans who have started to leave worldly desires, but will continue to depend on the real world.
Arupadhatu: The upper part of the temple that overrides the upper realm, does not represent the intangible and as a sign of the level that leaves worldly desires.
The stones in Borobudur Temple are estimated to have come from the rivers around Borobudur, with a total volume of about 55,000 cubic meters, or the equivalent of 2 million pieces of stone.
Such is the history of Borobudur Temple. If it is not preserved, it will be eroded and extinct.
Always remember to maintain attitude and behavior and dare to reprimand other visitors when they see acts of vandalism such as littering, throwing cigarette butts into statue stupas, committing acts of vandalism.
