Never miss this while in Jogja...

I have blogged about this before, but well, just in the mood to write about it again while reminiscing on memorable places and times...

Candi Prambanan or Prambanan Temple Compounds is also known as the Candi Rara Jonggrang, an ancient Hindu Temple in Java, Indonesia. Not many people know about these gorgeous temples unless they have been to Yogyakarta. I for one had not heard about it until I was in Yogyakarta, mainly to visit the famous Borobudur Temple, but Prambanan is just as majestic and unique…

I was there with my niece, Jamie a few years ago, so this pictures are probably a little outdated as back then there was also some extensive restoration works going on... Still, it was definitely an experience and a vision of beauty and majesty I can not forget anytime soon...

Prambanan temple is supposedly made up of three main temples in the primary yard, namely Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva temples. Those three temples are symbols of Trimurti in Hindu belief. All of them face to the east. Each main temple has accompanying temple facing to the west, namely Nandini for Shiva, Angsa for Brahma, and Garuda for Vishnu. Besides, there are 2 flank temples, 4 kelir temples and 4 corner temples. In the second area, there are 224 temples... confusing isn't it ? And yes,  you cannot go into all the temples.. LOL

If you enter the Shiva temple which is the highest temple and is located in the middle, you will find four rooms. One main room contains Shiva statue, while the other three rooms contain the statues of Durga (Shiva's wife), Agastya (Shiva's teacher), and Ganesha (Shiva's son). 

The Durga statue is rumoured to be the statue of Roro Jonggrang.Most travelers will marvel at its grandeur as they approach the temple from the walkway as it loomed nearer. 

This temple famous for the Rara Jonggrang legend....

The legend goes like this: Prince Bandung Bondowoso fell in love with Princess Rara Jonggrang, the daughter of King Boko. The princess however rejected his marriage offer because  her father was killed by him. 

 However after much insistence, she gave him an impossible condition – to build a thousand temples in one night. With help of supernatural beings, the prince manage to have 999 temples built but the princess fearing his success, had the village maids to begin pounding rice and set fire in east to fake sunrise thus getting the spiritual helpers to leave. 

The prince was livid about the trick and cursed Rara Jonggrang into a stone which she became the last and most beautiful of the thousand statues. According to the legend, this last unfinished thousand temple is the Sewu temple (means thousands) nearby to Prambanan and the Princess statue is in the north cell of the Shiva temple in Prambanan.

The Shiva temple is one of the the biggest Hindu Temple in Southeast Asia. It stands grandly at 47 m high with a wide compound surrounding it inclusive with many temples arranged all around.

Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple in ancient Java and this royal temple is probably built during the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty. Historian suggest that this temple marks the return of the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty to power in Central Java after almost a century of Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty domination. It also signifies the the focus from Mahayana Buddhism to Shivaist Hinduism.

 This temple is located 17 kilometers from the Yogyakarta city center, and not too far from the airport.... and is also a very beautiful park with deers around... take the time to stroll around this beautiful place...  and if it is not enough, there is also a shuttle to bring you to yet another gorgeous place, the Ratu Boko palace.....which I will share in my blog in the near future....

So there you have it, if you happen to be in Yogyakarta, you really should not miss this place...Yogyakarta has an air conditioned Trans Jogja bus which can pick you up from certain parts of Yogyakarta and send you to the Prambanan Temple...

The bus operates from 6am to 9pm... but you can also take the beca...

I got there because a friend of mine pick me up from the airport and brought me there....